Another good dog fox!

[ianm 2,594]

I think i have mentioned before that once a month or so i go with a chap in our syndicate to one or the other of his two shoots to control foxes. Well that's where i was headed for on Monday night. The farmer had seen one about and said it was "bold as brass". This particular shoot consists of three farms together and we went to the one which had seen the fox first. The ground at the moment is particularly wet, sodden in fact so we would be sticking to the tracks. The first place we tried was the track that leads to the farm, there is a place on this track that overlooks the farm/buildings and a large area consisting of six fields. These fields are bordered on the left and right by extensive woodland which is home to the occasional fox and lots of Roe. After parking up the Jimny and setting up the rifle i played "Vixen in heat" for about half an hour after which it was obvious nothing was in earshot. The sound carried a long way as it was quite a still night with just a hint of a breeze from the West. So we upped sticks and moved on to the next farm which was down the road and on the other side of the wood to our right.

This next place wasn't as good for calling from as the last one but still good enough to do the job. The track is a very narrow concrete one leading to the farm and a Barn conversion that is let out. In order to set up here we had to park across the track with the front of the vehicle almost touching the gate into the field. Normally we would have just opened the gate and driven in a little way before setting up but due to the state of the ground we elected to stay on the track. The caller was placed on the gate post just off to our right and set off playing the same call. There is a wood in front of us from this position running as far as you can see left or right about three hundred yards away. The caller had been going for ten or so minutes when i saw the unmistakable  shape of a fox heading our way from the left about three hundred yards away. It kept coming steadily stopping every now and then for a smell at something or other but it's progress was good. Eventually it was directly in front of me but continued to travel to our right coming closer all the time. It reached a point where if it went much further i would lose sight of it because of the hedge so decided i would kill it there. I gave a little shout and it stopped instantly, i had been tracking it through the scope with the safety off and the trigger set so i only needed a second or so to put the reticule on it's boiler room. As soon as i had done so i touched the trigger and released a shot, the fox dropped instantly in it's own shadow and didn't even twitch. Having made the rifle safe and locked it away we walked off to recover it. I could see it plainly in the thermal so it wouldn't be a trauma looking for it. On inspection it proved to be a large dog fox probably searching for a mate and the app said the shot had been one hundred and fifty three yards. A good one to get out of the way as lambing is imminent on these farms.     

Edited January 22, 2020 by ianm

[Baldcoot 2,352]

Well in Ian ,went out Sunday after a calling vixen but the fog was thicker than Corbyn ,she was calling about a mile away but wouldnt be lured in .As the fog reflected the lazer and Image from the pard needed her about 10m away tops but the old gal wouldnt have it so went home empty handed and frozen to the bone .

Nice to see someone havent a better night atb 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Nice on mate. I just popped out last night to feed my little one coming to the camera. It was damp, misty and drizzling. 

[David.evans 5,323]

Great write up Ian 

well done mate 

I’ll be out Friday night and Saturday nite , no moon yip ei 

atb 

[ianm 2,594]

9 hours ago, Baldcoot said:

Well in Ian ,went out Sunday after a calling vixen but the fog was thicker than Corbyn ,she was calling about a mile away but wouldnt be lured in .As the fog reflected the lazer and Image from the pard needed her about 10m away tops but the old gal wouldnt have it so went home empty handed and frozen to the bone .

Nice to see someone havent a better night atb 

It was foggy here on Sunday so i didn't bother with the usual duck flighting on the pits.

5 hours ago, Sausagedog said:

Nice on mate. I just popped out last night to feed my little one coming to the camera. It was damp, misty and drizzling. 

Yes Monday was very low cloud all day so we just got that constant dampness in the air,  thankfully it cleared about tea time.

[Stavross 16,362]

Another cracking write up, I’m looking forward to the book, memoirs of a fox shooter 

me and longshanx went out last night but the ground was so wet and muddy we were struggling to walk on it, definitely a few about, we seen 3 but they knew where the dry bits were, unlike us splodging around in the mud

[Longshanx 833]

12 minutes ago, Stavross said:

Another cracking write up, I’m looking forward to the book, memoirs of a fox shooter 

me and longshanx went out last night but the ground was so wet and muddy we were struggling to walk on it, definitely a few about, we seen 3 but they knew where the dry bits were, unlike us splodging around in the mud

Muddy! fecking hell, got sick of getting stuck in the mud sounded like when you get to the bottom of a drink with a straw every step. The element of surprise right out the window. You'd think with my ski feet I would have walked over it like an Eskimo with snow shoes on

Looking forward to thinning those ginger terrorists out before Jim's lambing starts I'll have to have a reccy to find some solid ground. 

[MAUSERMAN 23]

Had this one Tuesday  night 180m

[MAUSERMAN 23]

Another dog last night, still no sign of the vixen

[David.evans 5,323]

Good shooting mate 

is 

that the n455 on top , and how do you find it 

atb 

[MAUSERMAN 23]

It is mate. I've had the pulsar add on which was not fit for purpose,  also the 355 which was good but I find the 455  better by far. Its dropped foxes at nearly 300m so for the money it's a

[David.evans 5,323]

Does it hold zero ? I’ve the n870 and was thinking of a change 

atb 

[MAUSERMAN 23]

I have 2 mates with the same scope never had a problem , apart from the time I replaced the scope back 1 groove wrong on the pic rail(QD mounts) and missed a once in a lifetime 2in1 fox shot

[ianm 2,594]

1 hour ago, David.evans said:

Does it hold zero ? I’ve the n870 and was thinking of a change 

atb 

If you are thinking of an upgrade look at the Black ENV10 . A proper 10x optical magnification instead of "Lego fox" digital magnification. It has the best near eye display available on digital units and the best camera and sensor. It is simply leagues apart from the Pulsar stuff. More expensive but you will not need to upgrade in the future because ( A) it will always be capable of killing foxes at extended ranges if required with a second to none picture quality and (B) It has been the top digital scope for years now and there is nothing better to upgrade to. . It can also be used to shoot in daylight properly unlike the Pulsar offerings.