Well at last a rain free night. First port of call was the mud bath chicken farm, spotted a fox with the thermal but difficult position and didn't like the lamp at all, so going to have to be total thermal/NV job.
Quick motor up to next chicken farm where we shot 1 of a pair a few weeks ago. Suspected we had a vixen and as we have several fields of sheep had a walk round. Nothing in the sheep field but S another SD member (who is a temporary member of the team) spotted a fox crossing a field then into a thick hedge, but didn't come out. We stalked down the hedge and arround the corner hoping to cut it off, no luck but then shortly later heat source in the hedge in front of us infront of a big oak.
Plenty of time for mate to get settled with the 6mm BR, nicely settled prone, lamp on bring it down and bang, so quick i jumped. Big strike but a little strange, anyway walked the 100 yds up to the tree no fox, however clambered through wire remains of hedge and a fence to find a very dead fox on the other side, it must have been on the bank and just rolled over. Turned out to be a very heavily pregnant vixen, not quite milky but well on. So another happy chicken farmer.
Concencuss was that would never have seen it with NV unless there had been eye shine, the more we use the thermal the more we think how did we cope without it.
Has to be the way foreward
D
Quick motor up to next chicken farm where we shot 1 of a pair a few weeks ago. Suspected we had a vixen and as we have several fields of sheep had a walk round. Nothing in the sheep field but S another SD member (who is a temporary member of the team) spotted a fox crossing a field then into a thick hedge, but didn't come out. We stalked down the hedge and arround the corner hoping to cut it off, no luck but then shortly later heat source in the hedge in front of us infront of a big oak.
Plenty of time for mate to get settled with the 6mm BR, nicely settled prone, lamp on bring it down and bang, so quick i jumped. Big strike but a little strange, anyway walked the 100 yds up to the tree no fox, however clambered through wire remains of hedge and a fence to find a very dead fox on the other side, it must have been on the bank and just rolled over. Turned out to be a very heavily pregnant vixen, not quite milky but well on. So another happy chicken farmer.
Concencuss was that would never have seen it with NV unless there had been eye shine, the more we use the thermal the more we think how did we cope without it.
Has to be the way foreward
D