Texas Bobcat and Hog

[dan11011]

I hunted northeast of Austin, Tx back in March. My brother in law lives down there and I wanted an excuse to see him and go hunt.

I went with an outfitter that does self guided night hunts for hogs. He has you hunt out of blinds at various locations across his leased land. On the very first night at around 10:00pm I shot a nice size hog at about 110yards. The trip was a success.

The guide had also told me that a number of hunters had seen bobcats the past couple of seasons from that stand. I have really wanted a bobcat for a number of years now. I have tried calling them and cage trapping them in northeast Washington but just haven’t been able to pull it off.

So the second night, I setup in the same blind and set an Icotec Outlaw about 15 yards out in front of me to the right. I proceeded to call for the next 3.5 hours on and off. (I know a long stand. But I already had gotten my hog and didn’t have much to lose.) I saw tons of armadillos and opossums which were really fun to watch. After about 3.5 hours I decided to switch off the call and just sit for another half hour before calling it a night. After 30 minutes I started to pack up my things and wasn’t making an effort to be especially quiet when all of a sudden, I saw two eyes 30 yards from me looking back at the call. I quickly turned the thermal scope back on and could tell it was a nice sized bobcat walking by. I squeaked with my lips, flipped off the safety and took a shot with the 308 AR10 hog gun. He flipped back wards and jumped into the bushes behind him. I knew I hit him good but the brush is very thick. I waited about 15 minutes and then went to find him. He ran about 5 yards from where I shot. I did blow his shoulder open a little with the big caliber, but his pelt was by no means ruined. He weighed 22lbs. I was absolutely thrilled. I finally called in a cat on my own in the middle of the night, underneath the Texas canopy. Doesn’t get much better for a 2 day hunt.

[Not selected]

 :tup:Nice looking cat

[pianoman9701]

Awesome. How does that hog taste?

[dan11011]

The hog is good! I just froze it all and checked it in a cooler. Then brought it to a butcher who ground it all into a German style sausage. I didn’t cook any roasts or chops or anything like that, but the sausage turned out great. No off flavors or anything. When cutting it up, you could almost convince me it’s a deer. Pretty dark normal looking meat.

[hunterednate]

That's fantastic. Congrats on an unforgettable experience.

[pianoman9701]

The hog is good! I just froze it all and checked it in a cooler. Then brought it to a butcher who ground it all into a German style sausage. I didn’t cook any roasts or chops or anything like that, but the sausage turned out great. No off flavors or anything. When cutting it up, you could almost convince me it’s a deer. Pretty dark normal looking meat.

 

[redi]

Good trip and  nice shooting

[high_hunter]

Congrats and sounds like a memorable trip with your BIL.  Want to do something similar someday.   Would you mind PMing me or posting the guide info?

Thanks,
HH

[carpsniperg2]

Always a good time! Congrats

[Taco280AI]

Looks like a good time 

[Okanagan]

Fabulous spots on that cat!  And it looks like a pretty good sized one.  I've always wanted one with strong spots all the way over the back but never have killed one like that.  WTG!

[MADMAX]

Cool trip
Nice critters

[HikerHunter]

Awesome trip! That bobcat picture is great!

[Sitka_Blacktail]

Awesome. How does that hog taste?

I hunted a ranch near Jacksboro TX about 10 years ago. Most of the guys I hunted with were after a huge hog for the skull and tusks. I asked the guides about eating them and they told me if I wanted an eater to shoot a sow 100 lbs or less. So I ended up with an 80 lb sow and it was delicious. Had some made into sausage, and a few chops and barbecued half of it. Was fantastic!  Next chance I get I'll definitely do the same thing.