Hi Guys!!
Sorry for not getting back to you on the post.... Well the cat tag was filled, and it was a nice one.... I'm very happy with it and I'm trying to figure out how to get the pics to show on this forum too.... It weighed in at 30 lbs, and I shot it with a group of dog hunters from our area... The only dog hunting I've ever done was with some guys from Southern Wisconsin that come up every fall (for the past 13 years) and hunt for Raccoons by our house... I call 97 land owners every fall for permission to hunt their land and it is a blast... My Son (9) and my Daughter (7) love to go out with the guys and get after the raccoons...
That is a much different hunt than that of hunting a Bobcat let me tell you... I had hunted a complete morning with my Fury with no luck and I was in the heart of some awesome Bobcat Country... I did a lot of glassing looking for the sneaky one to be coming in with no luck....
I hunted a total of 8 full days including the half day of calling... The more I think of it I probably should of called close to dark for the Cats because their belly at that point would of been emptier (Ha ha!!)... The other 7 1/2 Days were pounding through some of the most beautiful country in Northern Wisconsin... Sections of land that are 3 by 4 miles and larger..... Lots of Wolves and yes a ton of Yotes too....
Saturday the 29th is when I had shot the Cat and we were in a section that was 3 x 4 miles and that section alone the houndsmen figured held 5-6 cats in it... We had fresh tracks that crossed one of the roads (a pair) and decided to dump the dogs on them... The dogs got in about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile and lit up... The hunt was on.... About 2 miles into the section we thought they were tree'd and we were heading to them.... Got close and the cat had given them the slip... We reset the dogs and then they had crossed tracks with the 30 lber... The dogs lit up again and started getting close and we were about 1/2 to 3/4 a mile from where the dogs were... On snow shoes in a huge swamp we had to make tracks fast... We got up close to where the dogs were baying and the dog hunter that was with me said Chris it could be one of three things... A Yote, a Wolf, or hopefully a Bobcat....
As we got closer around 20-30 yards away it was so thick and hard to see it was terrible.... I caught movement from the dogs and that was it... 15 yards away I could see the dogs pretty clear and then I had seen the cat and he was really big.... Rick the houndsmen that was with me couldn't see the cat and I told him it was really big, once he had seen it he agreed and said that is one to shoot... As we got closer the dogs were doing their thing at keeping the cat preoccupied, the bad thing was that I couldn't get a shot because the dogs were juking back and forth....
All a sudden when we were 5 yards from the Cat one of the Big Dogs a Black and Tan or maybe the Blue Tick got too close and the Bobcat Rolled the Dog for about 15'.... As Rick and I were scrambling I was able to get off to the side were the Dog and the Cat were rolling... Both animals split and at 9' I took the cat....
9' with a Full Choke and 3 1/2" 4 Buck from my Benelli.... Luckily at that distance it blew through him like a slug and didn't tear anything up.... I had finally got my cat, the emotions were running really high... My friends Doug, his daughter Kayla, and Rick had seen a grown man get pretty emotional...
The first person I called was my Son Kasey... Told him that Daddy got a really nice cat and yes I was really emotional on the phone Kasey then told Mom and my Daughter Kaitlin... The reason being is that about 1 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with a disease called Essential Tremors (E.T.) and it is very similar to Parkinsons Disease except for the muscle deteriation.... The one thing that E.T. has over Parkinsons is that the Depressionary Symptoms are much worse... I'm only 37 and normally people in their mid to late 40's are the ones that start having issues and are usually diagnosed... Being young and having this disease and how it's progressed in a short period of time is not easy, it's changed my life....
I used to be one of those guys that would put cross hairs on something and 99% of the time close the deal... I was always Rock Solid, the cool cucumber that would never get rattled... Now I'm not, I shake like a leaf and mentally one doubts themselves... That's why it may not seem like a big thing to most, but to me it is and being able to harvest this animal was a huge thing for me...
There will come a day when I will be living my dreams through the eyes of my children because this disease will consume me to the point in which I'll be a hazard to carry a gun due to the uncontrollable tremors... That's why I always say try and live life to the fullest when you can because unfortunately there will come a day when you won't be able to do the things you've done....
Thanx to all for the helpful information it is always appreciated on this end, hopefully I will figure out how to upload the pics... Thanx Weasel (Fox Pro Forums) for the helpful input, your posts and replies are always a pleasure to read!!
Take a child out, get them involved in the outdoors so that they can enjoy what mother nature has put together for us all...
In closing, My Son Kasey summed up everything for me in what he stated the day that I had sat down and told him and Kaitlin of my disease.... He came up to me, gave me a big hug and said, "Don't worry Dad, I have you covered if you miss!!"
Chris