Top Ten Bobcat

[Adipose]

Is that the reason I can't find the records online? You need to be a member to see them? Is it also true for Rowland Ward, or are those records available online somewhere?

I have not been all that interested in scoring or record books. I am very glad that people are though, because I think it is important to have a metric to know what is quality and mature and for historical purposes as well as conservation. Sometimes I think I should enter animals I have that would qualify, but I go back and forth on it.

I believe you need to be a member to access the page. In todays world I think that reason has more to do with Privacy. It saddens me that most photos never get posted or hunters have to hide their faces and accomplishments. It's another reason to support SCI.
I think the majority of animals never get scored or entered. Everyone has their own goals and although a record book may give you an idea what a truly exceptional representation of the species is, most are just happy knowing.
The one area of the awards I personally like with SCI is the milestone, species and continent awards. It is not easy to achieve but certainly helps set goals and dream up ideas for future hunts.

 

[Green Chile]

Bobcats are a very interesting subject. I only seem to see them when I’m not hunting or don’t have a tag, etc. I have wanted to take one for 40+ years and none so far! I just don’t have good hunting luck with cats in general. Awesome animals.

 

[buck wild]

Come on down Greenchile. We’ll get you one. I just saw a big tom that had orange patches on him yesterday. I thought it was a coyote at first and had gun on him and safety clicked off when I noticed it was a cat. I got a little video and let him walk off.

 

[Sabre]

Bobcats are a very interesting subject. I only seem to see them when I’m not hunting or don’t have a tag, etc. I have wanted to take one for 40+ years and none so far! I just don’t have good hunting luck with cats in general. Awesome animals.

That's how it has gone for me as well. It was probably a 10 year stretch of me never seeing one and being hunting/having a tag at the same time. I have seen many while not hunting, I have seen some when not having a tag, I have seen other people get quite a few of them, but never was able to get one myself. I actually went on a hunt in Texas a bit ago specifically to try and get a bobcat. Then I ended up getting the one mentioned in this post right before going, which was good, because Texas didn't pan out how I expected.

I would love to hunt more bobcat. I think they are one of the coolest looking animals in NA.

 

[Green Chile]

I would love to hunt more bobcat. I think they are one of the coolest looking animals in NA.

I agree...I just want more success than what we have seen so far!

 

[Sabre]

I agree...I just want more success than what we have seen so far!

Yes, it is funny how some locations have so many that people think nothing of them and have gotten hundreds. And for others it can be a once in a lifetime animal.

 

[buck wild]

Yes, it is funny how some locations have so many that people think nothing of them and have gotten hundreds. And for others it can be a once in a lifetime animal.

I got could have killed 5-6 big cats this year without any specific effort to target them. Just running across them while deer hunting. I didn’t shoot any of them bc I’ve killed plenty in the past. We don’t need tags in Texas, nor a specific season as long as you have a hunting license.

 

[Sabre]

I got could have killed 5-6 big cats this year without any specific effort to target them. Just running across them while deer hunting. I didn’t shoot any of them bc I’ve killed plenty in the past. We don’t need tags in Texas, nor a specific season as long as you have a hunting license.

That sounds amazing. I have only hunted in Texas once for Javelina and Bobcat. The Javelina were there, but not the bobcats. I had heard so many stories about how many bobcat were in texas I kind of figured they would be all over when predator hunting. But ended up not having a chance at any predators at all.

 

[Sarg]

You got me interested so I pulled out my biggest BC skull and it's 8 14/16". Just squeaked into Gold and would be tied with 21 other people for #27 OR. I have another big one in the freezer but it hasn't been cleaned yet. Maybe I'll pull it out soon and check it. I might be sitting on a world record

Are the Bobcats in Texas large ?

I like the Cats & was always keeping an eye open for where to go get one, I had hunters from the East say they had the biggest Bobcats there & I think Coyotes ?

If Texas is a go I might try for the animals I’d like there, being Javelin, Coyote (only had a couple of chances in Alaska & couldn’t shoot or worse, missed one) Bobcat, Aoudad & Allagator, don’t suppose all possible in one trip ?

Hard to find what you want in the US from outside, where they are good size, numbers of, likely hood of obtaining & as a nonresident if you are even able to hunt said animals.

I bought off eBay a huge Bobcat, Badger & Otter skull for my collection (I love Otters so wouldn’t want to kill one) only to loss all but the Badger to our Wildlife Department as they didn’t have the correct paperwork.

 

[buck wild]

Are the Bobcats in Texas large ?

I like the Cats & was always keeping an eye open for where to go get one, I had hunters from the East say they had the biggest Bobcats there & I think Coyotes ?

If Texas is a go I might try for the animals I’d like there, being Javelin, Coyote (only had a couple of chances in Alaska & couldn’t shoot or worse, missed one) Bobcat, Aoudad & Allagator, don’t suppose all possible in one trip ?

Hard to find what you want in the US from outside, where they are good size, numbers of, likely hood of obtaining & as a nonresident if you are even able to hunt said animals.

I bought off eBay a huge Bobcat, Badger & Otter skull for my collection (I love Otters so wouldn’t want to kill one) only to loss all but the Badger to our Wildlife Department as they didn’t have the correct paperwork.

Predator contests have become big in Texas in the past few years. One of the bigger contest is the West Texas Predator Contest. They give away big money, I think most years it takes a mid-30 lb cat to win. I normally see 24-28 lb cats in my area. My biggest is right at 28 lbs. I don't know how that stacks up against the northern states but I suspect they kill bigger-bodied cats up there.

The ranch where I guide has javelina, coyote, bobcat and alligators, but no aoudads I think the aoudad/alligator combo will be the hardest to find together. There are places within an hour of me that did high fence aoudad hunts.

I suspect you didn't have the right Cities tags for the stuff you lost uh ?

 

[Sarg]

Predator contests have become big in Texas in the past few years. One of the bigger contest is the West Texas Predator Contest. They give away big money, I think most years it takes a mid-30 lb cat to win. I normally see 24-28 lb cats in my area. My biggest is right at 28 lbs. I don't know how that stacks up against the northern states but I suspect they kill bigger-bodied cats up there.

The ranch where I guide has javelina, coyote, bobcat and alligators, but no aoudads I think the aoudad/alligator combo will be the hardest to find together. There are places within an hour of me that did high fence aoudad hunts.

I suspect you didn't have the right Cities tags for the stuff you lost uh ?

Thank you for that, yes I thought same on the Aoudad & yes wanted free range Ram.

I could drop the Ram off, we can find good Aoudad in SA but not near my normal areas.

On the Gator was hoping for a large guy, 11-13ft model not sure that’s possible in one trip ?

Yes who knew you needed CITES for Bobcat, well not back then I didn’t !

Appreciate the information.

 

[Sabre]

Are the Bobcats in Texas large ?

I like the Cats & was always keeping an eye open for where to go get one, I had hunters from the East say they had the biggest Bobcats there & I think Coyotes ?

If Texas is a go I might try for the animals I’d like there, being Javelin, Coyote (only had a couple of chances in Alaska & couldn’t shoot or worse, missed one) Bobcat, Aoudad & Allagator, don’t suppose all possible in one trip ?

Hard to find what you want in the US from outside, where they are good size, numbers of, likely hood of obtaining & as a nonresident if you are even able to hunt said animals.

I bought off eBay a huge Bobcat, Badger & Otter skull for my collection (I love Otters so wouldn’t want to kill one) only to loss all but the Badger to our Wildlife Department as they didn’t have the correct paperwork.

In general the bobcats in the south will be a bit smaller than the ones in the north. Although some would say that you are more likely to get a cat with better spotting in the south.

You could fairly easily find a place that has Javelina, Aoudad, Coyote, and Bobcat. As you have seemed to already realize the alligator and aoudad in the same place are a bit less likely.

Thank you for that, yes I thought same on the Aoudad & yes wanted free range Ram.

I could drop the Ram off, we can find good Aoudad in SA but not near my normal areas.

On the Gator was hoping for a large guy, 11-13ft model not sure that’s possible in one trip ?

Yes who knew you needed CITES for Bobcat, well not back then I didn’t !

Appreciate the information.

It might be worth it to book hunts on two different ranches on the same trip and drive a few hours to go from the alligator hunt to the Aoudad hunt.

In regards to wanting an 11-13 foot alligator, the thing about that nowadays will be the price. The prices a lot of places want if you get up in that range are typically quite high now. The price has gone up a lot because there was an increased demand after gator hunting shows became popular and people became more interested. It takes a very long time for an alligator to get to 12ft.