Bobcat

[Okanagan]

Grandson knocked on my door this morning and asked if I could help him skin a bobcat he'd killed.

He'd been out shooting and sighting in his .223 and had started driving toward home when the bobcat crossed the road in front of him.  He stopped and the big tom stood out in the woods looking at him.  It was gone by the time he got his rifle out ready to shoot, but he walked a bit looking for it and saw it again, looking at him.  He killed it with one shot, under 50 yards if I recall.  Smashed right shoulder and innards, but small entry and exit. 

Male, 23.34 lbs.

 

Zay skinning the feet and keeping the claws on.  I skinned one foot and he did the other three.

[Hawks Feather]

Nice looking bobcat. I have not seen any around my area, but have been lucky enough to see a couple when we have been in other states. Neat animals.

[FinsnFur]

Shoulda yelled oders and drank beer [emoji23]

Nice little harvest. Always liked those bobcat pelts.

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[Okanagan]

We left the feet unskinned till last.  We cut off each foot at a joint above and let the lower leg bone and unskinned foot stay in/with the hide.  Once the whole hide was free, we tied each leg bone up so we could pull down on the hide as we skinned each foot.  That's been the most efficient way for me to do it.

Zay did half of the inside mouth cuts to start and I did the seams on the hind legs.  He did the front legs, at least half of skinning the body, plus one ear and both eyes.  I skinned one foot and retired to someplace warm.     Using a Phillips screwdriver and X-acto knife, he was faster than I was at doing feet with claws.   He skinned the other three and then he fleshed off the larger chunks of meat and fat before freezing the hide in a thin flat bundle.  We still have to turn the ears, split the lips and flesh the hide.

[nastygunz]

ORDERS!.....

Shoulda yelled oders and drank beer [emoji23]

Nice little harvest. Always liked those bobcat pelts.

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[Todd Rahm]

Those are the kind of knocks on the door, that grandfathers can’t get enough of.

[remrogers]

Bobcat season ended Feb 15 and all pelts need to be tagged, by WG&F within twenty days of the end of the season. Good that was on the 15th, but get it tagged.

https://mountainlion.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/WA-A-WDFW-2002-2003-Furbearer-Trapping-Seasons-and-Rules-pamphlet.pdf

[nastygunz]

Did you eat it?

[Hawks Feather]

Did you eat it?

My God, please don't answer that if you did.

[Okanagan]

Those are the kind of knocks on the door, that grandfathers can’t get enough of.

The best of grandfatherhood!

[Okanagan]

Did you eat it?

Nope, not this one.  We've eaten other bobcats.  There is a little more to this story, a delay in retrieving.  The cat went several hours without gutting and we decided not to eat it though it seemed fresh and unspoiled.  Cold weather.


As Zay walked out in the woods to look for the cat after he shot, a homeowner saw his rig parked on the road edge and came out to talk to him about hunting there.  It's not a good place to hunt as it is getting into the edge of scattered houses, even though it is legal.  Zay told him he'd seen a bobcat cross the road, that it was an opportunity rather than coming there to hunt and they parted cordially.  Apparently the guy did not hear the shot, only saw Zay's vehicle.  Zay did not tell him was sure he had killed the cat.  Zay drove off and came back after dark.  He walked out to where the cat had been standing at the shot and found it with a flashlight. 

[Okanagan]

Did you eat it?

My God, please don't answer that if you did.

Pulled bobcat with barbecue sauce in taco shells   Tasty, but I noticed some of the cousins did not try it at last year's annual antler party!

[nastygunz]

Yumm, he should have told the concerned citizen that he just saw a bigfoot run across the road ha ha.

[FinsnFur]

Did you eat it?

My God, please don't answer that if you did.

[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I almost moistened the keyboard there


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[JohnP]

As always, great write-up and great pictures.  Tell Zay I said congratulations.

P.S.  Bobcat tastes just okay, Lion is great.  When we do a BBQ with Bobcat or Lion we never tell people what it is until the meal is over.  Somebody always will say what was the meat, it was great?   I enjoy watching the expressions on their face when they find out

[Okanagan]

Ditto to the taste of cougar and bobcat.  If you can evade the mental reservations, cougar is really GOOD.

Remrogers, Washington State bobcat season for hunting closed on March 15 this year, 2022.  Good reminder on getting the pelt sealed.