Arizona Bobcat question???

A

AZBrewer

New member
OK I am looking to this board again for some education!! Hopefully some of you folks can point me in the right direction.

For starters this has been a crazy year, I got laid off from my job of 8 years on July 5th, but that was nothing compared to what was coming later...July 28th my mother passed away, one day before her 72nd Birthday. Then August 28th or 29th (exact time has never been clarified), my wifes 2 Brothers, 1 Sister, 2 Nieces, and 2 Nephews were murdered in Brunswick, Georgia, I am sure some of you may have seen it on the news... They tagged it as the Brunswick Massacre. So, needless to say, I have not had much time for hunting. I did finally get out for a little while on November 12th and finally scored my first ever called in Coyote, I actually called in 2, but only got a shot at 1. He was a yearling male, he made the mistake of showing himself front on, about 65 yards away from me, and about 20 feet from my whirling Woodpecker, a 60g Vmax from my r-15 droppped him right in his tracks. I am happy to say, my r-15 and I both scored our first at the same time
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OK now that all the background is out there, I will get to the Bobcat question.

I Live in North Peoria, and have been hunting in an area south of Lake Pleasant, that is heavily populated with Coyotes, but I have never seen anything that I would think is a Bobcat track (Hard to tell, it is real sandy where I hunt).

My question is, what would lead you to think an area has Bobcats in it, other than just calling one in? Are there any indicators besides tracks that would make you think an area is more likely to hold a Bobcat?

Thanks in advance for any guidance, now that I have finally gotten a coyote, I am getting greedy, it has always been one of my goals to get a Bobcat, and I would like to concentrate on areas where one is more likely to be, to increase my chances of getting one.

Since I am currently unemployed, and after the last couple months things will probably never be "normal" again...but things are getting a little better, I am able to travel reasonable distances to hunt, but would like to feel like I at least have a snowballs chance of getting a cat

Disclaimer: I am not E-Scouting or looking for areas that hold cats, just trying to get hints on how a person would identify one area as being more "catty" than another.

Thanks
Mark
 
Mark,

I saw one today close to where I live(Sierra Vista), but that would be quite a drive for you. Let me know if you decide to come down this way, and we will see if we can go out and get him. I haven't gotten one yet either.

-Chad
(HVY DROP)
 
I know the area you are talking about very well. There are most certainly bobcats in the area.

Bobcats are very tough to spot, and can be pretty darn sneaky, so you may have already called one in, but just didn't see it.

Look for areas with water nearby, sandy washes, and tree cover. Alot of the washed in the area you are talking about have some pretty fair sized trees inplaces, and we know there is water nearby, so it's just a matter of calling, watching and above all...patience.

I lived at 75th Ave & Union Hills road, and hunted that area before clear up to and past the lake.

Be patient, it'll happen.
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Originally Posted By: Heavy DropMark,

I saw one today close to where I live(Sierra Vista), but that would be quite a drive for you. Let me know if you decide to come down this way, and we will see if we can go out and get him. I haven't gotten one yet either.

-Chad
(HVY DROP)

Shoot straighter...LMAO!!!
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I was once told that if you see rocks, there are fox. Where there are fox, there are bobcats.

I know that seems real general but that's how it was stated to me. And so far this season it has held true.

I will admit that I have never gone out "after" bobcats. I usually go either coyote or fox calling and just get lucky when a cat comes in. I keep my stands 12-15 minutes and if a bobcat comes it great. I know lots of people state that for cats you cant stay on stand long enough, and I'm sure that's true, but again it's not a plan I follow.

I target real rocky area's looking for foxes and the occasional coyote or bobcat will stroll in.

When coyote hunting it is again just a nice surprise when a cat strolls in.

This year I had my first hard charging bobcat. Flat desert north of Tucson. On a ladder and the thing just made a mad dash for the caller. First time I had ever seen one running towards me. Another one this year came in at a pretty good pace (more of a trot, not a sprint like the other one) near Kearny and up until the hard charger I spoke about that was the most action I had seen from a bobcat.

TYPICALLY for me, bobcats just sort of appear. They are like ninja's. I have never heard one coming in or breaking brush to get to the call. They just appear and its a game to see if I see them before they see me. The best warning sign I have ever seen for bobcats is dive bombing birds. Especially crows, crows don't like bobcats I have decided.

No movement on stand is critical for bobcats though, I have barely twitched my head trying to get a better view of a bobcat before and from 150 yards out it was on me. I couldn't believe it, I'm pretty good about not moving on stand but I couldn't believe with that tiny little slow head twitch that cat was on me.
 
Wow you guys have given me a lot to think about,,,as I knew you would. Thank You all very much!
Now all of this has brought up another question.
When hoping to get a cat, is it better to hold off shooting the dogs that come in, and wait for the big prize? IE ...only shoot to protect the honor, and dignity...or usability of your e-caller and mojo critter
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, (Sounds good but I doubt I would have the patience to do it) or will the cats still come in if you have a couple dogs laying around waiting for the coyote St. Peter to stop by?

P.S. Sorry if anyone is offended by my feeble attempts at humor, it is just that...not intended to be insulting in any way!
 
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Whatever comes into the call gets taken. Kodiak made some very very good points. Those little boogers are like Ninjas, and they are pretty much a bonus.
 
AZBrewer,just a precautionary note.I'm not exactly sure where you are describing your hunting area,however,anything in that area,south of hwy 74,all the way to hwy 60 is shotgun,rimfire only, no centerfire.Just a heads up.
 
Originally Posted By: azmastablastaAZBrewer,just a precautionary note.I'm not exactly sure where you are describing your hunting area,however,anything in that area,south of hwy 74,all the way to hwy 60 is shotgun,rimfire only, no centerfire.Just a heads up.

I normally hunt private land in the area south of 74, so I do not think I will have a problem, there is a cowboy shooting facility and a sniper range very close to where I hunt, but the landowner I have been working with has been pointing out some other places I should try, these places are not on private land. I have been holding off on hunting these places because I was not sure what the regs were on it. City of Peoria has annexed everything south of 74 all the way out to mile marker 7 (7miles from Hwy 60) Do you have any links where I could reference this information, I would like to print it out and keep it with me just in case there is ever a question when I am not hunting private land.
 
I dont think it matters if it is private or not it goes by the city limits not ownership. I maybe wrong it wont be the first time. I will put in a call to see if I can find out for sure.

Made a call.


You will need to call the Mesa find out if it is a legal hunting area or not.
 
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Hey man, I have been in your shoes. I lived in Az all my life until a couple years ago except military service times. Before I went to Iraq in 05 I was on a mission to kill Bob before I left and got some great info here. I shot one two days before I left in the gila river bottoms that weighed 32 pounds. It was a gorgeous cat. Also not too far from you is New River which in years past is full of cats when you get behind the houses. You have to drive a little to find the access spots behind there. Look for rabits, THICK brush, and rocky outcrops near water. There will be cats. I live in Delaware now or I would show you in person. I dont walk too well anymore but could still find the right areas. Also up by stoneman lake has a lot of cats, I have seen them while elk hunting and chasing deer. Wow, I went on too long, Jason.
 
Something I would add to what has been said is try to get in the tight stuff but find a spot in there that has an opening. In alot of instances I will try to stand to get a better view as well. On the other hand some of the places I have taken cats I crawl into and have to stay seated to see under the brush because it is too thick to see anything above four feet off the ground.

Andrew is right about the rocky areas. Anytime I see something with large boulders I stop and call.

I use to also tell myself that I will pass on everything that comes in to get a cat but it has never paid off. In fact I had a stand last year that produced two coyotes in a 15 minute stand and after we went to get our quads to take pics and load up our coyotes there was a bobcat that had come in and was eating one of the yotes that was shot dead at the base of the tree the caller was hung in.

I will tell you that if I am pretty sure there are cats in the area I will call for at least 30 minutes. Don't hesitate to change your sounds during the stand. I had a cat come in yesterday after I had switched sounds five different times.

Good luck,
Josh
 
I have hunted the area around lake pleasant for the last 20 years and there are a lot of bobcats in the area. I have a pics of some scat that i cant figure out how to post. I also find it truw about the rocks and fox statements from above and again where there are fox there are bobcats. I live near the 303 and Bell and would be willing to go out with you sometime. I am not an expert by any means but have been calling critters for about 15 years off and on. Been reading this site for a number of years and just finally started to post comments.
 
I think between Josh, Andrew and I (Joshnaz, Kodiak61 and hyperwrx) we've taken around 10-12 this year so far. You'd be smart to listen to their words of advice. I will add my 2 cents as well.

When I am targeting bobcats down here int he desert I am generally looking for rocky terrain that has out of the norm structure. Washes, rock outcropping, thicket patches and such. That is not to say you wont call out of our a flat but I have found the opposite is more prevalent. Play high pitch distress sounds continuously your entire stand. Birds, fox distress, cottontail, rodent, kitten distress. Bobcats are a visual predator that will instantly key in on movement so you have to be frozen. A cat will use any and all terrain to make a stealthy approach on the caller. Indentations in the landscape, bushes, trees he will all use to his advantage. I would pack in a shotgun as the terrain you'll have the most success in will lend itself to a shotgun shot. Use #4 buck or a fancy predator specific load as your goal this time of year is to keep the pelt. Fur market is in the can but skinning a nice bobcat can still easily equal $50-80.

At the PredatorProfessionals campout I had the opportunity to sit and chat with Steve Craig a while regarding cats. What an eye openning experience. He called in 100+ lions and more bobcats than he can even count. After sitting with him I revamped some of my views on a successful bobcat stand. I have included some of those details above.

Good luck and take pictures of your harvest please.
 
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