Lamb stealing Vulpes

[SportingShooter 0]

My Head keeper is out of action at the moment as is another keeper, both with various bodily bits not working properly

 

This means that the other parts of the shoot that aren't my responsibility and that I don't visit that often apart from shooting in season haven't been able to tell him of any pest problems they have and at this time of year that means Foxes and Lambs as we all know.

 

I went to one of the farms the other day to see the farmer, ask how things were going and he told me that he'd lost four lambs in two nights in the same few fields. I know the fields fairly well and there's a small copse on the roadside edge of one of them, its an old coal tip and is perfect for Foxes and houses a good few of them, its also impregnable which means they can't be got at.

 

These lambs were taken in a very small area really so I was fairly confident at seeing something. The first attempt on Monday night saw the Fox twice, neither could be shot or even shot at and missed! I was confident it was the same Fox both times.

Then on Tuesday I went again, on to a high vantage point and shined across a larger area and it turned out he was down below me under a ridge, I could make out his head and ears but by the time I got the rifle on the Bi-Pod he was off.

 

Bugger! At this point I was fed up.

 

I went last night with someone to lamp for me

 

We started off by walking up a steep sided field which brings you on to a vantage point overlooking a valley. We shone up and down the valley with nothing showing. We carried on into the next field where I had seen him the first night and shone from the edge of the field inwards. There is a mound in the middle of this field so you can't see one way over to the other.

 

We walked into the middle of the field when my lamping partner felt something whoosh past him, wondering what it was, he shone the lamp. I was looking at a shape in the distance when he nudged me to look to my left. To my amazement, there was a Fox standing behind a sheep fence looking straight at me.

 

I mounted the rifle free standing, flicked off the safety, steadied myself and Bang. Right in his chest, he flipped up and went under the hedge out of sight. We walked over and there he was, under the hawthorn hedge, two feet from a lambs leg

 

Talk about caught Red handed, though the red came from the blood from his chest The bullet had done its job, I was pleased seen as it was the first Fox I'd shot with my new homeloads.

 

I picked him up out of the hedge, by 'eck there was a weight on him, fair size Dog he was, well fed anyhow.

 

We put him on the fence for the farmer to see when he did his rounds in the morning and carried on, didn't see anything else, except acquiring a friend of a new born lamb who decided to follow at heel for a few minutes until he found his mother

 

But all in all, a good night, just glad to get him out of the way

 

SS

 

A few pics...

 

 

 

[Daieye68 1]

Nice one

[Geoff.C 0]

Nice shot there SS! He is a chunky beggar, full of fresh lamb!!

[Sako.243 1]

Well done mate, Keep at em!

Seen 3 big foxes lastnight on the lamp, They werent for stopping.

[N E poacher 4]

nice one

[weejohn 3]

must be a great feeling knocking the first over with your homeloads.

[The one 8,585]

Nice one

[the Verminator 0]

nicely done

[SportingShooter 0]

Thanks chaps, farmer was very pleased when he saw him yesterday morning, just been to see him now.

 

SS

[Squirrel_Basher 17,102]

Excellent job there SS and good write up too.Always good to get a troublesome fox .

[Toka 10]

nice one...good write up!!!