fox

[mossy835]

sat out in the hide this morning after rooks, stood up and there was a fox to my left,he saw me and started to run gave him the first shot still going second shot he ran in the wood walked up where he went in ,no site of him, looked on the new drilled grass field and he was laying in  the field,

[marsh man]

4 hours ago, mossy835 said:

sat out in the hide this morning after rooks, stood up and there was a fox to my left,he saw me and started to run gave him the first shot still going second shot he ran in the wood walked up where he went in ,no site of him, looked on the new drilled grass field and he was laying in  the field,

Only ever shot two Foxes in my life , the last one still had a dead Chicken in it's mouth , might be the reason he couldn't smell me when he walked past my hide , at 15 yards one shot was more than enough , then several years ago we had a Fox drive one Saturday morning in February before we went roost shooting in the afternoon , hitting an animal the size of a large dog is not that difficult , the hard part is stopping it as you have just found out , during the morning we had the same sort of thing when one of the standing guns took a shot at a big dog Fox that ran past at a good distance , with the shot the Fox jumped up and ran off limping , we followed the spots of blood in the snow into a big wood and after looking for it for ages we couldn't find it , this jarred me off completely and I vowed there and then I would never shoot another Fox , and up to now I have stuck to my word , everyone to there own . 

Edited May 21, 2022 by marsh man

[jall25]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

Only ever shot two Foxes in life , the last one still had a dead Chicken in it's mouth , might be he couldn't smell me when he walked past my hide , at 15 yards one shot was more than enough , then several years ago we had a Fox drive one Saturday morning in February before we went roost shooting in the afternoon , hitting an animal the size of a large dog is not that difficult , the hard part is stopping it as you have just found out , during the morning we had the same sort of thing when one of the standing guns took a shot at a big dog Fox that ran past at a good distance , with the shot the Fox jumped up and ran off limping , we followed the spots of blood in the snow into a big wood and after looking for it for ages we couldn't find it , this jarred me off completely and I vowed there and then I would never shoot another Fox , and up to now I have stuck to my word , everyone to there own . 

Yes not pleasant and one of the reasons we dont shoot them on driven days

Let the rifle do the majority of the work 

[Scully]

Shotguns can be very effective on foxes in the right circumstances, but opportunistic circumstances aren't always effective. 
I’m not criticising the OP in any way; many many folk have taken opportunistic shots at foxes, especially  on driven days, and although it can work, shotgunning foxes is best left to dedicated fox drives and big shot in my opinion. 

[WalkedUp]

Shot many a fox with 6s, they don’t go far. If you have a dog it’s normally easy enough to find them. 

[Scully]

1 minute ago, WalkedUp said:

Shot many a fox with 6s, they don’t go far. If you have a dog it’s normally easy enough to find them. 

Without a doubt; I would hazard a guess that many a fox has met it’s end on a driven day with bird shot. 

[marsh man]

1 hour ago, Scully said:

Without a doubt; I would hazard a guess that many a fox has met it’s end on a driven day with bird shot. 

At one time when we had the pep talk with the team of guns on the day of the shoot we would tell them no ground game , but if a Fox presented itself and it was safe to shoot then they could shoot it , now it is no longer included , far to many if and butts , as an example , the guns are spaced out around 60 yds apart , a Fox come out of a wood and start running towards the guns , the Fox think the safest place to run is straight through the middle , one of the guns take it on well in front and although it is hit the Fox carry on , do the gun carry on leading it in front and give it one more when it is safe to do so , or do he raise his gun above his neighbour's head and then wait before he give the Fox a second barrel ? , we know what he should do but in the heat of the moment that is not always the case .

We also find that a lot of the older guns , and possibly some of the younger ones who were involved in hunting would not shoot at a Fox and not only that our boss was never that keen to include Foxes on a driven day, so for safety's sake and to keep the peace with the man in charge is the main reason we no longer shoot Foxes , going slightly off course , we also tell the guns they can shoot Wood Cock only if they want them for themselves and nowadays we have very few shot .

[7daysinaweek]

In my younger days used to shoot quite a few each year on a couple of DIY shoots with the lamp and 12 bore before I got a rifle.  Used to squeak them in, sometimes right in so much having to shout in order to get them to pull up before running into your 8 foot halo area of the lamp light and nearly into your lower legs. Had some scary moments over the years. Some other areas I would lamp at certain times of the year the odd ones would not be a particular concern to me and I would be happy leaving them alone concentrating on lamping with the lurcher or the fourten.

As Scully and Walked up say the 12 does the job on them if within sensible ranges, I am sure it was a Lyvale express heavy load cartridge I usued to use. (have to look in my old carts bag, sure I have a few left in there)

Called a fox once from the end of a huge, huge field that bordered a thin ditch that had reedy grass growing along it couple of feet tall. The ditch was about about 5 foot wide, the fox came like a gooden and as I blinked the lamp it came down near the ditch line and then suddenly dissapeared. After a few minutes of me stood still and shining the lamp across the ditch I was confounded as to where it had gone, suddenly I noticed directly opposite across the 5 foot ditch a very foxy face sticking through the grass. I let rip with the 12 totally missing it. Away it went like a missile never to be called again.

Some say he is still running now! 

[marsh man]

Nice one 7daysinaweek , You quite rightly say that a 12 bore is up to the job at sensible ranges , but what is a sensible range with the combination of gun and cartridge at the time you are taking a shot ?

If you are going out with the intention of Fox's only then you would have a heavy cartridge with large shot in the chambers , standing on a peg waiting for a Partridge drive to start you are more than likely to have 6s or smaller depending what terrain you are shooting in .

I agree with Walked Up that many a Fox have been shot with 6s , but I dare say many a Fox have been hit with 6s and lived to tell the tale , and maybe a painful one at that .

[WalkedUp]

You have to be confident of the kill and safety of others to take the shot. Almost every fox I see when I have a gun (as opposed to rifle) with me is not safe enough or too far out to take the shot. 

[FOXHUNTER1]

Common sense is sadly lacking , if on a shoot with bird shot keep the distance short and you will kill foxes no problem , I have shot them with 6s.

If going on fox drives I would use BB to good effect.

Boils my pi$$ when guns are blasting away with 6s at 50 yds or more and bragging that they hit it and it will probably die anyway.  The fox still demands respect 👍

[7daysinaweek]

7 hours ago, FOXHUNTER1 said:

Common sense is sadly lacking , if on a shoot with bird shot keep the distance short and you will kill foxes no problem , I have shot them with 6s.

If going on fox drives I would use BB to good effect.

Boils my pi$$ when guns are blasting away with 6s at 50 yds or more and bragging that they hit it and it will probably die anyway.  The fox still demands respect 👍

12 hours ago, marsh man said:

Nice one 7daysinaweek , You quite rightly say that a 12 bore is up to the job at sensible ranges , but what is a sensible range with the combination of gun and cartridge at the time you are taking a shot ?

If you are going out with the intention of Fox's only then you would have a heavy cartridge with large shot in the chambers , standing on a peg waiting for a Partridge drive to start you are more than likely to have 6s or smaller depending what terrain you are shooting in .

I agree with Walked Up that many a Fox have been shot with 6s , but I dare say many a Fox have been hit with 6s and lived to tell the tale , and maybe a painful one at that .

Hi MM

When I used to pursue foxes it was almost always lamping and more often than not on my own. I chose to use a heavy load as shooting of a nightime, on my own and with always the possibility of a follow up shot needed, though from my thankful recollection not too often, aslo having to hold the lamp and all, it was a personal choice. If I could get them into the 15-20 odd yard area which at times I could, even though I was confident that I would dispatch, I used a heavy velocity load and size as I felt it gave me the punchy hitting edge in the unlikely event that a second follow up was needed for my capabilities when lamping as it is very different to shooting a shotgun of a day I find.

Obviously if they rocketed in and I could not pull them up to a stop, or they were outside of the my personal comfort abilities I would not shoot. Objects appear closer than they actually are when lamping, twenty odd years of lamping with my lurchers taught me that as much as it did with the shotty. Some may think that is very close for a shot, however that was what I was comfortable with my abilities, for sure the 12 is capable at humanley dispatching foxes at much further distances, I have seen foxes dispatched effectively by a good friend in recent years who is a very experienced and confident game, pigeon and ground game shot, seen him dispatch quite a few foxes. I would think one or two to have been up to 35 yardish distance of a daytime with 32g 6s which I think he prefered for game as well as corvids/pigeons . One of these foxes he shot was when we were shooting at the end of a huge field which was being combined, hoping for a pigeon or a crow or two, a fox came out of one of the plateways obviously away from the combine and down it went only a very short distance from the shot.  

Back in the days I speak of, rifling (is that even a word ) foxes was mostly confined to the 22 or the shotty and new foxing calibres were mostly in the US and talked about on forums and out of most peoples reach. Our local keeper had a 243 that he used for a few of a morning or evening time that were difficult to get on of a night, however, he maintained far more went down with the 22 or the shotty. I did not have a 22 then so the 12 g shotty was my method. I would think that more foxes have been shot with the 22 than any other calibre of rifle over the years than any other rifle.

I have shot a small handful of a daytime when I have had 6s in and they have been close and they happened upon me, that was my personal confidence and ability made in a split second decision. As @WalkedUp says and recognising when the shot is not safe for both man and beast is paramount and you must be as sure as is upmost possible that when you pull the trigger that it will result in a humane dispatch as possible.

I think we could all say that at one time or another we have made a less favourable descision on a shot of some sort and learning from that has been the most important thing.

I have attached a couple of pic of the carts I spoke about, I rooted them out. Lyvale Express super game no 3, 42gram, a farmers son gave me a bucket of them, he told me he had shot an old barn door off it hinges with them that he could not get off, 'BLUE BASHERS' I think he called them.  Another good use for them!  

Before I used these I am sure I used to use old Alphamax carts, cannot recall the exact load but they were heavy hitters.

@FOXHUNTER1 👍

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by 7daysinaweek

[WalkedUp]

I’ve taken foxes with all of these!

.22LR  hollow point - for short range pest control, foxes sub 85 yards

 .17HMR ballistic tip - mixed lamping, foxes sub 150 yards

.223REM soft point - general foxes, sub 250

.308WIN FMJ - armour plated foxes up to 300 

.410” subsonic - humane dispatch 

12 bore 6s - sub 25 yards on game days 

 

[7daysinaweek]

A fine arsenal walked up and it would appear you have all bases from a experience point of view well covered. The little 22 as has probably accounted for tens of thousands of foxes over the years from the mid 80's and 90's, I would surely think that would be quite a bit less so now as the advent of the hmr and other superseding calibres allowing for fox control over more varying different terrains and distances.

As you point out they still have their place. 👍

 

 

[marsh man]

2 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said:

Hi MM

When I used to pursue foxes it was almost always lamping and more often than not on my own. I chose to use a heavy load as shooting of a nightime, on my own and with always the possibility of a follow up shot needed, though from my thankful recollection not too often, aslo having to hold the lamp and all, it was a personal choice. If I could get them into the 15-20 odd yard area which at times I could, even though I was confident that I would dispatch, I used a heavy velocity load and size as I felt it gave me the punchy hitting edge in the unlikely event that a second follow up was needed for my capabilities when lamping as it is very different to shooting a shotgun of a day I find.

Obviously if they rocketed in and I could not pull them up to a stop, or they were outside of the my personal comfort abilities I would not shoot. Objects appear closer than they actually are when lamping, twenty odd years of lamping with my lurchers taught me that as much as it did with the shotty. Some may think that is very close for a shot, however that was what I was comfortable with my abilities, for sure the 12 is capable at humanley dispatching foxes at much further distances, I have seen foxes dispatched effectively by a good friend in recent years who is a very experienced and confident game, pigeon and ground game shot, seen him dispatch quite a few foxes. I would think one or two to have been up to 35 yardish distance of a daytime with 32g 6s which I think he prefered for game as well as corvids/pigeons . One of these foxes he shot was when we were shooting at the end of a huge field which was being combined, hoping for a pigeon or a crow or two, a fox came out of one of the plateways obviously away from the combine and down it went only a very short distance from the shot.  

Back in the days I speak of, rifling (is that even a word ) foxes was mostly confined to the 22 or the shotty and new foxing calibres were mostly in the US and talked about on forums and out of most peoples reach. Our local keeper had a 243 that he used for a few of a morning or evening time that were difficult to get on of a night, however, he maintained far more went down with the 22 or the shotty. I did not have a 22 then so the 12 g shotty was my method. I would think that more foxes have been shot with the 22 than any other calibre of rifle over the years than any other rifle.

I have shot a small handful of a daytime when I have had 6s in and they have been close and they happened upon me, that was my personal confidence and ability made in a split second decision. As @WalkedUp says and recognising when the shot is not safe for both man and beast is paramount and you must be as sure as is upmost possible that when you pull the trigger that it will result in a humane dispatch.

I have attached a couple of pic of the carts I spoke about, I rooted them out. Lyvale Express super game no 3, 42gram, a farmers son gave me a bucket of them, he told me he had shot an old barn door off it hinges with them that he could not get off, 'BLUE BASHERS' I think he called them.  Another good use for them!  

Before I used these I am sure I used to use old Alphamax carts, cannot recall the exact load but they were heavy hitters.

@FOXHUNTER1 👍

 

 

 

1 hour ago, WalkedUp said:

I’ve taken foxes with all of these!

.22LR  hollow point - for short range pest control, foxes sub 85 yards

 .17HMR ballistic tip - mixed lamping, foxes sub 150 yards

.223REM soft point - general foxes, sub 250

.308WIN FMJ - armour plated foxes up to 300 

.410” subsonic - humane dispatch 

12 bore 6s - sub 25 yards on game days 

 

You both come across as two very experienced Fox shooters who know the limitation of whatever weapon is used to reduce the possibility of wounding , as Foxhunter1 said , the Fox still demands respect .