# Looking for Porcupine Hunters



## dwarneroutdoorswriter (Apr 17, 2008)

I'm working on a story for Predator Extreme about porcupine hunting, and I'm looking for some hunters to interview. If you hunt porcupines and are interested in talking with me, please give me a call or fire me an email. 

Thanks.

Darren Warner

(517) 290-6471 [email protected]


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## Big Ben (Feb 21, 2008)

I've shot some porky's in my day....does that make me a porcupine hunter?!!


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## Rasputin (Jan 13, 2009)

I shot the one that stuck my dogs. I guess that makes me vindictive, not necessarily a hunter. Good lcuk with your story.


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## ozziesstang (Nov 29, 2009)

Around 15 years ago I knew the best porky hunter in michigan! His name was BO....and he was a Redbone! Bo liked to stick his nose where it didnt belong....too many times! lol


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## Hackman (Aug 13, 2008)

My dog has had 2 seperate mouthfuls of quills he will tell you about them for some biscuts.


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## FixedBlade (Oct 14, 2002)

Does anyone really hunt porkies? Or are they incidentals while hunting other critters.


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## Death_From_Above (Jul 29, 2004)

I always thought Porky's were illegal to shoot in the state of michigan? I was told they were protected because they are the only animal you can chase down and kill with a stick if you needed meat to survive. Guess My leg could have been pulled.


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## Duckman Racing (Oct 11, 2004)

Death_From_Above said:


> I always thought Porky's were illegal to shoot in the state of michigan? I was told they were protected because they are the only animal you can chase down and kill with a stick if you needed meat to survive. Guess My leg could have been pulled.


From the hunting guide:



> Opossum, *porcupine*, weasel, red squirrel, skunk, ground squirrel, woodchuck, starling and English sparrows may be taken year-round with a valid hunting license. Feral pigeons may be taken with a firearm year-round with a valid hunting license


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## Mickey Finn (Jan 21, 2005)

I generally kill every porcupine that crosses my path. But to actually pursue them? Never. I did come accross a couple porcupine skins in the pigeon river country they had been skinned and gutted. So, somebody takes them for meat.

Good luck.


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## FixedBlade (Oct 14, 2002)




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## shorthair (Feb 24, 2003)

I have never killed a porcupine....that didn't deserve to die. That means that every one I see - as long I have it within my ability - will die on the spot. I have plucked too many quills out of bird dogs and watched too many of my trees die to their girdling to have any remorse about doing so. I generally refuse to kill any animal I don't intend to use, but in this case I consider them pests, plentiful and harmful. I have many stories, but generally I happen upon them and divert my attention to killing them immediately. I consider it almost a job, an obligation. I've killed many with my pistol and more than a few with my shotgun while bird hunting. This one decided to saunter across my meadow one Nov 15, and since it was 10 am and I was getting hungry I decided to call it a morning and chased it down with my .45. Job done.


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## ozziesstang (Nov 29, 2009)

Dang those pictures of the poochez with all the tooth picks in their mouths brings back some nasty memories! Actally lost one dog due to a bad infection which never went away. Never intentionally hunted porkies, but I too kill any I encounter.


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## overworked (Jun 20, 2009)

You have me drooling! Is that a kimber!!? 
Nice 45 Shorthair!!


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## shorthair (Feb 24, 2003)

Ha! Not quite, Overworked, but thanks. Its an Auto-Ord. Started as a mil-spec parkerized weapon, I did all the work myself. Completed about 1994 with an industrial hard chrome finish.


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## Mickey Finn (Jan 21, 2005)

shorthair said:


> Ha! Not quite, Overworked, but thanks. Its an Auto-Ord. Started as a mil-spec parkerized weapon, I did all the work myself. Completed about 1994 with an industrial hard chrome finish.


Yes, thats very nice. Great picture too.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

The hunting magazines must really be getting desperate to buy a story like that. 

I've never known anyone to "hunt" a porcupine, they are shot as nuisance incidentals when a threat to a dog on the ground. 

Some people, undoubtedly, use them for target practice, which is sick, but more and more people are learning that quill pigs have their place and that avoidance and dog training is the better way to go. 

If you want to "hunt" a porky, put some salt or brine on your wood siding...and wait. 

Hysterical...


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## Macker13 (Oct 1, 2007)

shorthair said:


> Ha! Not quite, Overworked, but thanks. Its an Auto-Ord. Started as a mil-spec parkerized weapon, I did all the work myself. Completed about 1994 with an industrial hard chrome finish.


 Nice 1911, and a very well done photo! I give it a 10 out of 10 when you factor in the porky shooting!


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## shorthair (Feb 24, 2003)

Macker13 said:


> Nice 1911, and a very well done photo! I give it a 10 out of 10 when you factor in the porky shooting!


Thanks all. That gun has accounted for too many porkys to count, a whitetail buck, several opossums and a couple of raccoons, one memorable one that had decided to tangle with the shorthair in my avatar in knee-deep water my swamp. I'm with the others, I don't go looking for them but I won't pass up an opportunity to kill them when I do run across them.


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## 8nchuck (Apr 20, 2006)

I have shot at least 50 -100. As others have said. If you every have dog tangle with one it changes your attitude about them. 

I saw my dad break down and cry when he had to pull quills out of our lab the 2nd time. 

1st time we went to Alpeana to a Vet.

After that,,,,, well lets just say this. 

If a 12 pt buck wanted to get by my dad all he had to do was walk out with a porcupine. Dad would shoot the porcupine and not even think twice. LOL

He never left one alive.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

You would find it far less necessary to kill every porcupine you see if you gave your dog a little porcupine avoidance training. If you lived in rattlesnake country, wouldn't you want to snake train your dog? Same thing. 

I started porky training my dogs years ago and have never had a problem, nor found it necessary to kill a porcupine, since then. 

Again, it's sad that some people use them for target practice.


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## ART (Jul 7, 2004)

Linda G. said:


> you won't have to* murder* every innocent porky out there.


You are out of line here- there are certain crimes reserved for humans, such as murder and rape.


Linda G. said:


> I don't have any "compassion" for porkies either, but I do respect their *right to existence*..I never let my dog out at all unless he's *absolutely under control*-ie, in a fenced back yard, where I can see him at all times, *or actually accompanied by me*.


So while you are on animal rights here...didn't you just describe imprisonment or slavery? Again things reserved for humans.
You have a mighty distorted view of humanity.
Dogs are property and porkies are rodents.


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## timberdoodle528 (Nov 25, 2003)

ART said:


> Dogs are property and porkies are rodents.


Yep, I agree.
I say that killing them is fine, but remember, there will always be some around. I break my dogs off anything that's not a rabbit. Luckily I don't have porkies around me, but have had my fair share of dogs running everything else under the sun. Yotes, fox, deer, skunk, squirrels,****,pheasant,house cats,grouse,possum... well point is, I've never had a dog I couldn't break. All it takes is consistency and some good E-collars. My hounds never hit the ground without an ecollar strapped to them. If I lived in porkie country, I'd probably spend a little time working with my dogs teachimg them that they are not "desired game" But I'd probably still kill every single one that I could. I've pulled quills out of dogs before, not a whole lot of fun.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Moosekill (Mar 16, 2005)

I have been shooting porkys since I was able to hold a gun. Just something I was raised doing and always will do. For a short time I did have second thoughts about the waste part of it but then I read an artical in Outdoor Life about how every porky will kill up to1,000 trees in it's lifetime so it was game on with a vengence on those rodents. lol

I did a lot of squirrel hunting and that was when most of them fell to the ground. I remember as a kid driving the trails with my elders and if for some odd reason we didn't have a gun and one was spotted on the ground an empty beer bottle was the weapon of choice after the chase. If they were in a tree I would come back for it later. I have taken hundreds of them along with the rest of the family also. It is to the point now we rarely see one in our usual stompng grounds.


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## Mickey Finn (Jan 21, 2005)

Nothing in nature goes to waste. Feel free to kill all the porkies you find.


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## Talntedmrgreen (May 28, 2007)

I have never seen a live one. I cannot believe they seem so common. I spend hours in the woods each week, nearly year round. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for those pincushions while squirrel hunting.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dwarneroutdoorswriter (Apr 17, 2008)

Thanks to all of you who responded to my inquiry. As many of you have pointed out, porcupine are varmints and considered a nuisance at best, a critter that destroys a ton of trees at worst. If any of you want to talk with me about taking porcupine, eating them, the damage they do to trees and dogs, or share some hunting stories with me, please call me at (517) 290-6471, or email me at [email protected]. 

Also, if you have some photos of porcupine, dogs full of quills, or the damage they do to trees, please send them to me at [email protected]. The higher the resolution, the better. Please be sure to include your name and hometown, so you can get full credit for the photo, if the editor uses it. 

But let's leave the debate about the ethics of killing porcupine out of this discussion. If we don't, where does it end? For example, some believe that using an e-collar on a dog is inhumane and cruel. Should we debate that as well? I hope not!


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## Moosekill (Mar 16, 2005)

I'm not trying to continue the debate I just wanted to pass along a porky hunting tip since this thread has over 1200 views and people might be interested.

As some people may know, a porky can absorb many rounds from a 22LR if not hit in the head to bring it down quick. I pride myself on 1 shot kills and that is difficult when looking up 50ft in a tree at a big ball of fur and quills, you can't tell where the head is. 

Now the trick I found to work every time is you find a fairly large diameter dead branch, pick it up and beat the side of the tree the porky is in about three times. Without hesitation he will stretch his neck and head out to see what the ruckus is and "CRACK" from the 22 and it's over. HAPPY HUNTING!


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## Rasputin (Jan 13, 2009)

Someone posted earlier about eating porcupine. I've often said I would try anything twice (you should never make a judgement on trying something just once) and I may regret saying that, but I would like a recipe for whoever has cooked it to give it the old college try.

So how do you butcher and cook a porky?


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## Moosekill (Mar 16, 2005)

Rasputin said:


> Someone posted earlier about eating porcupine. I've often said I would try anything twice (you should never make a judgement on trying something just once) and I may regret saying that, but I would like a recipe for whoever has cooked it to give it the old college try.
> 
> So how do you butcher and cook a porky?


The one time I remember eating it was when I was a kid and it didn't taste too awful bad. There was no butchering involved just gut it and throw the freshly harvested Porky in the wood stove. I don't recall the exact cooking time but i'd say at least 35 to 40 minutes on a bed of hot coals while flipping it over several times should do it. Make sure you keep the stove door closed for the first 15 minutes while the fur and quills burn off. Now mind you this was from the camp cooks after many hours of drinking. They tried it another time but passed out and burnt it up. I wasn't going to remind them they had one going so maybe it didn't taste that great after all.


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## minnow (Apr 4, 2003)

The best responsible way to take care of a porky after you shoot it is. Take it and hang it by its rear feet from a nice stiff branch. I usually have a hammer and nails or a screw driver and drywall screws for this. Then start to gut it like any other animal. The belly has fur on it no quills. Maybe you could train your ultra smart dogs to attack the bell first:lol:? Just a joke. After gutting it skin from the inside of the rear legs, cut off the tail and just turn it inside out down to the neck and dehead it. Now you have a skinned porky. After you cut off the feet and move to a table on the inside of the front legs "in the arm pit" there are glands that need to be removed or the meat will taste bad. Quarter it, cut up the ribs and cut the back in half and trim off the fat and it is ready for the pot. As for the cooking part we usually simmer them with whatever seasoning you like for 4 to 5 hours or whenever the meat falls off the bones and then add noodles. We have also par boiled them and then fried them in Drakes. One thing to note is that if you do take a porky that is living in a ceder swamp or pine trees the meat will taste like a pine tree so its better to let those guys live. I hope you will try this and let me know if you like it. People that have seriously tried it have liked it and have been humbled.


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## Lucky Dog (Jul 4, 2004)

dwarneroutdoorswriter said:


> Also, if you have some photos of porcupine, dogs full of quills, or the damage they do to trees, please send them to me at [email protected]. The higher the resolution, the better. Please be sure to include your name and hometown, so you can get full credit for the photo, if the editor uses it.


Here are a couple pictures you might be interested in, the first is a small tree that has ha much of the bark chewed off, you can see the black part of the left branch was separated from it's bark last year.











The next one is of a typical den tree, if you look close you can see a front leg sticking out near the top of the hole.











If your interested in some high res versions, PM me and I'll send them along.

LD


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