Was talking to wife about hunting a few days ago, and she sort of hinted that she wanted some of these:
It's a Porcupine, and as a rough guess before field dressing, about 12 Lbs. Taken with the Artemis pumper .22 cal. air rifle pictured. About 15 yds, 16 gr. Polymag Predators, 640-650 FPS.
They are thick skulled. First 2 shots were head shots, and both went where they were placed~ in the right ear. Both exited the left ear without contacting the brain. Porcupine brains are tiny in relation to head size... That same ear shot on rabbits with the air rifle drops them instantly with zero flop....
First shot on the upper vitals collapsed the right lung, and exited through the left rear foot. Second vitals shot collapsed the left lung, and cut the heart. That was the finisher. I think I may have been somewhat under-gunned with the air rifle. I will use the 52 on these in the future, and likely it will be an easier job on them.
Lookin forward to eating this. Wife's gonna do it up in the slow cooker with and equal weight of salt pork....
Skinning is an interesting exercise in caution. Wonder how these manage to propagate themselves with so many razor sharp quills
Regards,
Doc Sharptail