I have 1 week left on my cat tag. I started hunting for 1 today. What's the best way to call 1 in?

I have a rabbit motion decoy (the vibrating 1).

I figure 12 ga 3" 00 buckshot should give me 50 yards

I figure b4 dark is the best time...maybe not the only good time though

I use the attached calling card and plan to sit for an hour or so & vary up the calls. Hopefully the cat in heat works this time of year. I also have a mouth call: rabbit in distress. Plus on Friday I ordered the cat mouth call from F&T...it makes meow sounds I guess.

I think I'll use a red lite, too.

I have experience yote hunting, but this cat hunting is new to me.



I have traps in the area, but no luck yet.
It's taken 6 years to get this tag, so I really want to fill it.

Thanks

Rabbit or fawn distress call

Unless God is going to smile on you literally, what you described is a guarantee that you are not going to fill that tag. "Curiosity killed the cat, but what saves it is patience of the cat and impatience of humans".

Cats take time and take their time. They travel in an area for females 2 miles by 3 miles. For males the area can be as large as 6 miles by 10 miles. You have no experience in your new call. You have 7 days of hunting, and just 7 hours if you hunt every day. In your situation, unless you could be up early and on location at dawn to drive the roads to see if a fresh cat tracked crossed, and then at least ascertain in creating a square area where you would believe the cat was still in, and then setting up a stand where you can see farther than you can shoot with a rifle, you have just as much chance of winning the lottery as getting a cat. The obvious is cats are not coyotes. Cats take their time, sneak in, use cover, watch for airborne and canine predators, and hang up. A coyote comes in thinking it can steal a meal, a cat comes in thinking whatever is making that sound is going to make them a meal.

You can't get a cat if you are not out there, so invest what time you can, but do not expect anything better than a coyote. If you get a cat, buy a lottery ticket as lightning might strike twice with God smiling down on you.

It happens star flakes...just not as probable

Cats are fickle. decoys are marginal, cats may approach but more than likely will sit and watch from a distance.
Reading your comment about OOO buck I'm guessing you have not patterned or tested it in your shotgun, this could lead to disaster if presented the chance.
I run 1 7/8 oz #2s first shot and #4 BUCK second and third. tested and proven.

Besides night time shining for cats I call more between 10am-3pm expect them to be on a dry south facing hillside.

Like star said run on fresh snow find a track and get him called. Still early for breeding season tactics.

Solid advice right there. And some do come straight in but most sneak in. Set REALLY still when calling most times the cats will see you before you see them. I'd be surprised if Ive seen 1 out of every 4 cats I've called in.

Im no pro, but Ive called and killed cats. I prefer woodpecker and other bird distress calls over rabbit. I dont have any science behind it, just what has seemed to work better for me. I use motion decoy, it keeps them looking at the decoy and not at me...id wager they can see a flea blink at 100 yards. True they might hang up and wait, but ive also had them come in quick and swat the decoy. ..man that gets the heart pumping..Lol For shotgun, the local houndsmen turned me on to Royal Buck 21 pellet loads. They swear they can roll coyotes at 75 yards with it. Ive never tried it at those distances. Good luck i hope you can fill your tag..!

I don't doubt at all that that would work, but I've never called a cat in before while coyote hunting, so I'm thinking I should probably use a cat type noise, but then again if it really is too early for mating season my only option may be the distress sounds.
I'll put the fawn call in my bag. I didn't bring that 1 along tonight. I haven't used that 1 a lot. Thanks.

I never mentioned anything about 000, but I may switch to a 2 or 4 if that'd be better

I'm not opposed to using a rifle, but for cats I want the ability to not have to rely on a scope that may be hard to see thru in the dark. I bought 1 of those red light gun mounts a few yrs ago that was advertised to work @ 350 yards but I couldn't get it to do much at 35 yrds.


Here's the mouth call I bought. It makes meow sounds...I'm unsure how effective it'll be
https://www.primos.com/primos-hunting/hunting-calls/predator/catnip/c-24/c-107/p-362


I could download a cat call on my phone if that would help

I agree w/ star it won't be easy, but I'll accept the challenge. I know a guy up north that got a cat his 1st time calling, so you never know..

Finding tracks has been super tough, despite scouting a ton of properties.

I was wondering about that. My bobcat calling card has bird sounds as 2 out the 4 noises it makes, which made me think bird sounds are popular.


I don't know anyone around here that hunts bobcats, perhaps b/c it is so hard to draw a tag, so I appreciate the advice


I have a yote decoy for yote hunting. When I researched bobcat hunting I was surprised they don't make a cat decoy.

Monster toms nailed what I’ve seen calling. Every cat I’ve ever called in has hung up at the last piece of cover and either sat down or lurked along that edge and eventually left. I was lucky enough to fill my bobcat permit this year. Came in to a coyote pup distress, hung up at about 200 yds, switched to a cottontail distress and it closed the gap to 100. Frontal shot with 223, no exit hole. 32# female, biggest cat I’ve ever killed. Called in what I presumed to be a large male due to its size one night that sat down 50 yards from me in the wood edge and stayed there for the whole hour I called. I was coyote hunting using coyote vocals in late February. When I got up to leave, I put my red light on that cat and walked within 20 yards and it wasn’t budging. It wasn’t too concerned with me so I figured that was close enough. Those are just two examples.

I dont think any one sound is the magic call. Had too many animals come in to different sounds, but any distress seems to work for me most nights. Get out and call, what do you have to loose.

I'm surprised it came in to a coyote pup distress, coyotesoldier.

strap on your snowshoes and go find a cat to trap

That's what I've been doing the past month.

I have called and shot cats before. I just shot one Thursday and 2 last year. Take your time watch real close because they will hang up a ways out. Have fun and enjoy your time out.

I was too, I could’ve shot it where it hung up the first time and thought it was gonna leave. As soon as I switched to rabbit in distress it covered a 100 yards in a few seconds, and then hung up again. It didn’t want to cover the open ground. I believe the pitch of that particular coyote distress got its attention and the rabbit sounded like food. I’m by no means a master predator hunter or trapper, and most calling I do is at night, but the same areas I catch and call in grey fox are the same type of spot I call in cats. Thickets adjacent to open fields or old pastures.

I an no pro but from my experience you have to real look for them because I don't believe they want come into the open spots.

I've never tried calling a cat and don't know a thing about it but it seems to me just having one in the vicinity would be half the battle. My daughters friend called this in a week or ten days ago before he went to work. Forty-two pounds.

I never had much luck calling bobcats until I started using the fawn distress calls,but bobcats kill alot of deer here in Maine as well as turkeys so maybe a few turkey calls would work as well.

What kind of camo paint is that on his face