Hunting & Fishing Over run by bobcats

[Snuby642]

My sons inlaws have some property neer Uvalde texas, its overran by bobcats.
I have seen them in daylight, harassing the feeders.
At the time we were culling spikes and did not discuss shooting preditors.
Some landowners in Texas don't kill them, so i forgot to ask.
Come to find out there overran.
They seem to have wiped out the rabbits, turkey, cayote ran the hogs off and are harassing the deer,.
I never saw bobcat that large thought it was a lynx.
They are hunting in pairs sometimes and have filled the trail cams.
This land is rough, no cattle domestic pets etc and they will not come to the extinct rabbit call.
Seems the only sounds that get there attention is a feeder going off.
I have shot 35 lb cats in the past the area has 60 lb cats, i didn't know that was possible.
So now we got 100 degree weather to contend with, makes sitting a stand tough.
Any ideas on calls or methods conventional calls like rabbits etc don't work.

 

[diverdon]

I bet a lot of hunters would love to add a bobcat to their wall, you could sell the bobcat rights to a guide, or take up guideing yourself.

 

[WATERWALKER]

The bobcats down here are everywhere. They're pretty bold too. I was on a trail a while back & I stood dead ass still as a bobcat had walked out if the brush. It looked around, moved over to a big puddle and drank some water. Hell, it didn't even notice me til it was like 15 ft away & then it literally leaped sideways into the brush. It was gone at that point.

Mountain lions have been very active down here lately too.

 

[Snuby642]

The landowner wont let anyone he hasn't met on the land and is very specific at what and how game is taken.
Thats why we didn't shoot the cats without asking, could have shot one with a pistol, i had it in my sights, my son as well on another stand at the same time.
The deer are about as spooky as i have ever seen, jump at every squirrel or bird, when the feeders go off the squirrels run away?
Spent 3 days looking at 8 and 10 point deer till i could get a shot on the spooky spike i was after.
I think maybe a bigger cat is around have only seen 3 in my + 40 years of hunting.
Does anyone make a feeder call? Maybe a pig call will work.

Reminds me to never hunt spring turkey without a backup hand gun,. #4 shot didn't seem viable.
300 blackout sbr and a 45 backup incase i call in somethig bigger that a huge bobcat, it's close quarter stuff mostly.

It would be bonus points for me to get rid of some cats.

 

[coldboremiracle]

The landowner wont let anyone he hasn't met on the land and is very specific at what and how game is taken.

Does he want them controlled or not?

Does anyone make a feeder call?

Hahahaha

 

[Snuby642]

Will bobcats and mountain lions come in to bait like they do for lions and Leppard ?
Like hung from a tree.

 

[Snuby642]

The gut piles from deer were cleaned out every nite, and not one peep from any coyotes.
Got to look at the game regs on that one.

 

[Torian13]

I have called a lot of cats in using bird distress calls. Wood pecker/mocking bird etc. I would think bird distress around a feeder right now would work well. Also, fawns have dropped, fawn distress will work well if you can keep the angry ass does out of your hair.

 

[Primus]

Traps, lots of traps.

 

[Snuby642]

I will consider it if I can learn how to mitigate collateral damage.
Not sure how to keep deer and any remaining hogs out of traps?
I guess a hog wire fence would work?
Fill it with bait and traps?

 

[niteshooter]

My opinion; just enjoy it while it lasts. Half the fun is figuring out what works and getting some new tricks up your sleeve. Let the grandkids, nieces, nephews and such have plenty opportunity to watch and see those normally illusive creatures.
The balance of natures pendulum swings both ways and next year could bring a big drought that wipes out everything.
If it's truly that bad and they must go and nothing works; there are people who hunt cats with hounds. Sometimes just the pressure of being pushed and hunted can drive game away to a quieter neighborhood.
Years ago I believe a guy around Utopia ran mountain lion with hounds. Offered guided hunts of that type. Not sure if someone like that would be of help but it's an option that wasn't mentioned.

 

[Snuby642]

Don't want to eradicate them just trim the herd back to elusive levels.
The use of traps really doesn't (set) well with me, lol, even the cats deserve a better demise.
I see an imbalance just want to make minor adjustments to favor the game.
Some of the dogs and a lot of the owners would croak before making the top of the 45 degree slopes in this canyon, aka perfect cat country.

 

[BLKWLFK9]

If they wont come in from a rabbit distress, use a blue jay distress. Depending on the time of year, you could use a female cat in heat call. Check out MFK game calls for the best predator diaphram calls on the market. They have a call for just about any predator situation. Hell, give them a call and tell Torry Cook about your situation, and i bet they would make the drive from AL to film a hunt, and they'll kill a shit ton of cats and yotes. The whole MFK crew are national and world champion callers. They're pretty deadly, and real good folks too.

 

[Nodakplowboy]

I agree with niteshooter, enjoy it while it lasts. What you see as high numbers may be an indication of something else going on in nature that is affecting the system. In 6-12 months it could all turn around and be back to normal, if there is such a thing in the animal world. It's always changing.

Having said that, if you really want to kill them, hang 7-10 foot 3/32" trail snares with kill stakes. A neck catch with a locking slider will choke them down dead-dead in mere minutes. Be advised, snares are non-selective and will kill anything that comes down the trail. In ND there are very specific laws regarding snares, so check the state regs.

I've only seen one bobcat in the wild my entire life, looking at me from a rockpile at 200 yds, mid-winter -20 degrees. In a way, I rather envy you.

 

[fdkay]

[h=2]Texas Parks and Wildlife Nongame Animals[/h]
Includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Armadillos
• Bobcats
• Coyotes
• Flying squirrels
• Frogs
• Ground squirrels
• Mountain lions
• Porcupines
• Prairie dogs
• Rabbits
• Turtles

• Does not include feral hog (see Exotic Animals and Fowl).
• No closed season. These animals may be hunted at any time by any lawful means or methods on private property. Public hunting lands may have restrictions. A hunting license is required.
• ARMADILLOS: Possession and sale of live armadillos is unlawful.
• BOBCAT pelts sold, purchased, traded, transported or shipped out of state must have a pelt tag (CITES) attached. A pelt tag must be attached prior to being transported or shipped out of this state. Pelt tags may be obtained from any permitted bobcat pelt dealer, or TPWD Regional & Field Law Enforcement Offices. For additional information contact TPWD (800) 792-1112, menu 7, option 9 or (512) 389-4481.

 

[ACshooting]

Like others said, don't expect it to last hence you shouldn't go nuts killing them. I'd get a few traps out and hope on something big for my wall.

 

[Sendit6.5]

I live in Sabinal (about 21 miles from Uvalde) and besides managing a 13,000 acre year-round hunting ranch, I do predator control for several ranches. I'll be happy to offer you some tips that work for me. PM me if you're interested and I'll shoot you my phone number.

Our area has a VERY strong cat population and they're pretty easy to call. They will almost never visit a bait site, although coyotes sure will. Not sure how big the property is but this whole area is overrun with predator hunters; and that means animals are very call-wise and can be difficult to hunt.

I can help you with where to get you CITES tags but, honestly, most of us sell our hides to traveling buyers that come through in the winter. Our hides do t get the big bucks like northern cats but what we lack in quality, we more than make up for in volume.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SargeE7101st]

Fort Bragg, NC is over run with Cats and Yotes as well. The Post has even sponsored Predator Hunts. Deer harvest down same with Turkeys. I haven't seen a Rabbit in the training areas in years. I use a Primos Turbo Dogg, and use the Adult Cottontail in distress. Last cat and yote came in less than 1 minute of calling.