Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Coyote, Small Game, Varmints => Topic started by: yankees2 on October 13, 2013, 02:52:15 PM

Title: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: yankees2 on October 13, 2013, 02:52:15 PM: would love to get a bobcat mount they are so neat. Will need some help on where to start though. spots. tactics. other info would help live near Ellensburg have seen a few.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: huntingcl on October 13, 2013, 03:00:06 PM: Find snowshoe hare in creek bottoms and call, it's not as hard with fresh snow. Oh and patience, patience, and persistence
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: Bofire on October 13, 2013, 03:12:09 PM: :) hunt em where ya seen em???? what do they eat? They are small. I like birds.
Carl
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: longstevo on November 11, 2013, 12:51:46 AM: Tagging
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: RadSav on November 11, 2013, 03:50:53 AM: I agree with the statement you hunt them where you see them. In the snow I try to find out what they are tracking and call accordingly. Try your best to call long and small. One hour is not a terribly long time to work a cat. And most cats are small and eat small things so try not to sound like a 150# rabbit. You also do not want to shake your call as you would calling coyotes. A bobby is not going to fight or steal a meal from a small dog or fox so don't sound like one trying to kill that 150# rabbit. Use emotion, but not in a way that sounds like you are having the life ripped out of you by a larger predator. Rodent and bird distress calls are king amongst most of the good cat callers I know. But the range they offer is very limited. So some times you just have to mix it up depending on where you are at.

Best time to kill a cat is also the worst time to mount a cat. That would be when the choke cherries have gone rancid. If you want to take a cat during that time look for bandtail pigeons or Eurasian doves working the cherries. When the birds get good and drunk they are making a real racket as they struggle to keep their balance in their inebriated state. It's the best cat call in all the world! Use a pheasant wing and a bird distress call in the leaves as close to the base of the tree as possible without scaring off all the birds. Well over half the cats I have taken have been hunting them this way.

Good luck! Bobbies are one of my all time favorites :tup:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: Houndhunter on November 11, 2013, 05:11:40 AM: Get some dogs :chuckle:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: snowshoes22 on November 12, 2013, 07:06:41 AM: I have called in several with fawn in distress. They all have came to the call in 10 minutes or less. This goes against everything you read but it has been my experience with bobcats. I guess being in the right spot is most important.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: BsB on November 12, 2013, 07:51:31 AM: Got one while out elk hunting. Happened to look through the alders, saw two on a log about 20yrds away. Boom went the .243. I've seen more bobbies while walking than I have while calling.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F11%2F12%2Fe4eguvu3.jpg&hash=2c925180e511ac75d0604a06459267938b467a66)

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: Jingles on November 12, 2013, 08:18:18 AM: Quote from: BsB on November 12, 2013, 07:51:31 AM
Got one while out elk hunting. Happened to look through the alders, saw two on a log about 20yrds away. Boom went the .243. I've seen more bobbies while walking than I have while calling.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.tapatalk.com%2Fd%2F13%2F11%2F12%2Fe4eguvu3.jpg&hash=2c925180e511ac75d0604a06459267938b467a66)

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

That looks like some serious fur damage with a 243 but congrats on the bobbie
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: BsB on November 12, 2013, 09:10:17 AM: Quote from: Jingles on November 12, 2013, 08:18:18 AM

That looks like some serious fur damage with a 243 but congrats on the bobbie
Yeah nosler accubonds will do that.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: mulehunter on November 12, 2013, 09:32:05 AM: Quote from: Houndhunter on November 11, 2013, 05:11:40 AM
Get some HOUNDS :sry:

:yeah:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: jasnt on November 12, 2013, 03:08:36 PM: Tagging
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: jackmaster on November 12, 2013, 03:18:31 PM: :yeah:
Quote from: Houndhunter on November 11, 2013, 05:11:40 AM
Get some dogs :chuckle:
:yeah: :yeah:i sure wish we cou;ld use hounds again. no better way and what a blast, i dont think there is better music than to listen to some hounds trailing a cat :tup:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: Maverick on November 12, 2013, 04:05:49 PM: Tagging this. I'd love to call in a bobcat to get mounted.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: cwbobcathunter on November 13, 2013, 09:32:28 AM: Try hunting at night with multiple people in wooded, brushy areas. They'll usually come in and sit down during the night just like they do at day, but you have a better chance of catching their eyes glowing at night instead of their silhouette through the brush during the day. Having more people there helps to cover the area at night but during the day, hunt alone or with one buddy who can look hard, hold VERY still, and not fall asleep/get bored. If you're going to hunt at night, use a little larger caliber rifle or a shotgun depending on the foliage. You don't want to be caught tracking a cat unless you have snow on the ground due to a poorly placed shot -night hunting makes shot placement even harder-. Your stands should be an hour long or so, try wearing a watch when you go out to keep track of time and make sure you stay on the stand long enough. I call almost nonstop, only taking a break while switching between calls and calling styles. A feather on a piece of fishing line a few yards away from where you're sitting is all you'll need as a decoy, the cat will zero in on the feather and be interested enough to come closer so you can see him. If you're going to use an e-call at night, put it right next to you or the eyes on the cat might not shine when he's coming in. Once you get tired, bored to death, cold, upset that you haven't called anything in, and have hunted for days after a bobcat, you'll call one in. Don't give up, and don't miss seeing it when it comes in. ONE LAST TIP: DON'T try using a .17 hmr on cats, you're going to be in for some heartbreak when you shoot one and never recover it.

Bobcat hunting checklist:
1. Warm clothes- remember that you're going to be sitting completely still for an hour, don't get caught unprepared.
2. shotgun- you never know when a cat will show up ten yards away, bring the shotgun even though its a pain to carry- your taxidermist will thank you
3. feather- drill a turkey feather and tie fishing line through it. Do this before you get to the stand, preferably at home.
4.sitting pad-you'll only forget this once.
5.calls- catnip catnip catnip. they love it. bring a foxpro with bird sounds for when you get winded, but use hand calls nonstop for as long as you can handle
6.notepad- every time you go out, have one handy so you can write down where tracks were, good looking stands, and so on
7.lights for night hunting- almost anything works, it's not like shining coyotes. The cats will stare into the light, and not run from it
8.cover-scent- skunk musk/glands rubbed on your boots if you can handle it. If not, try some deer smells. Cats aren't too picky about scent, but it's nice to call in the occasional coyote to keep motivated about predator calling and believe that it works
9. watch- sixty minutes can go by really slowly or quickly depending on how tired you are. Make sure you know how long you've been sitting somewhere
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: CAMPMEAT on November 13, 2013, 09:42:05 AM: I just drive around looking in fields when it's really, really cold out. 1 out of 5 I shot a couple years ago.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: jackmaster on November 13, 2013, 11:11:04 AM: hey cwbobcathunter, when your using a light at night are you using a red lens or just a normal spotlight? do you constantly have the light on or do you just turn it on when you think you hear or see something.... i have never hunted cats at night without hounds! so i have no clue how to use lights when predator calling :dunno: thanks for any info :tup:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: cwbobcathunter on November 13, 2013, 02:10:21 PM: Red lens covers take away too much light so I don't use them. Just shine about every eight to ten minutes, and if you do get one to come in, don't blind it with the light. Get setup to shoot in the dark then shine it again and shoot. They get blinded by it and have to look away. Make sure you do plenty of looking around when you get up too, that's when you're most likely to catch them sneaking away from your stand. Don't be afraid to use your light, but don't have it on nonstop either- you'll drain the battery-
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: jackmaster on November 13, 2013, 03:03:02 PM: Excellent, thank you, I guess my wife will be adding a new spotlight to my Xmas list..... SWEET
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: Expedition Scout on November 14, 2013, 05:26:31 AM: Tag
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: yankees2 on November 14, 2013, 07:13:54 PM: thanks cw bobcat helps a lot any idea on how to find or know bobcats are in a area?

sorry I'm a newbie to this cat hunting so I appreciate what you have told me.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: snowshoes22 on November 14, 2013, 07:25:57 PM: On the east side I look for tracks in canyons and creek bottoms. First snow or fresh snow is a good time to look for them.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: jackmaster on December 03, 2013, 02:30:03 PM: hey mods i just remebered this thread, i started a new one called CALLING BOBCATS sorry you can delete it since there is this thread and they are basically the same... sorry mods :tup:
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: sebek556 on December 03, 2013, 09:01:56 PM: :tup: radsav and cwbobcathunter thanks for the good info.
Title: Re: where and how to hunt bobcats?
Post by: CAMPMEAT on December 03, 2013, 09:27:46 PM: The most sign I see over here is in thick willow/wet areas where the rabbits hang out. I have one spot that is full of Bobcat tracks all the time when it snows.