MAINE

Trophy Cat

Place: Jackman Maine
Location: 45.623° N, 70.255° W
Trophy: BobcatOutfitter: Peter Looney

Bobcat hunting in the north woods of Maine is no easy task and requires only the most experienced of guides to lead you on your journey through the thick forest. Pete is one of the best and most respected hound hunters in all of Maine. His dogs are always in tiptop shape and will run cats all day if necessary.

Getting there:

The Hound Dogs

From the New York area this is an easy trip. With only an eight-hour drive it is easily done in one day. But if flying was necessary there are airports in both Portland and Bangor ME, which are only four hours from the hunting grounds.

 The Hunt:

Bobcats are known as the hardest trophies to harvest in Maine because of their solidarity and region in which they live. Because of this bobcats can only be hunted in the dead of winter while using hound dogs to track them in the deep snow. Hunting in the historic north woods of Maine is no easy task and requires an experienced outfitter.

The Hunt starts early in the morning before the rising sun while the brisk northern air is at its coldest. Much of the day is spent driving through the old logging roads looking for fresh bobcat tracks. If you find one that is fresh enough for the dogs to pick up a scent the hunt is on. The dogs are biting at the bit and know why the truck has stopped. Once the tracking collars are put on, the dogs are released.

Now it becomes a game of cat and mouse. As we follow them on the gps we try to predict their next moves and cut them off on a logging road in order to shoot the cat crossing the road or in an open patch of woods. With bad snow conditions or an old track it can be hours before the dogs catch up to the cat. After watching the dogs circle the same place for a long period of time we decided that that had the cat had been "treed". 

The cat was "treed" one mile from the nearest road and required us to take a snowmobile as far as we could. Unfortunately it could only get us half way and we were forced to hoof it. This was no easy hike, there were open areas of thigh deep snow that demanded snow shoes to even move and dense pine tree pockets which can only be navigated by crawling on your hands and knees. Once we reached the dogs we could see that the cat was in the tree and once the dogs were in a safe position I shot it with a 22 cal. pistol, and the trophy was taken.

Weather:

COLD. Snow is a good thing, and is welcomed with open arms to make the tracking much easier.  

Post Kill

Pre-Kill

Essential Gear:

Warm cloths

Good waterproof boots

Snow Shoes (Depended on Snowfall)