An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

I went suburbia bowhunting this AM. 260 acre piece of land we effectionally call the zoo. I didn't see a solitary deer which is a rarity. What I did see really made my day. It had gotten light, the wind was blowing pretty good. I'm sitting there looking in the direction I feel the deer will come from. Then I saw it... I said dog or something... about 80 yards out. When it hopped up on this big blow down I said NOPE.... it's a DANG CAT... It's a GREAT BIG BOB CAT. Whoa Nellie!!! The landlord told me a couple years ago someone had seen one. I figured they didn't know what they saw. Well, I put the old Swarovskis on him and I "Tought I saw a Putty tat". His eyes were burning holes in me. He must have seen me reach for the binos. I'm all camo and sitting in the cradle of a triple tree looking between two, but he saw me. He turned on the log and walk away. HE dropped down behind the log. In a few seconds his head pops up and we're eyeball to eye ball again. He drops down behind the long. I see his back moving along behind it going away. He reached the end, pops up and checks me out... then slinks away. That bugger picked me off with the slightest of movement. He was traversing along behind a row of million dollar houses, but this wasn't any house cat. I got a good look at both ends and this was genuine bobcat. COOL. But I still saw NO DEER!!![:'(]

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

That is cool! It really wakes you to the fact that some wildlife are much more equipped to be the predator than we are.

I've seen foxes close up and personal while sitting in my tree stand. They never knew that I was there. Because I stayed PERFECTLY still.

I feel that once your in their environment and they take no notice of you, you well on your way to being invisible to the deer as well.

Kindest Regards,

-Will in Maryland

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Bobcats, are alot of fun to watch, when you get to see them, which isn't too often!
They are great hunters, and very nocturnal usually, i bet the people in those million dollar houses, are missing alot of their pets!:D

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

i wish i could see one. only thing i see like that is raccoons. i had never seen one in the woods til this year when i started hunting a new farm and i missed one with my bow. thats one of the things i want to see: a bobcat and a bear!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Thats cool David! I've always wanted to see one while out there. We've got a few of them running around our place in WV. I've heard them, and some of my buddies have seen them, but I'm still waiting. The only one I've ever seen was at night in my headlights.
So are they legal to shoot in MD? I'd love to take one with my bow and get it mounted. They are one neat animal. :)

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

My Dad and I have both tried shooting them .... and failed ! Very quick predators, coyotes are quick too, but nothing like cats are.

Don't you wish for a 35mm with a 300 mm limbs ?

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

I've seen two bobcats while hunting. I had one come in last year from directly downwind, stop under my stand and drink from a stream. I wanted to take him, but it was prime time and I didn't want to have his squalling scare off any deer. I don't know if I would have shot him anyway as I have a problem killing something I'm not going to eat. That said, I would still shoot a 'yote if I had the chance because they are way overpopulating my area. I see them chasing deer all the time. There are a couple of coy-dogs the size of large german shepherds out there too. I'm waiting for a chance at one of them.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

That is really neat...What a guy doesn't see when he is on the stand!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Only bobcat I saw in the wild was a road killed one in Arkansas as a kid. Wish you had some pics David. I doubt if he would have posed though! lol.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

You must not have had your new ASAT on :D.
I saw on over in Centerville on the Eastern shore many years ago and told the group about it. They said I was crazy and still messed up from the night before but I know what I saw.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

They are fun to watch. Probably the rarest animal to see in the woods. I have tried to shoot at a couple while bowhunting but I have yet to have one cooperate. I could have killed a couple gun hunting but I am always afraid the legend of the muey grande is standing 50 yards out of sight, so I never have.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

They are cool animals . We have tons of them down here in florida . Traveling along the miami canel early in the morning south of lake okeechobee a couple years ago on a duck hunt we counted twenty , thats in about 20 miles . Once in a tree stand in Kenansville , I had a small 20 lb'er kill and eat a rat right under my tree in about 1 minet . This year out in the corbet management area I saw the largest one I've ever seen in the woods , he had to go about 50 to 60 lbs . He came into bow range , and I could have taken him but had no desire to do so , as he was in an area were I was hunting a large buck we have been seeing for 2 years .

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

I saw one in early bow twice. the first time i saw him he stopped right under my stand and stared directly at me. The second time i was walking in by moon light when it jumped out of some tall grass right next to me. They are a rare here inn Indiana.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Man thats cool I have been lucky enough to take two with my bow but they are quite common around here.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

What part of MD was this sighting? I work from home and get to watch quite a few fox, deer, squirrels, etc from the window while working. I've yet to see a racoon back there but I know they're out there

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

ijimmy,

That reminds me of one I saw one night on Presidents Island in Memphis. I was stading on the back of the lot of a sugar transprort service. When I saw a LARGE pit bull about a 100 yards off, walking down the rail road track toward me. I was standing behind a diesel and watched as the pitbull got closer. I was standing behind 8 ft. chain link and the track was about 50ft from the fence. As the pit bull got closer the hair stood on the back of my neck as I realized the pit bull was actually a bob cat and he would go every once of 50 pounds and probably more. I stood beside the truck and watched as the cat walked on by. It's hard to explain in a believable manner just how big that cat was.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

You sure you had enough sleep last night????

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Cablebandit... this is Howard County. Can you believe it? I guess I shouldn't have doubt the priest when he told me about one being around 2 years ago. This is the 3rd bobcat I've seen in the woods. One in Georgia and one in the Adirondacks. This one was what I'd call a VERY big bobcat. I don't know if they're legal to shoot in Maryland or not, but it doesn't matter. I wouldn't shoot him if he gave me a slam dunk. They're just too cool to watch. This one didn't give me a lot of "Look" time but enough to see just how spooky they can be. The one I saw in Georgia about 25 years ago still has me shaking my head. It's a long story so I won't go into it now. I got to watch him come in, try to figure out what was wrong, where the danger was and how he could sneak away for 30 minutes. Just a blast. As far as pictures. I left the camera in the truck and anyway, I doubt he'd have stood for the motion of digging it out.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

i killed 3 bobcats last year.one of them is a monster 26 pound female.and the other ones was young bobcats.but the big one i killed is mounted wright now looks great .i killed the big bobcat while i was deer hunting and the other two was killed while i was rabbit hunting.bobcats are everywhere hear in tennessee.


go deep hunt hard.;)

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

That sounds really cool. I've never seen one in the woods. Are you anywhere near Crofton?? Or do you have any idea where that is?

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Last year,the fellow I was hunting with dropped a doe, and before he could get to it,a bobcat had made it's way to it.I never saw it,but he said it was one of the wildest things he has ever seen...Bob

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

You can't shoot one in MD according to the regs. Although I doubt I would anyway. This is my first year hunting and I've been fortunate enough to shoot 2 deer. However, the highlight would have to be the 4 seperate bear we ran into in two days of hunting in PA. Two of which were within 20 yards, one of them was within 25 feet. It was a mix of terror and delight. I told by hunting partners that I didn't need to shoot a deer to call that trip a success. Of course shooting a buck on top of that made the day even more special.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

??? I've never heard it. What is it?

I saw my first bobcat this year. I was on a stand that I saw 1 deer, 3 turkeys and 1 bobcat. It slipped into a creek bottom from an open field (field micing?). When it hit the creek bottom, the squirrels all went crazy. They would run to the closest tree, get about 15' up and start yelling like you wouldn't believe!!!

It was just one of those moments you just have to smile and laugh at! For me, that is what hunting is all about.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

I shot at one with my bow a few years back. They are fast...I sat and watched as my arrow flew harmlessly over his shoulder as he ducked under it. He didn't wait around for the second one!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

;) Good sighting davidmil. I've got one in my area and I see him about twice a year. Last time I saw him was from my stolen ladder stand, early this bow season. The big guy just walked right beneath me and never knew I was spotting his movement. Those things sure make hunting interesting.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

We were camping out one night on a clearing on top of a hill and we heard 2 bobcats, one down the hill on each side of us, squalling back and forth at each other. It was dang creepy.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Dave,
I have been hunting in Maryland since 1973 and I have only seen one bobcat in the wild. My sighting took place in the Wolfsville area of Northern Frederick County. Just as vivid in my mind today as it was on the day it happened. I like sharing the woods with other predators!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Man, how can you guys walk in to your stand in the morning knowing those things are there?????? OR walk out at night??????? I wouldn't be able to stand knowing I might be a Bobcat's next meal. My girl always askes if I'm scared walking through the woods in the dark. I tell her No, there's nothing out there that can hurt me. That's cause we don't have those big cats down here.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

They're neat to watch. I saw one while gun hunting on opening day of gun season last year in western Maryland. It was just sneaking along about 80 yards below my stand.
Like Cablebandit said, they're illegal to shoot in Maryland. Cool story, David!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

Solax-I don't think a bobcat would attack you--they're more interested in getting the heck away from you. You would have more of a threat from a mountian lion, but they're not exactly common around here and they're scared of people too. I do agree with you though--it'll raise the hair on the back of you're neck when you're walking to your stand in the dark and one screams from where you're headed--been there, done that!

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

They're really not as big as people think either. I think a big one is around 25-30 pounds. Most are in the teens. They do have some claws and teeth though. I'm going back to the same tree again tomorrow but I can guarantee I won't see him. He's probably 2 counties away by now. They do travel just like a bear.

RE: An all time FIRST in Maryland for me!!!
 

It sounds like bobcats are few and far between up in the Northeast. Here in northeast Oklahoma I have seen many bobcats over the years. I've seen two cats this year. Both came right under my stand. Last year during muzzleloader season I was hunting a secluded hill that had a saddle (funnel) area that the deer were using for travel. I had left this area alone for a couple of days and on the last day of the season I decided to hunt the spot. As I made my way up the hill to my stand I noticed a large pile of leaves just ahead of me. As I got closer I could see the leg of a deer sticking out of the bottom of the pile. Upon closer inspection I found that the deer had been ate on and covered up by a bobcat. I knew this because of the size of the tracks in the surrounding dirt. I decided to sit down nearby and see if the cat might come by to eat dinner. I found a deadfall nearby and settled in to wait. About an hour before dark I caught a glimpse of something moving in the brush about 50 yards away. It was the cat coming in to get some more to eat. At about 40 yards the cat spotted me and stopped. I raised my .50 cal and shot. The bobcat weighed 32 pounds. Made a great mount.