Bobcat calling tips, tricks, and observations...

Nice pics. If I could, I would recommend getting into the brush line and calling. Trying to draw them out into the open can be tough.

I liked the pics where you were down in the brush with them. That has proven successful for us. A big thing for cats is to make them feel comfortable. The more cover they have the more brazen they seem to be.

Bobcat hunting is not exactly the same as coyote calling. It is a much lower percentage hunt. More work, less results.

You said that you had spotted a lot of sign. I like to find their tracks and follow them until I see the tracks reverse themselves. This indicates that the cat is circling the area. AzBushman and I have had a lot of success in those brushy areas when we find tracks doing that.

I agree with Grizzlyone that when cats come in quick it usually means we landed on them. I personally call between 12 and 18 minutes then move about a mile and do it again. I might shorten up the distance in brushy areas where the sound may not carry that well. But I have had just as many cats come running in as have come stalking in.

Try high pitched cottontail calls, bird calls like woodpeckers and even puppy distress calls. Pay attention to their scat as it can tell you what they are feeding on.

Keep at it.
 
Thanks for the input Snowman. I really felt good about most of our sets. It just didn't work out this trip. I'm going to try one more trip before November is over, then I'll get down again once or twice in January when the snow is on the ground and deer season is over. A little snow should make it better burrowing into those thick spots. You can see a whole lot better!

I'm going to either buy or make a stand for my Fury2 before the next trip to. Getting it up off the ground a foot would help me keep the fox jack decoy more visable and keep it from getting tangled. No cat this trip, but like any trip it was a good experience. Had a lot of bowhunters helping us by pointing us in the right direction where they had been seeing cats on stand! Always nice to get some assistance like that!
 
Anything I can do to help.

Try a small camera tripod. I think that the Fury2 still has threads in the bottom of it so that it will mount directly to a tripod.

We found the same thing, get it off the ground a bit.

I hang my caller from a pair of carabiners. If it hangs the way I want it I can use 1, if it starts to sway in the wind, I will use the second and help to direct my calls better.
 
Would the caller swaying in the wind not sound more realistic? Or is the added volume in a certain direction more important?
 
Swinging call not a good idea; one problem w/swinging call is that the sun reflecting on the display glass lens will spook a cat quicker than he can lick his rear end with his tail up and his tongue out! Don't ask how I know that.

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996Swinging call not a good idea; one problem w/swinging call is that the sun reflecting on the display glass lens will spook a cat quicker than he can lick his rear end with his tail up and his tongue out! Don't ask how I know that.

Regards,
hm

How do you know that?
sneaky2.gif
 
Darn I wanted to see Kelly's clip on bobcat calling but I don't have the right player, or whatever it is I need to view it on my box. Grizz
 
With the high price the Russians have been paying for bobcat furs we get a lot of trappers coming to So AZ in the winter. I have talked to a few and they report that their many many bobcats in the desert. And many more in town where they eat pets. While calling coyotes I have only once called in a cat. It walked on the other side of a log that was 10 yds. from where I was sitting. I waited and waited and never saw it until I got up and walked to the other side of the log. It was slowly walking back the way it had come. I shot offhand three times at that cat and never hit it. Then it disappeared. So I think that cats are way sneaker than me. I am currently trying to call a mountain lion which are more dispersed and sneaky. The odds are not good but I like hunting and have friends that want to eat some lion. Good luck to cat hunters they are sneaky tuff.
 
Originally Posted By: Doc25Would the caller swaying in the wind not sound more realistic? Or is the added volume in a certain direction more important?

Not sure that I would try that. I tend to like my caller stationary as it can help make their approach a bit more predictable. It would be hard to control the direction consistently.

As for the "realism" factor, I tend to think that WE humans put too much of ourselves into the animal's head. When I first started calling I was all about realism. Then I noticed that predators came in to all kinds of calls that I thought sounded hokie. I also noticed that they would run right past me even when my camo didn't "perfectly" match the surroundings. It was one of the tougher lessons to learn; how to see and hear more like they do and less like a human. I often find myself disappointed because a predator didn't show up on a great looking stand or on a stand that sounded great. That leads to frustration. Then I remember, they move around so they probably are not around or if they are around maybe they are just not in the mood. I am now able to put aside blank stands and just enjoy being out there.
 
Definantly have to be willing to set through a few blanks stands!! I've learned that already! Haha! Even though we haven't called a cat yet I feel like we've picked up a lot of good ideas and we've got a good system down. Just have to keep after them and get more stands in and keep hitting the good looking sets. I'm already getting prepped for the next trip in a couple weeks.

Cat Daddy, I'll be sure to save that podcast and listen to it next time I'm in the truck for a trip somewhere. The will be some good info for sure!

Those if you who have shot a lot of cats, what would you say the percentage is of cats you shot that came direct to the caller versus the cats you spotted back in cover watching the set and shot? We usually have two of us and I sit close with a shotgun and my buddy watches further out with the rifle. Next trip I'll probably be solo, and I don't care to hassle carrying both guns. I'll probably have both with me and play it by ear which gun I take to each set, but I'm wondering if I'll generally be better served with my shotgun sitting in the thick or my 22 hornet on the edge watching in on most sets.

The weather here has turned cold and the cats should be priming up nice. It might not even be out the realm of possibility to have some snow in a few weeks which would be nice!
 
Hit me up around Thanksgiving weekend Casey. I might have some time to get out calling for a day if you're willing to drive a little further over to me or maybe I can slip over to that area where you're at? If you wouldn't mind a partner that is? I'll have to check with the wife to make sure we don't have any family plans but I think at this point I'll have a day or two freed up.

Off the top of my head, I think 10 of my last 12 bobcats I can think of calling in have ended up at the caller here in Iowa. The ones I've seen anyway. LOL If they hang up at the edge of cover, they are harder to see f corse. You never know though. They can act any which way. But that being said, in my opinion, the hunter controls whether they show up at the caller more than anything with simple caller placement. If that caller is out in the open and obvious then a cat will hang up because there's no secrecy or mystery. He'll just sit back and watch because he knows exactly where the sound is coming from. So if the caller is hid in a bit of grass, fencerow, anything, it'll make him commit to almost putting his nose on it. It doesn't have to be much, just a small amount of cover.

And be sure to listen to that interview link Kelly gave ya. I remember hearing that interview back then when he did it with Brian. Kelly knows his stuff when it comes to calling cats.
 
Thanks for the invites guys. Unfortunantly Thanksgiving weekend is my weekend to work. I've got a great job that allows for a lot of time off, but I work an odd schedule. Makes it nice for being off during season during the week when everyone else is working, but makes it hard to get together with anyone.

Hawk-eye, I'll be sure to stay in touch a little extra drive wouldnt' bug me, or I've got some nice area scouted out where I've been going. I'll be making a couple more trips this year. I'll holler at you when I have a set time frame. Maybe come January things will line up and I can come down and watch you call in a late season cat!

Wish I'd have been off this weekend. I'd have been down that way for sure enjoying the early snow! Hopefully its still around Tue/Wed this week. I'll be out getting some calling done for coyotes up on my home turf!
 
For those of you that have called in lots of cats, do you use decoys? Would you say you are more successful with or without a decoy?

all of mine have been with a decoy, but I don't necessarily target cats and I definitely have not shot enough to have a baseline of effectiveness.
 
Over the last for or five seasons I've not used a decoy on cats. As was stated I've noticed cats looking for the caller and not sitting transfixed on a decoy. Now I'm not saying that they won't set and study cause I've seen them do it but I personally have noticed that a higher percentage will go directly to the caller. I'm no expert on calling cats but just my observations. I usually take three to five cats a season and only late in the season when fur primes up. I'll let cats walk early in the season and work them later.
 
I've called in a shatton of cats over the years and I rarely use a decoy. It may pick up a cat or two in the short term but overall it ain't worth it to me.
Mark
 
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