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Wow. That's a lot of foxes.


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A guy we shoot for told me last week he was "being plagued" by foxes and asked if we could go and take a look. We all know when people say that, they normally mean they've seen one, but last night really was an eye-opener to just how many foxes are around in certain areas.

We went for a look at this "plague" last night, not expecting much. We arrived around 10 and it wasn't really dark yet, so we plotted up in the trees and waited. My mate Jack had brought a rabbit lure like a plastic bouncy rabbit that squeals for a minute, stops for a minute and so on, so we set that up at the base of a hill about 100 yards from where were were waiting.

Within a few minutes the thermal showed at least half a dozen foxes in the undergrowth eyeing it up. Wasn't long before 3 fairly big cubs ventured out to have a look. I shot the first one but the others scarpered back into cover. More foxes were still watching, but wouldn't come out, so we moved on.

Over the next hour and a half I shot 3 more. 2 vixens and a cub. The strangest thing happened when I shot the cub. The bullet hit home, it went down with a thud and checking through the thermal it was dead. As we walked over to it, a bigger fox ran out of the bushes, picked the cub up and ran back into the bushes with it. Never seen that before. The undergrowth was too thick for us to follow, so the landowner will just have to take our word for that one.

Midnight was upon us and nothing was stirring. An hour passed and there was no sign of a fox, not even a glimpse of one. I gave Jack the gun, smugly thinking there was no way he could match what I had shot. The next hour and 20 minutes, he accounted for 4 more. A dog, 2 vixens and a cub. This also included chasing what we called the "ghost fox", which was visible on the lamp, but not on the thermal. :hmm:It was limping a bit, so should have been easy to nab, but will live to fight another day.

We finished up at 2.20 with a total of 7 (8 if you count the one that got dragged off by another fox.) A dog, 4 vixens, and 2/3 cubs. Without any word of exaggeration in the 4 hours or so we were there, was must have seen more than 30 foxes. I'd reckon nearer 40. I don;t know why there are so many, but we'll definitely be going back!! 

 

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10 hours ago, walshie said:

A guy we shoot for told me last week he was "being plagued" by foxes and asked if we could go and take a look. We all know when people say that, they normally mean they've seen one, but last night really was an eye-opener to just how many foxes are around in certain areas.

We went for a look at this "plague" last night, not expecting much. We arrived around 10 and it wasn't really dark yet, so we plotted up in the trees and waited. My mate Jack had brought a rabbit lure like a plastic bouncy rabbit that squeals for a minute, stops for a minute and so on, so we set that up at the base of a hill about 100 yards from where were were waiting.

Within a few minutes the thermal showed at least half a dozen foxes in the undergrowth eyeing it up. Wasn't long before 3 fairly big cubs ventured out to have a look. I shot the first one but the others scarpered back into cover. More foxes were still watching, but wouldn't come out, so we moved on.

Over the next hour and a half I shot 3 more. 2 vixens and a cub. The strangest thing happened when I shot the cub. The bullet hit home, it went down with a thud and checking through the thermal it was dead. As we walked over to it, a bigger fox ran out of the bushes, picked the cub up and ran back into the bushes with it. Never seen that before. The undergrowth was too thick for us to follow, so the landowner will just have to take our word for that one.

Midnight was upon us and nothing was stirring. An hour passed and there was no sign of a fox, not even a glimpse of one. I gave Jack the gun, smugly thinking there was no way he could match what I had shot. The next hour and 20 minutes, he accounted for 4 more. A dog, 2 vixens and a cub. This also included chasing what we called the "ghost fox", which was visible on the lamp, but not on the thermal. :hmm:It was limping a bit, so should have been easy to nab, but will live to fight another day.

We finished up at 2.20 with a total of 7 (8 if you count the one that got dragged off by another fox.) A dog, 4 vixens, and 2/3 cubs. Without any word of exaggeration in the 4 hours or so we were there, was must have seen more than 30 foxes. I'd reckon nearer 40. I don;t know why there are so many, but we'll definitely be going back!! 

 

Maybe it was just your charm that attracted them huh lol

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Always nice to get a bit of permission with a problem like that . I seem to be on top of the areas I look after and am now waiting for for silage and the wheat harvest. Having said that they cut some fields for hay at a chicken farm and I was rubbing my hands together, thinking I would shoot two or three and only saw one , which i couldn’t get a safe shot on . Went back the next night and changed where I was waiting and shot it . That’s another couple of trays of eggs.

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I've had a few sites with good numbers but don't recall any with that many.

Tends to be first time around the big numbers and then slows down with control visits.   Just the same I have a free range Chicken/geese/duck farm that I take a pretty consistent 14 a year from, just goes on and on!

:thumbs:

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16 minutes ago, Deker said:

I've had a few sites with good numbers but don't recall any with that many.

Tends to be first time around the big numbers and then slows down with control visits.   Just the same I have a free range Chicken/geese/duck farm that I take a pretty consistent 14 a year from, just goes on and on!

:thumbs:

We've always had decent numbers from this place, so it's not first time around, but it was the first time the owner called me to say he had a problem. As you know, one guy's idea of a problem usually isn't. 

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4 minutes ago, walshie said:

We've always had decent numbers from this place, so it's not first time around, but it was the first time the owner called me to say he had a problem. As you know, one guy's idea of a problem usually isn't. 

That is a lot off 200acres , having said that the chicken farm I visit is only a 60 acre site and I reckon I’ve been going there for the last 8 years and I’ve shot about 40 a year . They just keep on turning up . I only really need to control them in the summer. Free range is a bit of a misnomer, they are only free range when the weather is good , if they get bad weather “most of the time “ they don’t let them out . The farm is very close to a large housing development and industrial units , and as far as I know nobody else is shooting around that area .The best I’ve done there is 7 over two nights . But I visit once or twice a week and usually manage one or two . 

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21 minutes ago, walshie said:

We've always had decent numbers from this place, so it's not first time around, but it was the first time the owner called me to say he had a problem. As you know, one guy's idea of a problem usually isn't

I've had it both ways many a time. 

The domestics tend to have "A" fox (sometimes a family), but the schools are usually worst, they have "A" fox  almost all the time, always turns out to be a family or two or more!

Very rarely do I get an accurate estimate from the clients!

:thumbs:

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Now there started cutting the silage we are seeing a few while out on the rabbits  last week was the best 14 on one farm then driving home in the small hours there was another one at the side of a parked up lorry eating the remains of a fish supper LOL 

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