Chapter 44

Bobcat Hunting

Hunting bobcats in Mid-Winter is a combination of work and fun. Walking in deep snow on snowshoes is hard, tiresome work. The $15.00 bounty paid by the State of Maine is an effort to eliminate these blood-thirsty deer killers.

BILL GORMAN > Today there is a debate about whether to place a bounty on coyotes. Coyotes came on the scene in Maine in the 1960s. I respect a coyote. They’re beautiful, but they are savage.

There is no closed season on cats and they are hunted about the same as coon, except coon are hunted a night, and cats in the daytime. The best time is when the snow is deep and not crusty. One or two good dogs is a “must.” The dogs should be trained not to chase deer as cats are invariably found in the deer yards, near the deer they have killed.

When a track is located the dog is held in leash till the track gets very fresh, so that the cat can be treed before finding a hole in a ledge to run into. Cat hunting is a very rugged sport for able-bodied men only.

BILL GORMAN > Maine still has a bobcat season, and it’s widely regarded as the most challenging hunt in the state. The season generally runs from early December to mid-February. There is no bag or possession limit.

I would advise anyone who contemplates a cat hunt to get in touch with Mr. Roy Gray, Maine Warden Supervisor, Rangeley, Maine, or the State of Maine Publicity Bureau, 3 St. John St., Portland, Maine.

Left: This cat was killed in the deep snow with a cantdog at Solon, Maine, by Duke Adams. No doubt this cat lost one of his front legs by being caught in a trap.

Right: Harold H. Duckett, a Freeport businessman, proudly displays a 46-pound Canadian Lynx, or bobcat, he shot on a trail in Aroostook County woods near Kingman, Fall 1951.