Bobcats and Coyotes: Most Wanted Predators

For years I’ve had a bobcat on my “most wanted” list! I’ve seen them in Illinois, but there is no season so I could never take the shot.

While hunting a few weeks ago in Alabama, I saw some bobcat tracks on the way out of my deer stand. Just a year before I had a chance to shoot a bobcat from the same deer stand, but when the opportunity came I wasn’t sure that the season was even in, so I had to pass. This year I made certain the season was in and after seeing the tracks, my “most wanted” went from a buck to a bobcat! I even told my cameraman that I’d take a shot if the chance arose, regardless of whether it was on- or off-camera.

Predators like bobcats and coyotes survive with their noses—not much different than deer. That being said, scent elimination is very important, I happen to have just received the first Apex suit from ScentBlocker equipped with the new Trinity system, and I was going to put it to the test.

The wind was blowing to my right and as a doe and fawn came in downwind to my right, and I thought this would be its first test. A doe with fawns—once she smells you—can be a pain. Generally, once that doe winds you, they can blow and blow and ruin any chances of shooting anything.

It wasn’t but a minute or two and I heard her blowing and blowing and the fawn just stood around, like “What’s up mom?” The doe walked back into the woods still continuing to blow and blow! This gig is up, I thought.

The fawn stayed in the field and finally, while still blowing, the doe walked back out into the field—still downwind. But walking right into the field within 10 yards of her was a bobcat! Neither the doe nor the bobcat ever had a clue I was there.

The rest is history. A “most wanted” on the ground, but the show wasn’t over. Before I could even retrieve my bobcat from the field another deer hunter’s worst enemy showed himself—a coyote! I believe every deer hunter should make it a point after deer season to shoot every predator they can. Just make sure to check local state laws on season and legal means of taking these fawn-eating machines!

The next day I had passed my pictures and story on to Scott Shultz, president of ScentBlocker. He replied, “I did as you asked!” and shot me back a picture of three dead coyotes he recently killed. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he got five the next night!

Bobcats and coyotes beware: the Most Wanted team’s got your number.

Robinson Outdoor Products

It sounds obvious, but behind the scenes of every technical product at Robinson Outdoor Products LLC is a history of exhaustive use, abuse and in lab testing. We start with an idea, a need, and then seek out the finest fabrics, materials and formulas and start exploring design solutions to meet the need. Our advanced product lab tests materials, compatibility, performance levels and effectiveness scores with crucial data, but the final step is most crucial. We head into the field, because real world hunting needs can’t be solved in the lab alone. Such full-on testing often exposes details that might otherwise be overlooked. For example, designing hood or headcovers on a mannequin in the office is one thing. Until you climb up a high placed treestand and pull it over your head and try to draw a bow and shoot that you realize your vision and draw is compromised when that chance of a lifetime walks out. From this in-depth field-testing we have developed some of the most unique details and benefits that go into our products. Offset main zippers for clean shooting, diamond crotch gusset for a resistant free climb into a treestand, Silent Wrist Ratchet Body Lock for on stand adjustment, Gearpendent Technology for minimal movement while reaching for gear, Zip-off removable arm guard for non-restrictive shooting, tree harness slit for integrated attachment, perfect fit, function and the list goes on. Honestly, it's an evolution of understanding more than anything else. It's years of experience and many days, weeks and months of sitting in the tree stand, on the stalk, in the bottomlands, on top of the mountains shivering, sweating and soggy moments figuring out what something really does and why and what we can do to make it hunt better.