Called in a bobcat

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My knee was acting up yesterday so I was sitting in the cab of my truck. I got bored so I dug out an old predator call and started blowing and adjusting it to sound like a rabbit in distress. The more I blew the more distressed he got. After about 1/2 hour or so I looked in my rearview mirror and spied something in the road. I rolled out of my truck with my .30-30 and eyeballed a medium sized cat. I debated about shoothing it and, well, I guess I'm getting soft in my old age cause just before the hammer fell I pulled off the shot. I imagine by now he's clear up to South Carolina.

I was fortunate enough to have killed a rather large bob about 6 years ago while deer hunting. I had him mounted and we weighed him on 2 different scales. He was between 42 and 47 lbs. That doesn't matter as neighter scale was calibrated.
 
Don't blame ya. I have seen a lot of bobkitties and never shot one. I don't wanna eat it, don't wanna mount it, why shoot it? I don't have goats, nothing to worry about 'em eating. I like 'em, they're cool lookin' cats.

Friend of mine's boy shot one on my place. He had the skin tanned. It was about 30 lbs.
 
Cool, I love calling in cats. They are neat. They are good eating, very mild flavor. I let the last one I called in though, I couldn't justify killing it. I was about a half hour into a bear stand and it just appeared from behind a small slope at about 20 yards. It stayed there and watched me for about ten minutes. I really tried to find a reason to kill it but couldn't. Pelt was too thin in early August, was only packing a large caliber rifle that would have made a mess of the pelt and meat, didn't want to mess up the bear stand, didn't have a pistol on me that at least would have added to the challenge... couldn't do it. He picked a good time to come to the call. I did go back near that spot a few weeks ago and tried to get him in to 22 hornet range but he didn't come. Odds wouldn't have been in his favor this time:D
 
We shoot them on sight but we have plenty of them to spare. Lots of turkeys are eaten around here by cats and they are also happy to take quail. I am pretty sure a bobcat got hold of one of my dogs last year but didn't see the altercation, just the results and the dog took a beating. I have never felt that they bothered the cattle in any way but I guess that is possible.
I called one up a few years ago while turkey hunting ad he scared the crap out of me. Turkey loads do quite nicely on bobcats at 20 yards.
 
About 6 or 7 years ago I was small game hunting after deer season. I found a place in the road that was torn up. I got out and there was all kinds of scratch marks from a cat along with some unusual deer tracks. I walked about 10 or 15 yards into the woods and there was a freshly killed deer and the only meat left was the head. It was a nice size doe and I can only assume that after the cat killed it and ate it's fill the coyotes finished it off. This cat took down a full grown deer in the middle of the road.

Down at my sisters place there are lots and lots of turkey. I have only seen one bobcat and also a panther. There used to be a lot of coyotes too, but I have not seen one in several years nor have I seen any tracks. I know in our neighborhood most of the coons were killed off with the distemper.
 
Don't get me on coons or beavers. I trap like crazy and they keep multiplying. Anybody need any beaver pelts? I have trapped 5 since deer season started.
 
My last post was prophetic. We went yesterday and checked 4 beaver traps. No beaver but all dams had been rebuilt. 1 of the traps was tripped and empty and the other three had raccoons in them. The beavers just used the dead coons to shore up the dams.
 
DO you eat bobcats? I didn't think it was safe to eat a carnivore predator?
 
How do you keep bobcats away? The ones that run around my place like to take a dump on the sisal mats outside each door. Got to be careful to always look before I step. This has been at least 6 times in the last 5 years.

I'm pretty sure it's a bobcat, I see them running down the porch about 10am, it's like they have a schedule.
 
People eat bears, mountain lions, and yes, bobcats/lynx.

Yup! > although I have never had a desire to shoot one and I have never eaten one for that matter... to me they are cool animals, I am not sure I could ever shoot one unless it was attacking an animal I own. About the only predator I know you can't eat is Polar Bear liver as far as I know. (High levels of Vitamin A I think.)
 
Yup! > although I have never had a desire to shoot one and I have never eaten one for that matter... to me they are cool animals, I am not sure I could ever shoot one unless it was attacking an animal I own. About the only predator I know you can't eat is Polar Bear liver as far as I know. (High levels of Vitamin A I think.)
Arctic explorers who were marooned when they got their ships icebound often died from eating polar bears. The liver is toxic because of very high concentrations of vitamin A and they got trichinosis from eating uncooked polar bear meat (no wood for making fires unless they burnt parts of their ship).
 
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