Foxing tips?

[al4x]

the problem with lamp off is if they circle you and try and wind you, you never find them with the lamp again till they have you sussed. Lamp away and holding them on the edge is ok but you still have a very bright light source in front of them. A lot depends how clued up your foxes are, on a mates ground they are like puppies running in on mine they look and then **** off in the other direction very wily country foxes.

[Thedeerman]

Go out with someone with some experience behind the gun and get them to lamp for you. I'm sure if you ask you'll get plenty of offers on here.

 

Never shoot at eyes. Sometimes the eyes will be so bright you can't see the body for ID. Everything in you tells you to nail it, but take your time and wait for it to turn side on if you can.

 

Learn to shoot off sticks and go on foot. You will shoot more!

 

If the shot is safe, I always have a go. You will kick yourself if you miss, but also if you don't take the shot!

[Bewsher500]

spend £50 and get a second hand digital monocular

I have a 5x50 Bresser from Aldi

 

trebled my foxing and rabbitting bags

 

you see them well before they can see you.

spot then lamp.

enables you to use a rifle mounted light without waving it all over the place, never mind the safety aspect its bloody heavy!

use a dimmer,

 

foxes move like nothing else. anyone who know their animal behaviour and watches foxes, dogs, cats, badgers, tramps, flashers and doggers will know how they walk, look around, move etc. If you cant ID it then dont shoot it. you should be able to tell by the way it looks around what it is before you put the lamp on.

 

 

use the terrain.

I shoot golf courses and some wide open spaces, I have shot almost all of them from under trees, backed to hedges, in the shadows etc

every now and then I get caught crossing an open space when I see one. I have tried moving very slowly to get into position and just doing it without hesitation.

my thoughts: if you see it and it sees you, you have seconds before it becomes a ginger blur, react quickly to get into position and the shot may still present itself, once they are running they will often stop and look back but those shots are usually very long, need to be taken quickly and are often follow period of tracking it in the scope.

Not to be taken unless you know your ground.

 

that should be at the top of everyones list.

visit your ground in DAYLIGHT

you will get better ranging and know where the footpaths, holes, banks hedges, streams, roads etc all are!

 

I shoot most of mine inside 50yds with .22/WMR/.17Mach2

Edited September 7, 2012 by Bewsher500

[Grandalf]

Very interesting threads. I hadn't read this one before today. Been lamping for more years than I can remember but still very willing to learn new ways of doing things.

It does seem that methods used depend very much on the region/terrain in which you operate. One man says he just sits on a hill and calls - That wouldn't work here - No hills!

Walking is a dead loss in my area. Fields tend to be flat as a pancake and in excess of 100 acres is the norm. Hedges are few and far between. I do one 1000 acre area that is an ex WW2 bomber airfield.

In the whole of that space there is not one hedge or ditch and all the surrounding land, except the village, is exactly the same.

Most of my lamping is done from my Landrover 90 roof-hatch. When mobile my mate drives and I use a red Clueson for spotting then when in position for the shot he uses a remote mounted white Lampforce 170.

One thing that has not been mentioned is an intercom between gunner and driver. A motorcycle 'chatterbox' with telephonist type headsets does perfectly. You can then socialise when on the move and whisper to each other when in the vicinity of Charlie.

I also use a Bresser monocular (PW for 50 quid) in conjunction with a truck mounted Clueson/IR filtered lamp which is fixed to an old camera bipod mount on the shooting rail of the truck. With this I can observe Mr Reynard out to about 300 yds. This means that on a 'sitout' I can relax on my kitchen stool observing the wild world whilst listening to Classic FM or Radio 2 on my walkman. Then when Charlie appears its back to work with a Clueson Predator rifle lamp which I have fixed to a Lightforce 140 mount because the Clueson one is **** (In my humble opinion). It looks like something out of Heath Robinson's manual but works and keeps the light up above the moderator so elliminates the glare/reflection problem as well. It is good to 250 yds on a clear night.

Nice to hear how other people go about what is basically the same problem.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Grandalf

[Gimlet]

Don't do what I did the other night which was to be too hasty. I was off to a rabbit site with the .222. Scanning ahead with the bins just after sundown saw a young fox scenting through the grass. It was about 150 yds. The ground was rising ahead but I had a hummock in front of me so all the fox could see of me was my head. It was easy to throw the sticks and take the shot. The fox even stopped, turned broadside and looked at me. A gimme. Over it went. I went to move it to the fenceline for retrieval on my way back and continued on my way, keen to get on with the rabbits. I should have waited.

At this time of year there are a lot of cubs around who are independant but not established in their own territories, and siblings it seems often stick together for a while when they first venture out on their own. As I approached the carcase another youngster appeared trotting towards it from the other direction. We nearly collided. It was probably a brother or sister that had seen its sibling go down.

Lesson learned. If you shoot an autumn youngster, don't move. Stick around for ten minutes and keep your eyes pealed. There's a good chance you'll get a second shot. The fright I gave that second cub is likely to make it wary ahead of its time. It could be hard to shoot now.

Edited September 24, 2012 by Gimlet