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Bobcat hunting

Thought I’d share my first experiences bobcat hunting this year. I applied for a permit last September and I guess I was lucky to draw one on my first time. The state gives out 1,000 each year. I applied because of the number of cats I get pictures of on my place. I’ve had some success calling in coyotes in the past but had never really given much thought to calling in a cat. My dad and I had both seen a few cats while bush hogging last year but I never laid eyes on one while deer hunting. After the second gun season I switched gears and started going out to call at different times of the day and night. After 7 trips I was getting pretty discouraged, hadn’t seen a thing. Yesterday morning my best friend called and said “let’s go try again this afternoon” so we went. I had gotten a few good tips from a guy over on the Big Game forum last week and they proved to make a difference. I have a FoxPro electronic call with remote and drslyer suggested using bird distress and mostly rodent distress calls, which I had never tried. Mostly I’d been using rabbit in distress calls. Anyway, our first setup yesterday was no good so we switched spots and within 5 minutes I spotted movement and from there things happened very fast. The cat came in on the run but he was in some thick brush and we lost sight for a few seconds. He popped up in a brush pile and sat on a log 50 yards away looking straight at the call speaker. It took a few shots to hit the mark because it was thick and we were on the ground. Didn’t even know if he’d been hit, he just disappeared. My buddy stay put so he could direct me and I went over to look and there he laid in the brush pile. He was a young male and weighed 11 pounds. I know there are much bigger ones out there but we were thrilled to get him. This was much more exciting than I ever would have thought. I did some checking and since Illinois started issuing permits in 2016/2017 there have been 18 legally tagged cats by all means in my county.

Very nice job! They are thick down here in Randolph and Perry county. I've gotten tons of pics and videos on my trail cams. Haven't been lucky enough to draw that tag.

Thanks! I’m in Franklin. Seems like they could issue some more tags based on the sightings but I’d be surprised. There are still a lot of people who don’t want them hunted. SIU wants the jaw bone for a long term study they are doing so I’ll send it end once the taxidermist gets him skinned.

Cool I've only seen one in the wild years ago in a county that the state said had none existing lol congratulations

Congrats on the cat! Please do share those tips. I've had cats in bow range multiple times before they started the season, but of course never when drawing the tag. They are definitely more wary since they are hunted now. I've been in on a couple sits where we believe a cat was called in... one I was by myself and stood up to see what I believe was a juvenile in a spot where I couldn't see him from the seated position. Before I could even attempt to get the gun up he was gone.

Franzen, I watched a lot of videos and they can make it look it easy but they also caution to be very patient. More than anything we probably got lucky the other day but I switched from using a rabbit in distress to a rodent stress call and the cat came in on the run. The key thing was using a Foxpro wireless electronic call. I set the speaker up about 35 yards south of us and the cat was looking at it when I shot him. We were sitting on the side of a small bluff facing east and luckily the cat came in from the east. I've had them in range gun and bow hunting over the years. Love to watch them.

I set up my call and climbed into a tree stand. Got a cat to within 10 yds but I didn’t have a permit

Carl, that’s pretty cool! Took me multiple attempts to get one in.

Does one eat bobcat meat?

Why not Eisner's do

I sure didn't! I took him to the taxidermist last night so if anyone wants the meat you better let me know PDQ. Someone in my family posted a pic of the cat on FB, made me unhappy, and of course some people had to chime in that they don't kill what they don't eat. To each their own, I've killed several coyotes that I didn't eat either. The state issues 1,000 permits and the average success rate is right around 32% state wide by all means including salvage.

We can hunt them in Tennessee and if given the opportunity I'm shooting one and will report on the taste have a recipe for em :)

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