New board.

I am really enjoying the posts on this trapping board. My Grandfather made his living trapping, pitching baseball for hire and playing poker. I remember the first thing my brothers and I did when we got there was check out the "hide shed".

Do you have alot of bobcat in your area? I really wish we had some around me!

Wow! Do you call for them or trap them?

Yes lots of bobcats and even some lynx but the lynx are protected and need to be released..

How do you release a linx???  That would be like opening yourself up to getting scratched and bit to hell.  Love to hear the process.  

I used to trap coon as a teenager.  Caught many as well as skunks, possums and house/feral cats by accident.  As excited I was to have something in my leg-holds, there was something about executing a trapped animal for a pelt and $$$ that turned me off before I was out of school.  BUT...to each their own.  Have no problem shooting them when up in a tree or by happenstance.....just turned my stomach a little when they had no chance.

Having respect for even the "lowest" forms of life, I gave it up early on.

For all you trappers, I wish you well and success.  This is just a softy saying how I have come to think.  No worries, I get that it is a viable sport and skill and I hope that those that like it do well.  

Short story:  My 1st trapping experience was trying to catch what I thought were weasils/Ermine in my neighbors woodpile.  I had 4 traps....."0" single long spring traps.  (disovered later that the tracks were actually red squirrels) I caught a wild orange male feral cat that must have weighed 20 lbs.  I was 14 yrs old and we had cats at home.  I thought...poor kitty.  I tried to throw my jacket over him to release him.  He swiped that coat out of the air with his good paw and I said "WTF".  I ended up beating him with my aluminum bat until he was dead.  It was my first trapped animal and guess what?  I skinned him for practice.  But I felt really bad....I was a kid.  A few years later....still trapping...I caught another cat that was much smaller.  I was then carrying a .22.  I shot it and watched it spaz for a minute or so and said to myself..."what am I doing this for a few bucks"?

Anyhow, I gave it up.  

My Dad had a helper that trapped beaver and he was good at it.  He actually ate them too which was cool.  I looked up to him for that.  His wife would pressure cook them and make gravy.  Tasted like a beef roast.  Dad still has a few hides from that guy that he had made into "bear rugs"  very nice.

I wouldn't want to try

To release a lynx you almost have to have 2-3 guys and  2 noose poles! With no guarantee the cat wont come at you when you get it loose! Depending on the circumstances I would probably opt to dispatch the cat

I have a very cool male cat that pretty much wants to hang with me wherever I am.  He's 6 yrs old, 18-20 lbs and fully clawed.  A few months ago he was on the couch with me while I was watching TV.  Nothing phases this big guy....calm as a cucumber.  The wife had gone to bed and was sleeping.  Something in the kitchen fell off the counter and broke very loudly and suddenly and he exploded from the couch, across my face/head, onto the top of the couch and over the other side to the stair case downstairs.  In the process, he had found a foot hold on the inside of my ear and forehead.  I am talking 1/2 a second and I was very cut up.  I had to wake up my wife to see what the hell happened inside my ear because the blood was flowing freely.  3-4 deep cuts on and inside my ear and a bunch of deep scratches on my forehead.  I bled good for 10 minutes before it let up

This cat wasn't trying to hurt me.  Imagine a linx 2-3 times his size with some sort of mission to F you up??  Or a mountain lion 2-3 times the size of a Linx?  Cat's are maybe the most bad ass predators around pound for pound and their weapons are very sharp and deadly.  Add that to a cunning, sneaky way about them and if they want to get you, they will and you will lose if surprised!!

Sorry, not about trapping.

Pound for pound there's no comparison