I had one come about 10yds from my stand. Down in southern Illinois they are all over on the farm we hunt. Would like to kill a couple to help the turkey population but ya know you cant kill em in Illinois.

Techy:
Those are not cougars, they are bobcats. Are you sure you've seen one before?

We have tons of them down here , I saw 20 one nite driveing to the duck hunting grounds .Last year I had the bigest one I ever seen walk 15 yards from me ,I just watched , he was a beutiful animal .

I have killed 1 with my bow and another with a pistol and let another go after the farmer asked me not to shoot them.Even though we have a season on them.

I live in Henderson Ky but killed them in Crittenden co.There are really many more than people think.They are just so nocternal that people don't see them.

I saw one at 50 yards while rifle hunting my first year. I saw one last year right under my stand. I was pleased with my scent control, because he came in from directly downwind and stopped and drank from the stream I was over. I could have nailed him easily, but it was prime time and I wanted a deer.

I thought I would share this little story.


Where I hunt during gun season in Webster Co there are some real practical jokers and someone had found a dead bobcat so one of the guys thought it might be funny to put the bobcat in another guys stand on opening morning.PICTURE THIS,CLIMBING IN YOUR STAND IN THE DARK AND POKING YOUR HEAD OVER THE PLATFORM OF YOUR LADDER STAND AND HAVING A BOBCAT STARING BACK AT YOU.Everyone within a mile radius could tell when that person got to his stand that morning.You heard him scream and then you heard him start cussing the person that he knew did it.

I saw my first and only bobcat while rifle hunting in November 2002. He came sneaking across below me at about 75 yards. It was a cool site to see, especially since they're so rare in Maryland.

comndr45- No offense and I'm not knocking your scent control by any means, but cats don't rely too much on their sense of smell like coyotes and foxes do. A cat's eyesight and hearing are what keeps them out of danger.

Never seen one while hunting, but we have a family of them that lives in the neighborhood. I think they're mixed with domestic cats tho... Does this happen often? I first saw one that kind of lives in my boat. I have to park it away from my apartment, next to a wooded area. I started finding some poop and bird remains in the boat, and one day spooked it out of the boat. It looked like an enormous tabby cat with a stubby tail. I thought it was a regular cat with its tail cut off, but a neighbor said he saw a bunch of little ones and they all had stubby tails.

I have seen several while hunting. I have tried getting drawn on a couple while bowhunting but so far I have been unsuccessful.


Jimbo,

I would have to disagree with that statement. I would probably even believe that they don't use their sense of smell as their primary means of hunting but that still doesn't mean that they don't have an acute sense of smell and use it for their own protection. JMO

I've never seen a bobcat while hunting, but I did have one cross a road in front of me when I was going hunting. Does this count? Anyway's! there's lot's of time to be spent in the wood's and you just never know what will show up.

nubo