Dispatching a porcupine

[vtmarmot]

Ever try it? It ain't easy, at least with a .22 rimfire.

Saw one on the lawn the other night during dinner. Eating clover. Very cute, until he started climbing a pear tree. Yelling only drove him higher. Couldn't poke him off with a stick and then a shovel. Knew they had damaged fruit trees around the neighborhood. Got a .22 rifle, and it took 5 shots to dispatch him. It's hard to pick out a kill spot on one, especially when he's too close for the scope. Hit him solid every time. Buried him so dogs wouldn't get into him.

 

[remingtonman]

Ive killed one porcupine with a 22LR also and it took several shots. Next time I will be using a 22magnum or my 17hmr.

 

[ShootDots]

.223's work very well! LOL!!!

 

[snert]

Like a sloth, it takes a bit for the brain to realize the porky is dead.

 

[nmkid]

Used to have a rancher friend in Wyoming that always called me when they got too thick around the property. I would, 'dispatch' them and then cut off as many of the quills that I could. Sold them to Native Americans as they use the quills for earrings and such.

 

[Ohio Varmint Shooter]

If you're in a place where you can shoot a 22lr (non-city...non-suburb).....why not use a shotgun?

 

[MrMajestic]

Never had the heart to kill a porcupine. They are painful just to watch them move!

 

[timeout]

Never had the heart to kill a porcupine. They are painful just to watch them move!

If you want painful, get one of their quills buried in your knee while pulling dozens of them from your dog. Porkies are a scourge. Glad we don't have them here.

 

[snert]

I always wondered if you hit them with enough Vmax if they would shoot arrows all over...

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

S&W 45 Long Colt hard cast 250gr bullet runs close to 1100fps at ten feet has always done the job for me. Easy to pick up using my rattlesnake loop stick.

 

[pacificman]

Years ago I was told by the old timers to kill any of them that you see...They eat the bark off of trees and kill the trees.
They are also a hazard to live stock and other animals. I used to kill a few before deer season years ago but have not
seen any for a long time now. Got a few with my old 30-06....when a 165 grainer hit em it was like when blowing on
a dandelion weed...their were quills 6 feet in diameter all around the dead porky....LOL

 

[jds holler]

My state, Oregon, used to pay bounties on porkies. It must have worked pretty well because we have way fewer of them than we did when I was a kid. But still, I've got enough personal dog/porcupine experiences to strike fear into the heart of anyone who hunts with a dog.

I kill them whenever I find them, in hope that it may prevent me or someone else from a future disaster.

Oh yeah -- cutting the quills does not make them easier to pull out, and anyone who professes that method has never pulled about a thousand quills from the lips, gums, tongue, snout, paws, ears, eyes, and throat of a freaked out Great Dane. jd

 

[rcparker1]

Believe it or not we have them in North Texas. We were hunting quail on the Red River and our German shorthair got into one. Worst thing I ever saw on a dog. Vet put him to sleep and spend two hours working on him. Dog almost bled to death. I kill every one I see now.

 

[Prose]

God made an animal that tastes entirely like bacon, and covered it in quills to make sure it didn't go extinct. Hence, the porcupine.

 

[people]

I just use a 10mm. Like a light switch. A 223 works very well. The 223 is just not for geese any more.

 

[JLT]

.22 LR, too light. .22 K Hornet, just right.

We have a lot of them in these parts. Many end up as road kill, but I shoot every one I come across. I have two Shepherds (well, they're in TX now) and all of my neighbors have dogs. Nothing more miserable than a dog that's been quilled.

 

[Rsadams]

In Texas?? Really? I have never seen one.. But I live in central or south texas maybe why I have not seen one.. I have seen pictures of what happens to a dog that finds one. Just horrible...

 

[Larryh128]

After you have a dog quilled, everyone you see dies. Last 1 that I shot was with a 380 & 80 gr Barnes HP. He didn't seem to like it a bit. They also like the taste of the glue in plywood and will eat a deer blind to the ground almost leaving only windows & hinges.

 

[Mtstalker]

I kill tons of them. They hang out and cattle and dogs are getting in to them. The quickest way to kill them is to literally hit them square in the face with a steel fence post. It stops them instantly. Or a 22-250 to the head.

 

[rcparker1]

In Texas?? Really? I have never seen one.. But I live in central or south texas maybe why I have not seen one.. I have seen pictures of what happens to a dog that finds one. Just horrible...

First one I saw was hunting up by Vernon when dog got into one. Have seen several since then hunting the red