Hey y'all!

Long time lurker here, I have learned a lot from these forums and enjoyed a fair amount of time looking at everyone's photos. Thanks to those who are active in here.

Hoping to learn a bit more about a topic I haven't been able to find much about. Anyone ever have any success using conibears to catch porcupines? My idea is to try out some 220s in cubbies both on the ground and attached to trees baited with fruits and salt, similar style to marten or bobcat sets. I've seen information on using cages or incidental catches in footholds, but I haven't read anything about using conibears, which would fit my situation the best. I don't have any 220 sized cubbies so I'm asking here to try and determine if it's worth my time and expense to build some for this project.

I have also wondered if it's worth keeping glands, I have taken a large female that had a musk reminiscent of castor. Anyone know if they respond to that scent similar to using beaver castor at beaver sets?

Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

porkies are fairly sedentary in winter.They leave obvious trails in the snow between their den and where they are feeding.
Should be easy enough to trap them on the trail if you want.They often follow the same trail when snow gets deep. A lot of times when hunting porcupine in winter you can spot them in a tree from a good distance.When I was a kid I hunted a lot of porkys in winter on snowshoes.
If you come across a trail you can just follow the trail to the den or tree and shoot them.

They den in culverts here a lot in the winter also. You could trap them with a conibear in front of a culvert if you tracked one to it. Be careful setting conibears on dry ground. A lot of hound hunters in Idaho if you are on public ground.

Thank you both for the responses. Boco, I'm patiently waiting for snow. I've had a little luck walking through and scanning the areas they have been feeding with binoculars. I usually encounter them on the ground grazing on the little green that's left, I figure that will change with snow. They sure blend in to the grass well, and look a lot like the little piles of slash scattered around this property. I believe they are denning in some very brushy draws, and I have yet to find an active den. Hoping we get some snow that sticks for a while so I can follow their trails just like you described and start putting blind sets out.

Bearcat, I hadn't heard about them denning in culverts. There are a few of those on the property, I'll be sure to check them out. I'm on private, and have the place to myself outside of the big game seasons and a few small groups of loggers and pruners every once in a while. I hope conditions are good where you are, it's so muddy around here I can pull up a 18 inch chained super stake by hand!

I'll bite: Why do you want to go out of your way to trap porcupines?

I was waiting for someone to ask for me lol

No, its a muddy mess here also, unless you get high. Then it has been pouring the rain in the snow. Supposed to cool down and snow tonight though. Of course I probably have to pull my few wolf traps tomorrow, because I think I have to head to Wyoming the next day.

I cant speak for the OP but when I was about 12 I started taking off up to the cabin on the lake in winter to trap and hunt and hunted them for food.
The folks knew where I went,and would leave me alone for a week or so then drag me back to town to go back in school.
That'd last for a while then I would take off up to the camp again.

I was always taught to leave them alone. My dad said if I was lost and hungry I'd be happy there's a bunch of slow dumb animals I can kill with a stick wandering around. So I've always left them be

Yep,I was happy to have them back then.

Since fishers showed up, I haven't seen a porcupine in years. Used to catch them regularly and were always lots of them hit by cars.

We have quite a few of them, it fluctuates year to year. Summer before last I saw them everywhere, last summer I only saw a few

I know the guard hair has value, but I leave them be, as well. Unless they take up residence around the house. I have re-located a few and even tried them for marten bait once. No takers.

Why? Cause Round here a porcupine is worth WAY more than a coyote or beaver. The Indians buy them for head dresses. My buddy hunts them at night. He’s well over 100 for the year.

I'll trap, shoot or dispatch, in ANY manner possible, every one I see.

I'm into my vet for roughly $3K over the last 3 years for two Rotts that can't seem to leave porkies crossing the yard alone.

Smart dogs huh?

Loyal.

Just the kinda boys you want keeping track of who and what comes and goes. Anything in the yard at a time it doesn't belong is gonna get a hard time. Porkies just leave a mark.

They'd hammer a bad guy, just the same.

Yep done that alot as a kid also

$3k is a mark, definitely. I've grown fond of Karelians, they're bred to hunt or fight off (depending how you train) bears and moose so a human wouldn't be an issue either. They thrive in the cold too, which is a plus here

It's weird.

The younger dog is BRILLIANT. Every other pup from his litter went to become LE or a service animal. First time he got 500-ish quills. Second time he got 8 or 10 quills. Third time, no quills made it into his skin. HE is the one who'd be guaranteed to lay the bad guy out in the yard at night.

The older dog isn't dumb. But nowhere near the young dog's mental level. Yet the older dog's prey drive for ANYTHING on 4 legs is unstoppable. He's taken between 500 and 800 quills each time. And he'll do it again if he gets the chance. Each porkie has been killed. Couple pounds of meat missing out of its back. He does the same with skunks. Takes the spraying then tears them in 2 pieces and lets them lay.