The fat guy gets to use his tag
treetop
2/8/07 11:09pm
Hi guys, Treetopo here. This is an account ofhow I finally got to use my cat tag this year.
My memory is going fast so I wrote this down to put in my journal, and I'll cut and paste it here.
Sorry it's so long. I'm a little cabin crazy by this time of year.
Feb. 8th 2007
Each year I buy at least one bobcat tag just in case I see one while hunting coyotes. Well this year we have had a lot of snow and it made it a lot easier to see sign. When I was out west of here calling I found a place with a lot of cat sign.
I decided that with that much sign it wouldn’t be too hard to call one in so I set out to fill my tag. I called and called, I don’t even know how much time I spent trying to call in a cat but I never saw a thing.
Finally out of frustration I took 6 of my coyote snares out and set them where the cats had been hunting. I thought I’d have one in just a day or two.
Well it seemed that the same time I set the snares, all most all of the tracks disappeared and I got to thinking that whoever was trapping about 2 miles north of me must have gathered the cats up and I was out of luck. Other than several of the snares being knocked down there hadn’t been any activity at all.
As I rode out last Tuesday to check them again I was asking my self if I should just go ahead and pull them and save the gas money.
I decided that since there is only a few days left I’d just as well leave them out and maybe get lucky.
I choose to check them in reverse order this time and after finding 2 more knocked down I pulled up to the last set.
As I got out of the truck and looked over to where the set was to see if I could see the snare loop I saw a huge bobcat bounding up over the lava flow that the set was by. And he was pulling a snare cable and what was left of the greasewood bush that I had tied off to.
I about ripped the back door off of my truck trying to get to the 222. I jacked a shell in and took off up the cinders. All that got me was a few bruises from falling.
When I got to the top I couldn’t see the cat anywhere and after catching my breath I found the tracks in the snow and started following them. I reasoned that sooner or later the greasewood stump would get caught in a crack somewhere and I could close enough for a shot.
I followed the sign over a hump or two and could see where the cat had jumped down into a crevasse and had punched a hole through the snow and entered a small cave in the lava.
I climbed down into the crevasse and lying on my belly I could dig the snow away from the opening. When it was cleared out I worked my way down into the opening hoping to see the cat cornered and waiting for me to turn his lights out.
I looked as best as I could. When I’d get too far in my body would block out the light so I’d scoot back and peer in some more.
I couldn’t see the cat anywhere. I was thinking that I’d have to stuff my coat into the opening to keep him there while I drove home for some traps that I could put in the opening and try and pinch him when he tried to leave.
Just as I was about to stand up I noticed the stump of the greasewood caught in some rocks on the bottom of the cave and the cable running back in around a corner.
Good deal, All I have to do is to grab the stump and pull the cat out to where I can see him and let him have it.
I had to set the gun down and lying flat on my gut I worked my way in as far as I could and just as I could reach the cable my coat got caught on a sharp rock and started to tear.
I tried backing out and couldn’t do that either. About then I realized that if I started pulling on the cable and the cat thought he needed to leave, he’d have to go right through me to get out and with his teeth and 4 feet full of claws he’d probably rip my face off trying to get away.
I wiggled around and got my coat loose and backed out.
As I sat there wondering what to do I could see his eyes glowing back in the dark and so I stuck the gun in and tried to shoot him. The first shot was a miss and he ran over to the left side of the cave and hid and then in a few seconds he was back so I lined the barrel up as best I could and shot again. I saw him flop over and twitch a little and figured I had made a good head shot.
After setting the gun out of the way I scooted back in and grabbed the stump and started to pull him out but his body fell between two big rocks and I couldn’t pull him through.
I got to looking and the crevasse opened up a little deeper off to the right side and I thought maybe if I slid down in there I could get in farther and maybe work him free.
As I started to move in that direction, the thought came to my mind, “You are soaked from the chest down from laying in the snow and if you get stuck down in there you’ll be froze solid before anyone even starts looking for you”
I’ve never been accused of being too bright but I decided that since the cat wasn’t going to escape there wasn’t much scenes in taking stupid risks.
I hiked back to the truck and got a long handled shovel and went back and tried to push him out of the rocks with that but it didn’t work, so I drove back out of the desert and stopped at Fred’s house. (He is my trapping partner) to see if he could make me up a pole with a hook that I could use. He wasn’t home so I drove back here to the house and called my son Daniel who was just getting off work and told him what had happened and ask if he could come and help. He said he’d come right over so I made me up a pole with a hook and changed into dry clothes.
When Dan got there we had a bite to eat and got some lights and headed back out.
When we got to the cave we tried the pole, but it still didn’t work.
Dan said that he could probably work his way in to reach the cat.
He is 6’2” and 175 pounds, and I’m 6’5” and 298 pounds so he can fit a lot of places I can’t.
He slid off to the right side of the hole and down into the crack and then back into the hole. When he got almost all the way in he said “Now you’re sure he’d dead right?”
I said I think so and then after a second or two I reached in and grabbed him and started to growl. “Hey knock that off” he yells, and then he said I’m to the cat and he’s a big old tom.
By this time all I can see of Dan is one of his feet sticking out from under the rocks and after a long time he called out and said he had the rocks out of the way and was bringing out the cat.
As he got out and turned around I crouched down and scooted back a little so as to take his picture, and the snow behind me gave way and I fell butt first into another hole in the lava.
All that was sticking out was my hands and feet. I looked like a turtle turned on his back.
Dan had to come pull me out of there to. So for the second time that night he had saved my bacon.
We took some pictures of the cat and headed home. We stopped and showed Fred and then came home and weighed the tom. He pushed the scales to exactly 29 pounds.
He’s by far the biggest cat I have ever caught. And he should look good tanned and hung on my wall.
The best part of a trophy like that is all of the memories that come flooding back each time you look at it.
After all, the good memories with family and friends are the real trophies in life.
It was a good day!
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My memory is going fast so I wrote this down to put in my journal, and I'll cut and paste it here.
Sorry it's so long. I'm a little cabin crazy by this time of year.
Feb. 8th 2007
Each year I buy at least one bobcat tag just in case I see one while hunting coyotes. Well this year we have had a lot of snow and it made it a lot easier to see sign. When I was out west of here calling I found a place with a lot of cat sign.
I decided that with that much sign it wouldn’t be too hard to call one in so I set out to fill my tag. I called and called, I don’t even know how much time I spent trying to call in a cat but I never saw a thing.
Finally out of frustration I took 6 of my coyote snares out and set them where the cats had been hunting. I thought I’d have one in just a day or two.
Well it seemed that the same time I set the snares, all most all of the tracks disappeared and I got to thinking that whoever was trapping about 2 miles north of me must have gathered the cats up and I was out of luck. Other than several of the snares being knocked down there hadn’t been any activity at all.
As I rode out last Tuesday to check them again I was asking my self if I should just go ahead and pull them and save the gas money.
I decided that since there is only a few days left I’d just as well leave them out and maybe get lucky.
I choose to check them in reverse order this time and after finding 2 more knocked down I pulled up to the last set.
As I got out of the truck and looked over to where the set was to see if I could see the snare loop I saw a huge bobcat bounding up over the lava flow that the set was by. And he was pulling a snare cable and what was left of the greasewood bush that I had tied off to.
I about ripped the back door off of my truck trying to get to the 222. I jacked a shell in and took off up the cinders. All that got me was a few bruises from falling.
When I got to the top I couldn’t see the cat anywhere and after catching my breath I found the tracks in the snow and started following them. I reasoned that sooner or later the greasewood stump would get caught in a crack somewhere and I could close enough for a shot.
I followed the sign over a hump or two and could see where the cat had jumped down into a crevasse and had punched a hole through the snow and entered a small cave in the lava.
I climbed down into the crevasse and lying on my belly I could dig the snow away from the opening. When it was cleared out I worked my way down into the opening hoping to see the cat cornered and waiting for me to turn his lights out.
I looked as best as I could. When I’d get too far in my body would block out the light so I’d scoot back and peer in some more.
I couldn’t see the cat anywhere. I was thinking that I’d have to stuff my coat into the opening to keep him there while I drove home for some traps that I could put in the opening and try and pinch him when he tried to leave.
Just as I was about to stand up I noticed the stump of the greasewood caught in some rocks on the bottom of the cave and the cable running back in around a corner.
Good deal, All I have to do is to grab the stump and pull the cat out to where I can see him and let him have it.
I had to set the gun down and lying flat on my gut I worked my way in as far as I could and just as I could reach the cable my coat got caught on a sharp rock and started to tear.
I tried backing out and couldn’t do that either. About then I realized that if I started pulling on the cable and the cat thought he needed to leave, he’d have to go right through me to get out and with his teeth and 4 feet full of claws he’d probably rip my face off trying to get away.
I wiggled around and got my coat loose and backed out.
As I sat there wondering what to do I could see his eyes glowing back in the dark and so I stuck the gun in and tried to shoot him. The first shot was a miss and he ran over to the left side of the cave and hid and then in a few seconds he was back so I lined the barrel up as best I could and shot again. I saw him flop over and twitch a little and figured I had made a good head shot.
After setting the gun out of the way I scooted back in and grabbed the stump and started to pull him out but his body fell between two big rocks and I couldn’t pull him through.
I got to looking and the crevasse opened up a little deeper off to the right side and I thought maybe if I slid down in there I could get in farther and maybe work him free.
As I started to move in that direction, the thought came to my mind, “You are soaked from the chest down from laying in the snow and if you get stuck down in there you’ll be froze solid before anyone even starts looking for you”
I’ve never been accused of being too bright but I decided that since the cat wasn’t going to escape there wasn’t much scenes in taking stupid risks.
I hiked back to the truck and got a long handled shovel and went back and tried to push him out of the rocks with that but it didn’t work, so I drove back out of the desert and stopped at Fred’s house. (He is my trapping partner) to see if he could make me up a pole with a hook that I could use. He wasn’t home so I drove back here to the house and called my son Daniel who was just getting off work and told him what had happened and ask if he could come and help. He said he’d come right over so I made me up a pole with a hook and changed into dry clothes.
When Dan got there we had a bite to eat and got some lights and headed back out.
When we got to the cave we tried the pole, but it still didn’t work.
Dan said that he could probably work his way in to reach the cat.
He is 6’2” and 175 pounds, and I’m 6’5” and 298 pounds so he can fit a lot of places I can’t.
He slid off to the right side of the hole and down into the crack and then back into the hole. When he got almost all the way in he said “Now you’re sure he’d dead right?”
I said I think so and then after a second or two I reached in and grabbed him and started to growl. “Hey knock that off” he yells, and then he said I’m to the cat and he’s a big old tom.
By this time all I can see of Dan is one of his feet sticking out from under the rocks and after a long time he called out and said he had the rocks out of the way and was bringing out the cat.
As he got out and turned around I crouched down and scooted back a little so as to take his picture, and the snow behind me gave way and I fell butt first into another hole in the lava.
All that was sticking out was my hands and feet. I looked like a turtle turned on his back.
Dan had to come pull me out of there to. So for the second time that night he had saved my bacon.
We took some pictures of the cat and headed home. We stopped and showed Fred and then came home and weighed the tom. He pushed the scales to exactly 29 pounds.
He’s by far the biggest cat I have ever caught. And he should look good tanned and hung on my wall.
The best part of a trophy like that is all of the memories that come flooding back each time you look at it.
After all, the good memories with family and friends are the real trophies in life.
It was a good day!
7,384
This cat had slipped through far enough that the snare caught him around the waist.
I know that they like to step over stuff instead of just plowing through like a coyote does but I still can't imagine how he got his head and both front legs through an 8 '' loop. His head alone was almost that big. Treetop
:thumb