Okay. So we're trying to locate a covey of Bobwhites that we just flushed around an old homestead on our lease, and my dog starts pointing. My buddy notices something running up the tree and yells at me. I look up and see what I think is a wild cat up in the tree about 10 feet away just looking at me (We had a problem with wild cats near this abandoned homestead on our lease, but that's another story). I'm checking out this cat peeking over the tree limb and then notice that there is another right below the first that is just hugging the trunk of the tree. I notice that the second cat's tail is bobbed, and start to put 2 and 2 together. Spots, pointy ears, little mane on each side of the face, and a little goatee.

My dog is going nuts and these two baby bobcats are staring right at him but not moving a muscle. I call my buddy around and tell him that there are 2 bobcats in the tree. We stand there and look at them for awhile and I realize that the momma cat may be watching us somewhere and I don't want to get caught with only a 20 Ga shotgun around a protective momma Bobcat. We both decide that we need to go ahead and shoot them. We unload several rounds in the top cat and another 2 rounds in the cat hugging the trunk. They both drop, but I had to reload to finish off the smaller of the 2 cats. I can't believe how hard these cats were to kill from about 10 feet away. I sometimes carry a 357 Mag in case I see a hog - and I think I'll make it a habit now.

We looked around and found a 3rd baby cat already dead in the doorway of the pumphouse. Not sure what happened to it, but the momma cat was obviously AWOL.

I felt bad about killing them, but I was afraid for my dog. Besides - they are predators and they eat quail eggs and quail.............right??

Here's a pic. Anybody had a similar experience? I shot at a bobcat last year on this same lease. My dog jumped it in a bush that was about 20 feet away from me. It ran crouched down at first and I thought it was a rabbit, so I didn't shoot at it right away. After it got about 20 yards away from me, it stood all the way up and took off. I fired off 4 rounds and I know I hit it at least once because I saw his tail end lift up. Scared the you know what out of me and my dog was lucky to escape unharmed because he ran right up on the cat.

I think you made the right decision.

Wow...I couldn't kill a kitten.

bad call! i hunt adult cats for the sport not kittens weres the sport!

I wouldn't have shot them.Man PETA loves pictures like this.

I think you did the right thing. Most ranches I have hunted on there is an agreement that we would take out any bobcat, coyote, or mountain lion we saw regardless of age the small ones do grow into big ones. I also believe that by killing them you gave them a quick death rather than the way it sometimes happens when the mother is taken out and no one knew about the kittens and they starve or become coyote bait. You also stated that you found a third dead, sounds like mom had already left them for some reason. I wouldnt have enjoyed killing them but I would have done the same thing. This is just my thoughts on the subject. I will say that I do hunt coyotes and bobcats but not for sport but because I have seen first hand what they do to young calves and baby goats.

I feel a little bit torn on this one. I agree that you probably did the "merciful" thing but I feel bad about you taking those kittens. I know a guy personally who has two pet bobcats and they're actually awesome pets under the right conditions. I'll just say no harm no fowl this time around but let your conscience be your guide.

bobcats tend to hang out around old abdoned buildings! I see no problem with killing them at all,there has become an over abundance of fur bearers due to the lack of trapping.A choice has to be made! do you want birds or varmints? your pictures show more taste than do most of the bloody distasteful deer pics on here! so the cats are young? they are old enough to be fending for themsleves by far,there may have been another health problem ,such as distemper or any number of diseases!
congrats on some good looking birds and cats!

guess is rite i think you made the rite dec.they look harmless but that bird dog wouldnt have thought so if they had got hold of him,they are fearce pred...

i agree glen, varments are varments. big,little,healthy or deseased. ask a goat or sheep rancher what they think.

teamron

The state doesnt regulate them, they can be leaglly killed by any means. It,s just like a little rattlesnake , it grows to a big one.I am really surprised that another hunter would take offense to shooting them . If it was on my quail lease every one I saw would be shot, the are quail killing machines. As far as PETA goes, I couldnt care less for that bunch of "bunny huggers".This post is not made to offend anyone, it's my personal opinion.

Yeah you have the right, but if your justification is being scared of a BOBCAT, then you shouldnt be in the woods.

I agree...being afraid of a bobcat is a pretty thin excuse. Not that I disagree with you taking them out. You have the right to protect your game and I doubt that you hurt the population any. I've seen dogs torn up by bobcats, but only when they were wounded and hemmed up. It is not unusual for bobcats to leave young this age for long periods of time...but the mother could have been a road frizbee. Posting pics of dead baby bobcats is in pretty poor taste though...it is all about perception. No...I don't care what PETA thinks, so let's not go there. I do, however, think that we as hunters want to put forth a positive image to the public at large. Dead kitten pictures do not do that. Sorry about the preaching...I just feel pretty strongly about our image as hunters. I'm sure I'll take my A*& eating for it now, but that is OK too...lol.

I don't know about this one...

Honestly, I would have left them alone. Not going to condem anyone for shooting them though. I shoot every rattle snake I see reguardless of size. Some think that's wrong to do. I don't know...

I was hunting with a gentleman about 35 years ago, that shot a bobcat about the same size as those in your picture. It was the only time I ever got to hunt quail over dogs. I was about 16 at the time, so it may hve been a couple of years farther back.

While there seems to be a lot of mixed emotions about this, I think shooting the cats was the right thing to do, posting the picture may not have been.

This is a case of Situational Ethics. You felt in this case, it would be in the best interest of your quail to shoot these cats, I would have done the same thing.

It doesn't hurt to feel some remorse or whatever you want to call it, for shooting young animals, but how many people feel that way if they shoot a young deer.

I think it was a good story and you did what you felt was right.

I don't feel any remorse at all. I'd take the same course of action again if the same situation presented itself. I'm sure the cattle rancher would thank me. I don't think registered Herefords are cheap to come by, and the rancher has lots of calves this time of year. And I'm also sure that the neighboring EXOTIC RANCH would also appreciate the killing of any predators in the area.

I'll shoot any varmint/predator I see, although I don't specifically hunt for them. Luckily, I haven't seen that many on this lease.

Heaven:

Sounds to me like your a coward, you should have tried to catch those cats, and taken them to the shelter. Poor wild animals, all they are trying to do is survive and catch as many quail as they can. I wish you had taken different action. Judging from your post, you are sorry you did it. I hope you can live with yourself. And those pictures how distasteful, all the animals are dead, its like you were hunting.

mark3,
I'm not sure how to take your post. On one hand you seem to be insulting 257heaven and on the other it seems to be sarcasm. Please clarify, if you don't mind.

I am in no way insulting Heaven, I was trying to make a point of how absurd it is to question his judgement and to insinuate that he should feel remorse for taking an animal whether it be a predator or a game animal. I think that GUESS (the predator expert) cleared the air by saying that those cats were obviously old enough to fend for themselves. However, everyone acted as if Heaven stold those young cats out from under their mother. I was not speaking directly to your post Mr. Cooper.

I don't see any problem in shooting the cute little wild kittens, as yall put it. In a few more months they are going to big wild cats, I guess it will be all right then. The point is, they are a wild cat that preys on game that we can eat. Maybe he shouldn't have posted the pictures, that was his decision. If he hadn't we would not be having this good discussion.

Are you in a bad mood, mark3? I get that way myself sometimes, but I don't spread it on here. Here's the deal: This is a public forum where anything you say can be replied to by anyone at anytime. If you want a private conversation - there's the PM feature for that. Calling another person a coward would be good for the PM feature, don't you think? If you say it in public, you're apt to get called on it in public.

Let's not make this a nasty forum where name-calling is the norm. There's plenty of trashy sites for such as that.

Well Ok so you werent scared of the cats.
But your new justification is pretty funny
Those dang bobcats are just hell on calves, your kidding are you not?

I dont think you need a reason to shoot anything you just do it or you dont but after working with ranchers on our lease for the last seven years in the rolling plains no one has ever mentioned or assumed a cat/coyote has ever eatin a calf now this year a mt. lion was spotted and I've seen tracks at the feeders but our ranch lady said she has never(78 years) lost a calf to any cat/coyote now if the wolfs start to migrate south it could get ugly!