We`ve had lots of folks telling us they have seen bobcats crossing the county road at the base of the hill we bought a few years ago. Until we build there, it`s kind of our private hunting /lumber storage yard. It is bordered on 2 sides by state land, one side is county road (300 feet in elevation below), and the fourth is an uninhabited chunk to the north. On a quiet night you might hear the mammoth jack half a mile down the road, so it`s pretty secluded.
So, with the cats in mind, My 8 y/o, Isaiah and I headed up an hour before dark to see if we`d have a visitor. We have a 1/2 acre flat on top that I cleared for the new house and it is fine corroded shale/dirt so it`s a virtual gathering area for sign. We see Deer, Elk, Couger, bear, bobcat and coyote tracks each time we visit.
We didn`t get up on top any too soon, as it was already almost dark. 5 minutes to let the noise die off and a couple short woodpecker distress cries from the old Foxpro and that`s all. It`s hard sometimes to just sit but whatever experience I can claim has taught me that most folks call too much.
We set the LED tripod light up and turned it on. It is a big 'halo' generator but has no direct beam past about 5 feet. It is perfect for showing eyes without spooking game.
I guess we sat for 45 minutes and it was nearly as dark as it would get. I knew Isaiah was cold and I was tired of being on my keester but we stayed still and waited.
I was quietly explaining to I-Z that the halo would not spook the critters but would hopefully show us eyes, when all of a sudden there they were! Right on the edge of the flat area was the yellow lights, blinking now and then.
Isaiah saw them right when I did and I`ll never forget the "Ohhhhhh, Coooool Dad" that he wispered. It was darker than I thought and when I put the gun up I was SOOOO glad for the Ziess glass. I had a clear 80 yd shot and had a vertical hair but not the horizontal one, so had to center the critter in the scope and hope I had the elevation right. Just a thought and a tickle and the 223 Rem 700 belched and the eyeshine was gone.
Now it would be the nervous second guessing about the shot. Was I steady? Was it too dark and why didn`t I hear the "Whop" that I always hear when a yote gets sent to the principal`s office?
We got to the edge and looked over , and .... NOTHING. Oh crap, I must have missed because nothing walks away from a direct hit with the 50 grain Nosler Ballistic tips.... I knew Isaiah had high hopes that Dad didn`t screw it up.
I looked along the edge for blood and saw none in the halo of the light, but as it`s an LED and there`s no concentrated beam, I figured I`d bail over the edge and look around. That first step ended up being a 30 footer. Once I got stopped and was reasonably sure I was not going over the vertical edge 30 feet farther down, I noticed soft fur RIGHT THERE under my hand! COOL!
ISAIAH`s and my FIRST BOBCAT!!!!! YEEHAW!!! And no broken bones or bleeding on my part, Imagine That!!!
He ain`t big and he`s dark, with little in the way of the snow white belly with big pretty black spots I see you guys post all the time, but he`s the first I`ve killed without the aid of dogs and the best part is I had Isaiah with me.
The Nosler black bullet hit him while he was sitting on his rump looking around, square in the brisket and exiting the left shoulder near the spine. The entrance and exit holes were about equal. The Nos BT is nice for yotes as it is tougher than the Vmax and does not blow up fur. We learned this when hunting Deervarmints with Dana 5 years back. The Nosler dropped one deer after another like toilet seats.
Anyway, we cased him out and will probably need to pick a form out and mount him seeing as how he is OUR first.
Thank you to John in Ca and CJ for the help with the pics. It is easy enough once I realized I needed to post them on another website. Thanks to John and Mike for a greatly improved site we all benifit from.
Thanks for reading. I hope the next ones get easier. It`s been a long road to get to this one...
So.... Any good recipes for this kitty? I`m thinking teriyaki but maybe filleting the bones out of the rear legs and stuffing with bacon and mushrooms with an orange brandy sauce flambe`...
Cat... the other white meat..............
Cheers.
So, with the cats in mind, My 8 y/o, Isaiah and I headed up an hour before dark to see if we`d have a visitor. We have a 1/2 acre flat on top that I cleared for the new house and it is fine corroded shale/dirt so it`s a virtual gathering area for sign. We see Deer, Elk, Couger, bear, bobcat and coyote tracks each time we visit.
We didn`t get up on top any too soon, as it was already almost dark. 5 minutes to let the noise die off and a couple short woodpecker distress cries from the old Foxpro and that`s all. It`s hard sometimes to just sit but whatever experience I can claim has taught me that most folks call too much.
We set the LED tripod light up and turned it on. It is a big 'halo' generator but has no direct beam past about 5 feet. It is perfect for showing eyes without spooking game.
I guess we sat for 45 minutes and it was nearly as dark as it would get. I knew Isaiah was cold and I was tired of being on my keester but we stayed still and waited.
I was quietly explaining to I-Z that the halo would not spook the critters but would hopefully show us eyes, when all of a sudden there they were! Right on the edge of the flat area was the yellow lights, blinking now and then.
Isaiah saw them right when I did and I`ll never forget the "Ohhhhhh, Coooool Dad" that he wispered. It was darker than I thought and when I put the gun up I was SOOOO glad for the Ziess glass. I had a clear 80 yd shot and had a vertical hair but not the horizontal one, so had to center the critter in the scope and hope I had the elevation right. Just a thought and a tickle and the 223 Rem 700 belched and the eyeshine was gone.
Now it would be the nervous second guessing about the shot. Was I steady? Was it too dark and why didn`t I hear the "Whop" that I always hear when a yote gets sent to the principal`s office?
We got to the edge and looked over , and .... NOTHING. Oh crap, I must have missed because nothing walks away from a direct hit with the 50 grain Nosler Ballistic tips.... I knew Isaiah had high hopes that Dad didn`t screw it up.
I looked along the edge for blood and saw none in the halo of the light, but as it`s an LED and there`s no concentrated beam, I figured I`d bail over the edge and look around. That first step ended up being a 30 footer. Once I got stopped and was reasonably sure I was not going over the vertical edge 30 feet farther down, I noticed soft fur RIGHT THERE under my hand! COOL!
ISAIAH`s and my FIRST BOBCAT!!!!! YEEHAW!!! And no broken bones or bleeding on my part, Imagine That!!!
He ain`t big and he`s dark, with little in the way of the snow white belly with big pretty black spots I see you guys post all the time, but he`s the first I`ve killed without the aid of dogs and the best part is I had Isaiah with me.
The Nosler black bullet hit him while he was sitting on his rump looking around, square in the brisket and exiting the left shoulder near the spine. The entrance and exit holes were about equal. The Nos BT is nice for yotes as it is tougher than the Vmax and does not blow up fur. We learned this when hunting Deervarmints with Dana 5 years back. The Nosler dropped one deer after another like toilet seats.
Anyway, we cased him out and will probably need to pick a form out and mount him seeing as how he is OUR first.
Thank you to John in Ca and CJ for the help with the pics. It is easy enough once I realized I needed to post them on another website. Thanks to John and Mike for a greatly improved site we all benifit from.
Thanks for reading. I hope the next ones get easier. It`s been a long road to get to this one...
So.... Any good recipes for this kitty? I`m thinking teriyaki but maybe filleting the bones out of the rear legs and stuffing with bacon and mushrooms with an orange brandy sauce flambe`...
Cat... the other white meat..............
Cheers.