PPHA Forums
Predator Hunting => Predator Hunting => Topic started by: uncle buck on July 08, 2010, 10:18:43 AM
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Called in two in Cumberland County so far...Both came to the cottontail rabbit distress. took them awhile to come into gun range too. So it was neat to watch them stalk the sound. So it appears that you have to stay on stand long. Many claim bird sounds are the best for bobcat.
randy Anderson once told us that bobcast were dumb.. So.....Scent....is not important. that might mean that they will sometimes not come into the wind..
Anyone want to add other things about the Pa Bobcat that will help other hunters come December 18th?
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I have taken a lot of bobcats. It usually takes 30 to 60 min to get them in. They move very slow like a house cat. Take note if you see eyes coming in and it seems to be sitting a lot it's probably a cat.
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IMO...Their eyes illuminated a lot larger then fox too. Um maybe about the size of quarter compared to a fox that might be the size of a nickel or even a dime at most...Also the eyes were white like diamonds even with the red lens on.
Of course when we start to talk what we see out there at night time...Especially things like the color of all the predators eyes you will get 999 opinions?????
We have had discussions before about colors of eyes.. It does appear that it depends on what you use to make them red or who makes the lens. For example a few of you will take a white light and paint it with Red Dykem. I like to use the Nitelite pop covers for the head light...
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I feel if your in good cat area they will come in quick. I made quicker closer stands this year and felt it was a better strategy. sometimes only traveling 200 yds. but only calling for 30 minutes depends on day or night. daytime I called for atleast 30 minutes. mostly to give me good enough time to scan the brush for a cat. night time I ended stands at my normal 15 minute mark. maybe spend a bit more if I was at the last stand on the road I was calling. at night cats give away their position easily with their big eyes. I stuck to rabbit, bird, and quick chattery sounds. don't be afraid to crank the volume. I kept the sound going constantly also. get in good area. this is the biggest thing many do not do. don't think that it looks good. know that there is cats in the area by scouting. if your calling day time keep from fidgeting too much. I really like to sit still and don't move. get comfy before hitting the call. also call roads leading into cover. if calling by day time take your time and look hard into the brush for the odd shapes. if calling at night call small openings in cover. scan quick to find the flicker of eye. once found keep light on the cat and study it.
one thing I noticed is many people say there calling for 60 minutes for cats but if you time em after 30 minutes they are ready to go. my remote on my foxpro shows me exactly how much time I have spent on stand. this is the best I can help ya with what I have done.
I agree with earl. if you have studied the way a cat moves you can have a good idea if that set of eyes coming in is a cat or a grey. id everything positively. but you can cut down on focusing on nontargets by knowing how a cat moves. there is plenty of videos out there that show how cats respond to a call. they'll walk a few steps slow down or stop and look back. if I am hunting at night and see a set of eyes. and they go dark I will scan 10ft to either side of where i seen em before and you'll normally pick em up. if a cat seems to set there and doesn't want to come in any further change sounds. or lower volume. there isn't some black magic to calling em. just get in good area and practice good hunting skills by being quiet and choosing proper setups and you'll be rewarded(along with knowing your gun and being able to make the shot) Thats a lot of work to go through only to find out your gun isn't hitting true. I shot my gun probably ten different times last year at targets through the course of the season to make sure it was still on. I plan to get dad and me a cat this year. but need to spend a few weekends scouting first.
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My experience with bob cat hunting in SC. Was to fall asleep on stand and wake up to one looking right at me. It sat their long enough for me to bring up the muzzle loader.
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i have only called in a couple of cats and they were on accident and not in really good cat country. i have already been scouting and it seems if they are in an area they seems to be more than one and they leave a lot of sign. I would think that if you can sneak in to a clear area with some thick stuff around and set up a decoy they seem to like the the movement. I have noticed that when guys are calling cats on tv they replace the standard brown fuzzy top of the mojo critter with something white, i have also heard that guys will use a white hanky about a trap and will get them. I took the first 2 weeks of the season of so we will see how it goes. also when scouting i have noticed that they like the thick stuff but they really like rock crops.
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Scott -- Are you going to hunt them up this way?
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Renny,
I am going to start out in the area where the bear was shot illegally last year, that whole mountain range, then spend some time on over by Shepards.
Scott
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That mountain and some surrounding areas are changing rapidly due to the marcellus play..... and other reasons.
Best of luck and get ahold of me when you come up...
Renny
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I will be staying at our cabin and traveling up their the first couple of days. have to scout it more when it gets colder, don't like all the snakes up there, not crazy like some of you guys.
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I don't know much about cats except that I put in five years and never drew a tag. However, I got one this year :-). Thanks for sharing all the info. Good reading...
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called in quite a few over the years in lackawanna and wayne co but never had a tag this year mite bedifferent ;D
They sit there like reds making for easy shots
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Lacka, Glad to see you back. I'm looking forward to hearing some fox stories this season with pics.
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Got my tag this year (6th). Only experience was finding one in a dirthole set for fox, right hehind the house.
4 years ago, it took almost 2 hrs to release a large male. The lure used was Leggetts' fox .
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The year I did get my permit on the draw...I was traveling from a PGL in Monroe County to a PGL in Lackawanna county... It must have been like 2:00 AM... Here a bobcat runs right accross the road in front of me.. I near hit it but of course I braked...
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a couple of my hunters last year said they go to texas every year to hunt cats and they kill a lot of them. they use js bobcat in heat, here in pa i would just have a line of swamps to call, thats where they live right out in the thick stuff, ive found many many cats bedded up in these swamps in the middle of the day with my dog, so i know thats where they will be during the day