Bobcat techniques

C

Coyote#1

New member
Bobcat season is now over in Ky, but I figure this is the best time to start planning for next season.. I been calling Coyotes & Fox for 16 yrs & have taken my share of both.. Dureing this time,I have never really concentrated on bobcats, although I have called in one (that I know of) that showed up at the end of a fallen cedar tree I was hidden in.. Not sure who got the biggest scare out of that! Way to close for comfort.. After all this time calling preds & only seeing one bobcat tells me I need to refine my tactics for Bobcat hunting.. Next yr instead of concentrateing on Coyotes, Im planning to concentrate most my efforts to cat hunting..
I have done some reading on cats, I.E - Predator Biology here on PM & Predator Extreme article in this month issue (compliments of APC.com -Thanks) but I would be very interested in hearing from some of you die hard cat hunters.. How do I need to refine my methods to be successful in cat hunting?
Heres a few facts about my situation/Ky hunting - There is hardly any snow on the ground long enough to be worth while - Strictly day hunting - Limitted hunting area, most of which is over hunted - Only 3 bobcat out of 5 may be legally harvested with a gun, so likely a lower cat population than other prime areas - use of electronic call during season is legal - Just ordered a PM-4 from APC,
although I have been a die hard "hand call fan" for the longest time..

Your help would be much appreciated..

Coyote #1
 
I have used a Foxpro FX3 and Jack in the Box decoy to call bobcats in the past. The sounds on the Foxpro I have used are the various cottontail,bird and rodent distresses. The cats were mesmerized by the Jack in the Box. They didn't have a clue I was anywhere in the world. It always seems to take alot longer to call in a cat than it does a coyote , at least for me. When hunting coyotes most guys stay on stand about 20-25 minutes. It has taken me an hour or longer to call bobcats in and they always seem to come right at dark. However , I hunt in South Alabama and the cover is pretty heavy. The cats have plenty of places to sit and watch.
 
I'm not a "die hard" cat hunter, but I call a few most years. As is, I'd hazard a guess you just aren't calling where there is a population of cats. Do you see bobcat sign in your hunting areas? Here is a cut-n-paste from another website in which I answered a question about bobcats. The info...

Bobcats are beautiful and wondrous creatures. Cats like thick areas of brush near a water source. Brushy overgrown fields, cedar glades, pine thickets, creek bottoms, rocky bluffs, old ponds or lake edges are all prime places to find bobcats. They prey on all sorts of small animals and at times may even include deer in their menu. The more common fare is rabbit, mice, squirrels, and any birds they can catch. Cats love birds! They’ll pass up a fat rabbit for a stalk on song bird. Here’s a tip - if you are a predator caller fast, high pitched birds sounds, or high pitched cottontail are prime cat sounds.

Bobcats have a short attention span and get distracted easily. They may be on the way to the call, but if the sound stops for too long and they see something else like a bird, they’ll often just wander off or lie down and quit coming in. Tip - don’t have too long of a pause between series of calls if you are a caller.

Cats hunt most with their ears and eyes. I’ve had bobcats directly downwind and even though I know they had a snoot full of human scent, they never batted an eye. A coyote would have been long gone in that situation! Another tip - if you are a caller, a small moving decoy will help focus the cat away from you and tends to keep them fascinated on the decoy. Something as simple as a small cluster of feathers tied into a low hanging bush fluttering in the breeze will do the job.

Cats are stalkers and may take a long time to get to a calling stand. Most coyotes are onto a stand within 15 - 20 minutes, but a cat may take as much as an hour. They are extremely hard to see when they stalk into a stand. They use all the cover to get close. I’ve been diligently watching as I called and suddenly realized, “Oh crap, there is a cat!“ when some little something stands out from a tuft of tall grass, or from behind an old stump, log, or rock clump. I never know how long they’ve been there before I actually saw them. Many a caller has stood up at the end of an hour long stand and jumped a bobcat that was right in front of them they had never seen. Bobcats have phenomenal eyesight and will pick apart a stand as they creep in. Fidgeting around by the caller has saved many a cat. You must sit still and not be moving or else your chances are very low. They will also hear the slightest rustle in the leaves or creak, bump, ect. Quiet is important.

Bobcats don’t always slip into the calling stand. I have had them run into a stand as aggressively as any coyote I’ve ever called. In fact, the first cat I ever called was a huge old tom that nearly ran me over, sliding to a stop in the snow only a few yards from me. Sometimes they come hard and fast and that is a special sight.

Bobcats aren’t all that bright though. As mentioned, they will often ignore a snoot full of human scent. Their natural defense is to hide and I’ve watched them hunker down and attempt to hide, all the while shooters fire at them and miss repeatedly. I’ve seen a shooter miss a bobcat twice with a .308 blowing snow and debris all over it, and the cat simply lay low when it could have easily ran off the backside of the ridge. The shooter finally calmed down and his third shot connected. Another similar time a fellow shot three times with a .12 ga. shotgun and No. Four Buckshot, again blowing snow and leaf debris all over the cat.

Populations of bobcats can be wide spread. Even where there is a lot of them, there aren’t many. Casting hounds would be the easiest way to find a few. Calling is successful, but you can be out a lot of time in the woods before being in the right place at the right time. I don’t know much about baiting cats, that may work too.
 
I wouldn't call myself a die-hard cat caller but I'll offer what limited experience I have.
First off-all of the info above, I agree with. I've trapped more cats than I've called so I know the areas they frequent pretty well. Thick heavy cover is their fav, no doubt about it. Especially when close to water such as a creek or swamp. Most cats I trap are on transition zones at the edge of heavy cover.
I've only called in three cats that I could have taken a shot. Others either didn't show themselves or there wasn't a clear shot. They are near invisible to see. You must pick the brush apart to spot them sometimes. Listen to the birds, they will sometimes give them away.
I have done best by slipping in quietly to the edge of a thicket about an hour before dusk and calling softly with rabbit or bird distress. Try to draw the cat to the edge of the cover to offer a shot. I've had two cats show themselves in less than 5 minutes this way. I know they must have been close when I started to call, so sneak in quietly. Hope this helps a bit, take care.
 
All the above, just want to add that I've called in 4 now with a "feline distress" on my e-caller when I expected coyotes. My area may be differant than yours, lots horses, barn cats, ect. They seen to respond faster when the season is closed. Fifty were taken here in mass by 02/13 and they closed the season, so yesterday what did I see? Exactly the type of cover trapwv spoke of. Snow would help to give you some idea of areas they frequent. Wish you could have 1/2 of our snow! Good Luck!
 
Quote:
I wouldn't call myself a die-hard cat caller but I'll offer what limited experience I have.
First off-all of the info above, I agree with. I've trapped more cats than I've called so I know the areas they frequent pretty well. Thick heavy cover is their fav, no doubt about it. Especially when close to water such as a creek or swamp. Most cats I trap are on transition zones at the edge of heavy cover.


I agree. I hunt pipelines. The times that I know that I've been visited, were in areas that the pipeline crossed a creek with THICK cover on both sides. Hope you get one next year /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Personally we have no season, so I'll try to get one for ya this weekend /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
GC - As is, I'd hazard a guess you just aren't calling where there is a population of cats. Do you see bobcat sign in your hunting areas?

GC, I have seen alot of sign of cats in the area/s im calling! thats part of the reason im fuzzled.. One area I have called 3 times this yr has a drainage located on top a large ridge, this drainage is about 40 to 50 ft wide, rather flat, (hardly ever holds water) with heavy brush & rocky steep banks on both sides.. In this drainage area, I found a cats toilet that he/she seems to favor to do its duty. Except for a occasional "lone scat pile" along the drainage, the cat seems to favor a single 20-30 Sq Ft area on a very slightly elevated rise in the drainage. There is several piles of old & new scat in this small area & all are full of bones of birds of various types but most appear to be turkey. Not sure why I haven't called this cat.! This area is a favored place of mine to call fox & is ussually productive every yr.. Go figure..??
 
I agree. I hunt pipelines. The times that I know that I've been visited, were in areas that the pipeline crossed a creek with THICK cover on both sides. Hope you get one next year /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Personally we have no season, so I'll try to get one for ya this weekend /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



Go ahead & kill one for me.! that'll be alright.!! LOL.. Just be sure to post a pic..


Thanks for all the great info guys.! Any more info.? Just keep it comeing.. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
All I call for are bobcats really but if a coyote shows up I'll shoot it.Unfortunetly Im not that good at calling bobcats so I dont know if that makes me a die-hard cat hunter or not but I try.So far I'd have to say Im better at callin in bobcats than I am at coyotes though.I guess what Im trying to say is that I havent called in a whole mess of cats to be exact so take my advice for what its worth which probably is'nt much.
I've called in 4 that I know of since last year and 1 a couple years ago when I was turkey huntin.One thing that I've learned is to call in as thick/close cover as you can.As somebody already mentioned be very still when your calling too.Every bobcat that I've called in I did'nt actually see come in I actually heard them before anything else.So keep your eyes and your ears peeled.The last one I called in came in at a dead run and was focused on the call the whole time so set the call away from you.But in thick cover you dont want to set it so far away that you wont be able to see the bobcat when it gets there.From most of the experiences I've had with bobcats is that they will stop to check things out before sneaking or running in to investigate.If the call is set too far away from you they might freeze up in thick cover and you'll never see them.A decoy will help keep their attention away from you.I use a turkey feather tied to a stick because Im too cheap to buy a rabbit decoy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I think that in order to call in a bobcat you just have to be in the right spot at the right time more than anything else.I would have to say there is a bobcat very close to the area your calling in.Just keep going back and you'll catch its attention eventually. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Coyote#1....if you ever get down this way give me a shout as we have quite a few around the strip jobs, I see lots of sign around cliffs and rocks. I've never called one in, that I know of, in all the years I've called! Only seen a couple in the wild! Good luck next year!!
 
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Coyote#1....if you ever get down this way give me a shout as we have quite a few around the strip jobs, I see lots of sign around cliffs and rocks. I've never called one in, that I know of, in all the years I've called! Only seen a couple in the wild! Good luck next year!!



Where you live in Ky? Maybe we can gang up next yr for some cat/coyote hunting.
Got a couple places in mind for next season & been checking them every week or so for new sign to try to get an idea of the length of time between the cats visits. I guess a trail cam would be easier.! But lol,Im cheap.!

Coyote#1
 
OK Rattler
Thanks for the advice..
FWIW, to keep trying after dozens of non productive stands is what I consider "die Hard"..

After re-reading all the good advice given here, I believe im kinda "under calling" my area out of habit.!
Maybe changing that, along with a few changes in stand selection will land me a cat next yr..

Thanks to all.. The info is much appreciated.
 
Coyote#1, I live in Leslie Co. we have lots of strip jobs and there are lots of cats here, I see sign all the time! I'm about 14 miles West of Hazard if that helps!
 


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