Another Dog!

[ianm 2,594]

Friday nights are a good time for me to go foxing again as Mrs M likes to watch certain things on the box and i don't. I especially wanted to go last night for two reasons (A) i had blanked the night before and i wanted to put that right and, (B) the weather forecast for the next few days is certainly not conducive to mooching about looking for foxes. I already had it in my head to go to my favourite spot on the keepered shoot as i thought a fox may have moved in now after i had shot a pair on the fifteenth of last month, a full three weeks and two days ago. I picked my mate up and got to the shoot for about nine. After unlocking the gate into the field i drove the Jimny down the track alongside the river. I always go about five hundred yards down this track as i have found it to be the best spot for several reasons. One reason is there is a small factory type place  just the other side of the river opposite the entrance and it has a security light switched on all night which lights an area up on my side  of about two hundred yards. Foxes don't need any help seeing at night so i avoid the light. The good part is when i am in position any fox coming from the wood which invariably they do cannot see me or the Jimny because they are looking into the light. The other reason i chose this spot is because it is approximately three hundred yards from the stone wall surrounding the wood and once a fox is spotted coming in i have ample time to sort myself out.

After setting up the rifle and checking the scope/illuminator i had a good scan about but there was nothing on the field. The foxpro had been set up fifty yards away in front of us. The wind was blowing from the South and was from the left to right of us. It was a fair old wind last night with gusts in excess of twenty miles an hour. To be honest the wind couldn't have been better because i thought if we get a fox interested that has been educated it will more than likely want to get downwind of the foxpro to see what is going on. Because the wind was from left to right i could get a shot off either way without being winded, ideal. As is normal at this time of year i tried "vixen in heat" first as the foxes are still looking for mates and more interested in doing so than eating. The call had been on around fifteen minutes and no sign of a fox, i was beggining to feel a bit despondent. At this point i changed the call to "Dog fox mating" because it is a bit more of a piercing sound and i thought it may carry against the wind better. After five minutes my mate said he had seen a flash of eye shine in the wood three hundred and fifty yards away through his digital spotter/Dragonfly laser combo. I turned my attention to this area with the thermal spotter and a full three minutes or so saw a fox jump over the stone wall and come racing in. I knew instantly it would be a Dog by the way it reacted to the call. I  like this part of foxing the best that initial excitement when you see a fox responding to your call  and the anticipation of what will happen next, it never gets old for me, in fact i live for it. 

I had plenty of time to switch my scope/illuminator on and, set the trigger after pushing the safety off. I Tracked his progress through the tubed scope combo and it is like green daylight. The rear of the stock is rested on a large bag full of long grain rice and i have found it to be invaluable for placing a bullet exactly where i want it to go. As he was cantering in he suddenly stopped to sniff something on the ground i placed the reticule on his shoulder and touched the trigger. I say touched because the factory Tikka T3s trigger is only an eight ounce pull weight when set it so requires the minimum of movement from me to release a shot. Another strange phenomenon i have encountered whilst using this tubed scope is you actually see the bullets flight from a little way  from the muzzle right to the target a bit like a tracer round. Well i followed this little thirty two grain round at north of four thousand feet per second right to the intended point of impact and saw the fox crumple on the spot. We called for another ten minutes but he was alone. I weighed him after i had retieved him the one hundred and thirty six yards back to the vehicle and he tipped the scales at fourteen pounds. A good average weight and in good condition.    

[Stavross 18,793]

Another good result, I’d say we will all have to suffer dancing on ice or something equally as terrible over the next couple of nights, it’s going to be wild ?

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Keep up the good work.

Not had any contact my way for a couple of weeks except for hearing two on dusk and my dog worked one in a wood, I never saw it.

[Dervburner 2,549]

21 hours ago, Stavross said:

Another good result, I’d say we will all have to suffer dancing on ice or something equally as terrible over the next couple of nights, it’s going to be wild ?

What’s wrong with that⛸?................

[Dervburner 2,549]

Good write up and good result Ian

[Stavross 18,793]

9 hours ago, Dervburner said:

What’s wrong with that⛸?................

I’ve changed my mind, the program is rubbish but holly is superb

[Sausagedog 7,381]

3 minutes ago, Stavross said:

I’ve changed my mind, the program is rubbish but holly is superb

Don't get smiling at her co host!!!

Things have changed!