What’s your biggest bobcat?

[30338]

Amazed at the price of cat taxidermy. A full body would be cool but would drive the drahts wild.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Amazed at the price of cat taxidermy. A full body would be cool but would drive the drahts wild.

A life sized bobcat and an e-caller makes for some good entertainment.

 

[Pickettpuncher]

I see a lot of bobcats but rarely kill one. Did see one a few years back on the juvenile hunt that I’d like to have mounted, but they weren’t in season.

 

[Rogue Bay]

28lbs I believe is my biggest and I can't remember which of these two it was. Its been a while since I've caught a big tom.

View attachment 531385View attachment 531386

Those are both beautiful cats and great photos! I’m hoping to catch a big Tom like that next season!

 

[MallardSX2]

38 pounds

 

[svivian]

I came expecting to scroll through pictures of bobcats and I’m very disappointed. Post these bad boys up!

 

[Rogue Bay]

My biggest is from Nebraska. I called him in on opening day. He weighed 38 pounds at the taxidermist after sitting in a freezer for a while. To date, that is the largest that particular taxidermist has done.
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That’s a monster and a great mount!

 

[Block]

My 3 best cats.. 2 went over 30 on the bathroom scale.. the biggest I thought I remembered 37# but it coulda easily been 32# and the fish tale has just grown over the years lol I can’t be certain. But 32# sounds and looks more reasonable. They were both biggins tho. The 3rd is just prolly my “prettiest” but not a monster.

The big one in the first pic I started with some howls and had a few dogs answer back angry not far off at all…went to distress and saw eyes in the light. Heart shot it and it jumped close to 10’ vertical… realized it wasn’t a dog haha. Luckily cats weren’t closed back then in this lame state of Cali. That’s when I switched from red to green scope light for better ID

 

[Rogue Bay]

My 3 best cats.. 2 went over 30 on the bathroom scale.. the biggest I thought I remembered 37# but it coulda easily been 32# and the fish tale has just grown over the years lol I can’t be certain. But 32# sounds and looks more reasonable. They were both biggins tho. The 3rd is just prolly my “prettiest” but not a monster.

The big one in the first pic I started with some howls and had a few dogs answer back angry not far off at all…went to distress and saw eyes in the light. Heart shot it and it jumped close to 10’ vertical… realized it wasn’t a dog haha. Luckily cats weren’t closed back then in this lame state of Cali. That’s when I switched from red to green scope light for better ID

Those are dandies!

 

[Vedauvoo]

My hunting buddy shot a pig of a male bobcat on the West Desert of Utah. We took the cat to a Utah Division of Wildlife office where they weighed it at 46 lbs. Although no records are kept, this was the largest cat any of their biologists and wardens had seen.

The cat had a double chin!

For scale my friend's son is 6' 4".

 

[Rogue Bay]

My hunting buddy shot a pig of a male bobcat on the West Desert of Utah. We took the cat to a Utah Division of Wildlife office where they weighed it at 46 lbs. Although no records are kept, this was the largest cat any of their biologists and wardens had seen.

The cat had a double chin!

For scale my friend's son is 6' 4".

View attachment 534468

That thing is a tank! I hope that one went on the wall! Was he hunting with hounds?

 

[Rogue Bay]

Thanks to everyone who posted on this thread. I’ve really enjoyed the photos and stories. Some incredible cats on here!

 

[swampokie]

29.5 lbs and 27.5 lbs. Trapped on my lease here in se oklahoma

 

[Rogue Bay]

29.5 lbs and 27.5 lbs. Trapped on my lease here in se oklahoma View attachment 534690View attachment 534689

Those are great cats! I really like the rosettes on that top one.

 

[Vedauvoo]

That thing is a tank! I hope that one went on the wall! Was he hunting with hounds?

No. We were hand calling at a place where we had seen cats before. Like most bobcats, this one just seem to materialize between 2 rocks at 230 yards. My friend shot it with his 243. The cat is now a full mount that resides in my buddy's sons home.

 

[Rogue Bay]

No. We were hand calling at a place where we had seen cats before. Like most bobcats, this one just seem to materialize between 2 rocks at 230 yards. My friend shot it with his 243. The cat is now a full mount that resides in my buddy's sons home.

That’s definitely the cat of a lifetime. I’m glad to hear he got it mounted.

Out of curiosity, did the .243 do much hide damage? I’ve got a 6mm Remington that I’m planning to use for cat calling next season mainly because we have a lot of cougars here and I want to be properly equipped in case a long tail shows up. I‘ll be shooting 80 grain tipped copper hand loads and I’m hoping that won’t do too much damage to a bobcat pelt.

 

[Vedauvoo]

That’s definitely the cat of a lifetime. I’m glad to hear he got it mounted.

Out of curiosity, did the .243 do much hide damage? I’ve got a 6mm Remington that I’m planning to use for cat calling next season mainly because we have a lot of cougars here and I want to be properly equipped in case a long tail shows up. I‘ll be shooting 80 grain tipped copper hand loads and I’m hoping that won’t do too much damage to a bobcat pelt.

He was using rounds that I loaded for him. These were 85 gr. Barnes TSX. I loaded them down to about 3150 ft/sec. Seems like any 243 bullet is more likely to blow big holes in the hide, but this bullet at somewhat lower velocities seems to work well.

I use surgical suture to stitch up the holes. Our fur buyer doesn't seem to care as long as parts of the hide are not missing.

Here's another picture. The cat on the left is held by my 6' 6" friend. It was a more typical cat from that part of the desert - weighed about 35 lbs. His son is holding the fat cat.

 

[Rogue Bay]

He was using rounds that I loaded for him. These were 85 gr. Barnes TSX. I loaded them down to about 3150 ft/sec. Seems like any 243 bullet is more likely to blow big holes in the hide, but this bullet at somewhat lower velocities seems to work well.

I use surgical suture to stitch up the holes. Our fur buyer doesn't seem to care as long as parts of the hide are not missing.

Here's another picture. The cat on the left is held by my 6' 6" friend. It was a more typical cat from that part of the desert - weighed about 35 lbs. His son is holding the fat cat.View attachment 534758

Those are both great cats!

Thanks for the info. My 6mm is loaded with 80 grain Barnes TTSX that my buddy loaded for me. I believe they’re shooting about 3200 fps. Hopefully that’s close enough to have similar results. I’ve shot a lot of critters from deer to bison with the TTSX out of my .338 Win. Mag and have been impressed by the four petal expansion and weight retention. I’m hoping that’s how they perform out of a smaller, faster caliber but time will tell.

Thanks again for the info and congrats on some great cats!

 

[Vedauvoo]

Thanks for starting an interesting thread.

I assume that bison in your avatar is the one you killed with the TTSX out of your 338 WM. Where did you hunt? Was it the 225 gr?

About 10 years ago I drew a tag to hunt bison in the Henry Mountains in Utah. Turns out I shot my bull with that same bullet, only out of a 338-06 AI. Were you astounded at how big these critters are?

I recovered the classically expanded 4 petal bullet. It entered behind the near shoulder, wreaked havoc on the lungs and aorta, and lodged against the hide behind the far shoulder.



...from bobcats to bison.

 

[Rogue Bay]

Yep I sho

Thanks for starting an interesting thread.

I assume that bison in your avatar is the one you killed with the TTSX out of your 338 WM. Where did you hunt? Was it the 225 gr?

About 10 years ago I drew a tag to hunt bison in the Henry Mountains in Utah. Turns out I shot my bull with that same bullet, only out of a 338-06 AI. Were you astounded at how big these critters are?

I recovered the classically expanded 4 petal bullet. It entered behind the near shoulder, wreaked havoc on the lungs and aorta, and lodged against the hide behind the far shoulder.

View attachment 535095 View attachment 535094

...from bobcats to bison

Thanks for starting an interesting thread.

I assume that bison in your avatar is the one you killed with the TTSX out of your 338 WM. Where did you hunt? Was it the 225 gr?

About 10 years ago I drew a tag to hunt bison in the Henry Mountains in Utah. Turns out I shot my bull with that same bullet, only out of a 338-06 AI. Were you astounded at how big these critters are?

I recovered the classically expanded 4 petal bullet. It entered behind the near shoulder, wreaked havoc on the lungs and aorta, and lodged against the hide behind the far shoulder.

View attachment 535095 View attachment 535094

...from bobcats to bison.

Yep I shot that bull in Montana. I’d seen hundreds of bison before, some at very close range, but wasn’t prepared for the size when you have one on the ground. It was the first time I’ve walked up on something I shot and had no idea what I was going to do .

I shot him with my .338 Win Mag and 225 grain Barnes TTSX. I bumped this small group of bulls several times and they wouldn’t let me get within 300-400 yards. I finally belly crawled to 205. The first shot was behind the shoulder and he spun 180 degrees so I let him have another one behind the other shoulder. Just like on your bull, I recovered both bullets under the skin on the opposite side. Both of them looked just like yours! I’ve killed a bunch of elk and bears with those rounds and every one I’ve recovered looks the same. I’m hoping that holds true out of my 6mm!