Wildlife Callers
Healy - America's Firearms Provider

Bobcat Caller Education – Two Good Books to Help You Locate & Call More Cats

One of our blog readers asked if there were some good books we’d read and would recommend for guys looking to improve their bobcat calling results.  Yes we do - here are two good reads. 

Hat Tip to Alan N. of Sonoita for the great question.

 

You might wonder why we’re recommending trapping books.  Well, both of these books are dedicated to successful bobcat locating and are full of information on behavior, travel patterns, terrain, and how to read land formations to locate more cats.  Knowing that trappers must know bobcats well enough to get a bobcat’s foot in less than a six by six inch spot to trap it, then it stands to reason their locating & trap placement tactics will get us close enough to call them (or smack ‘em with a hammer).

 

Bobcat Trapper's Guide by Mitchell Ricketts

Bobcat Trapper's Guide by Mitchell Ricketts

The Bobcat Trapper’s Guide by Mitchell Ricketts gives a lot of information on bobcat habitats across the United States.  The level of detail this book offers about bobcat behavior and how to identify what the author calls “key activity areas” is outstanding.  I keep this book in my calling equipment box.  This book as available from Amazon both new and used. 

 

 

 

The Competition Line Bobcat Trapping Guide & Gray Fox Refresher by Tom Miranda is not as data-driven as Ricketts’ book, and has several photos of terrain, travel areas, lay-ups, and practical advice on how to locate more bobcats.  This book is an easy read and one that I keep with me in the field.   Be advised, Miranda talks briefly about bobcat terrain across the US, but the focus of this book is mainly in the western US.

 

 

As always, thank you for reading and posting comments.  If any of you have any book recommendations, we’d like to read them and put them on the blog.  Please put them in your comments.

Subscriptions to the blog are FREE.  Just put your email address in the “Subscribe” box on the upper right side of this page. 

May all of your stands be productive in 2010!

Mark Healy

mark@wildlifecallers.com

Traffic Jam Bobcat – While Others are Commuting Ned Burris Goes Calling

Ned gets caught in a typical Arizona traffic jam last week and takes full advantage of his delay getting home. 

 

We appreciate veteran predator caller, Ned Burris sharing another success story with us.  There are several informational calling tactics & take-aways in this post. 

 

Have you ever been driving on the freeways/highways around your hometown and thought wow, that would be a great place to make a stand?  The brush looks right, there are no homes nearby, there’s a good water source, you’ve seen a few coyotes and small critters killed on the road nearby, but you’ve never taken the time to call it or had your gear with you when the urge strikes and time permits.  I’ve been there too, and here’s how a serious predator caller makes the most of his opportunities. 

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Ned Burris was headed home from work last week in west Phoenix and like every other work day, he jumped on the freeway and headed east.  Traffic on the AZ freeway system is never good at 4pm, but this particular day it was exceptionally bad.  Ned knew he was going to be stuck for more than an hour trying to get home.  Most people would have cranked up the radio, or called their aunt they haven’t talked to in a year and crawled along the freeway.  Ned, on the other hand, hit an exit ramp and got back on the freeway in the opposite direction.  In just a few minutes he was past the residential sprawl on the west side of Phoenix and looking for places to call. 

Ned, who knows how to maximize opportunities like this, keeps a few hand calls in his truck, a reliable 20 gauge shotgun, and a camo jacket.  He exited the freeway in some agricultural areas that were surrounded by thick stands of salt cedars and mesquite trees.  He’s called around areas like this in the past, and knows that bobcats love to lay-up in the thickets around the fields.  Today was no exception.  (more…)

Burris’ Two-Tone Tom Bobcat. Hand Call & E-Call Combo Bring Him Quick

Ned Burris calls & shoots this fine Arizona bobcat using a Tally-Ho open reed and his FoxPro electronic game call. 

 

Ned emailed us a short synopsis of this day in the field.  We liked the story and the calling tactics were top-notch.  We wrote it up and hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  

 

Ned and his brother Mike Burris teamed up for a predator hunt on Sunday November 8th.  Ned, you might recall, was pictured in this post: http://tinyurl.com/yzugd5p about the 2009 SW Fur Takers Rendezvous.  He’s a long-time Arizona predator caller, and all-around wildlife calling professional.  His brother Mike is a club officer for the Arizona Predator Callers in Mesa, Arizona and an experienced caller as well. 

 

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

Ned Burris - AZ Predator Caller

 

Ned (pictured on right) and Mike were calling some areas that had produced some nice bobcats in the past.  Ned was only shooting cats and was armed with his Browning 10-gauge.  Mike was also armed with a shotgun and was only going to shoot…well…anything that came in! 

The Burris brothers have been predator hunting all over Arizona for many years.  They know exactly where to go to target specific predator species.  They also have the experience and tactics to make the most of every calling day.

 

 

The first two stands of the morning were blanks, and the pair pressed on.  On the third stand, Ned was using his FoxPro electronic predator call as well as his Tally-Ho open reed mouth call.  At about 15 minutes this well-spotted 22 pound bobcat came into view in some heavy brush at 35 yards. (more…)