Well, at least it’s consistent. Last three years in a row over 300 bobcats have been “hunted” during modern gun season. Majority females again. The people shooting them can’t tell a male from a female a lot of times. I wonder how many additional are never tagged due to no interest or not having a bobcat hunting free permit? I wonder if it’d even make a difference now if it were ended. It would be interesting to know how many of those over 300 went to a taxidermist or had a CITES tag request. It’s impossible to say how many of those 300 cats would have been utilized by actual predator hunters or trappers, It’s also impossible to say how many future cats will fall to night hunting coyote shooters. I just think it’s “off” when people that will actually utilize the furbearer pelt are limited the same as those who don’t. Someone mention at my funeral that he tried to get the bobcat season changed……
For those of you that don’t know me, I don’t think I’m really as grumpy as I sound on here sometimes. 
That is something that bothers me too. Their isnt a deer rifle out there that is fur friendly on a bobcat. So id say a good portion of those 300 are wasted.
I’ve seen several cats that were shot during deer season after a few years of languishing in a freezer. They are a mess.
Your not grumpy!
I think most of the cats killed by deer hunters are wasted.Not much left after their shot with a deer rifle.
Your not grumpy Steve you’re just seasoned lol
I know 2 that were wasted for sure. Got a call from a guy about an hour ago said they killed 2 yesterday afternoon. I went to check em out.
One had been shot twice and was almost in 2 pieces. The other one wasn’t much better. These were very small cats. I told him I couldnt use them. He lets me trap when deer season is over so I tried to explain to him why I didnt want them and he should just let me trap them.
I left shaking my head knowing it didnt do any good.
Grumpy… nay i was vistited today by a friend w a theemal image camera told he is taking the fin out of it. It get old soon and 1500 bucks will be collecting dust
A old gentleman from Wickliffe used to shoot one every year with a 270 then call me to come get it,I always tried to fix it but there was no point in shooting it to start with
I asked KDFWR, for what good it might do, to make it more explicitly clear that night hunting was for coyotes only. Hunting guide is a little vague in the wording to me. I think it should be put in there IN BOLD. Well, I guess they can legally shoot coons and possums, which some do, but bobcats and foxes it is ILLEGAL to shoot at night. I don’t know for sure how it is statewide but in this area I’m certain foxes and cats are regularly shot. I highly suspect deer are being taken with the scopes too. Just the nature of people anymore is to take leeway and think they’re getting away with something. IF they took coyotes only as it was intended it’d help not only deer but cats and fox. Most have zero intention to skin the coyotes, just a Facebook picture, and the fox and cats are turned inside out, thin skinned, and rendered worthless for even a fur trapper to fix. I do know an actual predator hunter that uses a fur friendly caliber and bullet that calls and takes cats in late winter.
I can usually get the glands from a ruined cat but that’s not what furbearers are mainly intended for.
I guess it is because I have taken bobcats but I just don’t get shooting them with a deer rifle. I watched one for probably 5 minutes the other day while deer hunting, I could have shot it several times but had no desire to shoot a bobcat with a 308 winchester rifle. I guess different strokes for different folks but I don’t get this one. Now if you are actually hunting with a fur friendly caliber and fur friendly bullet then that is a different story but not a deer bullet.
I’m the same way I remember daddy watched one all morning once and wouldn’t shoot it with his 30/30 cause he wasn’t hunting for it and didn’t want to saw him in half.
And that was before anybody around hear had seen or killed eny.
Colt
At the root of it is they aren’t intending on ever respectfully utilizing the animal. Just to be able to say or post a pic is their reward. The cats are being killed for the wrong reasons.
I hope that once does many of them but it’s like the hunter Ed classes. I was always amazed at how many came on each year. I know a guy that watched five one time all around his deer stand. They climbed on and out logs and he said he learned a lot about them just watching. It was a bunch of kittens I’m sure. That was a banner hatch! I think the ones that shoot them with no intention of skinning tell and convince themselves they’re saving wildlife by just killing it. I’m afraid when I see “ nest predator” or “ nuisance” trapping they’re becoming sort of like code words for trapping furbearers without skinning intention. Things sure have changed. Whenever and wherever you mention this “new concept” trapping the problem is that there are so many now that weren’t around during any of the past three fur bumps and they can’t understand what actual fur trapping is or should be. Really since 2013 easy to catch coons have been cheap and many now setting traps have no intention when they open the jaws, if the trap they’re using isn’t a DP, of ever sharpening a skinning knife. The cats are shot similarly. No thought whatsoever of “ well I’ve killed it, now what”.