Electronic Fox Call Technique

[Alsone 789]

Just as an aside, from Dan's excellent thread on caller units, I'm curious as to how people use these. When you call normally, you call the fox to you. Watching various US videos of these in action (given most companies are US), and looking at the accessories - fury tails that can be hung on the calling unit, it appears many people put these down the field, call the fox to the unit, and then shoot when it settles down after it's initial surprise over coming across a plastic box.

 

Seems a strange and risky way of operating it to me though:

 

1. Someone could pinch it, probably unlikely, but you never know when it's 200 or 300 yds away, especially if they're eg a dog walking anti.

 

2. The large fox could conceivably carry it off if it so desired

 

3. A shot at a fox near the unit, could hit the unit and not the fox or richochet into the unit costing big $ / £

 

I'd have just had it by my side and used it to call as I would by hand, so just wondering what others do / think of this method of deploying them.

 

Can't see the issue in having the fox running towards you.

 

English sounding Video clip here:

 

 

 

Fox there stands off the unit by some distance so no chance of an accidental hit, but I'm, wondering if all stand back so far and if some don't try and savage the unit by virtue of the furry tail.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Alsone

[ianm 2,594]

The video you show is really a lesson on what not to do and is indicative of people buying equipment with no knowledge of what they are doing.

 

The principal of using an electronic caller is to distract the foxes attention away from you. As anyone knows a fox will see movement before anything else, so if you have the caller beside you, you are at a disadvantage.Callers don't need to be 200/300 yds away, between 70 and 100 yds is the right distance. The caller should be placed across the wind from you so that a fox approaching it from downwind does not wind you.

 

Place the caller in position from the cross wind direction you are going to wait in. This is to try to ensure that the fox approaching from downwind as all experienced one's will, do not wind your footsteps. Carefull monitoring of the area whilst calling is essential, as soon as a fox is spotted coming to the call, ready yourself on the rifle. Once you have done so the caller has done it's job, (1) it has brought the fox to you (2) it has allowed you to move into position without being seen.

 

At this point if the fox is at a shootable distance and you have a good backstop etc, mute the caller. There are two reasons for this (1) the fox should stop to listen where the noise has gone, therefore giving you time to shoot at a static target. (2) you don't want it to reach the caller as it will pick up your scent and run, like the cub in the video. If the fox is still not in the right position for you or has come so far but is a bit "cagey" it can pay to change calls at this point. I have on numerous occasions used a fox call to bring them in then they will sit and weigh up what's going on. Often changing the call at this point to something like field mouse distress played just loud enough for them to hear will bring them to where you want them, then mute the caller before they get to it.

 

It is all trial and error on your own ground but the principles are the same. It is also worth taking two poles and a net with you, even at night just to ensure they see no movement from you, as that will give you away instantly. So in summary the purpose of the electronic call is to bring the fox in and distract the foxes attention away from you while you get organised for a shot. As for anti dog walkers i have never encountered them at night as that is when i do my foxing now.

Edited January 8, 2015 by ianm

[charlie caller 3,654]

At night I usually just hang mine on the sticks, evening for instance, put the call 30-50 yards away and use the remote control, as Ianm says the idea is to divert the foxes attention away from you, sometimes while the caller is going, but he is not committing to come in or its still an unsafe shot, I will call by hand at the same time, this can often do the trick and bring him in.

[Alsone 789]

Interesting, thanks guys.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Alsone

[abarrett 462]

We just go with caller in one hand

Lamp in the other

The only time we put it out is if we are having a sit out an hour before dark with the wobbly rabbit

It works for us

Ratmanwan has a foxpro fx something it's not very often it doesn't fetch one in fantastic caller

Last year we went out about 45 nights with the caller and we average 2 and a bit a night

I shine the light and play the tunes ratmanwan fills the diary

[andyf 144]

I have a Foxpro FX3 as well, also got the Blackjack twirly furry rabbit head thing.

I set them up in an overlooked 'corner' of a given piece of ground and I get hidden up about 75>100 yards away (downwind), to be honest

my remote control is a bit unreliable unless the caller has new batteries and I have good line of sight to the box, so I set the volume when

I put the caller in place and test it, it switches on/off ok.

Anyway I leave the blackjack running but it's about 30 feet from the caller box and fully in the open, the caller box is on a pair of metal rods

bent into shape that suspend it 3 feet off the ground and in full view, (made them myself).

The twirly gets a lot of interest from the usual suspects Buzzards, Crows, Gulls and of course Foxes, I have watched a young fox go right up to the

fur-head, sniff it then run off at speed, I guess the motor makes an alarm raising sound?

All told the FoxPro set up is very effective, but in my experience it gets 'blown out' fairly quickly if you over use it in a given area, but first outings usually

work every time, if not its almost certainly because there isn't a fox around at the time.