# Bobcat help



## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

I've never shot a bobcat. I would like to. Are their still tags available? I looked on DWRs site and they have them listed, but it wont let you check the box. 

If I do get a tag...how do you hunt them? Do you need dogs? Any ideas of where to go?


----------



## Lycan (Sep 22, 2008)

Did you buy your furbearer's license yet? You have to have that before they will let you buy the bobcat tags. 

As far as how to hunt them, they can be called in similar to the way you would call for fox or coyote. Bobcats are typically more wary than the canines, and pick up your mistakes easier. They don't usually come to the call as quickly as coyotes do, but they will come if you are patient enough. They like to approach slowly and quietly, making sure to survey everything before they expose themselves. 

They can be found almost anywhere. If you find somewhere that has a lot of rabbits or rodents, then chances are that area holds some cats. They love to raid poultry farms too, so you might get lucky with a frustrated farmer. Mystery is part of the fun of predator calling, you can't be sure what you'll call in. Could be a coyote, could be a fox, or if you get really lucky you might call in that elusive bobcat.


----------



## Hound Inc. (Mar 31, 2008)

Calling a bob is tough, trying to hound down a bob is hard, they know how to use the rocks. I chased the same bob 3 times last year, fresh track, dogs burned it, jumped it, I saw it twice, and the little weasel would go in the same bluff everytime. Foot hold traps are the most effective, good luck.


----------



## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

I've called in a few.

Stay on stand for a long time..30 mins or longer if you know there's one in the area. Decoying works...put a big feather dangling from an over head branch for movement. Use higher pitched calls like woodpecker or other bird distress. They can just appear. Think of how a cat moves...bobcats will slink in under your radar really easy. Some that I have called in..I didn't see them until they were sitting out in front just looking back at me.

Don't over gun them. You can tear up a pelt pretty easy.


----------



## HighNDry (Dec 26, 2007)

Most guys get them trapping. Claude Dallas used to get them out in Nevada using exposed bait (illegal). When spotlighting was the rage in the early 70's we used to get a few.

On another note: I heard China was buying house cat skins. Anyone know if this is true?


----------



## Lycan (Sep 22, 2008)

I bet they'd be interested in more than just the skins. What do you think orange chicken at Panda Express really is? :wink: 

There actually is truth to that rumor. I remember watching 60 Minutes or some show like that a few months ago and there is a whole industry there right now that uses domestic cat and dog fur. They'll actually do one of two things. They'll either try to pass it off as a more exotic fur, or even label it as "faux" fur. If my memory is correct, they got exposed because they had a whole bunch of "faux" fur that went to a major retailer here (I don't remember who, American Eagle or someone like that) and they discovered that it was actually real fur from dogs. Those parkas with the fur around the outside edge of the hood were the most common culprits.

I don't think they'd be too interested in buying our cat skins because they have so many strays of their own, and they are raising cats and dogs on entire farms just for this purpose.


----------



## James (Oct 7, 2007)

Bobcats hunt mostly at night. They will also stay pretty close to cover. For these reasons it is hard to ever see one. 

Bobcats are creatures of habit. They will have a hunting circuit and next time around they may cross a downed log in exactly the same place, putting a foot in the exact same spot. Set a trap in a cat track, and catch a cat. Usually their circuits take several days. Cats are curious critters. Many have been caught by setting a trap under a Christmas tree ornament (or other bright bauble) hanging on a tree limb. 

Hunting with hounds is rewarding. As has been stated though some learn how to ditch the dogs using bluffs. Hunt in country where there is no bluffs to solve that problem. Cutting for tracks after a snow is a good way to locate a cat track. Once you have the track, you could have a cat up and running right quick, or you may be in for a 7 mile hike. I say 7 miles, because I have followed a couple of bobcats (different occasions) that went that far in a single night. Usually its a big tom in the mating season (February) that makes that kind of trip. BTW I never caught up, don't know how far they actually went. 

My experience tells me that a bobcat pressed by hounds will travel mostly downhill and when he hits the bottom of whatever, he will either put up a fight or go up a tree. Most generally the dogs will track him hot for less than a quarter mile. I have had them tree within 50 yards from where they were jumped. Of course that depends some on the dog or dogs following the cat. Some dogs have to put their nose in every track, and others will follow in full cry with their head up tracking by the smell of the cat in the air. 

Several times I have just happened on to a bobcat, when not actually hunting cats, but it is a rare thing. I have never tried calling them. 

Its been years since I hunted bobcats. Hope there is some left.

Good luck.


----------

