Shooting all bobcats

[Yacattack845]

I am just wondering how many people run bobs for the kill or to watch dogs work? My personal opinion is many folk seem to have the idea one is required to kill every cat in order to make a dog. Seems to me that if all folk kill cats they tree it sure cuts down the population and makes it seem people are out for the kill not to watch good dog work. Personally I would rather go out and listen to a good race every day then to kill a cat. Just looking for people's opinions on this subject.

[rum3002576]

We go mainly to watch and listen to the dogs. We do kill a few each year but try and be selective when we do. Nothing like getting to a tree and seeing a cat up there a difference dogs at bottom.

[1bludawg]

Some guys have a tendency to take what their dogs tree when they first get those really good cat dogs ,but after awhile their brains start working and they realize there's no point in it.It's about the dog work and how they perform .
There are 2 types that kill everything ,money grubbers and those with poor tree dogs that think they have to kill em all to make tree dogs .
I'm not against shooting some out but just use some common sense and leave some for the future .

[Yacattack845]

Yes it sure seems like it ain't really worth it now days with fur prices so low to take them all. Plus with leaving nothing to breed in the area kinda goes for a slow go on more cats showing up in the area.

[pistol]

I think people worry to much about what other people do. Just cause a guy wants to go dump a few bobcat doesn't mean he is only in it for the kill. There are different conditions all across the world and you just might not see it in the area you hunt. A guy in a state where the populations are thin can't understand why guys in oregon/Texas etc can go kill 3,4 5 or 10 cats on a weekend. Believe me these guys also enjoy listening to good dogs work. They have worked harder than most to have these true cat minded dogs. Some ranches in the southern states would not allow you to come back if they found out you left something to live. That's just the way it goes. There are quotes and seasons to control things. We have a 275 cat quota in montana in my region. It fills in 30 days. A guy can still find plenty of tracks to run on any giving day. A guy can bitch and complain all he wants but if he just wants to go kill a few things than that's his right and If one day he kills every cat in his area than that's something he has to deal with. If you just want to go tree things and enjoy that than that's your right. I guarantee things would be different if guys who complained about guys killing things lived in those areas where cat populations were well in abundance and you could go catch a couple a night. Just my opinion

[Taylor]

Agreed...last I checked a dead cat don't leave tracks

[TRW]

I think the crap they spray and fertilize on theses units have caused more havoc than the trappers and hounds ever have it wasn’t long ago a good trapper might catch 100 cats do that now in a permit area here in Oregon on these permits and you would have them wiped out why is there more cats in cascades where there is hardly no reprod doesn’t ad up remember when it used to be a night mare walking to the tree on the coast cause of the brush not now they killed it all with spray how many yote tracks you count in a day compared to then as well

[dwalton]

Bobcat hunting is always about good dog work. It is the elite in hound hunting, it is harder to train a bobcat dog than it is on any other game animal. That's just my opinion. There are bobcat hunters, those that want to be and those that think they are if you catch one or hundreds. In most populations they are not over harvested by hound hunting. One does not need to kill every cat to train a dog. Killing bobcats is about the hunter not the dog. In different localities there are different opinions about take and numbers that can be taken. I have caught hell from some hunters for the number of bobcats that I have taken in a year but manage my take far more than most hunters by not turning out on females and kittens, not hunting an area hard two years in a row and hunting a very large area. If a bobcat is taken as with any animal it should be utilize for the fur and or food for the dogs not killed and wasted. In most areas that I hunt only a small portion is accessible to hunting by road. Bobcats will move to areas that cats are killed. Like most animals habitat determine the populations,if you have good habitat the cats will be there. The harder an area is hunted the harder it is to take bobcats out of it. It seems to me that mother nature has it down pretty good in spite of what man has done or mans opinion. Just something to think about. Dewey

[JTG]

That may be true in other states but not in Texas. It's much harder to tree a lion in Texas. For every 125 bobcats or there about you will catch one lion.



[quote="dwalton"]Bobcat hunting is always about good dog work. It is the elite in hound hunting, it is harder to train a bobcat dog than it is on any other game animal. That's just my opinion. ]

[al baldwin]

[JTG]

In South Texas there is a few lions and a bunch of Bobcats and mostly small tree’s and high fences. Most of the year it’s very hot and everything will stick you. I have friends that get close to a hundred bobcats and only hunt a few months out of the year and may get a lion or two a year, mostly cubs and sub-adults.

In East Texas there is a bunch of Bobcats and I have never seen a lion track, it’s also very hot and humid and hard to find good places. Years ago, there was many places to hunt, but with so many moving to Texas, I only have two good places left and one is high fence and the other is infested with Alligators and hogs. I was there today and it’s not, uncommon to see two bobcats a day.

In the Trans- Pecos area there is a bunch of Lions and a bunch of Bobcats. It’s very rough country and the lions beat feet and get out of there. It takes years to figure it out and know where to go, to catch lions on a regular basis. I have known houndsman that catch and tree young cubs and females, but very few tree adult toms on a regular basis. Most of the time it’s damn, it’s another bobcat. I have seen very few hounds with feet good enough to hunt weeks on end in this area.

Very few trappers left in Texas and even fewer houndsmans so the varmint population explode. I am not in the camp where the hounds do not get a mouth full, it’s very rewarding for them. I also do not believe that you should allow them to be rewarded every time. But if they do not have the desire and drive to finish the job, it’s not the cat that needs to be concerned, at least from me.

[mark]

Al, i must be a sap or a glutton for punishment cuz i love the challenge of the tough cats. If one beats us i will go back time and time again and purposly look for it (not talking the cats that live in and close to bad bluffs that head sraight to them) but cats that like to run the roads and bad briars etc. Jc,Warner,and i got beat on that Warner Cr cat but i have been back down there several times trying to get on it again but havent been able to. Usually if you run those cats enough times the dogs get a lucky break or the cat makes a mistake and they catch it. Anyhow maybe its because i dont care to ever shoot another cat that makes me prefer to run a tough cat that gives a good race and not catch it over an average cat race with tree. Good to see you back on here,did the winter treat you good?

[al baldwin]

Thanks for the reply John. I have not found it overly hard to train strait bobcat dogs to run only bobcat, the real challenge is training dogs that catch those tough cat a high percentage of the time. And not sure one can train a dog for that if the natural track style is not in them. For sure if I enjoyed hunting tighter mouth dogs would help, however enjoy hearing the dogs work not going to change at my age. As for places to hunt, my situation is about the same as yours & with age this steep, rugged ground adds to my limitations. Enjoyed hearing from you. Mark good to hear from you. I also must be a little strange, I enjoy those cats that give the dogs a challenge. You are spot on sooner or later those cats get caught. Just this winter tom & I had ran one several times & got beat. With no other place to hunt that day I was feeling bad that Tom had driven two hours to hunt with me & we most likely would get beat again. However the young dogs put it on that cat & after a good hard race & covering a bunch of ground treed that critter after throwing the old trimers out of the race. Made a couple senior citizens very proud. Mark I too have no desire to shoot a bunch of cats nowdays, that is not going to be a problem, not going to catch a bunch. Did have one two cat day & one of those was a ground catch. Also caught four one week, but those were the high times, over all sure never set any records. I was very pleased one of those young dogs i have from the Buddy cross looked real good this winter, be three in August, hard hunting dog, good nose. Type that we continue to road as our strike dog after some of the others start to tire. He does get balled up on some of those tight circling cats at times and not perfect but I will feed him. Good hunting to all Al

[lionhunter78]

In the area i hunt if you shot every cat you wouldn't have any to hunt. There few and far between, good thing most of what's left are good ones

[JTG]

It's different in different states. In Texas you could kill every bobcat and lion and it would cause the population to grow. There is just too much land and very few hound hunters and trappers. The problem here, is between the coyotes and the rest of the varmints, they have wiped out the small game. The red ants are also a huge problem for the small game. Also with so many liberal wacko's moving in from other states, they bring their liberal idea's and try to change Texas. Some, nice people who think they are helping, but only hurting the animals and the land they live in. With most of the land being private, everyone has their own methods of management.
Sometimes people try to use human thinking to hounds, which makes it difficult and frustrating for the hounds to understand. If you asked the hounds, they would tell you that they want a mouthful and anything else is a disappointment.