shooting fox

[arveyboy 0]

i know this is a completely newbie question because it's probably a very easy question to answer. in my defence i've never shot a fox and am only currently applying a .17hmr so no foxing calibres for the next couple of years. the majority of stories i've heard on here about fox shooting, nearly everyone has shot their foxes through the heart, or as near as possible. why is this? i would have thought that a head shot was a more humane kill but perhaps it isnt. what is the reason for it.

 

regards,

 

MCnoob (i.e jack)

[Guest JohnGalway]

As in everything people will differ on the subject.

 

I'm a firm believer in the heart/lung shot.

 

There are two vital areas on a fox, two areas that will take him down quicker than anywhere else. The heart/lung area and the brain. The reason I prefer taking a heart/lung shot is that that vital area is considerable bigger than a foxes brain (notice I'm making the distinction between a headshot and a brain shot).

 

Think about your fox a moment. Unless he's on the move then the heart/lung area isn't moving a lot at all. Think about his head. Where are all his sense located? If he sees/hears/smells anything then that head is bobing and weaving.

 

Which is easier to hit, a small moving target or a larger stationary one?

[arveyboy 0]

cheers john thanks for clearing it up. think you just about answered the question haha i'll bear that in mind if/when (hopefully when) i go onto centrefires. our keeper does loads of fox shooting so i might see if i can go out with him a couple of times. where abouts do you shoot mate?

[Guest JohnGalway]

Just locally in Ireland where I live I do go on the odd trip to different parts of the country to visit and shoot with people I've met off here and other sites

[southdownmav 0]

You will find as you venture more into fox shooting, and definatly with keepers, a bullet anywhere is grateful, higher powered rifles with the modern day ballistic rounds will cause such impact that normally they dont go far, but of coarse with the respect for the quarry a heart shot is always recomended.

[greasemonkey 0]

hi, i agree with all comments made so far,its possible to completely shoot the jaw completely off a fox without stopping it with a high velocity centrefire rifle ,an awful lingering death which no creature deserves,i shoot them in the engine room. with a 22-250 or simular this stops them dead every time as with a ballistic bullet lungs or heart are destroyed completely,,if you should be slightly off target the hydralic shock almost anywhere with a body shot does the job if the gun is powerful enough..hope this helps...greasemonkey

[longrange 0]

sound advice there! SAME GOES FOR DEER, oops what have i started?

watch this space !

[young1982 1]

Don't underestimate the .17HMR it's more than capable of dropping a fox out to 100 yards.

[Guest JohnGalway]

The problem with rimfires shooting foxes, and I've done it with them, is you've not got any margin for error. Pull or mess up the shot and you've a wounded fox off to die a miserable death. Centrefire is different due to the energy it can deliver tot he animal.

[Malt 379]

Don't underestimate the .17HMR it's more than capable of dropping a fox out to 100 yards.

Like this one!

 

 

[andyf 144]

As the others have advised, the heart-lung shot is the one for me, I have also shot loads of foxes over many years with both a .22 and laterly a 17HMR, but neither is the calibre of choice for me.

It used to be that in some places my centrefire was just too loud to use near houses at night, but with the advent of CF moderators (Predator 8 on mine) this is now a thing of the past.

A good front body hit with a Varmint bullet loaded CF will almost always kill a fox instantly. After all your not going to eat a fox, so massive carcase damage is no big deal.

I use my Stalking rifle a .270 Win but with 110gr Hornady Vmax bullets, loaded by myself, it doesn't take prisoners and the noise is not much worse than an un-moderated .22RF, and you can shoot out to 250+ yards.

Look at the foxes in photo's, yes they are dead, but not a mark on them, I think a 17HMR is ok if the shot is under 100 yards and there's not much wind, a .22RF should only be used at close range and when there is no alternative.

[arveyboy 0]

.17hmr isn't a foxing calibre is it. well its not legal i don't think. i know people still shoot charlie with rimfires and admittedly i probably would as well if i felt i was certain i would get a humane kill. i would only do so though because we have a large number of foxes on our land and we've recently had a large number of game brought in. don't want charlie eating all the pheasants before we get to shoot them. who regularly shoots foxes with a rimfire?

 

also while this topic is quite hot, ive posted on the reloading, optics and ammunition forum about shotgun cabinets for my new rifle. i wont go into detail on this post but if i could get some information back on it that would be great.

 

regards,

 

jack

[claybusers al 9]

engine block every time less chance of them running far even though ive seen 1 go 50yds completly disemboweled still picked it though anything to bring them down dead

[SportingShooter 0]

If you're FAC says you can shoot vermin with a HMR, then you can shoot a fox. It may not be as specific as a centrefire which will state purely fox.

 

But a Fox is defined in Law as vermin unlike almost all other species of vermin.

 

A court would be hard pressed to convict someone for shooting a fox with a rimfire with Vermin as the condition on their FAC as the conditions themselves are so vague, as with most Firearms Law.

 

Anyway, back on topic.

 

Personally, I always go for an engine room shot, unless either, I can only see his head, in which case I take my time with the shot more, or if the body is obscured by foliage of some kind.

 

And almost always, I use a Ballistic Tipped round, normally 40 or 50 grains. I can't say there have been many that have moved.

 

I shot a great deal of foxes with a .243 and 100gr soft points recently and only one ran on but dropped 20 yards later, stone dead.

 

All the Ballistics technology around will never prevent every fox from running.

 

Case in point. I had a troublesome fox a few months back, and I finally got him in my sights at 260. I fired and hit him square in the chest, he ran, I shot him again, in the engine room, he ran again, I shot him once again, in the engine room, and yet got another five yards before dropping, by heck there was a mess on him.

 

So even after all that, he still ran. Thankfully, that doesn't happen often.

 

Regards

SS

[young1982 1]

The problem with rimfires shooting foxes, and I've done it with them, is you've not got any margin for error. Pull or mess up the shot and you've a wounded fox off to die a miserable death. Centrefire is different due to the energy it can deliver tot he animal.

 

I hear what your saying brother and I agree with you totally, centrefire calibres deliver a much larger amount of hydrostatic shock to what they hit so the odds are in their favor.