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2026-27 digest
Porcupine Hunting in Pennsylvania
Porcupines have three segments: Oct. 10 to Nov. 27, Dec. 14 to 24, and Dec. 26 to Jan. 31, 2027. From the first opener to the last Sunday, the 2026-27 porcupine rules in one place.
Photo: DaPuglet (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The limit is three a day and ten for the season, and porcupines may not be hunted at night. Porcupine season closes during the regular firearms deer season. Survey estimates for 2025: 835 porcupines by 1,269 hunters.
Porcupine in brief
- Oct. 10-Nov. 27, Dec. 14-24, Dec. 26-Jan. 31, 2027; 3 daily, 10 season; no night hunting.
Porcupine seasons in Pennsylvania, 2026-27
Dates below are the Game Commission’s for 2026-27, 3 lines in all, with the Sunday count beside each.
| Season | Where | Opens | Closes | Days | Sundays | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting | Statewide | Oct 10, 2026 | Nov 27, 2026 | 49 | 7 | |
| Hunting | Statewide | Dec 14, 2026 | Dec 24, 2026 | 11 | 1 | |
| Hunting | Statewide | Dec 26, 2026 | Jan 31, 2027 | 37 | 6 |
PGC notes on these rows
- 3 daily, season limit 10. May not be hunted at night. Hunting or furtaker license.
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons and bag limits and the 2026-27 digest, checked October 12, 2026.
Porcupine limits for 2026-27
The quick numbers first, then the PGC limit text as printed for 2026-27.
Porcupine
3 daily, 10 per season.
Porcupine public hunting areas
No tract names porcupines outright, so these are the 174 public tracts that list furbearers, biggest first.
| Tract | Kind | Counties | Units | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rothrock State Forest | State Forest | Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin | 4A/4D | 96,000 |
| Delaware State Forest | State Forest | Pike, Monroe | 3D | 83,519 |
| Forbes State Forest | State Forest | Somerset, Fayette, Westmoreland | 2C | 59,000 |
| Pinchot State Forest | State Forest | Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe | 3B/3C/3D/4E | 54,000 |
| State Game Lands 12 | State Game Lands | Bradford, Sullivan | 3B | 24,598 |
| Ohiopyle State Park | State Park | Fayette | 2C | 20,000 |
| State Game Lands 36 | State Game Lands | Bradford | 3B | 18,972 |
| State Game Lands 42 | State Game Lands | Westmoreland, Cambria, Somerset | 2C | 18,041 |
| State Game Lands 141 | State Game Lands | Carbon | 4C | 17,227 |
| State Game Lands 86 | State Game Lands | Warren | 2F | 14,320 |
| Moraine State Park | State Park | Butler | 1A | 14,000 |
| State Game Lands 37 | State Game Lands | Tioga | 3A | 13,136 |
| Hickory Run State Park | State Park | Carbon | 3D/4C | 13,000 |
| Laurel Ridge State Park | State Park | Somerset, Westmoreland, Cambria | 2C | 13,000 |
| State Game Lands 180 | State Game Lands | Pike | 3D | 12,506 |
Smaller porcupine tracts
Cook Forest State Park (11,000 ac) · State Game Lands 95 (10,626 ac) · Pymatuning State Park (10,300 ac) · Ricketts Glen State Park (10,287 ac) · State Game Lands 106 (9,857 ac) · State Game Lands 29 (9,830 ac) · Erie National Wildlife Refuge (8,959 ac) · State Game Lands 208 (8,833 ac) · State Game Lands 24 (8,585 ac) · State Game Lands 64 (8,100 ac) · State Game Lands 168 (7,814 ac) · State Game Lands 120 (7,398 ac) · Raccoon Creek State Park (7,000 ac) · Oil Creek State Park (6,800 ac) · State Game Lands 74 (6,568 ac) · French Creek State Park (6,000 ac) · Lehigh Gorge State Park (6,000 ac) · State Game Lands 65 (6,000 ac) · State Game Lands 156 (5,894 ac) · State Game Lands 38 (5,818 ac) · Prince Gallitzin State Park (5,600 ac) · Tobyhanna State Park (5,200 ac) · State Game Lands 31 (5,157 ac) · State Game Lands 101 (5,058 ac) · Blue Knob State Park (5,000 ac) · Bald Eagle State Park (4,910 ac) · State Game Lands 244 (4,872 ac) · State Game Lands 69 (4,476 ac) · State Game Lands 228 (4,226 ac) · Hillman State Park (3,650 ac) · State Game Lands 314 (3,550 ac) · State Game Lands 135 (3,540 ac) · Nescopeck State Park (3,500 ac) · Nockamixon State Park (3,500 ac) · Swatara State Park (3,500 ac) · State Game Lands 195 (3,460 ac) · Elk State Park (3,150 ac) · State Game Lands 105 (3,112 ac) · State Game Lands 283 (3,061 ac) · Black Moshannon State Park (3,000 ac) · Shawnee State Park (3,000 ac) · State Game Lands 145 (2,987 ac) · State Game Lands 117 (2,895 ac) · State Game Lands 138 (2,879 ac) · State Game Lands 285 (2,841 ac) · Codorus State Park (2,800 ac) · Gouldsboro State Park (2,700 ac) · State Game Lands 55 (2,651 ac) · State Game Lands 299 (2,646 ac) · State Game Lands 207 (2,573 ac) · Kings Gap Environmental Education Center (2,500 ac) · State Game Lands 330 (2,479 ac) · State Game Lands 52 (2,432 ac) · State Game Lands 222 (2,377 ac) · Yellow Creek State Park (2,300 ac) · Laurel Hill State Park (2,200 ac) · McConnells Mill State Park (2,200 ac) · State Game Lands 157 (2,102 ac) · Mahoning Creek Lake (2,019 ac) · Gifford Pinchot State Park (1,945 ac) · 99 others
Top counties for porcupines
- Jefferson County9 tracts
- Monroe County8 tracts
- Somerset County7 tracts
- Warren County7 tracts
- Wayne County7 tracts
- Crawford County6 tracts
- Erie County6 tracts
- Fayette County6 tracts
- Lancaster County6 tracts
- Lawrence County6 tracts
- Luzerne County6 tracts
- Potter County6 tracts
- Beaver County5 tracts
- Berks County5 tracts
- Butler County5 tracts
PGC State Game Lands GIS, DCNR forest and park hunting pages and federal managers (PGC layers), retrieved 2026-10-12. Species lists are what each manager names; area rules still apply.
Porcupine harvest trend
How many porcupines Pennsylvania hunters reported taking, year by year.
| Year | Harvest | Hunters | Hunter days | Per 100 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 835 | 1,269 | 10,239 | 8.16 |
| 2024 | 1,630 | 1,491 | 4,356 | 37.42 |
| 2023 | 1,561 | 1,965 | 7,031 | 22.2 |
| 2022 | 4,782 | 2,824 | 17,328 | 27.6 |
| 2021 | 3,451 | 2,267 | 19,513 | 17.69 |
| 2020 | 5,292 | 3,854 | 10,831 | 48.86 |
| 2019 | 6,338 | 3,012 | 8,480 | 74.74 |
| 2018 | 4,768 | 3,861 | 13,893 | 34.32 |
Harvest data: harvest, hunters, hunter days. Estimates as published by the PGC.
Porcupine regulations beyond the limit
Rules for porcupines, with prices as listed on October 12, 2026.
License list
What porcupine hunters buy, at PGC prices for 2026-27.
Hours
The night rule that frees coyote and fox hunters does not cover porcupines.
Wearing orange
Porcupine hunters wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on head, chest and back, visible from all sides.
Hunting on Sunday
The new rule opens every Sunday inside the porcupine season. More on Sundays
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission 2026-27 digest, license types and harvest reporting, checked October 12, 2026. Pennsylvania hunting laws · License guide.
Legal sporting arms for porcupines
Legal and prohibited arms for porcupines, season by season.
| Season or group | Legal | Not legal |
|---|---|---|
| Small game | Manual and semiautomatic shotguns 10 gauge or less, 3-shell capacity; manual and semiautomatic rifles and manual handguns .22 rimfire or less; air guns .177-.22 (woodchucks at least .22) with single projectile; muzzleloading rifles/handguns .40 or less and shotguns 10 gauge or less; bows and crossbows. No magazine limit on semiautomatic rifles. | BB ammunition; shot larger than No. 4 lead/No. 2 steel. Rifle/handgun caliber limits (except air guns) do not apply to woodchucks. |
| Furbearer hunting | Semiautomatic and manual rifles, manual handguns of any caliber, manual or semiautomatic shotguns, bows, crossbows, single-projectile muzzleloaders, air guns .22+; gun-mounted lights without laser beams; handheld and mounted night-vision and thermal optics for coyote, fox, bobcat, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel. | Shotgun shot larger than No. 4 buckshot; laser-beam lights. |
Method rules for porcupine hunters
Field possession limits
Opening day: no more than the daily limit; afterward no more than three days' limit.
Hunting parties
Max 25 for deer, elk or bears; max 6 for small game (not waterfowl/dove hunters in blinds or stationary).
2026-27 digest, sporting arms and unlawful acts pages, checked October 12, 2026.
Asked about porcupines
Can porcupines be hunted at night?
No. Porcupines may not be hunted at night, unlike raccoons, foxes and coyotes.
Is there public land for porcupines in Pennsylvania?
Rothrock State Forest, Delaware State Forest and Forbes State Forest lead a list of 174.
How late can I hunt porcupines?
The night rule that frees coyote and fox hunters does not cover porcupines.
Must I wear orange for porcupines?
Porcupine hunters wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on head, chest and back, visible from all sides.
Are Sundays open for porcupines?
The new rule opens every Sunday inside the porcupine season.
What guns are legal for porcupines?
Small game: Manual and semiautomatic shotguns 10 gauge or less, 3-shell capacity; manual and semiautomatic rifles and manual handguns .22 rimfire or less; air guns .177-.22 (woodchucks at least .22) with single projectile; muzzleloading rifles/handguns .40 or less and shotguns 10 gauge or less; bows and crossbows. No magazine limit on semiautomatic rifles.
What are the 2026-27 dates for porcupines?
For porcupines: hunting Oct 10 to Nov 27, 2026; hunting Dec 14 to Dec 24, 2026; hunting Dec 26, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027.
What is the possession limit for porcupines?
3 daily, 10 per season.
What does it cost to hunt porcupines in Pennsylvania?
Buy, as applies to porcupines: Resident Adult Hunting License ($20.97); Resident Adult Furtaker License ($20.97); Nonresident Adult Hunting License ($101.97).
Porcupine country gear checklist
Matched to the species on this page, with live listings.
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Heading out after porcupines
Dates and limits here match the 2026-27 digest as of October 12, 2026; the PGC can amend them, so check the season page before a porcupine hunt.
Other photos on this page: TheTurducken (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Mountain-Prairie (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Benny Mazur (CC BY 2.0); NPS Climate Change Response (Public Domain Mark 1.0); ShenandoahNPS (Public domain); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0).