J.J.
New member
I went out this morning & called in my 1st bobcat!
I set up on a fence row about 35 yrds from the easten property line. The neighboring property is an overgrown cow pasture with head high brush & weeds.
Seemed like a great predator hunting ground since the first day I layed eyes on it.
As you can see, it was very foggy! The pasture in front of me extends about 400 yrds to the South into the fog.
On the way in I head a group howl/yelp. Probably a rally howl to wrap up the night's hunt & settle down for the day.
On a previous day I had scouted the fence row in the pic & found lots of coyote tracks & scat. I figured they would use the fence row to access the 12 acre hay meadow behind me & access the field to the East. There were many trails under the fence crossing over to the field with one well worn trail just between the two oak trees to the far left of the pic.
I placed my MOJO critter decoy about 35 yrds from the fence line & about 25 yrds from me to my South.
(wind-3mph SSE)
If you look closely in the picture above, just to the right of the two weeds sticking up & below the horizon, you may be able to see the decoy.
I started off with a high pitched lonesome locator howl & followed that with a cottontail distress. Between each set of calls I'll scan the fence line & the field, out to where it disappers into the fog, for movement.
After about 25 minutes of calling with no results, I start to think I had run off any predators around this property!
Then, as the Flextone dying rabbit call was squalling away, this bobcat jumps through the bobwire fence at the high traffic trail & takes 3 or 4 large leaps toward the decoy.
It then stops & shifts into stealth mode as my heart shifts into overdrive! I ease down the call and SLOWLY ready my 1100 as it starts is stalk now toward me instead of the decoy. Not knowing much about bobcats, I'm not sure if it is circling downwind or if it has winded me. When I walked out to place the decoy I sprayed coon urine on the ground by my spot & wipped my feet in it as I started out. It seemed like the cat was either on my scent or the coon's, but it was nose to the ground and moving my way & no longer paying any attention to the decoy. Surely if it was my scent it wouldn't still be closing in on me, RIGHT?
I wear electronic ear muffs while hunting. It seems as thow they are amplifying my heatbeat because it is all I can hear at this point! I just know the cat is going to hear it before long!!
Still closing the distance between us, the cat is still heading right at me. I trying to wait to get something other than a straight on head shot. Meanwhile, it now seems like my body is violently jerking with every beat of my heart.
It is now getting hard to focus on the task at hand!! I know I switched off my safety 4 or 5 times!!
Finally at 12 yrds the cat turns & gives me a bit of her side & I drop the hammer on the #4 buck shot!!
My 1st bobcat down!!!
She is a bit on the small side I from what I have seen from other pictures posted. I know females are smaller but she seems small. I would guess her weigth to be in the mid 20s which I believe would also have her on the light end.
This being my 1st bobcat to see in person these are all just guesses!
Not in any way a monster cat, but still a trophy in my book!!
Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading!!
"JJ"
I set up on a fence row about 35 yrds from the easten property line. The neighboring property is an overgrown cow pasture with head high brush & weeds.
Seemed like a great predator hunting ground since the first day I layed eyes on it.
As you can see, it was very foggy! The pasture in front of me extends about 400 yrds to the South into the fog.
On the way in I head a group howl/yelp. Probably a rally howl to wrap up the night's hunt & settle down for the day.
On a previous day I had scouted the fence row in the pic & found lots of coyote tracks & scat. I figured they would use the fence row to access the 12 acre hay meadow behind me & access the field to the East. There were many trails under the fence crossing over to the field with one well worn trail just between the two oak trees to the far left of the pic.
I placed my MOJO critter decoy about 35 yrds from the fence line & about 25 yrds from me to my South.
(wind-3mph SSE)
If you look closely in the picture above, just to the right of the two weeds sticking up & below the horizon, you may be able to see the decoy.
I started off with a high pitched lonesome locator howl & followed that with a cottontail distress. Between each set of calls I'll scan the fence line & the field, out to where it disappers into the fog, for movement.
After about 25 minutes of calling with no results, I start to think I had run off any predators around this property!
Then, as the Flextone dying rabbit call was squalling away, this bobcat jumps through the bobwire fence at the high traffic trail & takes 3 or 4 large leaps toward the decoy.
It then stops & shifts into stealth mode as my heart shifts into overdrive! I ease down the call and SLOWLY ready my 1100 as it starts is stalk now toward me instead of the decoy. Not knowing much about bobcats, I'm not sure if it is circling downwind or if it has winded me. When I walked out to place the decoy I sprayed coon urine on the ground by my spot & wipped my feet in it as I started out. It seemed like the cat was either on my scent or the coon's, but it was nose to the ground and moving my way & no longer paying any attention to the decoy. Surely if it was my scent it wouldn't still be closing in on me, RIGHT?
I wear electronic ear muffs while hunting. It seems as thow they are amplifying my heatbeat because it is all I can hear at this point! I just know the cat is going to hear it before long!!
Still closing the distance between us, the cat is still heading right at me. I trying to wait to get something other than a straight on head shot. Meanwhile, it now seems like my body is violently jerking with every beat of my heart.
It is now getting hard to focus on the task at hand!! I know I switched off my safety 4 or 5 times!!
Finally at 12 yrds the cat turns & gives me a bit of her side & I drop the hammer on the #4 buck shot!!
My 1st bobcat down!!!
She is a bit on the small side I from what I have seen from other pictures posted. I know females are smaller but she seems small. I would guess her weigth to be in the mid 20s which I believe would also have her on the light end.
This being my 1st bobcat to see in person these are all just guesses!
Not in any way a monster cat, but still a trophy in my book!!
Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading!!
"JJ"
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