Question regarding bobcat hunt ????

[KaraTurner]

I’m new to cat hunting. I’ve hog hunted and coon hunted. I just picked up a set of supposedly started cat dogs. Took them to the creek, cut them. They went 150 yards and struck them went another 100 yards and treed. Stayed treed till I got 30 yards from tree. They came off tree went then crossed back and forth across the creek for 940 yards. Treed up again , went back to truck to try to drive closer. Got fairly close with truck. Came off tree before I could get there they ran about 400 yards and treed again back the way they had came but on opposite side of creek. I started trying to get closer they came off and then ran for 300 yards and treed again. Stayed treed for long time , it was long walk. They stayed treed about 40 min. Got 30 yards away from tree again and they came off. And went back and forth across the creek several times. Then I picked them back up where we started. The dogs were wore smooth out. Showed on gps they went 12 miles on the hunt. My partner was in the truck while I was trying to get them off the last tree. He couldn’t make out if it was coyote or bobcat that came out across the road right where the dogs came out. Since this probably my first cat hunt with these dogs, any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks


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[catdog360]

Doesn't sound like a cat race.

[KaraTurner]

What should a cat chase be like. New and just looking for pointers


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[dirtdodge]

Try to find the tracks. Crossing the creek should be a muddy spot to find a track of what your running.

[1bludawg]

Sounds like a fox race . They'll jump out of trees,cat will but rarely do.

[catdog360]

That is what I was thinking 1bluedawg. Or a real problem false treeing. I've only had one cat ever jump, multiple times I would question what is really happening

[1bludawg]

I was also going by the guy in the truck
who saw a cat or maybe a coyote cross the road. It was probably a fox but without being there I'll call it an educated guess.If there are no fox in that area that would make it something else .lol

[TomJr]

They might not be treeing close enough to the tree. Another reason that its jumping out could be you make too much noise getting into the tree and the critter has been run a lot, try sneaking in to the tree. Keep trying! I hope you see the next critter they tree.

[KaraTurner]

[david]

Kara, it would help to know what the breeding is on your dogs and what kind of training they have had, and if you were able to hunt with them before you bought them. If so, were they hunted with other dogs, or by themselves for you. Did you ever actually see a bobcat?

How many did you buy? Do all of them bark treed, or primarily the same one locates and trees followed by the other(s)?

Some breeds of dog are notorious for producing dogs that false tree. I feel that at least some of these dogs KNOW when the tree is empty, but they just can’t help themselves.

Sometimes handlers might try to bring them out of false treeing by punishing them if they feel certain the tree is empty. This can cause some problems. One of them is that dogs might not stay at the empty tree when the handler approaches. Another is, they might not stay at a tree with game in it when the handler approaches. They might have learned it is just best not to be there when the handler gets there.

Back before there was so much info on bobcat hunting available on line; I would hear stories like what you are describing. Often they were from the south and east. They always said it was a bobcat, although no one ever saw one. It was just wWhat they said about a race like that. I heard it so much it became kind of a joke to me and code for dogs that won’t stay treed. I am not sure what it was that they described and it is just hard for any of us to say without being there to hear everything. But they always said it was a bobcat although they never ever caught one. So I am hoping that is NOT how your dogs got the label of bobcat dogs.

I see you are in Oklahoma. There are people in that part of the world who will not bother going to a tree if it is too far away or too brushy to get to it. They might call the dogs out, or just let them leave on their own. This will also make a dog loose on tree.

I am not saying these are your problems, but If they are leaving an animal in the tree and taking the track backwards off the tree, this can sound like a hot race. If they are leaving the tree and progressing the track forward, it could be that they hooked a tree while the animal was still moving. If they are leaving the tree quietly as you approach though, You might consider some of these false tree/training (breaking) issues.

If they are fooling with coon along the creek, each of these legs of your race could be separate coon, as they can be thick. If they have been punished for coon, it is another good reason for them to not let you near them at a coon tree. If you have a Garmin, mark the tree and go on in to it even if they already left it. If it was a coon, it will probably still be there.

I have a tiny bit of hunting experience in Oklahoma, and my experience is those cats are not quick to climb. A percentage of them that are caught, are caught on the ground after a very hard race with very experienced bobcat dogs.

I have almost no experience with gray fox. But my experience is similar to others on here regarding bobcat. I have never had a bobcat do exactly what you are describing. (Although, as I mentioned, I have heard many descriptions of “bobcat races” like what you describe. We’re they bobcats? I don’t know; but will believe it when I see it).

Are you hunting at night? If so, go in the morning so you can see and have a chance of seeing what they are running, and finding tracks. Although gray fox tracks can look VERY much like a small bobcat track. They can be very round like a cat, and often do not show any claw marks. Look for a clean W in the heal to show it is a cat. Take binoculars or a spotting scope. Try to search the tree from a distance if possible.

What do the dogs sound like when they leave the tree? Are these open trailing dogs on cold track? Hot track?

Good luck. We hope you can figure it out, and hope you bought the dogs with a trial period.
They should show you a bobcat if they are bobcat dogs.

[david]

I probably should add something.
You said the dogs were “started on bobcat”.
Without snow, or without an experienced bobcat dog that will tell you when young dogs are running off game, it is nearly impossible to take a group of young dogs and make them straight bobcat dogs. If bobcat hunting has become your number one priority in life, you would be way ahead to start out with an old dog that will tell you what is going on, and one or two “started” dogs.

If you are having fun getting out and getting after some stuff, don’t worry about it. Just go have fun.

What part of Oklahoma are you in?

[KaraTurner]

David !! Is there a way to private message you ??


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[Amy gibson]

Like Tom said could be a cat that bails when you get close I've had them do it lots in rough country when its impossible to be quite sound like a herd of elk crashing timber

[VARMIT HUNTER]

Where do ya'll hunt mostly and what kind of breeding are your dogs? Straight Running Hound or Running hound tree hound cross? And who did you get them from and how old are they. I am in Oklahoma is why I ask and know some pretty good cat hunters , with some good hounds , now my dogs are abut 3/4 Tree hound x 1/4 Fox Hound , but my dogs are more Coon dogs that catch or tree and Occasional Bobcat. But all hound hunters no matter what they hunt I consider my friends if they are honest. S/FI!

[pegleg]

I learned long ago its a guessing game only. I have no idea what your hounds are doing. And while i might interpret your words one way david or others may get something different from them. But its sounds to me like a couple possibilities. 1 its canine or hog they're running. 2. They were bred to tree and for whatever reason wont stick if the handler is closing in. And that could be worse.
Follow your dogs. No. you dont have to follow them every step on every hunt. But any new or young hound needs your absolute faith you know what its doing. And it takes a good amount of familiarity to reach that level and only way to get it is KNOWING.