Many people complain that there isn’t anything to do after the hunting comes to an end after late deer season and the commonwealth fishing waters start to ice up.

I beg to differ. Plenty of outdoor activity remains in the winter months.

In fact, the boys and I were at the lodge mixing up some homemade sausage the other day and the discussion of winter hunts came up. The boys had seen some flyers promoting a coyote and fox hunt in the next few weeks as well as a porcupine hunt.

I was familiar with the predator hunt over the years. In fact, many hunters have gotten in to the specialty world of predator hunting and trapping in Pennsylvania in a big way.

The coyote, red fox, gray fox, raccoon, bobcat, black bears, fishers and many others are either hunted or trapped legally in Pennsylvania with an approved license during the prescribed seasons.

We discussed the use of winter snowscape camouflages, decoys and calls the fellows have been either using or seeing offered for hunters to use in their hunts. We are used to the idea of coon hunters being nocturnal, but whole new groups are after the fox and coyotes that frequent the landscape of Pennsylvania.

I was awakened the other night to the yip of a fox outside my windows and the squeal of a rabbit or some other prey animal getting clipped off. I know it’s a normal part of wildlife’s struggle for life and death, but it still is eerie to hear it when you are awakened in the dead of night.

It’s the sounds of life and death that many hunters use to bring predators into their ambushes while hunting. Some scent out and a squeak of a mouse or squeal of a rabbit will perk up the attention of a fox or coyote wandering in the general area.

The snow is your friend in this case as you can see the patterns of their tracks and know they are about. The snow also means that food from small mammals and birds is becoming more difficult to find, so a potentially easy meal puts their normal caution to the wind.

However, it’s the porcupines that caught my attention as the PGC has enacted a season and bag limit for the second largest rodents in Pennsylvania. You are allowed six daily in PA with your valid hunting license.

The season runs from Sept. 1 through March 31 and is closed during regular firearms deer season. From my experiences with porcupines, all you would need to do if you ran into one in deer season is remember what tree you saw him in and come back the next week and he’ll be in the tree next to the first one!

Actually, porcupines are an interesting animal and some facts that I researched about them were very educational for me.

The average porcupine weighs around 20 pounds, but a jumbo porcupine can tip the scales at well over 40. They are found in a habitat range from Alaska to Mexico in North America and prefer the deciduous and coniferous forests.

Porcupines have often been seen killed along highways as they crave salt and this gets them into trouble as they seek it out along highways, in tree bark and even camp buildings.

They have been known to chew plywood and other wood products that have been cured with salt. They are attracted to outhouses because of the high salt contents contained in urine. Salt blocks set away from the camps are very useful deterrents if you are experiencing problems with this rodent chewing up your camp.

Porcupines really don’t have a lot of enemies due to their formidable quill protection system. Fishers and bobcats will take them on as they have learned about their vulnerable, soft under belly.

I have still seen the results of less wary animals as they show up with a face full of quills. The quills are long barbed hairs that harden and are replaced as needed. No, they don’t throw quills, but they do use their tails to swing them into a threat!

Until we meet again ... Keep sharp and watch those porcupines!