HMR diary

[Dervburner 2,548]

28 minutes ago, Sausagedog said:

Missed it! At 40yds!!!

I let this smallish adult get to close on dusk. I was fiddling with the NV and ended up rushing the shot. Fortunately there was no light source involved.

I then walked a mile to the polo field and found cubs. Turned out to be two litters. Local intel had informed me of sightings.

After three went down they all left but returned later. The adult present was gone in no time!

I got six, #7 slipped away and stayed away.

Next I drove to another farm that has cut grass and found two more cubs. Got one but the other was quite smart! It was at one point micro seconds from its demise but dodged me and manoeuvred itself quite cleverly to evade me.

On return to the car in the farm yard I shot a rat too.

I was gutted about the adult I missed but it did turn out to be a good night. 7 down and 5 of them vixens!

9:30pm to 2am shift.

The lowly HMR strikes again.

Brilliant result SD….

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

7 down is a brilliant night ......good going

 

 

 

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

Out of interest, how many dropped on the spot and how many were runners ?

[ianm 2,594]

On 09/07/2022 at 12:16, FOXHUNTER said:

Out of interest, how many dropped on the spot and how many were runners ?

Out of seven, nine ran!

[ianm 2,594]

At the place where my mate missed a fox i have continued to bait and record the coming and going’s on a trail cam. When I checked yesterday I could see a pattern of movement between 10.15 and 11.30 with less regular and more sporadic visits up till 3.00am. I thought I would give it a try last night and seeing as it was only a small paddock i would try the hmr. The absolute furthest I would need to shoot would be 70 yards, so an ideal opportunity to try the Ruger on fox at a sensible range. I got into position at 9.45 . In front of me is a small triangular shaped spinney which is where I have been baiting. Along the left side is a tall thorn hedge and the farmers house. On the right a tall thorn hedge interspersed with trees. Forty minutes passed before I detected a heat source on the other side of the hedge to my right. It kept coming into view then disappearing again. Eventually it came through the hedge and made its way towards the bait. The Wardy 800 was already on as well as the dragonfly. The scope was at 8x mag because that is where it was when I last used it. I found the fox fairly easily and gave it a squeak to stop it. It had other ideas however and it was still moving three squeaks later. At this point I gave a loud whistle and it stopped and looked back. The grass was quite long in places so I didn’t want to risk the bullet not reaching its target so I opted for a head shot. I placed the reticule between the eyes and squeezed the fettled RPRs trigger and saw the fox collapse. Now on one video I had seen two foxes so decided to wait to see if anything else showed up. It must of been an hour later when another entered the paddock via the same route. It followed the same path more or less and after a whistle stopped and looked around. It was looking into the wood and so had its back to me. I put the reticule on the back of its head and it followed its relation to the happy hunting ground. I went to pick them up and the first had been a tiny full grown vixen that I reckon was quite a few years old. She was 10lb in weight. The other a dog cub. I was pleased with the little hmr in this situation, both shots had been sixty yards and a bit quieter than the.243.

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

Brilliant work Do you want to come over here and sort these foxes out that have been missed

[Stavross 13,712]

I really like the hmr for close in foxes and will always opt for a head shot given the opportunity, I’ve shot a fair amount in the head and can count on one hand with a couple of fingers missing the amount that haven’t dropped on the spot

[BenBhoy 4,706]

Dropped this nest robber today at 120yds then minutes later dropped my bloody rifle! God knows but sling swivel worked open and it slid out of stud! Checked zero at 50 & 100 and all still good - ceezee tank!! 

Edited July 22, 2022 by BenBhoy

[Deker 3,450]

16 hours ago, Stavross said:

I really like the hmr for close in foxes and will always opt for a head shot given the opportunity, I’ve shot a fair amount in the head and can count on one hand with a couple of fingers missing the amount that haven’t dropped on the spot

I do a fair few foxes at all distances but a LOT close, domestic work tends to keep me quite busy and any thoughts of centrefire are a joke.  

Sometimes .22lr, sometimes .22WMR but the HMR gets most use, never had a problem, more than capable!

Tools for the job, simple as!  

[FOXHUNTER 5,020]

[ianm 2,594]

3 hours ago, FOXHUNTER said:

What a bloody mess!

[Sausagedog 7,381]

Nice 50yarder, oop the pooper.

[Deker 3,450]

Magpies have always been an issue but steadily over the years I'm getting more calls about them.  As we all know they can be difficult, but the decoys and a few eggs, and of course the HMR usually go a long way!

 

[Sausagedog 7,381]

So I nail a tin of fish to a post and waited for them to appear.

I was after the adults to some of the cubs I cleaned up on a few weeks ago.

The vixen appeared first but it was to light to move closer. I watched her catching bugs and waited.

When it was dark enough to lose 150yds I was blessed with the dog fox turning up to join her!

Eventually I got my chance at the vixen at 100ish yards. A shoulder shot anchored her good. I rushed to find her mate but lost him momentarily.

When I did see him he was a good way away. Later paced it around 175 yards. For the shot he stopped to look back. The reticle was on his back and I fired. There was no sound as such but he leppt in the air, turned and ran but piled up within ten yards 

I slipped the dog and moved into her voice. She found the vixen first. I sent her again in a new direction and it wasn't long before she had located the dog.

 

[Stavross 13,712]

Cracking that anyway, good night, I’m off to bed because I’m going out at sparrow fart, not been out at first light for ages