Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Bobcat Load?

I've read oodles of threads on the best fur friendly loads for bobcat, with the usual 2 schools of thought, light and fast, or big and slow.

What's your experience/opinion of a 22 caliber 55 grain Ballistic Tip at 27-2800?

17 HMR or Hornet.....

No and no.......

Hard to beat a .22 Hornet and 45 gr. SP bullets....

Not a NBT...I used a 55 gr Gold Dot at 2700, and I have used the 60 Gr NBT at about 2600 with great results on fur....but I think we are basically on the same page...a little heavier constructed bullet going slow...

Here you go...





and another...




And another.....






Have also had good luck with a basic 50 gr. Hornady SP in a .222 at those speeds...

Thanks Tom.....

I drew a Wisconsin cat tag this year is the reason for the question.

I stopped shooting fox around here when the coyotes took over, so all my 17's went down the road.

I'm not buying anything special gun wise just for this, and didn't want to buy any bullets.

I have plenty of BT's in 40, 50, & 55's, and figured the 55's would behave at 27-2800. I was curious of other's experience doing so.

Are bobcats so scarce in WI that they have a lottery for tags? I’m honestly curious, everywhere I’ve spent time they have been considered a varmint.

FWIW I’ve shot some with 22-250 50 and 55gr loads at standard speeds and not blown them up if I stayed off the bones.

I like them at about 2700, 2600 is the for sure magic number to avoid pelt damage, small hole in and out and it folds them up. Thats about what Im getting out of my .222 and the Horn. 50 grainers.

Im headed to Texas in a couple weeks for some more night predator calling, and I'm toting the .17 Rem and the .222

Killed a bunch of fox and a cat with the .17 last year..REALLY fur friendly...I figure if it doesn't tear up a grey fox, it will be fine on cats...gonna find out....

Incorrect...the Hornet is kind of the gold standard for Fox and Bobcat. 17 HMR, 22 Mag and similar are where it's at with thin skinned little critters.

It's not that they're scarce, there's only so many to go around vs the number that want to shoot one.

Wisconsin harvested 581 in 2018, 574 in 2017.

Takes several years to draw a tag.

Interesting, do they allow trapping for them too? We have a “season” but I’d bet there’s at least as many killed out of season as in. No tagging required so I doubt the game department knows or cares. Like I said people just consider them varmints and shoot on sight like coyotes.

Anyway, I hope you get a big Tom to fill your tag. Good luck

Can you borrow a 17 Hornet?

No limit on # of Bobcats in Texas, I just looked at my last years #, killed 63 calling and 5 from the chopper during game survey's, from the chopper 12 ga. with #6 lead, calling i used a .223 72 gr. sp going 2700, had 2 hides torn up from bad shot placement. Rio7

Here's the complete results from 2018. Easier to skim through than copy/paste everything.

I'll have my work cut out for me, as calling has the least success vs dogs and trapping.

https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/documents/reports/bobcatharv2.pdf

Short answer, no.

That's more than a lifetime of kills up here, I'm jealous.

Although, I'll be in wolf country, so that could spice up the day.........

The best for hides is a 12 gauge. A properly choked and patterned shotgun with lead BB or better yet TSS #2's is a killer that the fur buyer or taxidermy guy can't complain about.



Rifles work too...

I killed my first one long ago with a 12ga and a baby mag load of #4s.

My uncle killed several with 8s while quail hunting. Last winter his girlfriend shot one off her back patio that was getting too close to her chicken coop. Her dad’s old A5 with a load of Magnum 4s took half his face off. The finisher she gave him to stop the flopping put a tennis ball size hole through his side. Kept him out of the henhouse.

I assume you’re hunting the northern zone and have an area in mind but if you’re hunting the southern send me a pm and I can point you in the direction of an area I see a lot of tracks in the central forest.

Either way good luck, I’ve only ever seen one and I’ve called a lot of coyotes in areas with them. And that was Iowa county turkey hunting.

Yes, I drew the northern zone. I never really researched areas or zones, just figured I wanted to do the classic northern hunt. Never figured I was close to drawing, so I wasn't concerned. I wished I had applied for the southern zone now, so I could hunt from home, and pick & choose the "good" days for calling, and not have to plan a trip with associated expenses.

I live in Iowa county. and I'm sure I could scare one up around here......

Good news is you can draw one in only a couple years in the southern zone for the early season. I’ve been meaning to try it.

Here’s two cats killed a couple years ago with the 55g NBT in 223.

Both were shot at close range. Both were front facing shots.




Cat number 1 (top two pics) had what I’d call extensive damage. Bullet appeared to have hit bone and it acted as if a mini grenade went off.

Cat number 2 (bottom two) looked as if it died from fright. Barely a pin prick of blood. It was smaller than cat number 1 and shot maybe 15 yards further.

Neither bullet exited that I remember.

If I were specifically hunting cats and saving fur....I’d go with something else. They aren’t big, and they can’t take much abuse.

Like other stated

Shotguns work well and so do 22magnums

22LR hp in the head if legal, never specifically went out hunting them, did hit one way back in the day I later found killed and ate a young turkey, hit him in the shoulders with an old FN custom 300 Win with first gen 165gr ballistic tips, yep, BOMB, my 22 Hornet with 46gr Speer flat noses would do the deed too.

half...that oughta work just fine! In the pics I posted, the McFlame was a .223AI downloaded with 60 gr NBT to 2700...so its pretty close to same-o same-o

If I'da had some 60's, I would have went there as well.

The bonus where I am is that I don't have to adjust the scope for the lighter loads.

It's dead on at 50 yards, 1" high at 100, dead on again at 150, and 3" low at 200.

I have shot a few bobcats with the 55 gr NBT. Side shots and all exited, with a hole a bit smaller than a lemon. More recently I’ve used the 40 gr NBT on coyotes. Not the same, I know, but the 40’s didn’t exit. Looks to me like the 40 gr version, if it’ll stay in the bobcat, would be my next test load. But, the wife loves her bobcats here on our small ranch, and the foxes, so they are now off limits.

First coyote I shot with that 40 gr NBT dropped so fast I thought I had missed. Same with the next one. Acts like some sort of death ray.

Not a great pig bullet though.

@603

Ain’t that something. I use the 40NBT exclusively in my 221 and have gotten exits on every coyote I’ve shot (175yards on all 3 as they were shot off a bait pile) have also gotten exits on both of my javelina from back in March. , and it does have a pig to its credit. Albeit a head shot.

Nice dogs, hogs and cats men.

Was up on the North Ranch this morning, saw a Bobcat walking down the road about 200 yrds in front of me, cat didn't know i was behind it , wind was blowing in my face about 15 mph i had my deer rifle in the Jeep, grabbed it and put cross hairs on it's butt, touch it off, WOP!! cat dropped dead, drove up to it, and it had a big Wood Rat in it's mouth, FYI don't shoot Bobcats with 135 gr. Hornady A-Tips, not much cat left, just 2 large pieces, and a Rat. Rio7

Maybe make a pair of slippers.....

Don't think I can sew well enough to make slippers with a few scraps of hide, and a rat. Rio7

Half a lifetime ago I made a large chunck of my living shooting fur.
The 2 "money guns" used for cats that were the best for getting the highest prices for my furs were a 22 LR with 40 grain HV H.P ammo and one that may surprise most of the readers. A 375H&H with 300 grain solids. (No I am not kidding)

For coyotes I found the 222 Remington was about the best over all and it did give exits, but with 50 grain WW power points the exits were usually only the size of a nickel. For cats I wanted NO exit or one even smaller then a got from my 222. So for cats I liked the 22 LR and the 375 because the average then was $600 for a good cat. At $600, I didn't want to do any more damage then absolutely necessary. The 22 LR would not exit most times and when it did the holes were very small. The 375 would exit no matter what........but the holes were quite small. Way smaller then you might guess. So for shots past 150 yards I'd use the big rifle, but the closer shots were the ones I got most, and they were nearly all taken with either a Ruger M77/22 or an old Winchester M62A.

Just got this rifle, Proof Research, haven't hunted with it much yet , 6.5 Creed, worked up a load with 140 gr. SMKs, then the 135 gr. R- 26 shoots real well on paper.
Have killed 3 management bucks and 2 pigs in the last week with this rifle, and 135 gr. A-tip all were pass thru's all were DRT, didn't think the 135 gr. A-Tip would blow up a Bobcat like a water balloon. Rio7

I was bowhunting Saturday in my favorite big woods public land spot, sitting in a climbing tree stand about 18' up. See a little movement and here comes a bobcat with a squirrel in his mouth. The season for furbearers doesn't start until November 15 here. The cat was going to pass right beside my tree so I thought I would get some pictures. My phone was in my pack hanging on the off side of the tree. When the cat got to twenty yards I s l o w l y reached for my phone... and got picked off immediately. The cat looked straight at me and froze for several seconds, dropped the squirrel and loped off about thirty yards and paused long enough to give me a go to Hades glare. Later when I got down from the tree I walked over to check out the squirrel the cat dropped. Turned out to be a half squirrel, gone from the back legs up.

Bobcat and fox load

223
12g of Blue dot
40g speer spire point
3000 fps

Enough energy to kill real good, does not tear up pelts

My favorite for saving fur was a moderate loaded 52gr Speer HP out of a .223. That bullet rarely if ever exited, that I can remember. The NBT seemed to tear them up. It's been a while since I was saving fur though so there may be something better. The blitz was good out of a slow twist but came apart in flight out of a fast twist. Best for me ever was a 22 Mag.

my opinion , for what it is worth,,,,,,,,,,I would choose other than ballistic tips for fragile cats.......I think the solid base will tend to punch on thru and give you exit holes

I just ordered some Hevi-Shot Tungsten #2 and a Turkey (extra full) extended choke in 20 gauge. The options in this area for 20 are much more limited than 12 and I think I did the best I could. Turkey chokes are usually designed and tested for smaller size shot. I'll just have to see how it patterns with the #2. My intention is bobcat, and red and grey fox. No coyote. 20 ga because it's what I have and prefer for quail and chukar.

Given a decent pattern it should do a good job for you. I assume a 3" 20 gauge load? I wonder how many #2 pellets are in that load?

Well, I was hoodwinked by the deceitful Hevi propaganda. What I thought I bought was tungsten, because it's advertised as tungsten, says "tungsten" right on the box. I think they sprinkle it with tungsten fairy dust, because it's actually lower density than lead. I paid $33 a box for what is probably a little better than a steel waterfowl load. I'm kind of an ignoramus when it comes to the shotgun market. I used to load my own on a Mec and then just quit shotgunning for a long time. I don't think I could make 20 gauge work well past about 35 yards unless I load my own (that Mec's been gone for almost 30 years), because commercially, there are duck loads and then #3 Buck (with too few pellets) and nothing in-between.

It sort of makes sense because not many people are going to choose 20 ga for swans or even geese, and for fox and bobcat, you'd want something like a swan load but without the handicap of steel. On the other hand, people shooting predators aren't going to want to pass up Coyotes, and 20 gauge just isn't going to have the pellet size and count for those bigger and tougher dogs even if it could be made to work for the fox and cat.

While I see the value of a 12 gauge for all kinds of predators including bobcat, I don't have one already and I'd be reluctant to buy one for that purpose given the range is still limited to something less than 100 yards. Instead, I could get a rifle in a cartridge suitable for predators that would make all those shots between 70 and 200 yards quite practical. Really, it's not limited to that range, but just thinking of all the opportunities that come in at those ranges, it's a lot to miss out on. On the other hand, I have no opportunities for a gun that I don't have.

Spent many years experimenting shooting 22 centerfires in "wet paper" media, water jugs, chunks of meat to help figure out what was a good bullet for fur varmints....then took them to the field and shot coyotes, fox, coons and cats....found out quick stay away from any bullet that has a heavy copper base ....under 2800 fps is maximum velocity that's needed....lighter weight bullets are better if you stay off bone on entrance....

Speer 50 gr. "TNT" hollow point....keep them under 2800 fps ....rare to get one to exit...

First, some praise for Targetsportsusa for canceling that Hevi shot order. They created the shipping label at 6AM but open at 9AM and took my call then. They said it was too late -- can't blame them, it was basically already shipped. But then I saw a few days later they did cancel it. Someone took the extra effort to pull the box out of their pile for UPS pickup and I was refunded.

Again, this was basically my misunderstanding that Hevi-X Tungsten #2 loads would be good for bobcat etc. but in fact, they're lighter than lead, and such low-density #2 won't carry the momentum to penetrate a cat very far.

Lately, I've been working on a 357 load for cats, fox and even coyote. My first choice is 125 grain Remington Golden Saber bullets for 38 Special. Even at 900 fps these things blow up real well and stop in 12 inches of gel. I'm loading them to 1300 fps for trajectory and to try to overexpand them and stop them shorter. A coyote might stop them but I'm anticipating a good chance of exits on cats and fox. I have about 1000 of them leftover from years ago. Most of my 357 bullets are heavier and designed to penetrate big game. With these GS loads, I'm getting a 1-inch group at 25 yards (using a red dot), 2 inches at 50 yards, but they start to drift in a little breeze before 100 yards. I think the G1 BC is 0.118. I can tighten up the vertical with a different powder and trickling, but there's not much I can do about the low-velocity, low-BC wind drift other than hold. I set a 65 yard zero and I'm good for a 75 yard MPBR.

Saw one just off the parking lot at the Woodman boat ramp on 133 last night. They just re-opened the season in Illinois a while back. Had been closed for decades and I've never shot one.

They are way more plentiful 80 or 100 miles north of me.

Luck on your hunt

Love my 17 FB XP-100 handgun, and killed a couple with it no big exits--25 V-Max @ 3350.

I called a red fox to about 70yds. It was hunkered down looking my way. I shot it low in the chest with a 22mag using Winchester 40gr JHP. Small exit between hind legs.

I switched to a .17 mag last year. Extremely happy with the results on cats an coyotes. That’s here in northern MN, where distances are tighter. I’ll be running it out west shortly.
This gun likes the 25 grain the best. Wonderful light truck gun.

Osky

Which .17 mag? HMR? or WSM?

would like to know also.......bob

With the season winding down & closing on the 25th of December, the weather looked to be cooperative the week prior, so I went back up to a different area of the National Forest. Again, I concentrated on the snowmobile trails and the Wisconsin Ice Age trail, which is a foot traffic only trail that winds through the NF, & is open to hunting.

Hunt Central........$37.00 a night, tax included






Any"opening" that looked promising, I gave it a go, but results were the same.



One afternoon, I made it back 1 1/2 miles, and found a marshy open spot. Decided to sit extra long, as there wasn't enough time left to get in another set. I sat & called for 85 minutes, and just when I quit & started packing up, a guy behind started talking. WTF? He had drove his ATV in from the other direction to cut wood, when he heard the Foxpro, he stayed behind me for an hour watching the show. I'm sure that didn't help my chances.....

The setup:

Nice country aalf.

Did it ever occur to you to call some of the state land along the Wisconsin River?

I have the same luggage.

Well aalf, I will give you A for effort. Nice pics and good to see you got a "brush wolf".

I figured I had several years to go before drawing a tag, so I was surprised to get mine in the mail this year. When applying, I never really put much thought into it.

So once in hand, I started researching dates and areas. Come to find out, the state is divided in half at highway 64 for the north/south zones. Plus, there is a split season, Oct 17th through Dec 25th, then the 26th through the end of Jan. I drew 1st season in the northern zone, which come to find out, is the easiest to draw.

Despite not scoring, I gave it a decent effort, & had a good hunt. Early on, I was wishing I had drawn around here, but if I were given a tag tomorrow, I'd get the same again.

I have a complete set......

Thanks Wayne, not sure what I could have done to change the results.

The 2nd trip I hunted the far southern end of the forest. I saw a lot of coyote tracks, so I was surprised I only called in one, and he came in slow at the 24 minute mark. I thought maybe the wolves had a role in that, but the guy that busted my one set claimed there weren't any down that far south. I'm sure there's some that drift down there, but I never cut a track.

It has been years since I saw a Bobcat and just the other day I was snowmobiling with a group out of Hatfield, WI and we were on a Clark County trail heading for Tioga, southwest of Willard and I was behind the lead snowmobile. We topped a hill and there about 50 yards ahead was a Bobcat on the trail, and poof he was gone.

We stopped where we last seen it and there was the remains of a Ruffed Grouse that it must of been dining on.

This thread got me pretty pumped up - the pics! I’m
working with a Hornet & .222 here in the VT woods and beyond.

If (as I just learned) the 55g Hornady SP works on Deer, it oughta work great on Bobs & Coyotes at any angle.

You'll get some pretty rough occasional damage on coyotes and bobbers with 55gr HSP's on frontal or shoulder bone shots. quarter sized exits on broadside shots. Great deer bullet though.

I know this is primarily a rifle conversation but having a shotgun around is fur friendly and can save your a$$ in close, thick cover where bobcats like to be. I've regretted not having one on a few occasions and glad I had it on a few as well.

I like hevi-shot dead coyote, T-shot

Used to talk occasionally to a guy who hunted coyotes and bobcats with a 223 and he said he mostly used the military FMJ because they wouldn't damage the fur. A couple small holes and that was it and with a good shot they just piled up. Never did get to try his theory as I usually just use what I'm carrying at the moment and don't save hides.

Been watching a bunch of predator hunting videos on youtube and several of them seem to be pretty happy with the 53 gr Hornady Vmax for saving fur....

Bob

By "this year", assuming you meant 2020, how did it go? Oct seemed kind of late in the season to be searching for a specific load/rifle, though I see you settled on a 22-204. I shot one bobcat years ago at about 20 yards with the 40 grain ballistic tip out of a .204 Ruger and it was really easy on the fur.

Scroll back up to 1-3-21, I updated the hunt.

Shot with 22 pistol through 338 win, killed this one couple months ago with a 204 32 gr Hornady at 300 yds, no exit. Never had a 32 exit
upload pics to internet

223 40 gr vmax

240 Wby 85 tsx

Holy hell...How did I miss that? Maybe the pics took a while to load and I scrolled right past them all without realizing it.

I can state for a fact that arrows are not fur friendly. From this past January. At least the holes are clean cut....grin....

😂😂

How common are bobcats in AZ, NM and TX? It seems like lots are killed by callers and incidentally down south. In the intermountain states I know of only a handful of people who have killed them without dogs or trapping. I've seen maybe 10-12 over the years. I have seen quite a few more wolves and almost an equal number of lions than I have bobcats. I don't know if it is a population thing, a different subspecies or what the deal is.

Double tap....

Pretty common here. I don't try to call them but I see a few a year just glassing. About as common as lions. I see 2-10 lions a year on camera and glassing.

Texas, dependent on region is loaded with them. I mean loaded, mainly west half ..

We got lots up here too Ted, lot more since they outlawed the use of dogs.

There are a lot more 'cats around than most people think. If there are rabbits and mice there will be predators. I have trespassing privileges on a ranch south of LaJunta, CO, where I've shot a dozen or so 'cats in a place where the owner said he'd never seen a 'cat. Other than being in the middle of nowhere and a PITA to get to, it is one of my all time favorite places to spend a day with a rifle.

Seems pretty phuqckin dumb.

From what I have gathered some game wardens turn their heads when folks chase racoons with dogs and they then 'accidentally' cross a fresh(er) cat track. At least they did up by Forks 15-20 years ago.

I've never killed a bobcat that wasn't treed. I have had chances at them while turkey and chukar hunting, but just didn't have quite enough time. Called one in Idaho to within a few yards but only had a camera and the guy with the rifle was 10 yards away. I've seen others cross the road and jumped them whe deer hunting but never had a chance at them.

I don't think I know anyone who has killed one in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming incidentally while deer or elk hunting. Just a couple that were shotgunned while chukar hunting. On the other hand, I know a few dozen people who have killed both lions and wolves incidentally when deer hunting.

They're really rare to see where I am from, though I know they're around. A .22 Mag with 30 grain HPs works well on their fur when they're treed and you have a close shot.

Ya pretty irritating actually

Ya we always used a Colt woodsman

When I'm calling 'cats in tight cover, the rifle, cartridge, and load that I use most frequently is a Remington 597 in .22 MAG with the 30 grain plastic tipped bullets. I've hunted 'cats in IA, KS, MO, NE, and SD for over 30 years, mostly in creek-bottom cover. Around Omaha, most of the foxes seem to have moved into the suburbs, the 'cats keep mostly to the hillside and creek-bottom timber, and the coyotes travel along tree lines, but keep mostly to the more open areas. The 'cats seem to know where the safe zones are and make those their core areas.

Bobcats love bird calls, they just can not stand it. Trick is to get close enough to them where they will come. You may loose one now and again with a 22 mag and I used Winchester 40g HP, hits have to be placed in the lungs. If you hit them in the stomach with a 22 mag, they may get away from you.

Shot gun with #4 buck, BB, and lead #2's are very, very effective.

I used a 17 Remington with 25g HP and 17 Mach 4 with 25's to save hides which were worth $450 back in the day.

Use A full choke or extra full, pattern your shotgun to see where it prints. If you have any old lead #2, they are tremendous on cats and foxes.

25 vmax wide open out of a 17 rem. Pin prick going in and no exit. I’d also take a tight choked 12ga with BB lead or #4B

Good to hear.....25 Vmax in the .17 Rem is going to be my choice for my next hunt. I never use a shotgun, so.....

But I appreciate all the input you guys have given me. Trying my damndest not to ruin the hide on the next bobcat I see...

Come on down to SE NM. Tons of bobcats around here. Enough to be a problem for oilfield workers.

The Bobcats set up residence on the catwalks of the tank batteries and won't let the workers service the sites.

The drought is working the cottontails and jackrabbits over real hard so they are pretty aggressive about their territories.

There is a season for them since they are listed as a furbearer.

Ed