Lamping The Night Away

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Monday, 31st October.

 

To get away from the Halloween bangers I headed out onto the bogs to find me a fox. In conversation with the local Garda today he mentioned how he'd been seeing a lot of them crossing the road near there. So off I went with my unofficial Garda intelligence report on the red lads

 

I was literally thirty seconds at my first stand, I had scanned about with the lamp and nothing popped it's head up that wasn't a sheep. I turned on the rabbit squeal and bang! A pair of eyes a couple of hundred yards off which started belting uphill with the wind.

 

I'd picked out a nice hillock with a flat-ish rock top, great to shoot from. Clipping the lamp to the scope I settled down with the rifle and kept tabs on my fox putting the Lightforce beam at it's feet. I tracked him in the scope then until he stopped at 120 yards, the little Hornady V-max hit him in the chest and made a large exit wound behind his right shoulder.

 

I'm starting to think I should get a few more Federal V-shoks, I notice - and it might be my mind playing tricks on me - the Hornadys seem to like making exit wounds, they also seem slightly louder, and the bolt is certainly stiffer when using them compared to the Federals.

 

Anyway, here is the suspect in question, shoot first, ask questions later :cool:

 

 

I could still hear the bangers going off in the village, despite it behind hidden behind a hill in the distance and with the wind. They've gotten hold of some particularly loud ones this year.

 

I took off back to the car, after tailing my fox for someone, then headed to another stand I wanted to try out maybe a couple of miles away. Just as I arrived at my stand on foot, I spied a very foxy looking pair of eyes on a flat before a hillock. They vanished before I could do anything much besides shoot a dirty look, I figure with the bog as wet with so much rain I was a bit loud approaching.

 

Slipped and slid my way uphill to my stand and had a good shine about expecting to catch a pair of eyes looking at me from some direction. Nope, nothing doing. The wind is coming from my right and I thought my fox either went ahead deeper onto the bog or to my right into the wind hunting away.

 

After a couple of minutes of tasty & tempting sounding wabbit I caught sight of him again way off to the right, the wind being perfect for me and truly terrible for him. As soon as he moved I knew it was a dog fox, there was no thinking involved in his decision, full steam ahead he bounced in across the bog towards his electronic supper.

 

Same story as with the first fox, I put the beam at his feet after securing the lamp to the scope, then tracked him in the scope as he got nearer. He stopped on the top of the brink of a cutaway turf bank and my fourth fox of the Winter/season/year/whatever fell to .223 at 110 yards. Again, another big exit wound behind the left shoulder.

 

Another tail for the ziploc bag, I've settled now on the twine method being by far the handiest for stripping the tail from the bone.

 

[markha 99]

Nice write up again and good shooting, what Hornady ammo are you using that your not keen on? Could you explain your 'bailing twine method' please, I think I know what you mean but I have never tried it.

Thanks

M

[JohnGalway 1,043]

40 grain V-max Mark, I was using Federal 40 grainV-shok before them and Hornady 40 grain before that.

 

Cut the skin around the tail, make a loop with the twine and put that loop inside the cut, stand on the fox and give a good pull on the twine, off comes the tail. Twine is easier to carry around than anything else IMO.

[artic 595]

Superb accounts!

 

[derry boy 2]

Hello John

 

just a quick question. Which device do you use to range the fox. I have problems gauging distances in day light never mind when its dark the eyes are not as good as they were. I have a .223 set up with a clulite LED torch which is good out 200mts or so they say. I lamp alone at the minute so was wondering if you could advise me on ranging equipment that is suitable for a one man set up.

 

ATB

 

Derry Boy

Edited November 1, 2011 by derry boy

[JohnGalway 1,043]

Leica CRF 900 range finder, it's a fantastic thing, wouldn't be without it.

 

Either zap the fox or near him with it, or if you're on a stand like I do, you can zap a few places around the area to get an idea of the range.

 

Some scope reticles will also allow you to range animals at a specific magnification once you know the height of that animal.

 

There can be some juggling being a one man band but that's the fun of it, practice makes perfect. It's also one of the reasons I use the 40 grain bullets, seeing as how they're fairly flat shooting, zero an inch high at 100 and pretty much just aim at the fox out to 235 or so.

[derry boy 2]

Ok thats great thanks. I will look in the piggy bank and see what cash I have knocking about. I will try to up load a photo of my set up.

 

ATB

 

DB

[SportingShooter 0]

Excellent write ups as ever John. The minds eye put me right there in the picture

[derry boy 2]

Well here is my set up. .223 Tikka T3 hunter with T8 Mod and swarvoski 4 -12 x 50

Harris tilt bi pod along with the LED clulite.

Edited November 2, 2011 by derry boy

[derry boy 2]

And while I'm at it here is the rest of the family. It has only taken me about 3 hours to figure out how to up load photo's

 

In the middle is a .22RF Ruger with a full volquartsen make over topped off with a Leupold 4-12 x 50

And my trusty Beretta urika 2 semi auto Al391.

Edited November 2, 2011 by derry boy