Killing Bobcats

[Bayouboy]

I have given quiet a few of them a free pass the last few years. Not certain how much damage they do on small game and young deer. But, I have pics of them trying to knock squirrels off of my gravity feeders. And, I have enjoyed watching them sneak through the woods and creek bottoms. I have only had one hunt ruined by a bobcat and that was this season. A nice ten I have been after was headed towards the feeder and caught wind of a bobcat that had walked under it a few minutes earlier. Once the scent hit his nostrils he did a 180 and left in the direction he came from.

[justletmein]

I shot the first one I saw when I was a kid long ago, passed probably 50 or so since then with no desire to shoot. Now if I were out predator calling at night that's a different story, probably would shoot one then but not gonna take a passing shot while deer hunting. I'd rather keep my spot quiet and have something to look at when it's a slow day. Same with badgers. I had a spot on a lease in Dilley where a badger lived nearby, saw him almost every day and he was fun to watch. Last week at Lake Amistad (can't kill them there either way) I watched a young bobcat pounce through the grass trying to catch a mouse, 10 minutes solid and it finally caught it and I could hear him crunching mouse bones about 10 yards behind me. I like stuff like that.

[wytex]

We manage our bobcat take.
Our cats are worth some good money so we try to take mostly males but don't turn down a pretty female.
We only take them when prime, usually not until late Nov and Dec. is best for prime fur.

I have trail cam picks of bobcats middle of the day, they aren't just daybreak and sundown cats. They will travel in pairs too.

Our take is by trapping so that will get some to flame.

Up here mt lions are a bigger threat to our wildlife and we keep a tag in pocket just for in case, it has panned out for us.

[justletmein]

Wytex, yall have some monster bob's up there. We had a close encounter with one hiking that I thought for sure was a lion until it revealed itself. The head bob up and down behind the tree it was watching us from looked like it was going 3 feet vertical travel eyeballing us.

[wadecarper]

There is a reason they are called a predator.

[Man]

I will shoot 1 and have it mounted and that's it. They are beautiful animals and I don't personally believe that because they eat, they must all die. That is my sole opinion and I have no problem with people who just blow and throw em just because they can.

[wytex]

Wytex, yall have some monster bob's up there. We had a close encounter with one hiking that I thought for sure was a lion until it revealed itself. The head bob up and down behind the tree it was watching us from looked like it was going 3 feet vertical travel eyeballing us.

Biggest we have caught weighed in at 39 lbs and stretched 46 inches.

Our cats can bring hundreds of dollars, not just a couple hundred so they get targeted pretty well up here, population is doing just fine. They are fur bearers as well so we do have a set season like OK. We get Nov 15-Mar.1 but we do not go into March to trap them. Best cats are late Jan. into Feb. up here.

Bobcat meat is sweet with an odd scent to it while cooking, same with mt lion. It looks similar to pork when cooked. Not my favorite so we don't save meat anymore but the hides sure get fleshed, stretched and dried for the buyer.

Rather than get them mounted we have kept and had tanned a couple of hides that had cast bellies, they are really nice and furry.

[Boogieman]

I killed one big Tom several years ago with my recurve. Was hunting a creek crossing and spotted him paralleling the creek. He stopped 12 yards in front of me and started licking his paws. I let him have it….. Originally wanted to get him mounted with a big crappie in his mouth. But a bit too expensive at the time. Opted for him mounted on a piece of driftwood.

I won’t shoot another one. I see maybe 1 each season and I just enjoy watching them.

[TxxAgg]

We manage our bobcat take.
Our cats are worth some good money so we try to take mostly males but don't turn down a pretty female.
We only take them when prime, usually not until late Nov and Dec. is best for prime fur.

I have trail cam picks of bobcats middle of the day, they aren't just daybreak and sundown cats. They will travel in pairs too.

Our take is by trapping so that will get some to flame.

Up here mt lions are a bigger threat to our wildlife and we keep a tag in pocket just for in case, it has panned out for us.

Great pics

[L.T.K.56]

We have noticed a decline in our fawn crop last couple years have couple big cats on camera think it’s time to try and eliminate some. traps and calling I guess

[laredoarcher]

Every chance I get.

[TTUgrad08]

Same classification as a coyote, fox, raccoon skunk ect. I do my best to take everyone I see.
However, I do take the time to skin almost all of them to be tanned as I do have respect for them.

[TacticalCowboy]

Pass

Cats have to eat too. And no matter what I think about the other animals they prey on, I'm doing pretty much the same darn thing when I hunt. So mucho respect to a fellow predator - who has more to die for living daily than I do.

Same here, kinda. I’ve only seen half a dozen or so cats in my life. I saw that many deer today. I really doubt they’re that detrimental to a deer population.

Now if I go calling and one comes in, I’ll probably shoot.

[tpack]

One with bow, one with shotgun and one with rifle. Let the last 2 I saw walk. Enjoyed just watching them.

[Brute Killer]

Original question asked, do I shoot bobcat?
I've never seen them on the place, except in game cam pics. With the exception of one. It was a juvenile bobcat chasing a juvenile jackrabbit. No chance for a shot, and I don't think I would have anyway.