Any tips on Bob cat hunting?

[Brickboy240]

Dig me is right...some of these predators WILL come after you.

About 6 years ago, I was on a spring turkey hunt in the Texas Hill Country. Using a hen decoy and my old slate call, I was trying to lure in my second tom for the season, when all of a sudden I heard what sounded like running coming up from behind me in the fallen live oak leaves...it was getting louder and louder.

I was on the ground, in full camo, at the base of a large live oak that had tall grass at the base and had the hen decoy about 30yds in front of me and could not see well from directly behind me.

Wondering what the hell it was, I turned and stood up. Lo and behold, it was a big fox barrelling right towards me! He quickly put on the brakes and spun around in the leaves and took off through the brush. Unfortunately, he was too fast and I was literally too frozen and surprised to ready my shotgun to get him. Scared the crap out of me, but if I had not stood up, that damn fox would have been all over me. Foxes and bobcats love smaller turkeys and younger hens for food...I just had no idea that instead of calling in a tom, I was calling a predator!

This changed me forever in spring turkey hunting...now I always set up where I get a 360 degree look at my hunting spot...you know...just in case.

-brickboy240

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

Dig me is right...some of these predators WILL come after you.

But pretty much only if they think you're some kind of smaller prey...or if they're rabid.

I've had a couple of times though where I've been standing in the woods on my land in camo and a coyote comes bounding along through the woods and comes within 10 yards of me. The last one only stopped because of the sound of me cocking my .357. I didn't shoot it though because I was still hoping to see some pigs.

brad cook

[Snakeoil]

There very cunning animals, alot slicker than alot of people think.

[Brickboy240]

Yeah, the coyotes and foxes seem more stupid, if they're really hungry. Then, they tend to throw more caution to the wind.

Once, after Thanksgiving dinner, we threw the turkey carcass out in the woods and waited for the coyotes about 20yds away in a deer blind, with our Q-beam, carbattery and two SKSs...the coyotes were more concearned with the turkey than us bumbling around with the light, cocking the SKS and talking loudly. We got two of them at one time that night!

Still, the bobcats seem much more skittish and harder to get close to. I have shot 3 bobcats in my life and none were under 150 yards away. All were shot with the 22-250, which I highly reccommend for these critters.

-brickboy240

[NExd]

Originally Posted by rwc

Not a criticism, and just something to consider - competition they may be, but an argument could be made that they have as good or greater claim to the birds than any of us given we have alternatives to hunting and they don't.


rwc

Last time I checked, I was the one with the gun and paying rent to hunt on the land

trap 'em