Bobcat

colt p

New member
Long time lurker, first time poster!
I live in Kentucky we can only call cats in the daylight.
I've seen several in the woods and trapped several including the first and second in my county in modern times! I've helped a few trappers catch there first as well. I know about scouting and staying in fresh sign.And know about locating cats. But I'm still having trouble. Called one up below my house last yr. the birds told me but he stayed in the edge of the brush about 100 yards from me and wouldn't come to the edge! I couldn't find him with the binoculars and he tired of the call and moved back down the holler. The titemouse birds scolded him up the holler and back out I'm 90% sure it was a cat as I was finding fresh tracks and getting pics nightly.
I've called fox and yotes there in yrs past and they'll always atleast poke out in a little nook or crany and give you a look before they leave!
I had no decoy and was useing a hand call. What could I have done different.ibe thought about an e caller so I could look harder with optics for watchers do y'all thank that could help? what do you fellers do in timber they may help me out Id like too call one up in the day time eventually!
I've tried for a few yrs know and work the same area a lot in fresh sign morning and night I stay usually an hr and call nonstop most of the time.
I could trap these cats easy but they never bring much around here and I'd just asoon call one up.
I know this has been talked to death on hear but what have y'all got?
Colt
 
From what i've seen cats are pretty easy to call (compared to a coyote) but they can pick off movement like no other. Given that i'd say an Ecaller might help you so the cat can focus on that while your fiddleing around trying to get your gun on him. Every cat that i've called has been 100% fixated on where the sound was coming from and the first two I called I didn't even see until they had already busted me and we're heading out of dodge. I had an ecaller but I suspect they both just saw me turning my head scanning the landscape. Only daytime calling here aswell.

You may not be doing anything wrong as it is, but setting the ecaller away from your position might be an advantage.

Hard to say much else other than stay after them, you'll figure out what works through trial and error.

Good luck!
 
The above post is right. They are not hard to call, once you locate one. Much easier to respond than a coyote. The e-caller, combined with a decoy will fixate their attention on something besides you. Get it away from you. Position yourself where the sun is shining on where you think he will show up, while you are sitting back in a shaded area. That white chest will jump out at you, when he sits down to study the situation.

Remember "Curiosity killed the cat" We've called in several while trying to call foxes with the Platinum Gray Fox Distress sound by FoxPro. Yes, that is true, more than once.

Like he said, "Stay after them" Keep trying, put as much in your favor as you can, sun, shade, decoy movement. We can hunt them at night here, but all of mine have been killed in daylight, so it can be done.
 

Exactly what Pruson and Larue mentioned. All my cats (11 total) have been taken during daylight hours, most in the evening but a couple in the morning and a couple around midday.

I have had good success with the Johnny Stewart rodent sound, and even called one up with a raccoon fight sound. That cat came on the run to get to the source of the sound.

Stay on stand a little longer than you might for coyotes or fox, play sounds continuously to keep a cat's interest and don't be afraid to mix up sounds. Keep movement to a minimum since cats seem to see and hear everything.

Happy hunting.

 
Here is an excerpt I wrote for something else, hopefully it is helpful...

"Bobcats are beautiful and wondrous creatures. Cats like thick areas of brush near a water source. Brushy overgrown fields, swampy areas, cedar glades, pine thickets, creek bottoms, rocky bluffs, old ponds or lake edges are all prime places to find bobcats. They prey on all sorts of small animals including wild turkeys. At times bobcats may even include deer in their menu. The more common fare is rabbit, mice, squirrels, and any birds they can catch. Cats love birds! They’ll pass up a fat rabbit for a stalk on a song bird. Here’s a tip - if you are a predator caller fast, high pitched birds sounds, or high pitched cottontail are prime cat sounds.

Bobcats have a short attention span and get distracted easily. They may be on the way to the call, but if the sound stops for too long and they see something else like a bird, they’ll often just wander off or sit down and quit coming in. Tip - don’t have too long of a pause between series of calls if you are a caller.

Cats hunt most with their eyes and ears. Not to say bobcats completely ignore their nose, but I’ve had bobcats directly downwind and even though I know they had a snoot full of human scent, they never batted an eye. A coyote would have been long gone in that situation! Another tip - if you are a caller, a small moving decoy will help focus the cat away from you and tends to keep them fixed on the decoy. Anything that distracts the cat from you is an advantage. Something as simple as a small cluster of feathers tied into a low hanging bush fluttering in the breeze will do the job.

Cats are stalkers and may take a long time to get to a calling stand. Most coyotes are onto a stand within 15 - 20 minutes, but a cat may take as much as an hour. They are extremely hard to see when they stalk into a stand. They use all the available cover to get close. I’ve been diligently watching as I called and suddenly realized, “Oh crap, there is a cat!“ when some little something catches my eye from a tuft of tall grass, or from behind an old stump, log, or rocky outcropping. I never know how long they’ve been there before I actually saw them. Many a caller has stood up at the end of an hour long stand and jumped a bobcat that was right in front of them all along that they had never seen. Bobcats have phenomenal eyesight and will pick apart a stand as they creep in. Fidgeting around by the hunter has saved many a cat. You must sit still and not be moving or else your chances are very low. They will also hear the slightest rustle in the leaves or creak and bump from you and your gear. Quiet is important.

With all that said, bobcats don’t always slip into the calling stand. I have had them run into a stand as aggressively as any coyote I’ve ever called. In fact, the first cat I ever called was a huge old tom that nearly ran me over, sliding to a stop in the snow only a few yards from me. Sometimes they come hard and fast and that is a special sight.

Bobcats aren’t all that bright though. As mentioned, they will often ignore a snoot full of human scent. Their natural defense is to hide and I’ve watched them hunker down and attempt to hide, all the while shooters fire at them and miss repeatedly. I’ve seen a shooter miss a bobcat twice with a .308 rifle blowing snow and debris all over it. The cat simply lay low when it could have easily ran off the backside of the ridge. I talked the shooter down and his third shot connected. Another time a fellow shot three times with a .12 gauge shotgun and No. Four Buckshot, again blowing snow and leaf debris all over the cat. Not quite sure how he managed to miss with all those shotgun pellets. The cat never moved and I finally shot the cat as the other guy was trying to stuff more shells into his empty pump gun.

Populations of bobcats can be wide spread. Home territories can be large, more so for male cats. However, even where there are a lot of them, there aren’t many. "
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Thanks guys not trying too be rud couldn't find my password and have been very busy. Have done quiet a bit of scouting got 2 or 3 areas that have cats useing them, saw a female 5 yards last night while deer hunting behind the house! Sure wished Ida had my hornet instead of my 30-30 but the hunting season don't open till Saturday enyhow!
Thanks again guys I'll let y'all know how it goes!
Colt
 
Good post GC, Cats like mentioned are not the most difficult to call in. The difficulty is in finding and then seeing them before they see you.

When cats respond, they look for visual confirmation and will use the best cover and elevation until they get it. Once they get to an area where they feel they should see the source of the sound, they sit down and just watch, then if convinced, go in for the stalk. The trick with setting up on cats, is to have an overwatch position on those areas where a cat needs to get to in order to see the sound source.

I like to put the caller down into a slight depression, then setup on a higher point that overlooks the rim, where the cat must respond to in order to see the caller. Too much cover and high ground around you, they will come and go without you knowing. Too little cover and they might not feel comfortable coming all the way in.

Cut fields fields in my opinion are probably some of the worst places an eastern hunter can set up on. Most predators can respond, then follow along the inside edge of cover until they discover that the call is a fake. The fields to look into are the ones that are slightly overgrown with security cover leading out into them. The field should border good thick habitat, where rabbits and prey species live.

Basically, what you’re looking for is continuity of cover from where you expect them to be, all the way up to where you have a shot opportunity. Slight gaps and openings in the cover to see them approaching at distance are great to have.
 
One more piece of advice. I don't get paid to say this, so it is the truth. If you are trying to call cats, an electronic caller with a decoy will DEFINITELY increase your odds of a kill.

There are many out there, all of different levels of quality and price. But the best bang for your buck would be to order one of those FoxPro HAMMERJACKS, it comes with a decoy . It is mid ranged priced, only $299 as opposed to $500 . Well worth the investment. It will pay dividends. Good luck
 
Well, the ecaller and decoy defiantly made a difference. Been finding sign and seeing a cat or too here or there thus fall, season opened Saturday, made my 4th stand 200yards behind my house this evening about the 26 minutes mark, a nice adult female came into are small hillside pasture from a very thick and rough holler! Killed it at 70yards with my cz527 22 hornet. As I stated before I've trapped several have wanted to call one up for about 25 yrs or so, (I'm only 30) . Was pretty sure id called a couple up I couldn't see! I ant trapped eny in 3 yrs trying too call um up instead. I have too say I may be hooked! I'm glad I'm a taxidermist cause this could get pricey!
Wish I could post pics on here, thanks fellers, after y'alls posts I was sure I was on the right line of thinking, really helped my confidence.
Used babycotton tail and eastern cotton tail if y'alld like too know!
Colt
 
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Well congratulations there young man. I am happy for you. That's the good thing about a forum like this. A lot of information and knowledge gets shared, some of it is even helpful and productive as you just said. It helps you build confidence if nothing else. Life has a learning curve.

Thanks for sharing the sounds that you found successful.
 
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