Bobcat hunting

Originally Posted By: btech29Originally 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??

Our bobcat population isn't near what our coyote population is so I may only know where 4 or 5 are by the time season rolls around. And that's if I'm lucky. And even those aren't a sure thing because they move around all the time. On stands where I'm going in blind most times I do call shorter stands. But in areas where I know a cat has been I'll stay longer because otherwise I'm just basically guessing where a cat may be. I don't like those odds as much.


It's very possible they're passing through within ear shot of the call. I've shot a few coyotes on cat stands that I know had to of been passing by and heard the call. Two I can think of were over 40 minutes into the stand.

As for the bobcats that have taken so long I really can't say. The longest I've seen one take was right at 49 minutes. Several over 30 minutes. I had called that same cat in,in that same spot a week before so I knew it had to be hanging around there somewhere. The first time it took him about 10-15 minutes to show up.There was an old barn and other things out there it could stay in so I don't think it could have been too far away. But then again I don't know how far bobcats will travel to come to a call during the day. If I can I try to set up fairly close to where I think they are. From what I've seen bobcats are pretty lazy during the day and I've always been under the impression that they won't travel nearly as far as a coyote will to come to a call so that's the reason behind that.
 
Quote: But then again I don't know how far bobcats will travel to come to a call during the day. If I can I try to set up fairly close to where I think they are. From what I've seen bobcats are pretty lazy during the day and I've always been under the impression that they won't travel nearly as far as a coyote will to come to a call so that's the reason behind that.

I have seen a bobcat come 250 yards across a pasture in broad daylight coming to a call. Seen a lot more come that far at night.

The quickest I ever had a cat was about 30 seconds. He probably wasn't far to start with, but he came running.

I have killed a bunch (most) in under 10 minutes. Mainly because after 15 or so I have already moved on.
 
I think doing your calling stands within 600 yards of a bobcat is way more important than what sound you use to call them in.
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Decoys seem to work good on bobcats.
 
Textbook Bobcat sequence: Coyote female howls, 4 minutes silence, Coyote female bark howls, 3 min silence, Cagie Cottontail for 8 minutes -- bobcat walks over 15 yards from call and sits down. Take pics with phone of the out-of-season cat. I'm pretty much an expert...

I agree with derbyacresbob. He's actually an expert.
 
Originally Posted By: GCHere 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."

This quote is spot on! If you want a cat, target the cat. I normally set up for bobcats and ignore the wind for the most part. Sitting closer to the brush line even if the wind is blowing directly into the brush. Try not to set on the brush line because most cats will sneak in and sit on the brush line or near some kind of cover. Sitting on the brush line limits your ability to see the cat.

If using an E-call/decoy think about where you are putting it down. Will a cat be able to view your call/decoy from a vantage point that you can't see. You want to try and guide the cat to your vantage point.

As started before cats get bored and lossing interest is easy for them to do. CHange calls and volume every couple minutes. Keep the call going with only short pauses. Don't be scared to use 5+ different sounds on one stand.
 
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