Bobcat

I’ve seen a couple bobcat at my place. They’re awfully fun to watch, but I’d like to take one and get it mounted. Two questions:

Is there an ideal time of the year that their fur is best?
What caliber would you suggest? I’m in east Texas so I don’t want to have to track it through the brush, but I also don’t want to blow it out and damage the hide.

Thanks.

You are still in season right now! I wouldn't wait very much longer though. I would suggest a small caliber varmint round. I use a 224 Valkyrie, but you could use a 223, really any light v-max style round. Anyways best of luck I hope you get one!!

Might be pushing it for Texas.
Maybe you have a pair and could wait til next February and target the male ?
We trap them so .22 works great for us.

You'll get better caliber info from the folks on here who varmint hunt more than me.
Good luck though, they are neat animals and make nice mounts, or we just case skin and get tanned and leave whole. You can handle the hide and lay it wherever you want. Don't have to worry about getting a hideous mount back either.

The Texas Outdoor Annual lists bobcats as a non-game animal, and as such has no season. Unless I’m severely misreading the rules.....in which case, please correct me.

That it’s legal may not mean it’s smart to do so. I don’t know how many I have....in the last two years, I’ve seen three that I’m pretty sure are different cats. One of them I know was different because he was very beat up....was missing an ear and looked like he’d lost a fight. I’ve seen two this year, and i don’t get a chance to go out that much. I sure don’t want to clean them out, however.

I just didn’t want to rip up the hide with too much power, or just wound it with too small of a round.

Any 22 caliber

I was only speaking to fur quality as far as pushing it.
Yes you can legally shoot one any time down there but they are much prettier when fully furred up, especially for a mount. Up here Feb. is prime.

If the hunting is good for them they will stick around. Like I said if it's a pair go for the tom, bigger cat.
Up here they do not affect our game populations like they can down there, we manage the take for more in the future. Their hides are worth hundreds of dollars for us. Leave the females to repopulate and take nice toms. We trap them and can release the small toms and females if the area warrants it.

A .22 will do and yes too much power will blow a huge hole if hit in the wrong spot. Don't blow the head off or a shoulder hit. A heavy solid bullet will work too, just 2 small holes entry and exit.

You might pm Mr Roberson on some calling techniques. Bobcats are curious and will come to calls , he would have some ideas for you I bet.

ive killed several with 17hmr up to a 223 softpoint , ive killed one a few years ago the last week of april and fur was good enough to mount

We’ve had enough cold nights in ETex that they are probably still holding the winter coat. Best way to tell is to ground check them. Either way you will have fun.

This might help you decide on a fur friendly bullet and caliber:

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3214362[/img]

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I'd wait till next January or February so the fur is full. Now the fur has begun to slip, meaning their winter coats are thinning out.

Yep, they will look nice now but fur is not high quality. February would be prime even down there.
Your cats are kind of thin on fur anyway so I would wait til they re fully furred unless you're doing predator control for the fawns
I know that up here just a couple of weeks can make a huge difference in fur prices on bobcats.

Winchester 17WSM 20-25gr or Federal 22LR 25gr worked well for me.