Hit a bobcat today

Texas is only interested if you try to sell the hide without having a fur-bearer trapping license. Otherwise? Skin and enjoy. Bobcats, coyotes and cougars are just varmints.

You can either have a taxidermist do a proper job of a mount or a rug-type tanning, or skin it out as best you can, salt it and then figure out your next step.

Mount that sucker if it's a nice one and you want it. Or rug it.

I killed one that was stalking me on a deer stand at noon when I was young. My folks thought it was illegal and by the time I new different the coyotes decided for me. She wasn't big, but I wish she wasn't wasted.

She kept coming in crouched after I yelled and threw the one pine cone on my stand, suspect rabid or touched in the head somehow. Still gives me chills.

Yep, that's a reasonable sized cat. So how far did you have to chase him in the car before hitting him?? Just kidding you. If it were me, I'd do as Art says and skin it, salt it, and google what to do next. Congrats!!

I would have that sucker mounted with a quail in his mouth. Another one that is always cool is a full mount with it leaping at a pheasant. Either way it what I would do.

Do not salt that pelt. Skin it,roll the pelt up,put in a plastic freezer bag and freeze until you decide wyat you want to do. Whatever you decide on DON"T apply salt.

jimmyray, it's possible to use dry ice and take the frozen hide from Texas to Missouri, but if he doesn't get it mounted or tanned, what's the objection to salt?

While salt will work for a home,"I'm not going to do anything else with it" job",a salted pelt isn't desirable to fur buyers(if selling it becomes an option) and a taxidermists needs to do the preserving for a mount or rug. It is far better to buy a commercial tanning compound (if he doesn't have it professionally preserved) than salt.

To be on the "safe side" you might not want to skin/case the animal BEFORE transporting it out of State. To do so....would technically render it a "pelt" and would require a "Pelt Tag" or (CITES).

Bobcats in Texas....are non-game animals, but certain rules and regulations apply (see pg. 68 of the TPWD Outdoor Annual).

In Alabama,a bobcat is both a game animal and a fur-bearer. It (as well as otter) have to be tagged by a game warden but this can be done at the fur-buyer's or taxidermist's. I don't know what laws Texas or Missouri may have concerning them but a call to the Mo.State Widlife Dept would be in order IMO.

Good article on skinning bobcats.

http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/powder-keg/62577-how-skin-bobcat.html

More likely he'd been eyeing a yearling doe. Since you're down here you know the rut is nuts. We left the cabin last night (Llano) to return to the Houston area, and as we got into our car, Rich heard something around the side of the cabin. Flicked on his flashlight and....there went a big old deer, flag up and moving out since it'd been made, but they're just nutty right now. Love is in the air. So the bobcat may have been following one of those "just out of fawn mode" does that seem to be everywhere. That's enough to get it confused. I can't remember ever hearing about rabies in bobcats, but I'm sure it's possible...

Take it to a taxidermist. And yeah, I like the idea of "with a pheasant in its mouth".

Jan

FROM TEXAS WILDLIFE AND PARKS WEBSITE:

BOBCAT PELTS: TAGGING
Prior to purchase, sale, trade or transport outside Texas, bobcat pelts (see definition of bobcat) taken in Texas (including tanned pelts and mounts) must be permanently tagged with a department issued federal Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) tag valid for the year in which the bobcat was taken. Legally taken pelts may be tagged at no cost by any registered bobcat pelt dealer or at TPWD Law Enforcement offices. Individuals desiring to purchase and/or tag bobcat pelts taken in Texas must register with the Fur-bearing Animal Program (4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744) and be issued a Bobcat Pelt Dealer Permit and Tag Voucher. It is unlawful for any dealer to: (1) possess untagged pelts; (2) transfer tags to any other dealer, or to use tags issued to another dealer; (3) refuse to tag a bobcat pelt presented as being legally taken in this state. This is not construed to mean the person must sell to the dealer from whom the tag is obtained.

Persons desiring to transfer bobcat pelts out of Texas for non-commercial purposes may obtain a tag by presenting the pelt to any dealer or Department Law Enforcement Office and completing and signing an Annual Bobcat Pelt Tag Report.



Contact Information:
For other information concerning hunting and fishing regulations, parks, wildlife or other subjects related to TPWD, call our toll-free number: (800) 792-1112 during regular business hours.

At any time of the day, a person may call toll-free (800) 792-GAME(4263) to report a violation of the state's game and fish laws. A reward may be offered to eligible callers who provide information which leads to a conviction.

Good info OYE!

.... kinda reminds me of the old guy out hunting, shot 2 big ol' male squirrels. On the way home, he decides he'll get'em fixed up, one on each end of the couch on a lamp table, in the family room. So he asks the taxidermy feller how much to fix 'em up, the taxidermy guy said "About $5 bucks apiece, do you want 'em mounted?" The hunter looks kinda puzzled for a minute, then said, "Nah, just have 'em shakin' hands."