Wildlife Callers
Healy - America's Firearms Provider

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…)

Bobcat Calling – Scouting & Scat Identification (photos)

Consistent bobcat calling success begins with field scouting and knowing what you are looking for.

After my last post on fox habitat and sign (see it here: http://tinyurl.com/ydxwgoa ), I was asked what to look for when pursuing bobcats and if Wildlife Callers would make a post on the subject (who would have thought that predator poo was so popular??).  I told the gentleman we would oblige as quickly as possible.  We hope all of our readers find this post helpful.

This post focuses on bobcat and cougar scat identification and we’ll make another post on terrain types in a later post.

Scott Francom - AKA Hyperwrx on the Internet

Scott Francom - AKA Hyperwrx on the Internet

Veteran Arizona predator caller and friend Scott Francom of Gilbert, AZ and I made a trip to the field to collect some photos and data.  The photos that we collected were from the desert areas around Maricopa, Arizona, but the information is applicable anywhere you hunt bobcats.  The location we scouted was new to both of us, but using our knowledge of bobcat behavior we quickly located what we were looking for.

NOTE:  The sign that we found is applicable to any location – I have seen bobcat sign just like I’m posting here all over Arizona, British Columbia Canada, Sonora Mexico, Missouri, and many other places.  You don’t need to be in the AZ desert to scout for bobcats.

 

Below you’ll find several photos of what we found on our scouting trip.  (more…)