Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Other Big Game => Topic started by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 10:52:16 AM

Title: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 10:52:16 AM: I found a scratching tree yesterday while coyote hunting/scouting for next year and I believe its a cougar judging by the height and claw marks. What do you guys think? Its a little over 4' tall.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:10:28 AM: I don't know if I would rule out blacktail....... Hard for me to guess without seeing it or getting the overall impression. My guess would certainly be not cat
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: bobcat on December 30, 2013, 11:12:57 AM: Find any hair on the tree?
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: rb2506 on December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM: Looks like a buck rub to me

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Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: bearpaw on December 30, 2013, 11:22:12 AM: Quote from: rb2506 on December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM
Looks like a buck rub to me

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looks like a rub to me too :dunno:
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: vandeman17 on December 30, 2013, 11:23:13 AM: Quote from: bearpaw on December 30, 2013, 11:22:12 AM
Quote from: rb2506 on December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM
Looks like a buck rub to me

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

looks like a rub to me too :dunno:

Third vote for buck rub
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: Jonathan_S on December 30, 2013, 11:24:01 AM: Buck or bear, not a cat. :twocents:

I am thinking buck, looks about the right age for that too. Most bear peelings are done in the earlier times of the year.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:25:02 AM: T
Quote from: vandeman17 on December 30, 2013, 11:23:13 AM
Quote from: bearpaw on December 30, 2013, 11:22:12 AM
Quote from: rb2506 on December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM
Looks like a buck rub to me

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

looks like a rub to me too :dunno:

Third vote for buck rub

That would be fourth vote if you were counting. ;)
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 11:28:36 AM: Really? It looks awfully deep like claw marks. At the top it looks like the marks went top to bottom to me
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: buckfvr on December 30, 2013, 11:29:15 AM: most likely a buck with brow tines, which are not always present on btails.....
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:32:31 AM: Quote from: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 11:28:36 AM
Really? It looks awfully deep like claw marks. At the top it looks like the marks went top to bottom to me

Not to get you excited or anything, but it looks like a pretty healthy buck! One to be excited over really.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: Broken Arrow on December 30, 2013, 11:34:48 AM: I think i would be weeding out predators and thinking more prey based on the pictures.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on December 30, 2013, 11:35:25 AM: Buck deer. :tup:
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: bearpaw on December 30, 2013, 11:36:32 AM: Quote from: Jonathan_S on December 30, 2013, 11:24:01 AM
Buck or bear, not a cat. :twocents:

I am thinking buck, looks about the right age for that too. Most bear peelings are done in the earlier times of the year.

I think a bear would be chewing the bark off around the tree and leave different looking marks, the marks appear mostly straight up and down, more like a horn rub! :dunno:
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: vandeman17 on December 30, 2013, 11:41:56 AM: Quote from: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:25:02 AM
T
Quote from: vandeman17 on December 30, 2013, 11:23:13 AM
Quote from: bearpaw on December 30, 2013, 11:22:12 AM
Quote from: rb2506 on December 30, 2013, 11:17:47 AM
Looks like a buck rub to me

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2

looks like a rub to me too :dunno:

Third vote for buck rub

That would be fourth vote if you were counting. ;)

And to think that I am college edgumucated too.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:59:23 AM: :chuckle:
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 12:03:53 PM: Okay. They just look deeper than any buck rubs I've seen. Either way I found a lot of sign and I'm putting a tree stand in. I'm glad I spent the day hiking around. I need to invest in a game camera now.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 12:09:27 PM: Here are some more pics of the area. A rub, a salmon with some nasty teeth and a weird disc shaped rock. It was just very out of place so I had to take a pic
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 12:13:07 PM: Looks like a great day of adventure.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: deadwoodbuck on December 30, 2013, 02:51:56 PM: put me down for a buck rub also...good place to put down a camera
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 06:45:53 PM: I'm putting one in there as soon as I can justify spending the money on one. I had a cheap one I stuck down there last year. I impatiently waited a week, hiked in only to find it quit working the moment I left it there. :bash:
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on December 30, 2013, 06:59:43 PM: :tup:you found a nice mature blackie rub there. Shhhhhh don't tell anyone, or where you found it. Except me as I can help you with all the ins and outs of how I can get him for you. :chuckle:

Oh bye the way always look for hair samples left, even cats leave some while scratching trees usually. Cat have finer hair than deer, and obviously most bears have black hair, and bobcats claw marks are smaller than cougar.
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 08:41:42 PM: Haha its way up notellem cr. I didn't think to look for hair. It doesn't look very recent so I didn't check. I will do some more investigating in a week or so. I want to spend some more time scouting the area
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: lewy on December 30, 2013, 08:45:03 PM: Best time to scout can be just after the rut.....
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: bobcat on December 30, 2013, 08:46:38 PM: Could that "rock" be a fossil?
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on December 30, 2013, 09:07:19 PM: Quote from: boneaddict on December 30, 2013, 11:10:28 AM
I don't know if I would rule out blacktail....... Hard for me to guess without seeing it or getting the overall impression. My guess would certainly be not cat

Four to six inch tree? Mature buck.

-Steve
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: wadu1 on December 30, 2013, 09:14:37 PM: It could be bigfoot trying to get you closer for a photo shoot; LOL
Title: Re: cougar, bobcat or bear?
Post by: 7t9cobra on December 30, 2013, 09:20:26 PM: It was that gritty river bank clay that made it. Not a fossil. Would've been cool though. I should take my coworker up there. He saw samsquench himself :chuckle: