Today my mom informed me about some type of large, yellow cat that has been seen around my grandparents land and surrounding neighbors and to watch for it whenever I'm out there. She made a hand gesture 2-3 ft. off the ground as to how tall/large it might be.

I've never hunted for anything like this before so what might be the best way to go about getting this or attracting it? Night? Electronic call?

-Thanks.

There many ways to hunt them. But they do cover a large area. Electronic or mouth calls work or you could also try your luck at baiting the cat. But like I said they travel over a large area so it might be weeks before it is seen again in the same area.

I've been dealing with one at my dads place, and even with cameras out and plenty for it to eat in the way of other animals, I have yet to see it. It comes through once a month, so you have to be on your toes if you do find it, because chances are you'll never get that 2nd chance.

What would be the best for baiting? When is the best time to try and hunt it?

I was told that it's been seen by a few different people in about a 5 mile area.

I am not sure what bait would be best, but when we tested the original prototype for the Blazer, we called one in with an electronic call using the rabbit distress mode. He walked to within 5-10 feet of the call before he shot it. We weren't planning on calling in a mtn lion, so we put the call about 30-40 feet from us...don't make that mistake. Luckily, the Blazer lit up the whole treeline and the tank so we were able to see it work it's way toward the call, otherwise it could have very easily attacked one of us and we'd have never known what hit us.

I am assuming you are talking about a mountain lion.

3' tall and yellow...a mtn lion would be the safest guess I would think.

I have no clue. The info I posted above is all I was told. I haven't seen it myself.

Does anyone recommend any decent electronic calls? I would prefer to stay under 75 bucks. New or used doesn't matter. I've heard a lot about the FoxPro but don't want to dish out that much cash for one.

Try traps, calling, and spotlighting. Us a whole rabbit for bait on each trap. Cats around Brady love em. Then whatever cat calls you can come up with. Pm me for the trap info if you need any.

You can make your own ecaller using your mp3 player. Google it and you'll find the instructions. I made mine for less than $30. Works great.

Extra large cat toy and a lot of catnip!
In all seriousness if its really a mt lion the likelyhood of ever seeing it or much less getting a shot are almost zero. The males have a range of 70 miles. However, baiting with fresh kills and calling with an electronic call couldn't hurt your chances any. I know several people that have seen them but only one person that has killed one and it was a guided hunt in Wyoming.

I've thought about the ipod thing before. Doesn't seem like it would be very hard with a stereo/speaker that was battery powered.

Aggiehunter, that's discouraging news knowing they have a range of 70 miles although I was told a few people around the area have seen it. I wouldn't doubt if it was just a larger bobcat but from the reading I have been doing, there have been sightings as well as some mtn lions that have been killed in east/north east texas.

00possum, thanks but I don't think I'll be using a trap for now at least.

Not sure how far you are from me but you can try my fox pro.

Just looked you are way north.

I wish I could but San Marcos is a good ways from here.

Got a little bit more info about what it is. It's not a bobcat. It's got a long tail on it so from now on I'll be assuming that it's a mtn. lion. I figured it would be a large bobcat because I can't recall ever hearing of anyone seeing a mtn. lion around here but I've seen numerous bobcats. When my dad was talking to the people who live adjacent to where the land is, he told me that they were acting like they had seen it a few times so that's encouraging news.

I'll probably go out there this weekend and set up a few cameras. I might get lucky.

could be any kind of cat some bodys escaped exotic pet , who knows

just a of it is a mountian lion ? why you gonna kill it ? get it mounted ? is it messing with livestock ?

an befor yall go it could eat this an that an blah blah , i have horses goats chickens dogs an all that an if i seen one i dont think i would shoot it unless it was eattin something or i had money on hand to get it mounted , let the sucker reproduce then you will have more to shoot at lol or just watch it you know enjoy nature , an animal thats rare an you dont get to see much ,
i guess i just have killed enough stuff that i enjoy watch animals that i dont get to see much ,more than killin them , but whatever if you shoot it post some pics they always cool to look at , i was just wondering what your plan was after you shoot it

This is a hunting forum not a nature watching forum. Shoot it and post it on here and you will have instant rock star status. Then get a full body mount done. Good luck hope you get him.

I know there's lots of cattle around and I do know that they had a few calves killed last year(don't know if it is related or not). I definitely have plans to get it mounted but I'm not going to get my hopes to high just yet.

Aggiehunter, a full body mount is the plan if I get him. I'm pretty excited to know that something like this is around here.

Also, does anyone know when the best time to go out and hunt for it? Morning, day, late evening, or night? I've heard stories of people having bobcats/mtn lions sneaking up on someone until they were right on them at night. Hope I don't become it's next meal lol.

I don't know the statistics but I would say you are more likely to be attacked by a Chupacabra or Werewolf than to become the victim of a Mountain Lion attack. Don't see them on the news eating people real often. Why don't you try hanging up a skinned hog from a tree with a game cam watching it like they do in Africa. Would be interesting to see what showed up to eat on it anyway.

I've never heard of doing that before. I think I might try some sardines. I've heard of people using that for bobcats before. Will hopefully be going out there to setup some cameras this evening.

If it is a mt. lion, check creek bottoms and of course watering locations look for tracks that look like this:


Mt. lions don't usually eat on thing that are already dead (not to say that it never happens, it's just not what they preffer). Where you do find tracks, try to find where they're headead, more than likely it will be a route with the most cover. Also be on the look out for "scrapes", they look like you put mittens on your hands and pilled up dirt, leaves, gravel, etc. with your hands side by side and only from one side of the pile. What ever side the scrape marks are on, that's the direction he was headed. Sometimes there will be scat in these, most of the time just a little squirt of urine. What these scrapes are is the male marking his territory. They lead females to them and chalange other males to stay away. If you find scrapes you're deffinetly in his backyard. Very rarly will they attack you because they've seen you coming for a good ways off and have left the area. If you wound it or corner it though, make sure you have plenty of lead flying towards it.

Calling them or ambushing them on a travel route work fairly good, but it's one of those right time right place things. They do travel far, but if he has picked a home and feels pretty safe there sighting will become more frequent. Best time of the day is just after dark till just after sunup. Durring daylight hours they're usually sleeping.

Good luck and be safe.

put a goat in a hog trap near a creek bottom or a good water hole and get ready for a long wait. Those things steady travel and 5miles is nothing but a days stroll. Is there a river close by?

I love calling coyotes and bobcats and would love to get to hunt a Mt Lion one day. I dont want to do the whole tree it with dogs that are not mine and shoot it out of a tree though. I would like to have a opportunity like Ryan81 to actually try to outwit the cat! Good luck man, I am gonna keep an eye on this thread and hope you get your cat!

Deserthunting, thank you for the information. I'll keep all of that in mind and maybe I'll run across something. I will also have plenty of lead with me. I'll be taking my AR and my Supernova with me. The AR for longer distances and the Benelli just in case I spot her and there is a house nearby.

Navasot, there is a river/creek nearby. It's not very large but carries water. There is also a smaller creek or two that runs through the property. It usually doesn't hold a whole lot of water though unless it rains.

MGS, just curious, where do you call bobcats and coyotes? Place near Royse City? I know there are some bobcats around here as well as a lot of coyotes but I've never tried anything with them. I would love to get a bobcat though.

Alright, I got some information that has me excited. Talked to my grandad and uncle. Was told that my grandad saw it about 2 months ago and as the crow flies, it was probably 1-2 miles from the land. He also said that the neighbor who has land next to us saw it a while back which could have been up to a year ago. He didn't give a date. He didn't give a date on this but the way all of this information came up and he was talking I will assume this was more recent and the neighbor told him he saw it again. That's three sightings within probably a 3-5 mile area. Neighbor also said he saw two little ones with her. I don't know if that was the most recent time, the first time he saw it, or both. I think he was talking about the first time but I'm not certain.

My uncle also said that last year over the course of a few days, two calves were killed and eaten. So with those two occurrences, there is a total of 5 possibilities that it is around here with 3 of them being sightings. I'll be going out there this weekend to set up some cameras. Don't know what I'll use as bait though. Before when I thought it was a bobcat, I was reading that they like sardines so I might a bunch of that.

Thanks everyone for the information and tips. It's appreciated.