ELEY alphamax/ best cartridge for foxes
- Thread starter Ryan24365c
- Start date
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
That's nice of you now if you could drop them off that would be super. Thanks very much
36 grm number 1 or BB in steel! gamebore 3" mamouth , have used allsorts but big HP steel (without going silly) is Fantastic !
Half choke is what you want dont go daft its a lot of pellets of Number ! and steel always patterns tighter .
Just seems to get through Fur really well , Same with light clay loads in small steel it kills bunnies better ( not sure if its to do with lead balling up on fur bearining animals?) works good though but look out for ricochets in woods or fences etc
My personal preference for fox is a .223 . Range is quite limited by using a 12 guage - even though I have a 3/12" magnum semi-auto.
Having once called in and missed a fox closeish (about 50 yards) I changed to the rifle and shot it running away at 240 yards - thanks to a very capable lamp man.
I claim no special skill for this as its simply a case of see, aim, shoot with the rifle.
Having once called in and missed a fox closeish (about 50 yards) I changed to the rifle and shot it running away at 240 yards - thanks to a very capable lamp man.
I claim no special skill for this as its simply a case of see, aim, shoot with the rifle.
This is not the tool in the hand at issue, its the application of said tool being correctly done . Shotgun with pellet is useable in situations where a rifle is not , running foxes, good backstop issues. Its a case of a pin hammer to drive a 6" ring shank nail or a sledge hammer to knock a panel pin home !
Its not all about terriers and fox drives either , a shot-gunner on a Lamping crew or on fields without a suitable availibility of available back-stops etc etc .
240 yard running shots are more dumb luck than design and not one i would take ....! Speed traveling, 4" kill zone , wind effect , angle etc etc , its not like shooting 50 yard running rabbits with the .22 rf ! I suspect you would be removed from a driven boar shoot if you fired at a 250 yard running beast during a drive
You need to read my post - and think about it instead of warbling on about what is and what is not appropriate. As for a running shot at 240 yards, not a problem and if you know the land and the setup as I did.
I bet you dont find it hard to be offensive anywhere.
Re- read feel the same . Perhaps you should proof read what you wrote ? "240 yards running away" Did it stop and present a clean chance ? because i see only while running away and 240 yards when re- reading again to check an error on reading . Its nothing to do with your knowing the land or set up its just probability of a first round kill being incredibly slim.
Its one heck of a risky shot to hit those clean kill zones at that sort of range on the lamp even close in on running rabbits its harder than daylight running - you might even get folks thinking its worth a go
100% pattern test as Robert quite rightly says in his book . I had a bad surprise when i bought some heavy lead 3 1/2" 63 gram i seem to remember . I lamped quite a lot of foxes at the time with shotgun and did a fox drive every week with a good pack of hounds . couple of WTF happened as an easy one wasn't stopped , patterned it and it was the worst i have ever seen .
I really do like 36 gram steel number 1 Gamebore mamouth for fox they pattern well , kill clean keeping things broadside with half choke no fox lives if we do our bit , in the bib try and get closer . Steel is very good on well furred animals as it does not deform through the often dense fur of a winter Fox. Drops geese pretty good also
People really dont use shotgun enough on foxes today
Whenever I'm pigeon shooting or crowing I always carry 3 "fox" cartridges in a seperate pocket, just in case....
On several occasions it has been most beneficial. See fox approaching, switch loads in the shotgun, and then shoot fox.
3" 50g BB's. Had foxes out to about 50yds with them and not one has done so much as twitch after the shot arrived
Just don't make the mistake of leaving the other 2 in your semi-auto ! It's a very messy and expensive way to shoot a rook !
Ahem .. allegedly
On several occasions it has been most beneficial. See fox approaching, switch loads in the shotgun, and then shoot fox.
3" 50g BB's. Had foxes out to about 50yds with them and not one has done so much as twitch after the shot arrived
Just don't make the mistake of leaving the other 2 in your semi-auto ! It's a very messy and expensive way to shoot a rook !
Ahem .. allegedly
Could you tell me, does steel work well on fit and do you use mammoth 36 gram steel by any chance. I seem to have missed it the 3 times you have posted it on the thread!!
It depends a bit on the sort of range you're shooting them at. When I was trapping and shooting foxes for a living sixty-odd years ago, thirty yards was about the maximum we shot them at. I tried various shot sizes but finally settled for BBs as these did the job consistently and pelt damage was minimal and acceptable to the buyers.
We shot a lot of foxes (and badgers) carrying small shot (4s, 5s, and 6s) just under the skin.
Today's cartridges have moved on, and no doubt will kill farther out that our old ones did. I'm sure that a three-inch loaded with threes up to BBs would make a very good fox cartridge today
We shot a lot of foxes (and badgers) carrying small shot (4s, 5s, and 6s) just under the skin.
Today's cartridges have moved on, and no doubt will kill farther out that our old ones did. I'm sure that a three-inch loaded with threes up to BBs would make a very good fox cartridge today
You might be drawn into thinking that from past experiance but in reality i have found nothing improved shooting fox even with 63 gram large lead . My fox load of choice is 36 gram number 1 or BB steel it gets better , quicker more humane kills , doesn't punch back like the Roman Candles can and patterns tighter than steel and i fully feel the steel gets through thick winter pelts better than lead . Only issue it has a smaller window of great to rubbish and as such its uncommon to get lucky on a silly long one ! 30-35 yards is safe and patterns well through 1/2 choke generally speaking .
Smellydog
Well-Known Member
Yeah but what about the fox?
Squirrelbasher
Well-Known Member
Those 3:1/2” 63 gram super magnums punch like hell in my supernova, ok in the A400 xtreme with kick-off but for the price of them I usually stick with 3 inch magnums. The last fox I shot with a shotgun was with my 20 gauge semi auto and a face full of 28 gram #6. Not my preferred load but serendipity made it work well enough.
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