Killing Coyotes, Bobcats, Mountain Lions, etc....

This came up this weekend. I personally have no desire to kill a bobcat, mountain lion, armadillo, etc... when I am hunting just for the sake of shooting something. I have known some hunters that will shoot at animals like that if they come out while they are deer hunting. I guess I never got it. There was another family at the lease this weekend and the boy (in his late 20's) started talking about trying to shoot a bobcat that came out at his stand but he could never get a clear shot. The dad asked him why did he want to shoot it. His answer was just because. Not a good answer and a hunting ethics conversation proceeded between the two. The dad said he had watch 2 bobcats play in a clearing that morning while there were deer under the feeder. Where I will perform what I call an "extermination hunt" is for coyotes and hogs. The coyotes have killed our calves and the hogs...well that's obvious. What's your thoughts.....

Coyotes and hogs get shot on sight.....cats, fox, and other animals get a pass......

That's pretty much my policy as well.

Bobcats and feral cats are shot on our place, just like the coyotes.

Coyotes and pigs always get some lead.

In most cases I wont shoot a bobcat, but we are trying to get our quail population back up, and after seeing that video of the cat taking down a doe, I dont think I will feel too bad about pulling the trigger next time one crosses my path..

I dont think I would be able to pass on a Mountain Lion either.

Foxes (been a long time since i've seen one), armadillos, skunks, etc always get a pass.

Coyotes hit our livestock pretty hard-they never get a pass. We don't have any red foxes that I'm aware of but they're in the same boat. I don't think any other varmints bother our stock, so they all get a pass.

its the mentality of some people to "just shoot something"

Completely agree! Don't really care if I mess up my deer/turkey hunt. Coyotes and pigs die. I will add, so do skunks and raccoons, but maybe not at the expense of messing up hunting.

Fox and bobcats get to live unmolested. I regularly have both around and greatly enjoy watching fox pounce on the field mice and rats!

Out of thousands of trail cam pics on our place we have seen one bobcat and one fox. I wouldn't shoot either one. Coyotes and hogs better cut a wide path around me because they're gonna get shot at.

i wouldn't exactly say that. i'm sure are some that shoot anything that moves.
i do know that where i hunt (and have hunted) that if i see predators i won't
be seeing deer. they'll move on to some place where they feel safe.
when i see hogs or hog sign where i hunt, i know that the big cat(s) are
around and no deer will show. this has been the case for the last decade or so.
i don't shoot armadillos. in my area, armadillos don't eat fawns or calves
or pets or turkeys like predators do. if i can, if i see a predator i shoot it.
if i want to see predators frolic and cut up, i'll watch a nature program on yoofloob.

Coyotes and pigs shot onsite, everything else gets a pass for the most part.

I shoot all hogs, coyotes, dogs, and coons. I killed one bobcat, got it mounted, so have no need to kill another and have seen several at my place. I would like to kill a fox though to get a mount done.

Even coyotes may get a walk depending on circumstances.

Pigs never ever get a pass no matter what.

Getting to see a fox or a bobcat is a real treat.

Have only seen mountain lions twice, both times in Big Bend NP, and that was an incredible sight.

Also, I do not kill snakes, unless they are venomous and close to areas with lots of people especially children, such as a house.

I can’t stop watching your sig video long enough to answer.

We shoot bobcats equally as coyotes. They are the bobwhite quails number one land predator.
If we saw a mountain lion we would shoot it. First reason it would be a rare and beautiful trophy. Next the are big cats that can and do kill cattle with ease.
Never shoot grey foxes they are great mousers. Have a family that lives in woodpile by the house. The kits are a blast to watch in the spring.

If you have ever owned livestock, your opinions of that nice little kitty and a lot of animals would be different. They are called predators for a reason.

I was thinking the same thing. Ranchers aren't very fond of cats, yotes or hogs.

Hell i not only let them go, but try to point them towards those damn cows.

If it is legal and someone wants to shoot it then have at it. Personally I will let fox and bobcats walk unless I plan to mount it. I kill ever raccoon, coyote, and hog I see.

If I'm hunting deer, the only thing that I will shoot is a coyote. May change to include bobcat after seeing one take down a yearling.

I will shoot hogs after deer season, or when I'm done hunting deer for the day...

My wife and I, both coming from a ranching background, rarely let predators walk. Coyotes were shot on sight. Bobcats will decimate a quail population before you know it, especially a family of Bobcats. You should see what a Bobcat can do when it gets into a chicken coop. My grandmother lost 15 chickens that night. Foxes like chicken meat too. Coons rarely get a pass either. I wish there was a market for furs again.

You shouldn’t let any kind of predator walk. I’ll kill them just to watch them die.

I have shot one bobcat and one fox because I wanted a mount for each. I won’t ever shoot another.

I shoot coyotes and hogs all year. Since I own the place and shoot them all year, I sometimes won’t shoot one if I’m deer hunting and it’s prime time. Deer hunting takes priority for me. I do keep a little .17HMR in the stand and will kill them if it’s not prime time and/or the deer aren’t moving.

Shooting hogs makes me feel better, but it’s really just farting in the wind. I trap them in the winter/spring - that does actually make a difference. I figure shooting coyotes helps at least a little bit, but am probably kidding myself.

I would probably shoot a mountain lion on my place just because it’s legal. They should probably be protected east of I35 though since they are so few and far between.

Coyotes, hogs and lions all get shot though I have never seen a lion when hunting deer. I have called up a couple and seen another when filling feeders several years ago. I do hunt lions with my hounds and tree a few out west but only kill the big toms or females.
I rarely shoot a bobcat, even when I call them up unless I am instructed by the rancher to do so. I am not sure that I know a deer hunter who would pass on a lion when sitting in a stand...
Adios,
Gary

I don't shoot foxes. If a coyote or bobcat ruins my hunt by running deer off I will probably shoot them, but rarely do the deer leave because of one, they just look and snort/get nervous till it leaves, which usually isn't long. We do actively attempt to trap coyotes bobcats coons and hogs, has been a learning curve but we are making head way and its not messing up our hunting.

We have an incredibly high number of coyotes and bobcats and our deer population is not in any form of danger and we have more quail than you can shake a stick at. I think the predators decimating the game populations is overstated by a large degree.

If you are nervous about shooting while deer hunting, shooting a hog or yote usually won't run the deer off. Several times I have shot a yote or hog and within 10 minutes had deer in the same food plot and many times the have walked within 5-10 yards of the dead hog or yote. I've even shot a hog under a feeder and the deer in the food plot didn't even run off.

Surprisingly, it just doesn't spook them much, but I only shoot suppressed.

Deer in general are one thing.

Mature east TX bucks on my place are another. After hunting them all my life, I’m pretty convinced that a big east TX buck will simply not show himself if he thinks a hunter is in the area. Even while locked down with a doe the truly mature bucks are cautious as all get out. Driving a vehicle, shooting, talking loud between hunts, blaring a TV/radio at the camp, etc. all make a difference IMO for the deer I am after at my place. It is remote and there is little to no activity there during the year.

The majority of the truly big bucks seen on my place are seen by me while I am by myself. Usually during midweek. I rarely shoot. I walk everywhere. And I don’t talk to myself (much).

Others’ mileage almost certainly varies.

Concur. The single best place I have ever hunted for deer, a ranch in South Texas, does not allow the shooting of any predators. They shoot all pigs on sight, but everything else is left alone. He had more deer and bigger deer than any place I have ever seen by a huge margin.

Seeing photo after photo here and elsewhere of young deer being shot reveals one of the major problems, second only to loss of habitat and the availability of good quality water.

I agree the effects are almost certainly way overstated. My place is pretty much covered up with coyotes and I haven’t noticed any population effects I can attribute to them. Vehicles probably do more damage based on the number of carcasses I see on the side of the roads.

^^THIS^^

When I first bought my place I was feeding more corn to raccoons than deer. Nothing worse than trail cam photos of big fat raccoon hanging upside down (before I added cages) with his paws on the spinner feeding all of his buddies on the ground. I started using the cuff traps and regularly get 1 or 2 a night when actively trapping. Over time I've made a dent and wish there was a market for the MANY hides I could've sold. I am starting to see an uptick in activity so will get busy on them again over the winter.

Funny thing, I had mentioned in another thread about my passionate hatred for skunks. This past week my wife commented that it was strange she hadn't seen or smelled a skunk in sometime. I smirked and told her that my eradication efforts are paying dividends. This all ramped up when one chased me through my barn. I HATE THEM!

One interesting bit of trivia Dalroo. Skunks are one of the favorite prey of Great-horned Owls. Pretty darned tough bird to eat a skunk.

I knew there must be a reason I like owls so much!

Meet my new friend BOB we just met last night. He was a Chicken Killer
No passes here.

I used to think the coons were kind of funny until one ripped the door to one of my feeder controls open and left the control and battery hanging. I have them on camera doing it. Coons will be shot on site as well as hogs and coyotes.

I let predators get a pass. Hogs always get shot, I like the meat. I'd potentially shoot a big old bobcat or mountain lion, but only if I was in financial shape to get a full body mount made. Otherwise, no interest in killing one just to kill it.

I will shoot hogs, coyotes, coons and anything that may do harm to the land owners animals or property. Having grown up in the country, you know the harm a coon will do to your chicken coop or your attic. Found the remain of a buck that a wild pack of dogs pinned against a fence in deep snow. Not much different in my opinion than if a rat ran across your kitchen floor. You pick up the first thing you can get your hands on and kill the varmint.

The rancher that leases our pasture from us would like to know what about the value of the livestock that a couple of mountain lions could cost him in a year? He pays us good money for the grass rights, keeps the fences repaired etc., and does a good job of managing the land's resources. As landowners we would expect the same from a hunter that leases from us.

Shoot predators if you like and I’m not a tree hugger by any means, but I personally don’t have the view that every animal that poses a threat to livestock must be eradicated from the face of the earth.

agree, there is a balance in nature

I kinda feel the same way about everyone who puts corn feeders out and then declares personal war on every coon that shows up - as if the coons are doing something terrible to them by coming to an easy food source.

To each their own.

I have a great respect for predators being one myself. They have it much tougher than browsers and grazers to survive.

I just don't get any satisfaction killing bobcats and foxes.

I will shoot a few coyotes but have let many pass just because........

Hogs always get

I kill pigs every opportunity I get. Coyotes usually get a green light as well. However, the older I get the less interest I have in killing most of the other critters.

Predators get a walk at my place unless I see them going after a fawn or such. Should I see one going after a pig, I will just watch and enjoy the show.

On client properties, I shoot most of what they tell me to shoot, but every property owner has different rules, only hogs on this place, hogs and coyotes on another, hogs and many predators plus armadillos on another but no fox or mountain lion, etc. They all have their own specific wishes. One seemed distressed I was killing foxes on another property when he didn't want foxes killed on his.

Hogs
Coyotes
Armadillos
Coons
Crows

Get no free pass on my place.

Foxes, and Bobcats I figure aren't doing anything but competing with the Redtails for rodents.

coyote and hogs always, a bobcat sometimes get a pass

I have a standing rule at my place. If you want a bobcat or a fox you better have $300 in your wallet, cash. I'll get the animal to your taxidermist, with your money to go towards the mount, every cent of it. Too many bobcats and foxes get killed before the shooter realizes what a mount costs and end up dry rotting in a freezer. Most other animals? You've just got to answer to yourself and the game warden.

Edited to add: I love watching "my" bobcats and foxes and don't want them freezer burned or being turned into a "lion of Gripsholm" mount.

Hogs get shot on sight with great prejudice, every time.

Coons get trapped at protein feeders, and may get shot on summer boondoggles.

Foxes and Bobcats get a pass. May eventually take one to mount, but that's it.

Yotes get popped if it's fawning or calving season. Otherwise, I'll probably let them walk.

Never seen a lion while hunting, but again, if it wasn't calving season I'd probably let it walk. Don't care to kill on.

There are plenty of videos on you-tube that show bobcats taking deer. Same with coyotes. They are predators that prey on deer and turkeys. I personally will shoot every bobcat, coyote, or hog I get a chance to shoot.

I don't hesitate shooting yotes or bobcats just because they prey on the fawns,turkeys and quail. All hogs get blasted as well.
Coons eat a lot of corn/protein and tear up feeder motors when they get the chance so I trap a lot of them. No foxes on my place and have never seen a mountain lion but I sure would like to get one. I'm on a wildlife management plan for tax reasons with the primary management of deer, turkey, and quail. I have to provide documentation of what I have done as far as improvements to my property for these target animals and how much predator control I have done on a yearly basis. The guest I allow hunt on my property are instructed to help with predator/hog control while they are hunting or they may not be invited back.

I started reading and then saw the video clip and the video clip wow the video clip..what was this about again??

Just kidding. As a quail hunter I see the impact of predators. I kill every one I can. When I was a kid we trapped them for fur and made good money. There were quail everywhere back then. Now there are predators everywhere. I'd rather have quail.
I'd shoot a mountain lion on a heartbeat for a mount. To each his own I guess.

Lots of varying opinions on this.

When you no longer see quail and turkeys, you will have a different opinion of shooting the cute and cuddly foxes and bobcats.

By far the single biggest reason for the loss of quail is due to the loss of native grasslands to brush intrusion, conversion to ag fields, development, conversion to “improved” pastures, ,decline of the CRP lands, development of wind turbines, and on and on. All grassland bird species are in serious trouble.

Estimates put the amount of native grasslands at 1% - 3%. Most of that is highly fragmented causing poor quality ecosystems.

The good thing about quail is they can rebound quickly with habitat restoration efforts.

I don’t kill anything I’m not hunting. However, as a guest I’ll follow a landowner’s request to eliminate whatever he wants done as long as it’s legal of course.

For whatever reason I don’t get any personal sense of accomplishment from shooting turkeys anymore. Calling them, setting up properly, helping others learn is much more fun. No interest in hunting turkeys coming to feeders either.

I will generally shoot feral pigs, stray/feral dogs and cats on sight, but again it depends on the landowners wishes.

Numerous studies show that quail make up a very small % of the diets of foxes and bobcats. Sure, they'll eat one if easy but not a mainstay. And, many studies also show that mesomammal populations will respond based on prey populations. So, shooting a few each year probably aint going to change their impact on quail in the area.



Yep. For those who claim "back in the day we had way more quail and less predators" you also had way more untouched grasslands, more local cover crops with row edges, fewer fireants, drastically more unbroken habitat, etc. Way more to in that just the predators.

In our portion of the Hill Co we've got Quail and Turkeys, and also plenty of foxes and bobcats. The most quail I've ever seen was down south, which was also crawling with predators. I just don't buy the correlation.

When you are raising cattle and you drive in the gate and see the buzzards fly off, and find a dead calf or 2, you will be able to shoot predators. Predators eat year around, what do you think they eat when there is no young calf crop for them to kill? Do you think they have a salad instead of meat diet?

I don’t need a reason.

Been there and done that on using animals for target practice. Coyotes and cats are my only partners in hog control and we are losing that battle. If a hunter shoots a predator on my land, without justification, he will either eat it or leave.

I have never seen cats or coyotes bother cows; maybe they do on sheep. Others may have different experiences. If that changes, I will take care of the problem.

It is illegal to kill raptors but if a chicken hawk was getting my chickens, I would take care of the problem and keep my mouth shut. BTW, I hate chickens and don't have any.

I have no problem with others killing predators. It's your land and you can do as you please.

https://imgur.com/OjaP9mh
I have a lot of bobcats on the properties I manage, but the standing rule I have is "leave them alone". I watched a half grown one for about half an hour a couple evenings ago, and they hurt nothing that I can see on our properties. Just shooting living things for the sake of entertainment is not my idea of hunting.

I'm with sneaky I don't need to make reasons. I like deer and don't like yotes. If you think coyotes and cats don't have a big impact on your fawn crop talk to your local biologist, willing to bet he will strongly disagree with you.

Coyotes and pigs are shot whenever the opportunity presents itself. Bobcats, armadillos, foxes get a pass. Skunks have to go if they frequent the house area- too many dogs to wash.

My home property is 20acers. There are lots of coons and foxes. One day I dropped 20quail on the property and fed in two areas. I have two grassy areas oh 5acers each and lots of cedar cover. The neighbor is an unfenced field with a tank maybe 100 acres.

The quail were penraised so dumb ones. ...they may have lasted 2 weeks... there were kill spots all around the feed areas. I know wild ones are smarter and maybe would’ve lasted longer but it just goes to show how bad coons and foxes can be. Those quail never had a chance. I attemped to wipe them out and trapped around 20 off my place. I went and bought 20quail again. They lasted ohh 3months. When they disappeared I set my dog proof coon traps and caught 3more that night. I quit buying quail after that. I can’t control the area myself... coons are nasty predators. Worse then most people realize.

Do you know its coons catching the quail? I doubt it. I also think your bigger problem is turning loose pen raised birds and expecting them to live, just not going to happen.

Our property has more coons, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, owls..... AND QUAIL than you can shake a stick at. The one thing we do not have is fire ants!

My dad and I used to have cattle in east Texas. Never had any issues except with newborn calves. Once in a blue moon the coyotes would get a newborn calf. The hogs destroy the land. Again, hogs and coyotes get shot on site unless it will interfere with my hunt. The rest get a pass. I know they do affect the fawn and bird population, but I look at it as the natural food chain. If I was having major issues then I would probably be a little more trigger happy. I was told this weekend that roadrunners have a huge affect on quail populations, evidently they love the quail eggs.

I had a rancher tell me to shoot all porqupines and road runners. The porqupines because the cows and the road runners because they would eat the baby quail. I let most foxes go and if i ever saw a bobcat or lion i would shoot to mount. all pigs need to die.

i never pass on cats,yotes,hogs and foxes. landowner wants em dead.

Shooting roadrunners is a good way to lose a hunting license for awhile, and not going to make a single bit of differnce. Their main food of choice is reptiles including small snakes, and large insects such as grasshoppers and beetles.

I would shoot yotes, pigs and mountain lions on site since I hunt on my buddies private land where he and his family lives. We don’t have a lot of yotes on the property but we gotta kill one of them that is getting all his chickens and ducks. His den is on another property and he just passes through the area. We had a huge pig problem for awhile until the neighbor started using his dogs to hunt them and we stopped filling the feeders after deer season was over. They seemed to move on which is a good thing because they were big and chasing all the deer off. Seen a small mountain lion 2 years ago at night while we were hog hunting but it was young so I let it walk. Haven’t seen him since and the dogs probably scared him off. Up north where I am originally from, we have those red wolf/coyote hybrids that get up to 75#’s and will attack you if they are running in a pack. They protected them for so long and now they are out of control and being seen in parks watching children, ripping dogs apart in front of their owners, chasing joggers down and even attacking hunters. They have been snatching up pets all over the state and it’s the state’s fault for not letting people hunt them for so long. Now they are a huge problem and even caught on video in the middle of Boston. I went back to the state twice in my life to be close to my dad, but I will never ever go back since the place is so arse backwards now and the hunting is a joke now. I served my country honorably and still got denied for a CHL. I would rather live like a free man in real America. I love Texas and this is where I will be buried!

^^Shoot, shovel, shut up, those Wolf hybrids.

don't forget the roadrunners are hell on deer

Interesting topic for sure. I have followed it since it started.

I didn't respond because it has been years since I killed a coyote and I had never seen a bobcat in the wild so I never had to make that decision...until today!

I grew up in the country and was involved in ranching/cattle raising. I spent many hours on tractors plowing/mowing pastures and bottomlands but had never seen a bobcat in the wild-until today!

I decided to try and call in some varmints this afternoon so I got in the elevated box stand that has six different shooting lanes. I called for about 15 minutes and had seen no movement. I turned to check the three lanes to my back and there he was. Sitting like a stone statue in the shade at the edge of the lane just watching the direction I was calling from. One of the coolest sights I have seen in a long time.

He sat there for about 15 minutes and never moved. I kept calling and he finally started creeping slowly forward. After another 5 minutes he had come about 20 feet closer. Then something gave him confidence so he started slowing walking straight toward my blind. Suddenly his attention was diverted by something behind a brush pile to his right. He turned and jumped quickly out of sight behind the brush.

I was able to video his approach and would post it but I don't know how to upload pictures or video from my phone.

Anyway, after another 10 minutes or so he came out from behind the brush and stopped briefly less than 20 yards away. He took one last look in my direction and slowly walked into the woods and out of sight.

OK. Back to the original question...I would NOT shoot a bobcat just because. This one was certainly close enough but he was just too cool a sight to ruin by killing him for no really valid reason.

I am not sure about coyotes ( I shot at one while mowing in early September and then let the same coyote hang around while I mowed 3 weeks later!) but can say with certainty that I will try my best to kill every hog I can. They are rooting holes in our hay meadow big enough for a koi pond.

Thanks for letting me share one of the coolest outdoor adventures I have had in my 62 years.

I would also most like pass on a mountain lion especially if I could get video of him. I would probably pass on the fox as well.

I don't have a problem with anyone shooting any of the above for valid reasons like depredation. And, in certain situations I would probably shoot them as well.

It pretty much depends on what species you value. Over the last 20 years we have gone from almost no turkey or quail to an abundance that spills over to adjacent ranches for miles from our fence line. These species are very vulnerable to egg eaters. We do go out of our way to eliminate yotes, hogs, bobcat, red fox. We are more opportunists and take out all skunk, possum, racoon, feral cats, lion. I have mixed feelings on gray fox. There have been times when armadillos got completely out of hand and needed a little intervention. I know that bull snakes and king snakes are egg eaters but we leave them alone and they control the rattlers. Skunks and racoons are very cyclical and can get out of hand in a hurry.

And Coyotes...

Yeah, how could I forget the porcupines. They are hard on the live oaks, hell on the poor cattle and very bad on your dogs. I shoot them all. Roadrunners are definitely bad on lots of beneficial species. It’s too bad there are no legal means to thin their numbers. We have way too many in our part of Texas.

This is why I try to kill all coyotes. Their meal cost me over $2000.

I knew don k would roll in saying we need scorched earth when it comes to coyotes.

We read from the same sheet of music.

this is why i will never have a tv show, cause i dont shoot everything, i only shoot what i eat

I shoot every pigs and yotes. Never had the opportunity on a bobcat or mountain lion but wouldn't shoot the lion and depending on the circumstance maybe on the bobcat. Reasoning is I think big cats are just cool animals