Well - we did it!

Paddy_SP

Well-Known Member
My shooting partner Paul and I had set ourselves the rather ambitious target of 250 foxes for 2013. Considering the fact that it's been a bad year for them, and we often really struggled to find any, I wasn't hopeful. I've had the lurgy for about three weeks, with it getting really bad over the last few days - probably, as my Good Lady keeps telling me, because I'm forever going out for hours into the cold, wet nights. By Sunday night, we were on 247. I thought that was it.

Then Paul went out on his own last night, and dropped a big dog fox. I'd promised my Good Lady that I'd spend New Year's Eve in with her, so that coupled with my lurgy and the awful weather forecast made it look as though we'd have to settle for missing our target.

But then I spotted on the Met Office's radar map that there would be about an hour between it getting dark and the rain coming in, so with various promises being made as to when we'd get back, we set off to the local game-shooting estate. They'd had a 300 bird day there, and had seen a couple of foxes, so I said we'd do our best...

I told Paul to bring his own caller as well as mine - then dropped him off near our best calling point. I then drove a couple of hundred yards down to where I've been chucking some bait about. I climbed up onto the roof-platform on my Disco, and immediately spotted Madame La Reynard on the far side of the massive field that I was looking over. I climbed down and grabbed the caller. It was the work of a minute to scale the wooden fence and tiptoe out into the field. Hurrying back as quietly as I could, I climbed back up onto the platform, whereupon I slid the carbon fibre shooting rest into one of the mounting sockets (see separate thread posted last week for further details). The fox was way too far out, but crossing from my right to my left, in much the same direction as the wind was blowing.

I set the caller on one of the bunny distress sounds on quite a low volume, and the fox came running in, only to be met with a .204 round doing some 4,000 ft/sec. It dropped on the spot - number 249. I decided to then broadcast a vixen mating call at a much higher volume in the hope that it might bring in another fox. Standing at full height, I spotted a white shape with the thermal - it was running in at speed. It could only be a fox. This time, my adversary went right around and came in from directly downwind. It paused for a millisecond, some twenty yards from the first one - presumably it could smell her. In that instant, it was hit by another .204 Sierra BlitzKing. BINGO - Number Two Hundred and Fifty!!!

I climbed down from the truck - as I did so, I could hear Paul's caller giving off a rodent distress call, some three hundred yards away behind me. Setting off to recover the carcasses, I climbed the fence again and made my way out into the field. I always photograph my foxes where they drop - writing books and magazine articles, I find it most helpful to do so. It not only provides authentic imagery, but it helps me to keep track of what I've shot and where. On my way out to the bodies, I heard yet another fox calling, way off to my right. Taking little notice beyond thinking that I'd have to deal with it another time, I got to the first animal - it was a good-sized vixen that had fallen but ten feet from the caller. While I was there, I heard a shot, followed almost instantly by a thud. Ah - Paul's had some luck then - hopefully, that's fox number 251!

On my way over to the other fox, I heard the mating call again - only this time it was nearer. Once more, I took little notice - it was still several hundred yards away, and would have to be the focus of another night's work. I dragged the first carcass over to the second, which proved to be a fully grown dog fox, probably in his second year. While I was photographing him, the call came again - only this time it was almost on top of me. I dropped the bodies where they were, and doing my best to be quiet and unseen, hurried back to the truck. Climbing back on top, I set my rest up again, placed the rifle on it, and then scanned with the thermal. I was hacked off to find that my quarry had gone past me and was probably going to come out in the field to my left - as this drops sharply away, I'd only have a couple of seconds to react. But it didn't show. Swinging the TI back to the right, I could see that the fox had looped around and was now heading right for where the vixen was lying. He was being careful though - probably because he could smell that there was a male there too. At that moment, Paul started his caller going - he'd moved back to near the road, and was now using the Snowshoe Hare call. The instant he heard it, my quarry stopped to listen. It was the last thing he did, as at that moment my Kimber Montana put another 32gr round through his vitals. Seconds later, the heavens opened...

So - with my three foxes, and Paul's one, we comfortably pushed our year's tally beyond the post to make it a total of 252. And to think that I thought we'd have to accept falling short!

Anyway - Happy New Year to you all, and thanks for reading - May 2014 be all you hope for!
smile.gif
 
well done that's a serious number accounted for! This year the fox numbers in general seem to have been lower than normal in this part of the world, speaking to neighbouring keepers they are saying the same thing. Not that I'm complaining as it makes my life that bit easier. How useful do you find the thermal? Good write up by the way.
 
Well done, you two have certainly had a busy time, and must have put a lot of hours in, you will have a lot of memorable shooting, crow killer.
 
Very good effort, I am on 89 on my own with gun, sticks and a lamp..in a 3 mile radius!
Nice write up worthy of a good few replies...but it is SD....:old:

Tim.243
 
Had my last yesterday new yrs eve a dog fox basically in the back garden / field ,far too wet to chase them about so baited up .ive shot nothing like your figure which is very impressive but this dog fox was satisfying and he went with a bang no less .
happy new yr
norma
 
Paddy, an excellent year for you, It makes me wonder what the tally would come to if we all kept proper records, I reckon it would be mind boggling!... I stopped keeping proper tally about 1985/86, must be a lot more of us that have let the count slide:coat:
 
Thanks for your kind words, Gentlemen - they are much appreciated!

As for keeping records - I simply use an Excel spreadsheet, and list them there. At the start of the year I create two charts - one for recording where I've been and the results, the other is in Word, and it details the moon phases. Very useful for that last-minute check on what that nasty luminous object in the sky is doing!
 
Paddy great write up , and well done on reaching & breaking the 250 mark . I dont know if it is a help to anyone but I record my foxes /deer via a diary app ( free) when I take a pic of a shot fox or start to record the shot it can automatically record your location via gps and put a marker on a map. So I get the pics of the nights events , maps of where it occured that automatically puts down time weather moon phases temp etc , then I write or tell / speake your write up to the app. If you want it also will automatically back this up to a cloud or your computer when its used.
 
Good work well done. We have had a 7 over the past 3 months from one high seat in thick forestry on the estate, including one massive dog fox.


Happy new year and lets hope you surpass last years figure in 2014.
 
Paddy, I have this in amongst the bookmarks.

Moon page

That looks good - many thanks! Do you know of a site that gives moon rise times as well? I have one stored somewhere - given today's date, I'll have to dig it out!

Paddy great write up , and well done on reaching & breaking the 250 mark . I dont know if it is a help to anyone but I record my foxes /deer via a diary app ( free) when I take a pic of a shot fox or start to record the shot it can automatically record your location via gps and put a marker on a map. So I get the pics of the nights events , maps of where it occured that automatically puts down time weather moon phases temp etc , then I write or tell / speake your write up to the app. If you want it also will automatically back this up to a cloud or your computer when its used.

That sounds superb - sadly, my creaky old 'phone won't do any of that...:(

Happy new year and lets hope you surpass last years figure in 2014.

I thank you, Kind Sir - I hope you do well too! :)
 
Heh Heh!, seems we are at opposite ends of the spectrum here Paddy, you with your hi tec foxi'n gear, & me with the old electric light bulb jobby!!!:D:D

Indeed - it reminds me of back when I was a race-car/bike engineer. I worked with all the latest on-board computers, etc., yet my own race bike ran off points and had no instrumentation whatsoever!
 
Paddy buy yourself a casio watch and you will have sunset/sunrise moon times ect forever. Either Fish in Time or Sea Pathfinder.

Got to use a thermal couple of weeks ago very nice bits of kit, trouble can't get out as soooooo wet.

D
 
Paddy buy yourself a casio watch and you will have sunset/sunrise moon times ect forever. Either Fish in Time or Sea Pathfinder.

Got to use a thermal couple of weeks ago very nice bits of kit, trouble can't get out as soooooo wet.

D

Thanks - I'll have to look into those!

Very wet here too...:(
 
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