Bobcat Calling Primer
My personal move from handcalls to electronic callers was specifically for calling bobcats. My son, Ben, is a very accomplished handcaller but after calling many 'cats that others shot, he had never shot a 'cat himself. The issue was the movement associated with operating the call. The bobcats picked up the motion of his hand as he manipulated the call.
We had one interesting stand on which Ben called a coyote that I shot at the five minute mark. At around fifteen minutes into the stand, a bobcat walked in front of me just six feet from the toes of my boots as it moved away from Ben. It had spotted the motion as he called. I was forced to let the cat move behind some brush before I could raise my rifle. As the 'cat reappeared in the next opening, I finished an interesting coyote/bobcat double.
In coyote hunting, e-calls enable the hunter to sit downwind or crosswind of the caller. This is the greatest advantage of e-calls in coyote hunting. In bobcat calling, electronic callers allow the hunter to remain motionless while on stand. This is the greatest advantage of e-calls in bobcat hunting. As long as additional volume isn't necessary, the e-caller needn't be very expensive. I called my first bobcat using an inexpensive Cass Creek caller that had a small speaker on a 20 foot cord--a dinosaur by today's standards.
Bobcats' visual acuity makes movement critical for the successful bobcat caller. This can be used to the caller's advantage. A motion decoy can capture the 'cat's attention, allowing much more time for scanning and moving the gun into position for a shot. Small, fast, unintimidating decoys such as the MOJO Critter and Super Critter or the Jack series of decoys by Foxpro work excellent. A feather hung from an arrow shaft or limb can also work as a decoy but only if a breeze is present to activate it. My "decoy"on my first successful 'cat stand was a package of M&M's suspended by parachute cord. This is about as low-tech as it gets! I often use a decoy for coyotes but I always use a motion decoy when targeting 'cats.
The bobcat is thinner skinned and less muscular than the coyote. You can save a valuable pelt or trophy by adjusting your fur load.
Holes are a greater issue on bobcat hides than other furbearers. Ryan Custiss of American Hide and Fur Company says that fat sometimes present in the fur of bobcats after sewing bullet holes makes repairs more easily detectable on the finished fur. The last thing a hunter wants is a value-robbing hole in a bobcat hide. Adjust your fur load accordingly.
A lighter bullet may be an advantage to keep it from exiting a 'cat. The 35 grain Berger from a .204 is still my favorite load for 'cats. The .17 calibers with more heavily constructed bullets are also excellent. .22 centerfire calibers with the 50 and 55 grain Hornady V-max or a 50 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip are good bobcat medicine. Keep in mind that the thinner skin, lighter muscle and less developed bone structure of a bobcat's body will not absorb as much bullet energy as will a coyote's body. Bullets can exit a bobcat more easily than a coyote.
Summary
The high fur market has put a tremendous amount of pressure on bobcat populations across the country. Whether you are after bobcats for a trophy or for profit, adjusting your tactics with their biology, psychology and physiology in mind will increase your success substantially. And, since bobcat hunting is much more interesting than school, class is out. The test will happen in the field. Good luck!
Tim Titus has been calling coyotes for 35 years. He lives in the coyote rich country of Southeast Oregon where he and his son spend their winters calling predators and their springs and early summers shooting varmints. Tim owns and operates No Off Season, an on-line predator and varmint hunting store and guiding business. You can check it out at No-Off-Season.com.
We had one interesting stand on which Ben called a coyote that I shot at the five minute mark. At around fifteen minutes into the stand, a bobcat walked in front of me just six feet from the toes of my boots as it moved away from Ben. It had spotted the motion as he called. I was forced to let the cat move behind some brush before I could raise my rifle. As the 'cat reappeared in the next opening, I finished an interesting coyote/bobcat double.
In coyote hunting, e-calls enable the hunter to sit downwind or crosswind of the caller. This is the greatest advantage of e-calls in coyote hunting. In bobcat calling, electronic callers allow the hunter to remain motionless while on stand. This is the greatest advantage of e-calls in bobcat hunting. As long as additional volume isn't necessary, the e-caller needn't be very expensive. I called my first bobcat using an inexpensive Cass Creek caller that had a small speaker on a 20 foot cord--a dinosaur by today's standards.
Bobcats' visual acuity makes movement critical for the successful bobcat caller. This can be used to the caller's advantage. A motion decoy can capture the 'cat's attention, allowing much more time for scanning and moving the gun into position for a shot. Small, fast, unintimidating decoys such as the MOJO Critter and Super Critter or the Jack series of decoys by Foxpro work excellent. A feather hung from an arrow shaft or limb can also work as a decoy but only if a breeze is present to activate it. My "decoy"on my first successful 'cat stand was a package of M&M's suspended by parachute cord. This is about as low-tech as it gets! I often use a decoy for coyotes but I always use a motion decoy when targeting 'cats.
The bobcat is thinner skinned and less muscular than the coyote. You can save a valuable pelt or trophy by adjusting your fur load.
Holes are a greater issue on bobcat hides than other furbearers. Ryan Custiss of American Hide and Fur Company says that fat sometimes present in the fur of bobcats after sewing bullet holes makes repairs more easily detectable on the finished fur. The last thing a hunter wants is a value-robbing hole in a bobcat hide. Adjust your fur load accordingly.
A lighter bullet may be an advantage to keep it from exiting a 'cat. The 35 grain Berger from a .204 is still my favorite load for 'cats. The .17 calibers with more heavily constructed bullets are also excellent. .22 centerfire calibers with the 50 and 55 grain Hornady V-max or a 50 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip are good bobcat medicine. Keep in mind that the thinner skin, lighter muscle and less developed bone structure of a bobcat's body will not absorb as much bullet energy as will a coyote's body. Bullets can exit a bobcat more easily than a coyote.
Summary
The high fur market has put a tremendous amount of pressure on bobcat populations across the country. Whether you are after bobcats for a trophy or for profit, adjusting your tactics with their biology, psychology and physiology in mind will increase your success substantially. And, since bobcat hunting is much more interesting than school, class is out. The test will happen in the field. Good luck!
Tim Titus has been calling coyotes for 35 years. He lives in the coyote rich country of Southeast Oregon where he and his son spend their winters calling predators and their springs and early summers shooting varmints. Tim owns and operates No Off Season, an on-line predator and varmint hunting store and guiding business. You can check it out at No-Off-Season.com.
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