Fox shooting- Harvest time, combines and shotguns...

[danebrewer10 6]

Hi all, I gotta query for y'all, I was out shooting yesterday (bloody hot it was too) and the smallholding I was on was just finishing their oats, so I was walking alongside the combine and a fox shot out of the corn, he was quartering away, (i was shooting 34g BBs) so I shot and bowled him over arse over tit, (with both barrels) I reloaded, just in time to see him having got up from where he had been trying to get through the hedge and run across in front of me, I shot again (missed) and he ran off underneath a gate and was gone, having hit him good enough to stop him, I'm pretty confident he was just running on adrenalin, but has anyone else experienced this? he seemed invincible I just hate to think I might have just peppered him and he'd gone off and died slowly..... but either way I don't think he'd be alive for very long, judging by the way he went down....

[dave123 12]

it likley if uve hit him hard he wil lay up & die..

whilst combing a 18 acre rape field a few week ago , we had 9 foxs out of it (cubs) .we managed to shoot 3 ,1 gun covering .(pot luck were they came out of )

adam1 shot a fox in the rear area , that did the same ran back into cover .some

seem to die easy others seem to be tough.over the next few days we acounted

for the other foxs.

[dehoffmeister 2]

if youre shooting foxs you should have at least a dog to finish the job off. i have lost count how many foxs we have got with the hounds that have been wounded by "shooters"

[elvolcan 0]

A rifle is the ideal tool for foxes in my opinon, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of firearm.

 

 

ATB

[Guest Rod&dog]

I would of made sure my trusty lurcher was at my side to retrive and swiftly kill the injured fox,Alot of people i know who shoot have thier dogs at thier side when looking to shoot foxes, Lurchers ,gundogs or terriers it doesnt matter as i think youll find its legal to let a dog kill and retrieve an animal thats been wounded.

[bullmastiff 615]

A rifle is the ideal tool for foxes in my opinon, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of firearm.

 

 

ATB

 

Not the ideal tool for the job in these circumstances, using a rifle on a running fox would be hard enough without other people working in the field with you.

The Lurcher is an ideal tool for this kind of work, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of dog! LOL

 

All the best

 

Luke

[timberdog 1]

Hi all, I gotta query for y'all, I was out shooting yesterday (bloody hot it was too) and the smallholding I was on was just finishing their oats, so I was walking alongside the combine and a fox shot out of the corn, he was quartering away, (i was shooting 34g BBs) so I shot and bowled him over arse over tit, (with both barrels) I reloaded, just in time to see him having got up from where he had been trying to get through the hedge and run across in front of me, I shot again (missed) and he ran off underneath a gate and was gone, having hit him good enough to stop him, I'm pretty confident he was just running on adrenalin, but has anyone else experienced this? he seemed invincible I just hate to think I might have just peppered him and he'd gone off and died slowly..... but either way I don't think he'd be alive for very long, judging by the way he went down....

 

 

i agree rifel really but really you should have tracked down as other people viewing this can use info like this against us

[elvolcan 0]

A rifle is the ideal tool for foxes in my opinon, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of firearm.

 

 

ATB

 

Not the ideal tool for the job in these circumstances, using a rifle on a running fox would be hard enough without other people working in the field with you.

The Lurcher is an ideal tool for this kind of work, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of dog! LOL

 

All the best

 

Luke

 

Good one.

[danebrewer10 6]

this is the thing, I went and had a look for him , but there are so many holes and thickets around that area that it would have been impossible to find him, plus my dogs wouldn't have been much help considering they run off if so much as a penny rocket goes off

 

I do have a rifle- .17 hmr but it was hardly the right tool for the job, when a chance fox appears when out rabbiting then fine, but not on running game, especially with others in the field operating machinery...

Edited August 20, 2009 by danebrewer10

[alimac 882]

A rifle is the ideal tool for foxes in my opinon, but I understand not everyone has access to these types of firearm.

 

 

ATB

 

That may be but its far from suitable for shooting foxs bolting from crops..

[waidmann 105]

i agree that the fox should be followed up with a dog. but not at once( the idea of slipping a lurcher when the combine is still running the crop is beyond me) in my experiance let the fox get sick for an hour( or untill the field is done) and then follow it up from the point you shot at it(mark it up with your hat/jacket/tissue). firstly the trail will be easier to work for the dog( scent no longer in the air,but on the ground).

keep the dog on the long lead untill the quarry is "knocked up" and then slip him( eases the identification of sign i.e blood/bone and wound beds).

also if the dog goes to ground you will know where!

 

we do owe it to any animal we shoot at to limit suffering and kill it humanely. if the fox has gone to ground i personally would break off and not let the dog in. he will rarely bolt it and unless you can call the dog off a dig is inevitable.

 

if in doubt get an experianced blood trailing dog for the job( foxes are often more difficult than deer and boar).

the shotgun is in my opinion the tool for the job,as the fox is high on adrenalin anyway( big machine chasing him around a field would do that to me too)

the likelyhood of running on is higher.try not to shoot too far.

good luck and a good topic.

[upperlane2 4]

shooting a fox in the back end running away ur only asking for trouble been shooting foxes iout off cover for years first thing we tell newcomers if not side on don't shoot the many foxes that get away with a away shot or head on shot would suprise u. put it down to experience but u should go back with a terrier or lurcher and have a look for it just in case. atb for restof season and geturself a dog used to gun its worth its weight in gold for ur situation.