Duck garden fox!

[ianm 2,594]

I have had a cold or something similar for the past week but as i am on the back end of it now i had a yearning to get out tonight. The ex next door neighbour of mine has been baiting a fox for several weeks now. He has a collection of fancy ducks and geese and doesn't want old Reynard getting amongst them. So he baits them to a spot just the other side of his garden hedge on a field belonging to an old dear down the road from him. She gave him permission for me to kill them on there. I have had a trail cam up but it wasn't coming at any particular time, it varied from six thirty pm to seven am. It was just going to be a go and see if it turns up kind of job. I have been a couple of times in the past three weeks but nothing showed. 

I arrived at eight tonight and walked down his back garden to the scaffolding he has erected for me to enable shooting over the hedge. I had to wait a couple of minutes when i got there as the security light on the back of the house would have lit me up a treat if i had climbed up into position . before it went out. Once the light went out i got into position and had a scan around with the thermal. No foxes about yet so i quickly nipped out the back to see if it had already been and taken the bait. I spotted a breasted out Mallard lying in the grass so it hadn't been yet, so worth waiting an hour or two to see if it turned up. No sooner had i got the rifle set up and had another scan around when i saw a bloke in the next field that i was overlooking obviously engaged in feeding and watering livestock. He has some stables for ponies and night arks for chickens and was busy replenishing food and water. I watched him for forty five minutes and thought no fox will turn up whilst he is mooching about. Eventually he had completed his chores and the lights went out prior to his departure. I had kept scanning with the thermal whilst he was there just in case but nothing showed. Then at about nine forty i spotted a fox at about ninety yards away making it's way into the bait. It had obviously come through the hedge opposite me at about a forty five degree angle to my left from a patch of impenetrable trees and undergrowth, a favourite place for foxes. It had moved in quickly because i had just scanned the ground seconds before and there had been no sign of it. I quickly switched the tubed unit scope on and the laser illuminator, pushing the safety catch to the off position i set the trigger on the Tikka T3 . I found my target almost instantly as it had stopped and was having a look around. The reticule settled on the bib and i squeezed the trigger. Down it went without so much as a twitch followed by an almighty popping noise, it is very still tonight and any sound exaggerated. I waited another fifteen minutes as i know this fox had another with it on the trail cam pictures but it didn't show tonight. I didn't have far to go to retrieve it, sixty two yards in fact. On examination it proved to be a dog fox which weighed seventeen pounds and was in very good condition. If the bait goes tonight then i will have to repeat the process to deal with his mate. 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

It was cold last night, how did you keep warm, thermals?

 

Nicely done again mate

[philpot 5,115]

Well done that man.  In fact your post has just given me an idea,  I have one of those tower systems in the garage which will allow me to get an 11' high platform which I bought to do some pointing on the cottage and is now sat doing nothing.  I will have to put some thought where to use it and make the most of some good kit,

Phil

[Sausagedog 7,381]

14 minutes ago, philpot said:

Well done that man.  In fact your post has just given me an idea,  I have one of those tower systems in the garage which will allow me to get an 11' high platform which I bought to do some pointing on the cottage and is now sat doing nothing.  I will have to put some thought where to use it and make the most of some good kit,

Phil

I don't believe it.

I haven't got the other stuff yet.

Now I've got to carry a scaffold tower around with me now too. This is going to have to wait until I get the 4x4 pickup that I need to carry the 12lb rifle. Sticks and charge me thermals with!

[Stavross 18,716]

Another cracking result and a top write up, you are going to have to make time to start on that autobiography

[walshie 2,804]

Cold like symptoms for a week? Have you been to China?

Nice shooting though. 

[ianm 2,594]

6 hours ago, Sausagedog said:

It was cold last night, how did you keep warm, thermals?

 

Nicely done again mate

No i didn't bother with thermals i hadn't realised it was as cold as it was. I didn't get too cold to be honest as i was only out a couple of hours and my jumper and coat are quite warm although my legs where feeling it a bit.

[ianm 2,594]

30 minutes ago, walshie said:

Cold like symptoms for a week? Have you been to China?

Nice shooting though. 

I don't usually get lurgy type things but having the grandkids round is always risky, they are walking germ bags.