Kitty calling?

[Coydog]

I have been hunting coyotes along time but have recently started trying to call in bobcats. Last year while hunting greys i called one in & never seen it till it snapped a small twig 10' away, this caused me to turn quickly which of course scarred the cat away. The cat came in behind me & i was amazed at how close he got without me knowing it. Here in KY we have alot of thick timber bordering field edges,lots of deep ravines & rocky ridges. Are cats incline to use trails like a fox or coyote? Are they predictable at all? How would you set up the places mentioned?

Any help would be appreciated

[Byron South]

Coydog,

Bobcats like to use cover to aproach the call. It seems most of the time they stalk the sound. I have also had them come bouncing in like fox or coyotes but that is the exception, not the rule. When I set up specifically for cats I like to give them enough cover to feel comfortable stalking the sound, but not enough I can't detect them coming. A bobcat can be very stealthy and can use very little cover to approach the call. Sometimes its uses nothing more than grass a few inches deep. Bobcats are also notorious for hanging up, and sometime they hang up where you can't see them. Try and set up where they feel comfortable coming all the way to the call, and they will hang up less. Bobcats will also quit a call. I believe in constant calling for bobcats and using busy sounds. Burnham Brothers "Cotontail Duet" has been one of my favorite sounds for bobcats, but they can be called with anything. I do believe the higher pitched busy sounds are better. Also I believe that a motion decoy of some sort can be a lot of help and help coax them on in. I have on numerous ocations give up on a stand, get up and get busted by a cat that I wasn't even aware was there. I now always get up slow and look around real good for a couple of minutes just incase. A lot of time they don't run off they just hunker down and freeze. They will aproach from any direction to the call, so if hunting with a buddy it's alway a good idea to have him watch the back door.
Bobcats do like to use the trails like the foxs and coyotes. They will also set off the edges of trails or fields waiting to ambush small animals and birds. I watch a bobcat once set up an ambush on some turkeys coming up a dirt road. He knew exactly what he was doing, and they never knew he was there untill it was to late.

Hope this helps. Let us know how the cat hunting goes.

Happy Holidays

Byron ;D

[ChileRojo]

Byron; Excellent description of calling for cats. Short,concise and most importantly, absolutely correct! Good info to be commited to memory!

[Byron South]

Thanks Mr. Chile. I love calling cats.

Byron ;D

[Coydog]

Thanks Byron,Thats exactly the type info i was looking for, i will put it to use & hopefully get my first bob by the end of the season. Here in KY we can only hunt in daylight hours & only with hand or mechanical calls, cant use E-callers for any predator except the coyote. So im thinking the mechanical calls maybe the way to go, Cant imagine trying to blow a call that long. Byron, does your video have any cat kills on it? Just got a new DVD player & that would be a great way to break it in ;D

Thanks & MERRY CHRISTMAS.

[Byron South]

I hope that info helps you out.

Yes my video has three different cats on it . One I called in with a mouth call that snuck right up behind us, another was calledin with an e caller and did the clasic stalk of the call. The third was called at night.

Keep your eyes peeled, as they will sometime apear from nowhere just sitting there looking at you.

In the East I've picked up the location of an incoming cat lots of times by listening to the bluejays and mocking birds. They will raise hell when they see a cat, and follow it sometimes to the call just screaming their heads off.

Let us know how the cat hunting goes.

Here is a picture of one of the bobcats from my video.


Good Hunting

Byron

[Coydog]

Thanks Byron, the info got me on the right track! Went out Sat & done nothing but scout my area, i found sign & laid out a few stands to try this weekend, ill keep you guys informed.

Thanks again,Coydog.
OH yea! I ordered your DVD.