My wife and I will be hunting bobcat in Dec/Jan in southern Oklahoma and I want to select a bullet that has good accuracy, but won't do major hide damage. I would like to get our cats full body mounted so I don't want an aggressively expanding bullet. I will be shooting a 223 Rem, 1 in 12 twist, 26" barrel and my better half will be shooting a 308 Win (not sure of twist). My thoughts were to try loading an X bullet or even considering a FMJ. Any thoughts along these lines?

The only Bobcat I've shot was with a .270win and a 150 gr Ballistic tip. I was deer hunting when I saw him, I knew the BT would tear him up bad, so I shot him in the stomach, small entrance wound, and huge exit opening with his guts splatered 50yds, my taxedermist did a great job with the mount. He said avoid hitting major bones like the shoulder or hip, and he can fix it up.

Also, if you use a fmj, you may not recover the bobcat.

I would use the Sierra #1365 55gr. SP in your .223 if you load your own. If you don't, just get a factory 55gr. SP. You are from OK, so you I guess you know if FMJ's are legal? I still would not recommend using one. I would forget the .308 if you want anything to mount......

Good Hunting,

Bob


[ 11-08-2003, 17:55: Message edited by: Bob in TX ]

Got any roadkill raccoons laying around your neck of the woods, Joe? They make a useful testing medium for the size animal you plan on thumping. Hang one in a tree and smack it with a few possible loads.

As long as you get a solid shot...not a angle shot in or into the shoulder socket...a 40gr bullet may do well for you. Should blow up inside the critter, but not exit. Just one tiny entrance hole. Tested Nosler 40gr Bt, Speer 40gr SP, 35gr V-max, in .223, in this way. Both the Speer and V-max worked well. Nosler punched a .35 caliber hole coming out.

If I was going after bobcats to mount, I would use a 50 gr. BlitzKing in the 223 at around 3350 to 3400 fps. I have shot coyotes with that bullet and a lot of times it won't exit. My barrel is a 9 twist. You may get a little more penetration with your 12 twist barrel. Personally, I would not use a 40 grain bullet on a bobcat.

I have used a 308 for coyotes as well and I can tell you for sure don't use a 125 TNT or a 125 Ballistic Tip if you want something to mount. However, from my experience coyote hunting a Sierra 155 gr. Palma MatchKing leaves holes the size of a golf ball or smaller in a coyote hide, and very dead coyote. An exit hole that size should be repair able by a taxidermist.

I don't how performance on a coyote would compare to a bobcat, but it would give you something to try.

Shoot Safe, Shoot Straight......RiverRat

I agree with the comments about the 40 grain bullets, being a good choice to guarantee a kill, and get a good mount. I have shot 3 bobcats this year. Two with a .223 and FMJ bullets. The first ran about twenty yards hid in the brush and died. The second acted like nothing happened, and got shot 2 more times with a .22 pistol during a hectic motorized chase. Both cats were less that 75 yards away and were hit solidly in the vitals. The last cat was shot at 105 yards with a .22 mag shooting the speer TNT bullets. Similar hit in the vitals, and he didn't move 3 feet. So I would say go with the light hollow point bullet. The FMJ's just got plain harry, but it was fun.

Mighty Joe
My wife and I have both shot Bobcats at fairly close range with no pelt damage using Federal factory 308's with 165gr. Trophy Bonded Bearclaws. I have also shot several coyotes with the same bullets with out blowing up the hide. both Bobcats and 2 Coyotes were full body mounted.
I have shot Bobcats and Coyotes with other bullets and it looked like they swollowed a stick [or two ] of dynomite.