My daughter, Shanna, her husband, Dylan, and I got up early Christmas Eve Day 2012 and headed out to do some early morning ’yote calling and hunting on the in-laws ranch south of San Antonio.
It was a crisp clear Texas morning with no wind. We set up on a vacant cornfield where we’ve shot some coyotes the year before. The conditions were perfect with the rising sun to our backs, a slight breeze in our faces, and great ambush stands in thick brush and Acacia trees along a fence line. I was using my favorite Karrie Carver hand calls, the Ruthless and Rabid Rabbits. Within 5 minutes a pair of coyotes came within a 100 yards of my daughters stand and they briefly stopped, but no action came from her Tika .22-250.
I was puzzled because her husband didn't drop one either. The dogs quickly trotted off and meandered over to another field. I was approximately 200 yards from my shooting partners and could not see their view or what was holding up the clean shots. I continued calling mixing up rabbit, fawn, and young pup distress calls for the next 15 minutes. A couple of nice 8 point whitetail bucks sauntered within 75 yards to have a peak and eventually worked their way south to a creek bed with thicker cover.
I couldn't help but notice while I kept calling some ravens, mocking birds, and a hawk kept flying around where Shanna was nestled into some thick brush. Knowing where there are birds around there has to be something in the neighborhood so I kept on calling for another 5 minutes when all of the sudden I heard the crack of a rifle. My hunting partners know to hold steady after a shot because I will keep calling just in case there is more than one predator coming in. After another 5 minutes of calling I broke from my stand and headed up the field to see what was waiting.
Shanna jumped up screaming and whooping because she had just shot one of the biggest bobcats I've ever seen. She dropped the big tom not more than 30 yards from her stand. The chest shot did minimal damage and was nothing that couldn't be repaired. The 45-grain Sierra hollow point had done the deed. She has been wanting a decent bobcat for a full mount for some time now. She was so excited she was shaking. The cat measured 40 inches long and weighed 42 pounds. We got back to the truck and she immediately called her taxidermist and found out he was open ’till 2 p.m. for Christmas Eve. It was a great Christmas present for my daughter.
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