bobcat with a call

[fishinkrop]

there are a few guy at work that say there are no bobcats in minnesota. and that you will never get one to come in from a call! one guy says he has been hunting for 40 years and never even seen one.

what do you think I would like to try.

I'm also thinking of buying a 30-06 for yotys and fox and deer and bobcat what do you think?

Thanks

Jeff

[Cooter]

Well there are certainly bobcats and you also can indeed call them in.

I'd opt for something like a 7mm-08 Rem or .25-06 to handle fox up to deer.

[Valv]

You don't need such a large caliber for cats, coyotes, and fox.

I just bought a .243 and thats plenty enough, it's the flattest shooting up to 300yds. You can get a 25.06 if you are concern about deer. A 7mm it's great but way too uch of a gun for small varmint.

I am actually considering finding a AR 15 Bushmaster which is a .223. that will give the coyotes no chance at all.

[poutpro]

There really is no gun that suits all the game you have listed. .243s cut fox right in half. I would go with Valv's post about getting a .223 for shooting all the smaller predators. Ammo is very cheap, and you don't completely destroy the pelt of the animal you are shooting.

[FlyingV]

There sure are bobcats in Minnesota and they do respond to predator calls. I believe most bobcats taken in Minnesota are taken by traps and hound hunting though. A friend of mine called in a bobcat a few years ago. It came in on a dead run like it was a coyote. Too bad it was late January and season was closed.

About the 30-.06 for fox,cats and coyotes, you won't be happy with the results. Even a .243 can blow them in half. You might want to consider the NEF Handi rifles. You may be able to buy both a deer caliber and a varmint caliber for the price of a decent deer rifle and still kill both very well.

[Mikinaak]

Most sneak come in very slow and I usually wait longer if i think I'm in cat country. And (judging by the tracks found afterwards) a lot of them sneak off without even being seen. Just my 46 years of 2cents worth!

[sluggo106]

I spotted a bobcat this year in Backus, MN while deer hunting. I say .223 also.

[fishermann222]

If you want to save that fox pelt dont bother shooting it with a .223. I have shot almost 100 fox this year, and a few of them with a .223 and it blows them up. I have even tried to take this round and download it so it is slower, does not work. If you want to shoot fox up to yotes etc... You need to have a .22 mag, AND a .223.

[poutpro]

WRONG. Shoot a .223 full metal jacket bullet then. It leaves merely a pin hole.

[poutpro]

Also, I would not get a .22 mag. They don't have any range. If you want something smaller get a .17, so you can shoot fox that are out 200 yards.

[HunterLee]

fox at 200yds with the 17hmr... not going to drill them dead right there. within 75-100 not problem after that they get up and keep going. shot one on the run at 75 yds right through the shoulders, dropped like nothing, got up and ran another 200yds. yes he was really hurting, but not dead enough for me. id take a serious look at the 17 centerfire or the new ruger 204. they arnet supposed to blow up a fox and can take coyotes as far as you can hit them. id tell you my results but mine is on back order. hopeing for it by the full moon.

[JEV]

That's not exactly a sure thing either. I've shot fox with full metal jackets in .223 and if you hit solid bone that little bullet will make a large hole going out.

JEV

[fishinkrop]

there is alot to picking a gun then. how can some one have the right gun or find out witch one to pick when every one has some thing diffent to say!

but I really just wanted to know about the bobcat. I dont care about the gun!

I just going to go to cabelas and pick one when I have $700 saved up!

[fishinkrop]

maybe a 7mm or a 22-250 maybe a 308 win?

[fishermann222]

Poutpro,

I would highly suggest not offering advice until you have experienced it first hand. I see you made this post just a little over a week ago.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB37&Number=705413&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

It is nice that you are trying to help people pick a gun, but please do it from your own experience and not second hand information. Reading posts on it does not make you qualified to shout wrong to another user who has first hand experience shooting 100 reds this year and a few hundred in years past.

When I bought my fox guns two years ago I listened to people like yourself. Just get FMJ's which I do, 55 grain. It is not the bullet expanding that does the damage, it is the SPEED of the bullet. If you know things about ballistics, you will know this. I live on an island in the bearing sea now, and have an extremely HIGH red fox population, to the point of creating genitic abnormalities. The fox I am not selling to a fur buyer I am selling to Alaska Dept of Fish and game for research.I am trapping and shooting fox. The .22 mag works great out to 100 yards, if I want to sell them for the fur. the .223 blows them to heck out to 300 yards, I use this gun to shoot the ones with fur problems that I deliver to fish and game up here. Now if you are a great marksman and can shoot them further than 300 yards good for you. I dont think the average predator hunter can constintaly shoot fox at over 300 yards.

If you ask most predator hunters in alaska who wish to skin, flesh, and sew their hides, you will find they stay away from the .223. It does wreck the fur, I promise you this. The .222 is a tad more fur friendly, as it is slower than the .223. A 22-250 also works really well if you are a reloader and download it to shoot at about 1900-2000 fps.

[huntingmaxima]

Pout, I am with you, that 17 would be the cats meow. We just use shot guns w/hounds

[Valv]

I am not arguing any discussion here, but i recently shot 2 coyotes at approx 100yds with my .234 Silvertip 55gr. and bullet did very minimal damage to them, in fact it came out same way it went in, I could barely see the hole (both shot in the side).

I was wondering if being not too far, the bullet didn't have time to fragment/expand before exiting.

I am just saying this, I am not sure, I am too new to this, but could it be possible ?

Maybe I should start a new thread....

[HunterLee]

getting back to the question of calling cats. yes you can, they take longer to come in and are very sneaky. they will come though.

[poutpro]

Because I asked about hunting fox I have no clue about guns and shooting? That doesn't make sense. I have shot both coyotes and fox before, but does it ever hurt to hear how other people do it?