tracking a shot bobcat

[notellumcreek]

So I took what I thought to be a good shot at 60yds on a dandy of a bobcat( my gun is sighted in at 200yds so i put it low to make up for the short yard shot). He jumped and drug himself into the woods, which ended up being pretty thick when I started to search for him. Found lots of blood, but it ended up taking me about 4 hours before i lost the blood trail and got desperate. It went for about 200 yards in the thickest of crap before it was taking me across a pretty steep hillside that slopes into a creek. Searched below around the creek, searched above on the top ridge of the hill, looked right next to all the blood spots. By now im 5 hours in and i am calling it a day, at 6. This is my first shot at any animal, I have not killed anything bigger than a duck or goose. I know i must have messed up with the shot, cause my intentions were to drop the guy immediately. I also understand losing animals does happen, but I really did not want to start my hunting career out with a lost animal(afraid of bad karma), and especially something I only wanted to kill one of. I was deffinately going to take a machete back today, maybe a dog to follow the blood trail? Just wondering if anyone had suggestions on what I should look for or where it might have tried to run to.

[Mulieman]

Most likely went into a hole. Stay dialed in on the blood.

For future, when you're sighted in for 200yds and you shoot at 60yds, you need to aim high because your bullet is still rising into your sight line at that close.

[pianoman9701]

Like he said, stay on the blood. When you've found the "last" blood, look to see from where the animal came and try to imagine him travelling in a likely direction. If you're in tall grass, you need to get down to the bottom of the grass to find more blood. Look for hair. Look for dark holes or spaces under rocks and logs. Move out from your last blood in a semi-circle starting at 5, then 10, 15, 20 yards. If you find nothing, go back and do this again.

[Machias]

Usually when you loose blood it's because of an sudden change in direction.  Also I had a bobcat once that climbed up a tree after he was shot and died, so don't forget to look up as well.  Take your time on blood trailing, blood trailing and tracking is a game of patience.  All the best trackers I have been around have great amounts of patience.  Good luck!

[notellumcreek]

Thank you for all the tips, I did keep in mind about the trees, but there were many stumps with holes around because of the steep hillside, and i didnt go and check them all so that will be my first thing to do. I was pretty patient up until the last hour, and it was more about frustration with myself about not making a clean kill. I will take a machete and spend another hour or so searching. The ground cover is dead alder leaves, lots of ferns. At first i found most blood rubbed along stems of underbrush and i could tell he had drug himself over a stick layed across the ground because the blood spot was 8 inches across the stick.

[seth30]

Try to get some friends to help you do a grid pattern at the last sight of blood. 

[Houndhunter]

Go take your dog for a walk

[seth30]

Go take your dog for a walk

Make sure you have him on a leash and no rifle wiht you

[fishngamereaper]

I shot a big cat a couple years ago. Good blood then lost it. Found it the next day in the thickest patch of huck brush. Was belly crawling through rabbit holes when I came face to face, 5 feet and still alive. Finished it but it was a little nerve racking....They like to tunnel and hide, get on your hands and knees.

[MuleySniper]

Go take your dog for a walk

 

[notellumcreek]

Thanks again for all the helpful tips, spent another couple hours searching, did run into some new found blood trail but led into a spot where i had torn into the hillside the day before pretty good  , so it was tough to continue the blood trail from there. Searched in holes, up in trees, is a bobcat worth going back for on day 3? Couldnt get ahold of anyone to get a dog before i left to go look again.

[trippledigitss]

Man that sucks - but... seeing & shooting a bobcat as your 1st animal shot, now that is pretty cool. A real good luck / bad luck deal. Good you saw & got a shot at him, bad you cant find him. If it close by you and you have the time, I'd keep looking if you think you got him good enough that he wont go too far. Otherwise by now he could be gone and nowhere near where you are looking. Good luck, if you go back I hope you finally find him!

[Alpinist]

I'm guessing that your confidence may be shaken a bit, so I recommend going to a shooting range to practice on targets set at various distances while your gun is sighted-in at 200 yards. You don't want to have to guess how to compensate when game appears. I hope you find your cat too.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Depends on how long the cat stayed alive after the shot.  If it took 24 hours for it to die than your only looking at day 2. 
 
From the spot it was standing when you shot to the farthest trace of blood you found what was the distance?  If it was literally dragging itself I can't see how it could go very far. 

[top pin1]

I shot a bobcat 20 years ago with my bow when I was a kid. Shot it right at dark and thought I made a good shot. I saw it jump and land in the brush. I was in a clear cut. I looked for about 15 minutes till it got dark and I had no flashlight. Was pretty scared at 16. I wasnt able to go back the next day so I had to wait till the following day after school to bring my lab. It had been raining and I believe the temps were cool 30's to 40's but definetely not below freezing. My lab found it 30 feet from where I shot it, I'd walked right by it a couple times. Gutted it that night and had it to the taxi the next day.

Still hangs on my wall to this day as a beautiful rug.. It was a big male at just under 40lbs.

Find a friend with a lab or hound or beagle and go look tomorrow.

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