update on the numbers. Two more accounted for tonight right on dark, were getting there.
Well done - we saw about 12 badgers - 7 in one field, but not a single fox.
Out last night.
- Thread starter finnbear270
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Well done - we saw about 12 badgers - 7 in one field, but not a single fox.
Overlay
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A good night tonight, nice little breeze and freezing cold, 2 dog foxes and a very nice vixen with no sign of having Cubs
getting em down now, only moved 350 yds down the valley towards the main wood and laid up under a sheep stripped hawthorn, used the the thermal as a spotter and a red led lamp for a change from the NV , worked a treat
phil
Well done! I spent ages trying to find a problem fox last night - I got on it in the end, being able to see it really well with the thermal - but the fog had closed in by then and as a result I just couldn't see it with the NV to shoot it...
Overlay
Well-Known Member
Well done! I spent ages trying to find a problem fox last night - I got on it in the end, being able to see it really well with the thermal - but the fog had closed in by then and as a result I just couldn't see it with the NV to shoot it...
yep the fog is a problem, I had the same on the marsh at the start of the lambing with fog, NV was not ideal, upgraded the lamp to the ledray 900 with changeable led lamps, really helps when the chips are down, took longer but with same results it's a real help
funny enough I popped into Dover yesterday about 6pm to pick my eldest lad up from the ferry and it was a pea souped got me twitching a bit as where I was going to last night was only a couple of miles away
i turned up with everything
all I needed was the TI and the NV on the rifle, had a change with the lamp and had a cracking time was a lovely night clear as a bellevery day is a learning day.
Phil
Trialing an ex demo monocular, for experience of what's what in this field, very impressed with it's capabilities, If I opt for a rifle mounted unit later on, maybe Chrimbo, I would be wanting something with a bit more field of view than that available on this unit, but for general spotting it is more than capable, enjoyed getting used to just watching & ID 'ing stuff, fox were dead easy, as their movement is easily recognised even when you are too far out to see a definite shape, rabbits at three hundred ... Badgers, again easy by their movements, One Hedgehog gave some entertainment while it was scurrying along concrete ... the heat from it's eyes seemed to light up it's direction of travel on the road like little foglamps 
... So will be using this in earnest for a while, I also noted the loss of vision in the eye after peering through the unit is much much less than after using Pulsar NV stuff 
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... So will be using this in earnest for a while, I also noted the loss of vision in the eye after peering through the unit is much much less than after using Pulsar NV stuff .
Out with the new build .20 Practical yesterday afternoon & evening, a small holding of sheep & chooks I have shot for a few years now, combining a sit for Charlie with the new build makes for a few happy hours, .. first up a chat with Al the landowner, get the latest on sightings & losses, Check zero on the two hundred yard rock .. yup spot on! passed a few hours watching the antics of various Hawks & Jays, spotted a very large dog fox in the brash but held off as the thicket was just a little too much, Al came back & clattered the gate coming back in with the tea causing the fox to move off out of sight ....
. Sunset 16:16 light fading, 17:15 the expected arrival of the chook chomper (youngish vixen) behind me at the now closed up early coops, well these 39 grain Blitz Kings are certainly well titled, won't be using them in confined areas any time soon .. too much destruction for a pic, later on, frustrated by the big dog fox refusing to come off the skyline, just sat watching me, He's deffo an old hand, but as Arnie says "I'll be back!".
. Sunset 16:16 light fading, 17:15 the expected arrival of the chook chomper (youngish vixen) behind me at the now closed up early coops, well these 39 grain Blitz Kings are certainly well titled, won't be using them in confined areas any time soon .. too much destruction for a pic, later on, frustrated by the big dog fox refusing to come off the skyline, just sat watching me, He's deffo an old hand, but as Arnie says "I'll be back!".
Hi Paddy!, what fodder you using lately?
Went out @ 03.30 am today, paid off at 05.45 ....... Just never cease to amaze though, never saw it approach, just a dark shape go behind the Hen coop, waited ages for it to poke its head round a corner ... 15 yards away in clear ground it just appeared like it came up through the turf. 39BK.
Spending all that money on a custom rifle and hours and hours on load development to shoot at 15 yards.
A carving knife on a broomstick would have done at that range.
A fox sticker
Mike, I failed to enlarge on scale here, The coop is fifty yards from the balcony, so maybe 65 yards??,,39 BK's, I find tend to work at any range that I try em'
,39 BK's, I find tend to work at any range that I try em'
Back to it last night after a long break, text received from Nick the farmer, I have three fox on the farm at present please deal, So Flyboy & Me arrive Saturday evening just on dusk, He has his Photon zeroed in & I am running the TI, total wipe out by 8pm, & off to a Glass of Black Sheep !
You know it's too cold to remain, when you can't open the bolt to make safe, after watching a group of cubs appearing & disappearing for a good while, without any standing still, not even for a second, busy chickering away play fighting, saw an adult way off in distant thermal, obviously off on the hunt for solid food for this lot, Toes demanded a pretty swift retreat home, five minutes struggling to withdraw the bolt, frozen up solid, even after being covered over!.
Adapt & overcome as some say, .... Needed lots of height to defeat the latest fox, so built a temporary tower from partially filled, and some empty IBC carboys, worked just right last night, fox turns up pretty much on time (considering some confusion over the bloody clocks moving) 
, nice bib shot from Mike ... had to walk out & search for him ( a big fella) as the grass is pretty long now. I was told by the farmer that we may have the use of his Matbro, along with a man lift platform so we can go anywhere with requisite height on his land. BINGO!
, nice bib shot from Mike ... had to walk out & search for him ( a big fella) as the grass is pretty long now. I was told by the farmer that we may have the use of his Matbro, along with a man lift platform so we can go anywhere with requisite height on his land. BINGO!Yes, the grass is getting be a bit of a pain - I went after a fox the other night, but it vanished into dead ground. After waiting for some time without seeing it, I decided to try and call it in. I crept out to a tree that's well sited at the top of the field in question, and set my sticks out. Before walking further out to place the caller, I checked around with the thermal - there were two rabbits on my left - I'd already positively ID'd them, but a third bunny-sized animal was lurking over by the far hedge. Ever suspicious, I checked it with the NV - and there staring straight at me was a pair of fox eyes, a pair of fox ears and a long snout. The reason it'd confused me was that it was lying in long grass such that I could only see its head; presumably it was hoping to get the drop on one of the many bunnies dotted about the place. A Blitzking between the eyes made sure that never happened, however!
Lo ' Paddy, I can just imagine what you were looking at, Since using the thermal spotters, I have noticed that fox straight on, can look just like the cartoon head on the "Black Rabbit" in Watership down! Really pointy ears & extra white hot round the face. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/90/e7/e0/90e7e09f56927aa5810eab9b864c9ab0.gif
First cub last night, spotted in thermal, took ages to figure if fox or hare due to the moves, .. finally sure of a fox, missed first round
... waited for it to settle, second round put it down .. went out & picked up , no wonder I missed first round it was completely covered by my size 9 welly sole. Two adults spotted in different locations, both un shootable due to lack of backstop (Busy expressway and neighbouring no shoot).
... waited for it to settle, second round put it down .. went out & picked up , no wonder I missed first round it was completely covered by my size 9 welly sole. Two adults spotted in different locations, both un shootable due to lack of backstop (Busy expressway and neighbouring no shoot).Similar threads
