Does this cat make me look fat? (story added)

[Okanagan]

Taken while y'all were off playing at LBL.  Didn't post till now so I wouldn't distract from that fun.

[HaMeR]

That is a nice looking cat!! 30lbs?? Congratulations!! 

[Okanagan]

That is a nice looking cat!! 30lbs?? Congratulations!! 

Thanks!  He was big but really lean with almost zero fat, an old tom with broken and worn down teeth.  I doubt that he weighed 30 pounds though he was close and had the frame and size for that much weight.

[HaMeR]

He sure looked big enough. He's still a nice looking cat with good spots. 

[golfertrout]

nice one and yes you still look fat :roflmao: but not as fat as me

[Bills Custom Calls]

Nice Job on the cat 

[KySongDog]

Nice cat!   

I beginning to think you might be a wee bit camera shy.   

[Ech Hunter]

nice cat wtg

[buckcrazy]

beautiful cat what did you do with him. id love to have him to mount if the price is rite

[Okanagan]

Nice cat!  

I beginning to think you might be a wee bit camera shy.  

Thanks!

It was overcast with a real low ceiling that day as you can see.

[pitw]

Yep sure does . Great looking cat you got there but the story is a might sketchy .  Glad you got and got him seeing as you couldn't be at the LBL .

[GunDog]

Does this cat make me look fat?

I don't know about fat but he does make ya look a might short, grin. Congrats on the kitty! 

[FinsnFur]

Nice
He's got some beautiful spots

[Hawks Feather]

Really looks like a nice prime pelt.

Jerry

[Okanagan]

OK, I have more time now so will post the rest of the story.



I was hunting with a young friend named Caleb, 20 years old, brand new to hunting and super eager.  He hadn’t bought a bobcat tag so when we saw one sitting by the road at dawn he was out of luck.  We had ideal tracking snow for cougars and I didn’t want to take time for a bobcat so we passed. 

At mid morning we came back from the end of a logging road and found fresh bobcat tracks over our tire tracks.  I was ready to drive on looking for lion sign but Caleb wanted to call something so bad he was about to bust.  It was fun to see.  So we followed his tracks into the woods a short distance and set up to call the cat back.

We were so close behind the cat that I was concerned we had already spooked him but we set up where his tracks left a low ridge about 5 feet high in the nearly flat area.  I played Minaska’s Wild Woody woodpecker distress with a few bars of Bobcat In Heat every couple of minutes. 

As I hoped, the bobcat ran back close along his own trail within 3-4 minutes and stopped 16 steps from me behind a screen of twigs.   Caleb was sitting beside me facing 90 degrees to my right and did not see the bobcat.  Hmmm… We hadn’t made any arrangements to alert each other.  The cat would be hard to point out without spooking it and I didn’t know what Caleb would do if I poked him so I did nothing.

Looking toward our stand from where the bobcat stopped.  Caleb and I sat behind the white cloth screen, upper right of center, held by clothes pins.


I raised the rifle and aimed at the bobcat to be ready when it took a step from behind the cover.  It didn’t move and my arms got tired.  Finally I leaned over till I could see a golf ball sized hole through to the bobcat’s shoulder and fired.

Meanwhile, Caleb was blissfully enjoying the peaceful woods, into the Zen he told me later, and unaware that I had raised the rifle.  BLAM!  A short barrelled .243 carbine makes a lot of muzzle blast and lit up the woods like a camera flash.  He jumped way more than the bobcat did.

My view from the stand below.  The bobcat's trail we followed is in red.  The call was at the yellow dot.  His route when he ran back to the call is in light green.  He was at the blue dot when I shot. 

[alscalls]

WTG!!!!!!!  that fur is NICE!!!!!!!!.......

[pitw]

OOOOOOOOOuuuuuuuuuu good story and with them really cool pics I was sitting on your other side right along with you .  Dang I didn't see it come in either.

[iahntr]

Good lookin cat ! 
Congrats ! 

[HaMeR]

   Caleb has been initiated!!    Cool story!!

[KySongDog]

Thanks for the update and additional pics.  Very nice!