Shotgun bobcat

KySongDog · December 19, 2017, 06:37:30 PM

I took this small female this morning. I was hunting some pretty thick stuff and got lucky in that I was looking in her direction when she came in. Once she stopped moving she disappeared with her natural camo. My shotgun rolled her at 48 yards while she sat trying to figure out what that fat lump at the base of that tree was.

pitw · December 19, 2017, 06:58:52 PM

Too cool.

coyote101 · December 19, 2017, 08:25:30 PM

Nice job. Congratulations.

Pat

Okanagan · December 19, 2017, 11:12:04 PM

Yes, very nice! You did some good hunting and good shooting. 48 yards is a reach for the little bit of shotgunning I've done. What size shot? 3" magnum?

riverboss · December 20, 2017, 12:45:52 AM

Nice! I really like those cats. Congrats Johnny they are tough animals to pick up with your eyes.

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slagmaker · December 20, 2017, 05:03:24 AM

Congratulations on a fine harvest.

FinsnFur · December 20, 2017, 05:04:55 AM

Sweet! Are you going to have the hide tanned?

KySongDog · December 20, 2017, 05:39:24 AM

Quote from: Okanagan on December 19, 2017, 11:12:04 PM
Yes, very nice! You did some good hunting and good shooting. 48 yards is a reach for the little bit of shotgunning I've done. What size shot? 3" magnum?

I was using 3" BBs. I knew the shot was longer than I would like but I've lost cats before because they sit and watch and the least little bit of wrong movement can spook them. I was using a hand call and I decided to take the shot. "You can't kill 'em if you don't shoot at 'em" is my philosophy. After the shot, I used a range finder to get the yardage. I guess I got lucky that a few BBs found the mark. Actually more than a few because the cat flipped over backwards. The Eotech sight helped tremendously also.

KySongDog · December 20, 2017, 05:43:17 AM

Quote from: FinsnFur on December 20, 2017, 05:04:55 AM
Sweet! Are you going to have the hide tanned?

Its a small cat so I don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. It is in the freezer now. What does it cost to get it properly skinned and the hide tanned?

FinsnFur · December 20, 2017, 06:30:12 AM

I don't know about skinning but when I was tanning I think I was doing Bobcats for 40 bucks.

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HaMeR · December 20, 2017, 08:02:49 AM

Way to go Johnny!!

Hawks Feather · December 20, 2017, 08:03:15 AM

We don't have bobcats around here so that one would be tanned for sure if I had shot it. Nice looking bobcat.

Jerry

JohnP · December 20, 2017, 10:07:45 AM

Congratulations on a nice cat Johnny. If you feel comfortable enough do the skinning yourself then buy a tanning kit from Bass Pro and give it a try. Maybe someone going to the hunt in Feb who is more knowledgeable/skillful on skinning can do it for you. One nice thing about a bobcat at 40 yards is ---- not much sewing required.

I have friends out here taking coyotes out to sixty yards with shotguns - go figure, would have never thought that possible.

Okanagan · December 20, 2017, 10:56:16 AM

Good info on the gauge and shot size.

Re skinning: Ears, lips, feet and fleshing are the critical parts to get it ready to tan. I like case skinned hides to hang or throw over the back of a couch, rather than split the belly.

If you keep the head on the hide you have to turn the ears and split the lips or they will not take tanning solution and soon fall off even though the rest of the skin is tanned. Lips are easy for me but it is partly a feel job with finger tips. Turning the ears and doing it well is beyond me, though I have done several. Turning the ears means separating/skinning the skin from the back of the ear all the way to the tip, separating it from the paper thin cartilage, and leaving the hide on the cartilage on the front/inside of the ear. A tannery I've used for years adds a per hour cost to split the lips, turn the ears and finish skinning the feet. They have gone from $60 per bobcat CDN plus $15/hour skinning to much higher prices, maybe double that now.

Skinning the feet and keeping claws on used to be a super tough job for me till I watched a Youtube video of a trapper in northern Canada skinning lynx. He pulls the skin down over the foot to the base of the toes, easy to that point. Then he uses a steel rod (I use a Phillips screwdriver) to push between the toes and press the skin down between toes. (Everything is inside out, working on the flesh side of the hide). He uses a fine pointed knife to skin a bit around each toe. I used an Exacto knife my last two and was amazed at how quick and easy it was to skin feet out and keep the claws on. If you cut off the foot and skin it later, vice grips on the foot or leg bone let you hang it from something so you can pull down when you skin.

I'd try to find a tannery rather than go through a taxidermist, but they are scarce out this way, especially full service tanneries that finish the skinning and hide prep for tanning. There is one in Idaho that is low cost and mainly used by taxidermists but the hide has to be totally prepped for tanning when they receive it. They merely pop it in tanning solution however it arrives. I prefer a "garment tanned" hide which is soft rather than one tanned to make a rug.

I haven't tanned a hide since some time in my 20's but this one you have might be an excellent candidate to learn and practice on. As someone said, the pooled knowledge at the LBL gathering is likely a good time to skin it and everybody could learn.

KySongDog · December 20, 2017, 06:32:02 PM

Quote from: JohnP on December 20, 2017, 10:07:45 AM

I have friends out here taking coyotes out to sixty yards with shotguns - go figure, would have never thought that possible.

The advancement in shotgun ammo has been substantial from way back when I started hunting. Winchester Long Beard XR redefined what an ethical shot is in turkey hunting. The patterns they throw are amazing. Winchester has put that "shot lok" technology in to a BB varmint load. Tight patterns at long distances are now possible. There other options as well such as Dead Coyote T shot, Winchester 3 1/2" 4 buck, Federal Vital Shok 4 buck. The predator hunter has lots of options today.

KySongDog · December 20, 2017, 06:37:51 PM

Thanks for all of that good info, Okanagan and JohnP. I think I may get it tanned but I don't think I'm up to the task of doing it myself. It looks a lot like rocket science to me.

nastygunz · December 20, 2017, 06:58:17 PM

Nice ket!

coyote101 · December 20, 2017, 07:20:39 PM

Quote from: Okanagan on December 20, 2017, 10:56:16 AM
As someone said, the pooled knowledge at the LBL gathering is likely a good time to skin it and everybody could learn.

Several years ago I watched a couple of guys give a coyote skinning demo at LBL. A week or two later I shot a coyote and got to put my new found knowledge to the test. I didn't try to deal with the paws, but the rest was pretty easy. I wouldn't have had any idea how to do the ears, lips or nose if I hadn't watched those guys.

I salted the hide for several weeks until it was dry and shipped it to a tannery in Idaho where they finished it. It's not perfect, but it turned out pretty good.

Bring that cat to LBL, I'm sure one of the trappers will be glad to show you how to skin it.

Pat

Okanagan · December 21, 2017, 09:20:17 AM

Pat, that's a pretty coyote, nicely done. I like the long case/tube skinned shape.

Like you did, I cut off the feet of canines and don't bother with trying to keep claws on. I have some bobcat fur specimens and wanted the claws on them just to show people, but from now on I will leave them off of bobcat furs as well. For this year and foreseeable future, my bobcat plans are limited to calling for others to shoot.

bambam · December 21, 2017, 07:00:06 PM

Quote from: coyote101 on December 20, 2017, 07:20:39 PM
Quote from: Okanagan on December 20, 2017, 10:56:16 AM
As someone said, the pooled knowledge at the LBL gathering is likely a good time to skin it and everybody could learn.

Several years ago I watched a couple of guys give a coyote skinning demo at LBL. A week or two later I shot a coyote and got to put my new found knowledge to the test. I didn't try to deal with the paws, but the rest was pretty easy. I wouldn't have had any idea how to do the ears, lips or nose if I hadn't watched those guys.

I salted the hide for several weeks until it was dry and shipped it to a tannery in Idaho where they finished it. It's not perfect, but it turned out pretty good.

Bring that cat to LBL, I'm sure one of the trappers will be glad to show you how to skin it.

Pat

That's a pretty hide , but looks like a red fox to me.

KySong Dog, it isn't rocket science to skin out a bobcat to tan, even the lips , ears , and feet are easy after you do a couple. That's a pretty cat and wouldn't blame you to want a taxidermist to do it right if you have never done it, but if you practice on a few foxes or coons that you don't care about messing up , I bet you'd get pretty good real quick. Congrats on the cat !!!