Quercus

Still not too sure about it leon, but I figure it certainly can't hurt and I need all the help I can get A lot of the places I call are heavily wooded so it is difficult to guage fox reaction to the scent, but there are times I think it has definately helped. I was a bit disappointed with the strength of the pong and think that it is better used as an attractant rather than a true cover scent. The skunk on the other hand is a different matter Where do you get hold of the Warrener's stuff?

Col Pol, I emailed the Wildlife Administration Unit at DEFRA for some clarification on this. Reply: So it seems that unfortunately sound recordings for birds are a no no. Q

Mike, we had a chat about this a while back, link Since then I have been using fox urine from Target Sports. Q

Concealment is important, so wear a veil and gloves and sit very still. It helps to cut down movement if you use a call that you can hold in your mouth and use without moving your hands. Remember, as with all types of calling, that "less is more". Don't use your call too much, start quietly and build the volume gradually. Creep into your calling position as quietly as posible, it is a good idea to scout these out beforehand, and just sit quietly without calling for ten minutes, while everything settles down again. I like to put my watch down in front of me so that I can keep an eye on time, as a few minutes can seem like an age if you are doing nothing. It is worth calling for a good half an hour. Try to use the wind to your advantage, they will tend to try and come in against the wind if they can. Cover scents are a good idea, but don't use them as an excuse to be lazy about wind direction. The best times of day are dawn and dusk, but you would be surprised how much time foxes do spend above ground during the day and you can be successful at any time. Be prepared to be disappointed, a lot of times you will have no joy, this is normal. If it was easy it wouldn't be any fun. Q

2327 Q

Wildlife and Countryside Act, Section 5 (1)(d) It is an offence to use as a decoy to kill or take any wild bird, any sound recording ........... No such restriction on taking mammals. Q

If the sounds are computer generated then they are fine, It's only recordings that fall loul of the law. This is the loophole that those little black box calls exploit. Q

Not sure if gamecalls.net export outside the US anymore. allpredatorcalls is also worth a look. Service from them is excellent, although it looks like international orders aren't as straightforward as they used to be. Cabelas aren't the cheapest but they will export. Link for a cheap homemade caller here In fact the electronic caller forum at Predator Masters is a great source of information for anyone contemplating this sort of project. Although it sounds like some of you have already found it. It is well worth doing a google search for fox/crow sounds. There are some quite good ones out there for free. A word of warning to those of you contemplating calling crows, it is illegal to use a sound recording to call a bird in this country. I'm pretty sure that the Johnny Stewart tapes are recordings. Q

Save yourself a fourtune and make one of these They work very well. It is only illegal to use recorded sounds to call birds. However it is not illegal to use computer generated sounds. A case of technology overtaking the law. As for mammals you can use any sort of sound you like. Q

Sounds ideal for what you want. Q

Chocolate labs will work just as well as a black or yellow labs, provided they come from a good working strain. Your problem is going to be finding a good working strain, they do exist, there used to be a chap around here who had some excellent chocolate labs. good luck, Q

I think a lot of us have been there in some way or another. One night I spent half an hour trying to lip squeak what we thought was a fox on the edge of a wood. Turned out to be a six furrow reversible plough. :*) Q

Cakie, I would highly recommend Robert Bucknell's book, especially for a novice foxer. It is packed with interesting facts, useful information and stories about many forms of fox control, not just night shooting. At first glance £30 does seem a bit steep for a soft cover book but I think you'll find it well worth it. If you are on a tight budget, why not get it from the library? A few years back the Game Conservancy did some radio tracking of foxes. They found that foxes tended to be most active in the hours just after sunset, with a period of relative inactivety around midnight on the longer winter nights building to another peak of activety just before first light. In the real world fox activety depends on many factors such as weather conditions, time of year, disturbance, breeding cycle and so on. Some nights look perfect and turn out to be ****, other times you can go out for hours without seeing anything and then shoot three on the way home, just the way it goes. If it was too easy it wouldn't be any fun. Q

Lightforce do a shotgun bracket for their weapon mountable lights. Q

I suppose I'm about as country as you can get in Hampshire Q

Congratulations on the job sam, sounds great. I've used German Shepherds for the security aspects of work for the last ten years, and would highly recommend them. Whatever breed you go for temperament is everything. Just because the dog will be a "guard dog" doesn't mean it has to be a complete psycho. A well socialised and trained confident dog will protect you and yours just as well, without being a liability. I would advise you just to get a single dog and take the time to train it properly, rather than getting a pair and only doing half as well. Besides which, one good dog will be all that you will need. Good luck with the job and the dog. Q :yp:

Assuming you are using an air rifle, I would say you stand a better chance of getting in range on foot. If you are using a rimfire, then as leon says a vehicle is probably the best option, if you can get on the land. rabbit hunter, .22 rimfires are legal for use at night as long as you have that condition on your FAC. The same applies to centre fires used for foxing. Q :yp:

Leon, hope you don't mind me asking, how much is it costing you to get your barrel moderated? Q

Looks like you beat me to it elma Q

I wouldn't worry too much about skinning the pedicles, the skin will come away when you boil it. You might want to take a sharp blade and score around the very top of the pedicles. When you boil the head be very careful not to submerge or splash the antlers as you will loose the natural colour. When you clean your head use a scalpel and a pair of tweezers to remove any persistent bits af skin around the top of the pedicles. Q

Ern, copied from the BASC website; "verminousty", great word red stag Q

Another huge bag Q

Why do the farmers tolerate such large numbers of geese on their crops? If there were thousands of pigeons on a field they would soon be on the phone, and nobody would be worried about bag limits . The geese must do massive damage. I can remember years ago my Dad shooting the geese off fields with his .22. The local farmers used to (and probably still do) offer a substantial amount of whisky to the member of the local wildfowling club who accounted for the most geese in a season. I can remember as a boy seeing a hilux stacked with dead geese, ultimately it was about crop protection. Surely the wildfowling guides are doing a favour for the farmers. Q

nttf, thanks :yp: Q

The link should go to Deako's bouncing crow Must be an oversight :yp: surely we should be able to link to dec*ying.co.uk now. Q