Bobcat hunting

Klebanoff

New member
I am a lifelong (40 plus years) predator hunter with countless coyotes, foxes, raccoons and other critters to his credit. Rub is I've never bagged a bobcat, and not from lack of trying. I live in Arkansas and have called all over the northwest third of the state, but to the best of my knowledge no bobcat has ever responded to my efforts. So I'm looking for tips other hunters may have.

I've read a decent bit about pursuing the bobcat. So I know about its notorious slow response time. Most sources say to wait at least 30, and sometimes even 45, minutes when one is after the critter. I've been doing that. In addition, I have a couple of Foxpro callers and I've tried a plethora of sounds, volumes and times of day, but still nothing. What's more, I have access to many areas, and a couple are even places where I've seen bobcats (just never while hunting).

So what wisdom might my fellow varmint hunters be willing to share?
 
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Set out trail cameras to see if a bobcat is in the area or call areas where you've seen them. I've called them in,in random spots but it's a lot easier to stay on stand longer if you know for a fact there's one around.
 
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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Originally Posted By: KlebanoffThanks for the tip, but Arkansas allows night hunting of predators only with dogs.

Beginning in August 2019 Arkansas changed their predator hunting regulations. You have to apply for a permit ( which is simple to do) and get approved You may then hunt at night and day time year around anywhere on private land with land owner approval. I also get approval from other hunting leases.

I’ve killed a good number of bobcats and most were when coyote hunting with distress sounds. I let a lot walk just because I like watching them and learning their actions. But if I’m in a dry spell I’ll end it with a cat if one shows.

Can’t give specific cat calling advise other than stay longer, call constant with high frequency sounds, and hunt where cats are. But I’ve called in a bunch with plain old Jack Rabbit in Distress in under 30 mins.

I’m in SW Arkansas.
 
GC's suggestions above, applied where cats live, will result in a cat.

Originally Posted By: CallingArkansasI’ve killed a good number of bobcats and most were when coyote hunting with distress sounds. I let a lot walk just because I like watching them and learning their actions. But if I’m in a dry spell I’ll end it with a cat if one shows.

The ranches I hunt protect bobcats until one develops a taste for the smaller exotics such as Springbok and Thompson Gazelles or an occasional whitetail, then they want the offender(s) removed. Hours of watching the good ones makes targeting the offenders a lot easier; it's a great way to learn their habits, as CA states.

More often than not, cats do sneak in slowly, often given away by the twitch of a tail, but they blend into their surroundings and can melt back into them, almost magically. Noticed this one at about 300 yards staring in direction of the call. He was there a few minutes, then he was not. Never saw him come or go.
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This one approached the call from thick brush to the right. He was no more than 50' from me, sat down for a few minutes looking around. He obviously heard every click of camera lens before finally exiting directly under the call to my left.

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First time I noticed this cat, he was sitting in edge of brush looking at me a mere 25 yards away. A couple of minutes later, he walked slowly across the sendero, right past the decoy and disappeared into the brush. He paid no attention to the human smell on the decoy, as GC alluded to above.

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Originally Posted By: CallingArkansasI’ve called in a bunch with plain old Jack Rabbit in Distress in under 30 mins.

They sure will come to rabbit distress calls. About 10-15 minutes into a coyote stand on a sendero through a thick mesquite mott, this bobcat ran diagonally across the sendero en route to the call/decoy. I dropped it between the ruts of the two track and was admiring him through my scope, when this young coyote exited the brush at a fast trot, following same trail as the cat. He was so busy looking back in my direction as he ran toward the call, that he actually stumbled and fell over the cat, giving me time to make this unusual "odd couple" double. So they will respond to most any distress call.

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Originally Posted By: CallingArkansasCan’t give specific cat calling advise other than stay longer, call constant with high frequency sounds, and hunt where cats are.

Just like coyotes, never say always or never about a cat; be ready for them to respond just as quickly as a coyote, or not.
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Regards,
hm
 

I have had good success with rodent sounds, specifically the Johnny Stewart Rodent Distress sound, but have called them with doe bleats and even a raccoon fight sound. I guess the rodent sound is my go-to sound.
 
I've had them come into howls more than any other calling. But here in Indiana we don't have season on them. Looked at one last night with crosshairs. It sucks to let them walk.
 
Just keep calling, if the coyotes are showing up
Sooner or later A Bobcat wIll show up
Provided there are bobcats in the area
I had A friend that killed lots of coyotes
But no cats, he knew I called bobcats
and wanted to know how I did it
I told him just keep calling
I think he’s killed 6-7 this season
And he just kept calling
It’s A confidence thing at times
 
I am very surprised you are not having any luck on bobcats in NW Arkansas. I have killed many here.

30 minute cat stands is an old wives tale. That myth comes from the old hand calling days. Cats loose interest quickly, if you cant blow your call no stop it will take a while. E Calls are a different story.

Bobcats are not smart, or hard to call. Find one, play rabbit, and get ready to shoot. They are not everywhere like coyotes. Even if you seen one yesterday, or see tracks etc does not mean they are there the day you try them. Instead of wasting time on a 45 minute stand, I would instead make 3 different 15 minute stands. Just keep trying, you will be in the right place at the right time eventually.
 
Originally Posted By: btech29I am very surprised you are not having any luck on bobcats in NW Arkansas. I have killed many here.

30 minute cat stands is an old wives tale. That myth comes from the old hand calling days. Cats loose interest quickly, if you cant blow your call no stop it will take a while. E Calls are a different story.

Bobcats are not smart, or hard to call. Find one, play rabbit, and get ready to shoot. They are not everywhere like coyotes. Even if you seen one yesterday, or see tracks etc does not mean they are there the day you try them. Instead of wasting time on a 45 minute stand, I would instead make 3 different 15 minute stands. Just keep trying, you will be in the right place at the right time eventually.

I've had bobcats come in closer to an hour using hand calls and electronic both. I've also had them come in,in 15 minutes or less using both. In areas I know for a fact a bobcat has been I'll stay longer. If I'm blind calling I'm not as likely to stay that long unless it looks really catty. Staying on stand longer has for sure bagged me a few more cats than I'd have killed had I quit 15 minutes in. That's not to say they weren't there sooner than I saw them but if I can't see them I can't shoot them. They may get comfortable and watch and listen for a while. If it takes 10 extra minutes on stand to get one shook loose I'm definitely gonna stay longer. I got more time than I got money so it don't bother me sitting 30+ minutes in a spot that I've seen a bobcat in.
 
Originally Posted By: OKRattlerOriginally Posted By: btech29I am very surprised you are not having any luck on bobcats in NW Arkansas. I have killed many here.

30 minute cat stands is an old wives tale. That myth comes from the old hand calling days. Cats loose interest quickly, if you cant blow your call no stop it will take a while. E Calls are a different story.

Bobcats are not smart, or hard to call. Find one, play rabbit, and get ready to shoot. They are not everywhere like coyotes. Even if you seen one yesterday, or see tracks etc does not mean they are there the day you try them. Instead of wasting time on a 45 minute stand, I would instead make 3 different 15 minute stands. Just keep trying, you will be in the right place at the right time eventually.

I've had bobcats come in closer to an hour using hand calls and electronic both. I've also had them come in,in 15 minutes or less using both. In areas I know for a fact a bobcat has been I'll stay longer. If I'm blind calling I'm not as likely to stay that long unless it looks really catty. Staying on stand longer has for sure bagged me a few more cats than I'd have killed had I quit 15 minutes in. That's not to say they weren't there sooner than I saw them but if I can't see them I can't shoot them. They may get comfortable and watch and listen for a while. If it takes 10 extra minutes on stand to get one shook loose I'm definitely gonna stay longer. I got more time than I got money so it don't bother me sitting 30+ minutes in a spot that I've seen a bobcat in.

I sure wouldnt argue with you. Whatever method you have confidence in and what works for you is what I would do.

That being said, what if you had made 4 stands in that same hour you sit there? Could you have possibly killed more cats? I guess there is no way of knowing. I personally aint sitting an hour for a cat. Even when I do make a "cat stand" Im secretly hoping a coyote comes in.
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One more thought. That cat you called after sitting there for an hour: You think there is a chance he wasnt within ear shot when you first started calling? A cat can go a long ways in an hour. Maybe he just happened to come by 45 minutes after you started calling??
 
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