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Our Cameron/Meyers female was in on her first Bobcat finally after many coons and lions. We have been told to only run her on bobs now if we want her for a bob dog. I would like to know what you all think . I also would like to know what you all are talking about rigging for cats. I thought that was a bear hunting thing mostly

I'm also tryin to post pics of the bobcat but no luck so far.
Thanks

you live where theres snow,so why rig,just look down at the snow.its not that hard to see a bobcat track.

Our season Starts Dec1. with a quota in each region. This year the snow was very late and occassionally we have dry ground. Usually a mixture of both.. I'm mostly just curios as to the effectiveness on an animal I thought did not leave much scent to begin with. For coons/bears I was taught they leave alot more

I really would like to know if a dog can strike a lion or bobcat from the truck. Please correct me if I'm wrong about the amount of scent put out by a cat. Education is the key to preserving our sport and I appreciate those of you who are willing to help the rest of us. thanks

they can rig lions and bob's in the right area. Throw in temp, humidity, dryness, all are factors. Mt winter temps are not very forgiving for a dog standing on the rig, too cold. The Wa. Or. bob hunters do well rigging for bobs, but the climate humudity and temps are much different from Mt, not tryingto start anything here, but it has been my observation and others as well that those dogs tend to struggle in the dry western states, I would avoid them for what you are trying to do and make your own rig dog or look for one out of Ut, Id, Az. Remember that the colder the temp the less scent can rise out of a frozen track.

Thanks Larry. I was just curious about it, not wanting to try hear just didn't understand.

I really would like to know if a dog can strike a lion or bobcat from the truck.

YES- they can strike a bobcat--

we have very few bobcat here- i dont think it would be practical to rig for them-- but ive struck a few off the truck just by accident when bear hunting-

i can count the times its happened on my fingers lol but i can look for 3-4 days on snow to find one bobcat track -

ive also seen a cat cross road that they didnt strike -

have had them strike tracks from in the box behind snowmobile --

not an everyday thing - but not always a real fresh track either --

wernt bobcat dogs either- just stupid ol beardogs that would run a cat -- they were better than average rig dogs-

- i always thought , if they can smell it behind that stinky smokey snowmobile in the winter , should be easy on back of pickup

if conditions are so bad that you could never strike a cat off the truck-- why would you expect to run it on the ground-

have seen a few dogs that would pretty regularly strike a bear track off the truck that they couldnt move on the ground- or just barely move--
-as old as i want to try and start on the ground


nyways-- i cant tell you if they can -- or if its practical -- anyplace else-

my buddy had one dog that would regularly strike a bear track from fresh air vent -inside cab of a pickup-- once he found that out, he got a kick out of it ,hunted her alot like that --
she was better inside cab than most on top of dog box-

id bet she could strike a bobcat or lion track--- if you could drive over it ---

i had a dog that would strike a bear track that hadnt crossed the road--- ill just say , a looooooooooooonnnnnnnngggggg way from the road---

wouldnt call her extremely cold nosed- - she could wind them--lol



when u see a fresh track in road----rig your dog over it slow- -- TRY IT --every chance you get -

you can rig and look for tracks at same time when its not super cold-

dog can rig from inside a box when its colder-

if that dog cant rig a track, it doesnt mean another cant--

it doesnt mean a dog that can even has a better nose -

it may mean a dog that can ,just has a hair trigger, barks easy--

or tons of experience , or both

ive seen a few dogs ,that if they couldnt rig it--

i doubt they could run it





-

Thanks Pete.. I would think you would have bobs there..no rabbits?

I would think you would have bobs there..no rabbits?

we dont have the rabbits we used to --

we have a few bobcats - lol total kill for the whole state including trapping hunting roadkill and nuisance -- was about 30 over a ten year period ,a few years ago



has been going up lately

i think the highest kill in recent years was around 70



for example this is 1999/2000


A total of 29 bobcat (including 10 animals which died of starvation or motor vehicle accidents),

do you have lynx? Bobcat #s here seem to be slowing down..lack of food plus the prices for pelts the last few years have taken a toll I think. Quota numbers are down in our region. We finally got one (42 lb) Very exciting but not likely to occur again(that size)..but we'lll be happy with any size .It may be interesting to try some rigging methods here just to see.. Sometimes we do not have very good snow for tracking and need all the advantages we can use lol.

I have caught a few cats from the rig while bear hunting Not on a regular basis. Everything was just right.
On Bear-
Have had a few times when we walked a track and found were it left the road into some better cover were the dogs could trail it and get it going. Never acted like it was there in the road.
Pete had a lot of good tips and info in my opinion.
I say there is alot to rigging and rig dogs

we have a few lynx- they are protected-


a game warden shot one killing chickens- thought it was a bobcat --

was first one officially killed in 40 years - lol

i see quite a few tracks- in some areas --
ve never seen one in vt , just tracks , i do see more tracks every year--


have seen one , up close , in maine --


we have enuff hare to support a few lynx- you would think we would have more bobcat --

Always gotta chuckle when the Game Dep. makes a mistake! Did he get a ticket Lynx are in different areas of the state but not locally...

I have a huntin buddy that rigs coon with his dogs on a regular basis. Temperature and humidity plays a major role in the dogs ability to wind the scent from the truck. We have struck coon in all types of weather but as a rule of thumb the wetter and warmer the faster we can travel and still have them strike. Top speed was 55mph when we were traveling from spot A to B on a misty early fall evening. These dogs aren't line bred but all contain some amount of Minisink Valley or Vaughn blood in the pedigree. The dog's ability to strike from the truck is what drew me into coon hunting, I couldn't believe they had the ability to do this. My friend has told me many stories of past dogs he's had that had the ability to rig, even one that could sit on the passenger seat of his old nova and wind them through the a/c vents (or the holes in the floor lol). He has always had a rig dog and has had the pups pick up this trait from a started dog. I would love to hear about the experiences you have with rig dogs and how you get your dogs to do this. Is it a learned behavior or genetic trait? Thanks...
Jesse

just gonna throw out my opinion, not that it is worth much. if you want a strike dog for bobcat, hunting in the snow is possibly not the best thing to do. you have to get them on some cats to show them what you want, i understand. i dont think you will really hurt thier training or anything but try not to rely on it. i see so many guys around here that when it snows, WERE CAT HUNTIN NOW. the only way they can get after one is snow. there are bad types of snow, poor humidity, frozen conditions and what ever else. it is not a given that you are gonna tree a cat in the snow, im not bashing snow hunters. if you want a true strike dog, hunt like there isnt any snow at all. it will tell tou a lot about your dog, and if you live in an area like me we have about 5 days of snow a year. there is such a small amount of scent on a old bob track that if your dog isnt looking for a bob when you leave the house, chances are you arent gonna strike one off the truck unless it is hot. we dont have a huge abundance of game here so i dont like to rely on a hot track. dogs are just like anything else, they tend to like and do the best on what they are most familiar with. myself if i needed a strike dog i would buy a pup from the best cat hunter i knew and hunt with him, hunt in the snow and by myself and try to get the dog on as many cats as i could. remember not every dog will make in my opinion is a real cat strike dog. for instance, my best dog i have ever owned died last year at 5 years old. lymphoma cancer, didnt see that one coming. i bred him the year before and thought i had at least 3 years of hard hunting left. i had a mee too dog and a lazy dog that treed real well and 2 pups. i was hurting when trigger died. i had to buy a strike dog, i tried 1 for $5000, it would strike well but wouldnt tree, i tried 1 for 3500, it wasnt worth 500, i tried one for 2000 that i knew about and he is a dandy in every way. i bought him and now my pups outa trigger are 2 and a half and rolling. the thing is a top strike dog is like gold in my opinion, when you have one there are cats everywhere, even where you didnt think one was. if you have to invest in one to start it is cheap really 3 4 5 thousand, big deal if you really like this that will save you that much in gas looking for dogs running coyotes? people spend tens of thousands on boats that they use 10 times a year.atleast thats how i relate it to my wife. if you get or train one always keep some good young stock that strikes around, dont let feelings get in the way of culling dogs, keep an open mind and hunt every chance you get. good luck, take some&leave some...