Killing Animals for Sport

I admit I sometimes struggle with the thought of killing an animal that I don’t intend to eat. I typically overcome these feelings when I know that the harvested animal will be used for some practical purpose. Bobcat, coyote and fox are all furbearing animals, killed mainly for the purposes of population control, furs for clothing or hunting for sport. In hunting there is no catch and release and when a sportsman wants to pursue an animal that is a challenge to stalk and kill, success in this endeavor occurs with the death of that animal. Sure, I could photograph these animals but for me, it just isn’t the same . . . it is like eating a delicious meal but not being allowed to swallow.

Hunting bobcats, coyotes and fox is an extremely challenging endeavor, typically with 100 hours of time invested before a hunter is even presented with a CHANCE to see one of these wily and elusive creatures. The season under which these animals are typically hunted is winter where hunters must sit motionless for hours, in extreme cold, sometimes in the dead of night for that minuscule 1% chance at success. Harvesting one of these furbearers is the ultimate test of a sportsmans skill, perseverance, patience and mental fortitude. It the achievement of this monumental challenge that is the ultimate reward. The last bobcat I harvested was in 2010 and that amazingly beautiful creature adorns a wall in my house. A permanent taxidermied trophy, my mind replays every moment of that hunt, every time I gaze upon it. The skins of several other fur bearing animals adorn the walls of my house and the number of taxidermied mounts I own is approaching the level of obsession.

My 2014 bobcat (Pictured Above) will be made into a very expensive rug that will never see a muddy boot tread upon it and will cost me more money than I make in two months of writing. It is the price I am willing to pay to ensue my trophies are remembered and honored in some special way.

 Lastly, I have mixed feelings about the obligatory photo of a hunter posed over a game animal that they have just harvested. This isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy pictures of young hunters smiling, posed next to their first deer or a proud hunter sitting beside that animal of a lifetime. I am not opposed to these photographs, I just tend to shy away from them, choosing to instead attempt to capture the animals end in the most respectful and picturesque way possible. Even with this statement, however, comes the fact that for an outdoor writer it is extremely difficult to build credibility, in the outdoor community, without proof of some level of hunting success and hunter success is typically documented with a picture of that sportsman posed next to their fallen quarry. In other words, if I write a story on shooting bobcats, I better have a picture of me sitting next to a bobcat as it is truly the only way to add credibility to a story.

 Thank you for listening to my short explanation. While it doesn’t throughly explain all the reasons why I hunt, I hope that for non-hunters my words help to better explain how the mind of this hunter works. No doubt some will look upon the killing of any animal that is not intended to be eaten as wasteful and the thought of pursuing animals for trophies just shy of obscene. Other people wear fancy shoes, flash expensive watches, dress in thousand dollar suits, drive sports cars and adorn themselves with diamonds and gold . . . I ask, are these “trophies” and “symbols of status” any more or less destructive than my collection of a few wild animals?

Predator Calling Cats, Cross Country Skiing and Ice Fishing Efficiency

Predator Calling Cats 
Sportsmen looking for a unique challenge should try their hand at predator calling for bobcats. Being primarily nocturnal, sporting a well-camouflaged coat and possessing the ability to sit motionless for long periods of time, bobcats are elusive creatures and despite years in the woods, many sportsmen have never seen a bobcat in the wild.

Most harvested bobcats are incidentals, shot while hunting other predators like coyotes. To specifically target bobcats, hunters need to know the particular habits of these crafty and methodical felines. The first tactic to employ when hunting bobcats is to locate where they are hiding. Territory sizes vary widely, measuring up to thirty square miles for males to about five square miles for females. This means hunters must employ good tracking skills, identifying areas that hold bobcats or use game cameras to find where cats are most concentrated.

Bobcats have short attention spans when it comes to erratic prey sounds, so an effective technique is to turn on an electronic call and letting it play constantly. Popular sounds for luring bobcats into shooting range include a variety of bird and rodent distress noises with wounded woodpecker being a personal favorite. Bobcats will typically use heavy cover and their impressive stealth to slowly slink to within feet of unsuspecting prey before bolting the final distance to strike. Because of this, electronic calls are superior for bobcats, over hand held calls, as they alleviate the necessity of the caller to attempt to blow on a call for long amounts of time. Additionally, bobcats will not be able to stalk the caller but rather the remote electronic unit, allowing the hunter a better chance at a shot opportunity.

Motion decoys and visuals work well for cats as they rely on their incredible patience and eyesight more than their noses when stalking prey. Decoys need not be overly complicated and can be as simple as a turkey feather suspended from a tree branch with a piece of thread and allowed to move in the breeze.

When you are done with your calling sequence, just don’t get up and immediately crash out of your set location. Instead, stand up slowly, look, take a few steps, look and then look some more. Cats won’t necessarily run away like coyotes and foxes and when startled may freeze and hold tight, offering you a shot opportunity.

Success at calling in a bobcat is an incredible undertaking and any sportsman able to accomplish the feat certainly deserves a pat on the back. The last chance to shoot a bobcat is Feb 14th, so use the Birch Hill Road to check out the swampy thickets around Crawford and Pocomoonshine Lakes (Delorme’s The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (MAG), Map 36, D-1) for your chance at harvesting one of these incredible predators!

Cross Country Skiing 
The American Heart Association recently released a report that provided statistics showing that in a mile run, kids today are about a minute and a half slower than their peers 30 years ago. This means, kids today are roughly 15 percent less fit than their parents were as youngsters. Kids today are spending a majority of their time partaking in sedentary activities and aren’t running around, playing, biking and doing enough physical activity. This is obviously a major contributing factor to the nation wide increases in heart disease, diabetes and the obesity epidemic raging across the United States. As parents we have control over what our children do and instead of buying my children an Xbox this Christmas, I bought them both cross country skis.

Cross-country skiing is a fun family orientated activity and a fantastic way to remain physically active and healthy throughout the long and sometimes oppressive Maine winter. Many opportunities exist for those wishing to enjoy the sport of cross-country skiing this winter season.

Washington County is a maze of snowmobile trails and frozen lakes like Meddybemps (Delorme’s The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (MAG), Map 36, C-5) that offer skiing opportunities in just about everyone’s backyard. Favorites also include the Moose Horn National Wildlife Refuge (Delorme’s The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (MAG), Map 36, D-4) with over 50 miles of trails open to cross country skiing and the Down East Sunrise Trail (http://www.sunrisetrail.org) offering an additional multitude of possibilities.

The Efficient Ice Fisherman 
As I get older, it seems harder and harder to maintain the same level of excitement and enthusiasm, as I once did in my youth, at the prospects of waking before dawn, stumbling into the deep freeze and driving to my favorite ice fishing destination. To combat this problem and continue to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes, I have begun to become very efficient in my expenditure of energy when ice fishing. This includes bringing hot food and drink, a chair, portable ice shack and on cold days even a heater. These key pieces of equipment ensure that even on the coldest and most brutal of days ice fishing I can stay warm, dry and comfortable, conserving my mental and physical energy, increasing my enjoyment of the experience and the length of time I am able to stay on the ice.

Having small children, these pieces of equipment are almost mandatory as they provide kids with a sheltered spot to warm cold fingers and toes and drink their hot cocoa. As you head out to the ice this winter season, consider reviewing your ice fishing activities for efficiency, it may mean you spend more time on the ice and ultimately catch more fish!

Looking for an “efficient” lake to fish this winter, check out the easy access on East Musquash Lake in Topsfield (Delorme’s The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (MAG), Map 45, E-4). The fishing from the picnic area on route 6 is descent and on cold days you can fish right from your car!

Wildlife Quiz - Bobcat

The bobcat (Lynx rufus), were named for their distinctive, stubby black-tipped tail, which appears to have been cut or “bobbed”. Bobcats exists as members of the cat family Felidae, and range across the entire continental United States, even into parts of Canada and Mexico.

An adaptable predator, bobcats easily prosper in a diverse range of habitats, including forests, swamps, semi-desert, and even the edging of urban areas. Razor sharp retractable claws, 28 pointed teeth and weighting an average of twenty pounds or roughly twice the size of a house cat, make the bobcat a formidable predator, capable of killing prey much larger than themselves, including juvenile deer. Bobcats possess black-tufted ears, reddish brown colored backs with a lighter colored belly.

Bobcats are patient and methodical hunters, capable of blending seamlessly into their environments and stalking prey with amazing stealth. Bobcats are solitary, elusive and nocturnal creatures and therefore rarely spotted by humans. This leads some to believe that bobcats are rare or endangered. North American populations, however scientists, estimate bobcat populations to be quite large, with as many as one million bobcats in the United States.

Bobcat mating season occurs in February and March. Females typically birth litters of 3-6 kittens (baby bobcats) born in late April or early May. Kittens begin eating solid food at about eight weeks and begin learning to hunt at five months and will stay with the female for up to a year, before setting out on their own. Bobcats establish territories with scent markings that include urine and scat. Territory sizes vary widely, measuring up to thirty square miles for males and about five square miles for females. Bobcats will typically maintain a primary or natal den as well as several other “shelter” across these territories, existing in rock caves, hollow logs, fallen trees, or other protected places.

Wildlife Quiz Questions:
1. What is the average weight of an adult bobcat?
 2. Are bobcats endangered?
3. How many bobcats live in the United States?
4. When do Bobcats mate?
5. How soon after birth can a baby bobcat (kitten) begin to hunt?
6. How big a territory does a male bobcat typically patrol?
7. How big a territory does a female bobcat typically patrol?
8. How do bobcats establish and mark their territories?
9. Where do bobcats typically “den”?

Wildlife Quiz Answers: 
1. Bobcats weigh an average of twenty pounds or roughly twice the size of a house cat.
2. Bobcats are solitary and elusive creatures but are not rare or endangered.
3. Scientists estimate that as many as one million bobcats populate the United States.
4. Bobcat mating season occurs in February and March.
5. Baby bobcats will begin hunting 5 months after birth but will still stay with their mothers for up to a year before heading out on their own.
6. A male bobcat will typically patrol an area of approximately 30 square miles.
7. A female bobcat will typically patrol an area of approximately 5 square miles.
8. Bobcats establish territories with scent markings that include urine and scat.
9. Bobcats typically den in rock caves, hollow logs, fallen trees, or other protected places.

Night Hunting Coyotes

It should be no secret that setting up a quality coyote bait for the night hunting season is no easy task. First one must select that perfect location that provides effective cover for spooky predators as well as good shot opportunities. Small ponds, fields and clear cuts are prime locations. This small wood lot pictured below, required about 12 hours of work with the chainsaw and hauling brush to get it "perfect". AND of course most importantly you got to make sure nobody dies.

To attract coyotes (night hunting) and other predators like fox and bobcat (legal day hunting only) your bait pile must contain protein sources to entice these scavengers. My bait pile this year includes deer, hog and one ill fated porcupine. Local butcher shops will be able to provide you with meat scraps BUT if you have the means, nothing attracts coyotes quite like a stinky old beaver carcass. 

In previous years, I have been plagued with coyotes and other predators stealing away the bait too quickly. I have tried to solve this problem, in past years by freezing the bait into 5 gallon buckets. This makes the hungry coyotes scratch and dig at the frozen "soup" throughout the entire season as it freezes and thaws. 

This year, as you can see in the picture below, I am trying something new. By wrapping the bait in chicken wire, I hope to make predators "work" at the bait, slowing down the time it takes to eat it all and providing me the added benefit of hopefully allowing a better shot opportunity. I currently have a game camera capturing video on the bait site, so stay tuned to see how this experiment ends. *Note in Maine you must clearly label your bait sites.

A comfortable 70 yard shot from the coyote blind, clear of visible obstructions, helps to make sure every shot opportunity amounts to a clean ethical kill. Note I attempted to tuck the hunting shack into the wood line but after over a month in the same location, I feel confident in assuming that it won't bother the coyotes.

Though may rifle options exist for the hunting of coyotes and other Maine predators, for quick follow-up shot opportunities, easy of use, reliability and a laundry list of possible modifications, it is difficult to beat the AR15 platform. Pictured below is the R15 in .223 . . . nicknamed "my Precious" (see her in action). It is topped with a Nikon 2x7 variable power scope. 

When the cold winds howl and the temperatures growl, it pays to have as little exposed to the elements as possible. A heavy curtain with a peep hole just barely large enough to fit through the rife's barrel and  scope provides visibility without sacrificing loss of heat. To the left, hangs the light switch to the red light that will illuminate the bait site on overcast or moonless nights. When operational, it runs off a 6 volt battery and the switch attaches directly to the rifles front hand guard.

The angle of death awaits any Coyote (Night Hunt 12/16/12-8/31/13), Red Fox (10/15/12-2/28/13) or Bobcat (12/1/12-2/14/13) that approaches the bait site.

HOME SWEET HOME!

Bobcat Taxidermy Project Complete

I know there are a majority of sportsmen out there in cyberspace that only kill animals that they plan to eat and then there are others like predator hunters and trappers that kill animals for a variety of other reasons, ranging from population control and selling of pelts to yes even trophy killing like in the case of this particular specimen. What is important to consider, in all of these cases, is that regardless of how and why we pursue out particular sporting endeavors, we must ALL practice tolerance and not look poorly upon another's hunting practices simply because they do not directly align with our own personal opinions. An open mind is an educated mind, while a close mind is a harbinger of prejudice.

It took close to a year for my New Years Eve 2011 Bobcat to finally make its way back home from it’s visit with my friendly neighborhood taxidermist. While it certainly was a LONG wait, now that I sit and stare at the final product, I must admit it was well worth my investment of money and patience. Steve Luce of Fins and Feathers Taxidermy completed the work and did a fantastic job!

Now that I own such a unique and impressive display of taxidermy art, I looked up some of the hints and tips for caring for your new trophy. One of the best sites I found, was at the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) in a posting entitled: Hints and Tips for Caring for your Taxidermy.

For more Taxidermy Postings on the Maine Outdoorsman be Sure to See:

Taxidermy Addiction and Beginner Taxidermy Projects

New Years Eve Bobcat

I wanted to share a few pictures of a male bobcat I shot this morning at approximately 8:30 AM using my new Christmas present the Fox Pro Spitfire electronic game call. The bobcat weighed approximately 30 lbs and was a little more than 3 feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail. I had been using the "raspy woodpecker" on the 3-4 volume level when about an hour later he came slowly slinking in through the underbrush. One shot of 125 grain Remington core lokt from my XL7 Marlin in Springfield .30-06 dropped him cold. Taking him to the taxidermist tomorrow for a full body mount . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Bobcat Revealed on Game Camera

After my exciting game camera photos of the “Maine Mountain Lion?”, I was excitedly poised to see if I could manage to capture some additional photos that provided more detail into the positive identity of this feline. As luck would have it, I didn’t have to wait long. The following photo clearly shows the short “bobbed” tail of a very impressive Bobcat.

Trapping

This story starts with the discovery of a water stained box recently rescued from my parents basement. On the outside, scribbled in faded permanent marker, were the words trapping supplies. Within the confines of the slowly disintergrating cardboard, were my old and well rusted leg hold traps.

Upon opening, I was immediately flooded with many happy childhood memories of outwitting fox and coyotes with dirt hole and scent post sets. I started trapping when I was 8, immediately becoming addicted. For me there was something deeply intoxicating about checking the trap line each early Fall morning. The anticipation of a wild animal caught by my "trickery" was an amazing experience for a young sportsman. At some point during my reflection, I determined that this trapping season I would once again try my luck at capturing a few wiley canines.

An examination of my old traps showed that the years had not been kind and only a few were servicable. The logwood dye had blackened and magically somehow managed to save a few #2 Victor coilsprings from certain destruction, wrought from several decades in a damp basement.

Equipped financially much better than I was in middle school, I put the heavily rusted antiques aside and invested in 6 new #2 coil springs by Bridger. Where trap design has changed little in the past 20 years the process for blackening and preserving them against the elements has changed significantly. "Speed Dip" is now the new dyeing method and takes minutes rather than hours. The only drawback is that traps must be aired out for months before they are ready for fox and coyotes. Due to time, I will be airing mine for one month so this year trapping may be an experiment in frutility!?!? I hope it is enough time!

Another major advancement, is the creation of "disposable" stakes. These wonderful creations, eliminate the need to use rebar stakes that were practically impossible to retreive at the end of the season or when it was determined that a set needed to be moved. These new stakes are driven with a special tool and then easily retreived by pulling on a second wire attached to the anchor that reverses the direction of the device and allows it to be easily extracted. Apparently, gone are my days of swearing and herniated disc that occurred with the removal process of the old stake systems.

With traps preped and supplies secured the next step in this process would be securing a trapping licence. I was worried that IFWs records would not include my adult trapping licence but they were able to find it and issue me a new licence in minutes!!

Lastly, if I do in fact manage to actually catch something, I secured a couple handmade stretching boards from an oldtimer at the recent trappers rendezvous in Sidney, ME. Yeah, I could have purchased a couple of those fancy wire stretchers but for me the wooden option was the best fit and reminds me of the ones I used to have as a youngster.

Well off to the wilds to pre-build a few cubby and dirt hole sets! Will keep you posted as the season opens on October 18th!