Fox Shooting -- How Do You Do It?

Bruce from West Oz · February 26, 1999, 07:57 AM

Interested in knowing how our American cousins shoot foxes.

Here in Australia, I use a spotlight on the back of a 4WD. Preferred rifles are 22LR, 22mag or my favourite, 22 Hornet. Shotguns are used if you want to chase 'em with the 4WD across the paddock. Foxes are vermin, and multiplying quite frighteningly here. Friend of mine shot 23 in one night about a fortnight ago, on one property.

Any comments???

fal308 · February 26, 1999, 10:27 AM

Sounds like a close-up version of coyote hunting. What range are you normally shooting at?

Rob Pincus · February 26, 1999, 12:30 PM

Fox are not nearly the problem here that htey must be down there. We do, however, shoot skunk, raccoon and possum it that same way when they become a problem. On raccoon den can eat over 100 turkey eggs in a spring.

The only fox that I know of being shot, personally, inthe eastern US have been shot while the person was hunting something else, usually deer.

Bruce from West Oz · February 27, 1999, 06:23 AM

fal308: Ranges from 10 feet (with the shotgun!) to 100-150 yards. Longest successful shot I've seen at night was 300 metres (using the 4WD's odometer) with a 6.5 x 55.

Rob: You're lucky and unlucky ;-) Lucky because they are cunning predators -- unlucky 'cause they don't have many friends, so it's something to shoot that few people complain against. They were introduced here last century, so the "landred gentry" could have something to hunt on horseback. Without any real competition, they just multiplied fruitfully. I've seen them pulling at a baby lamb as it's being born (mind you, he got a surprise ;-)) -- 40gr at 2800fps!! Feral cats are becoming as big a problem.

Ankeny · February 27, 1999, 10:44 AM

We hunt a lot of predators in Wyoming, mostly coyotes. To hunt predators at night with artificial light you must be doing predator control for a landowner on his/her property. Most folks use a predator call and hunt during the early morning or late evening. A good call in the hands of an expert caller works exceedingly well.

Typically, when I call coyotes or fox I take another shooter with me. One person uses a center fire rifle such as the 22-250 and the other uses a shotgun. A fox will come to a call very quickly whereas as coyote may take a bit longer. Predator hunting is a fast growing sport and very popular here. Like you, we are experiencing a real problem with feral cats in our farm country. They really raise heck with the upland birds.

DC · February 28, 1999, 10:35 AM

The foxes here are endangered species and are rarely seen. I have lived on my farm all my life and have seen fox twice.
Coyotes are another thing all together. Normally I use .223 but have shot them with almost everything I have. Two weeks ago I killed one in my "back yard": My dog was barking oddly and I grabbed a .22 and went out to investigate. There was a coyote about 100 yds from the house (this was around 3 pm ), the dog goes after him when I arrive, the coyote runs and when I called the dog to come and she does, the coyote turned and went after the dog. Well, that clinched the deal and I dropped ol Wiley E. with 3 quick shots.

Rabies can be a problem here, so if I see a coyote,skunk or badger close to the house in broad daylite, it is a goner.

Bruce from West Oz · March 2, 1999, 08:17 AM

DC Admin: Wow! We don't have rabies in Australia (AFAIK), so we're very lucky.

How big do coyotes get?? Are they fox size, or bigger, say like a dingo, which can be German Shepherd size?

By the way, calling foxes (with a rabbit squeal whistle) is also popular here, but is used for hunting rather than "vermin control".

DC · March 2, 1999, 01:03 PM

Bruce..
Coyotes range beyween 30 up to 60 lbs.
<img src=http://www.tcsn.net/doncicci/coyote10.jpg>

They, skunks and badgers are primarily nocturnal, tho they are seen during daylight hours. However if they come close to the house in the daytime, something is wrong

**********
Coyotes are also very adaptable and successful critters and their population has actually risen. In some Los Angeles suburbs they have gotten bold and actually have killed children and taken numerous household pets. They come out of the foothills and raid trashcans and take whatever looks tasty and easy.

[This message has been edited by DC (edited March 02, 1999).]

Bulldog · March 4, 1999, 05:45 AM

I work in a highly populated suburb of Dallas. Problem is, this town has grown faster than the critters could find anywhere to go. I could step out on the porch on any given night and hear the coyotes yapping, see the coons going through trash, and watch rabbits nibble on the bushes of the well-landscaped grounds. Just the other morning, there was a fox sleeping on the sidewalk leading up to the entrance of one of our buildings. It didn't seem too bothered by all of the employees walking past it. This fox was a big surprise because you never see them around here, however the animal control officer said that they are around. On the other hand, I can see coyotes nearly every night. I wish it was legal to hunt in town. I see more wildlife in one night at work than I'll see in four days at my farm in Oklahoma! I've thought about bringing my game call and 10-22 to work, but if anyone found out, I'd be a gonner!

Byron Quick · March 4, 1999, 10:24 AM

Here in east central Georgia the fox population is rebounding. All my life, you'd see a fox at night on the road maybe once of twice a year. In the past year, I've seen four in the daytime. Their numbers were so low for so long that most people got out of the habit of actively hunting them. That might be about to change.

Coyotes have come to stay in the past ten years and are now into South Carolina as well. Supposedly, some fox hunters introduced them into western Georgia and eastern Alabama for the foxes were too easy. Then they couldn't catch them

Most of the people hunting them do so as targets of opportunity as far as I know. My hunting partner bagged one during deer season.

Bruce from West Oz · March 5, 1999, 07:48 AM

DC: Thanks heaps for the pic. From it, I can deduce that a coyote is somewhere between a fox and a dingo. I find it an amazing fact that they have actually killed children and we have never heard about it. We had a dingo take one baby at Ayers Rock, and I'm sure you all heard about Lindy Chamberlain (and Meryl Streep's atrocious Australian accent -- "The dingo's got my boiby!!" Australians can tell the difference between a genuine Oz accent and a Cockney accent!! Hollywood please note ;-))

Bulldog: It never really occurred to me until you put it in print, but that's exactly the situation here in Perth, too! I live in a northern, seaside suburb, about 30 km (19 miles) from the city centre. Just down the road from us is a major dual carriageway leading to the freeway -- and they've just put up "Watch out for kangaroos" signs on the side of the road! And I regularly see squished rabbits or foxes on West Coast Drive, the main north-south coastal road up this end of the world. Maybe I'd better get a packet of subsonics for the .22 and take the Jackaroo (Isuzu Trooper) out for a run later tonight ;-) (Just jokin' -- I'll have a beer instead and watch "Groundhog Day" again on TV for the 6th or 7th time)

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February 26, 1999, 07:57 AM	#1
Bruce from West Oz Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 1999 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 274	Interested in knowing how our American cousins shoot foxes. Here in Australia, I use a spotlight on the back of a 4WD. Preferred rifles are 22LR, 22mag or my favourite, 22 Hornet. Shotguns are used if you want to chase 'em with the 4WD across the paddock. Foxes are vermin, and multiplying quite frighteningly here. Friend of mine shot 23 in one night about a fortnight ago, on one property. Any comments???

February 26, 1999, 10:27 AM	#2
fal308 Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,992	Sounds like a close-up version of coyote hunting. What range are you normally shooting at?

February 26, 1999, 12:30 PM	#3
Rob Pincus Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Hotels Posts: 3,668	Fox are not nearly the problem here that htey must be down there. We do, however, shoot skunk, raccoon and possum it that same way when they become a problem. On raccoon den can eat over 100 turkey eggs in a spring. The only fox that I know of being shot, personally, inthe eastern US have been shot while the person was hunting something else, usually deer.

February 27, 1999, 06:23 AM	#4
Bruce from West Oz Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 1999 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 274	fal308: Ranges from 10 feet (with the shotgun!) to 100-150 yards. Longest successful shot I've seen at night was 300 metres (using the 4WD's odometer) with a 6.5 x 55. Rob: You're lucky and unlucky ;-) Lucky because they are cunning predators -- unlucky 'cause they don't have many friends, so it's something to shoot that few people complain against. They were introduced here last century, so the "landred gentry" could have something to hunt on horseback. Without any real competition, they just multiplied fruitfully. I've seen them pulling at a baby lamb as it's being born (mind you, he got a surprise ;-)) -- 40gr at 2800fps!! Feral cats are becoming as big a problem.

February 27, 1999, 10:44 AM	#5
Ankeny Senior Member Join Date: December 14, 1998 Location: Shoshoni, WY USA Posts: 556	We hunt a lot of predators in Wyoming, mostly coyotes. To hunt predators at night with artificial light you must be doing predator control for a landowner on his/her property. Most folks use a predator call and hunt during the early morning or late evening. A good call in the hands of an expert caller works exceedingly well. Typically, when I call coyotes or fox I take another shooter with me. One person uses a center fire rifle such as the 22-250 and the other uses a shotgun. A fox will come to a call very quickly whereas as coyote may take a bit longer. Predator hunting is a fast growing sport and very popular here. Like you, we are experiencing a real problem with feral cats in our farm country. They really raise heck with the upland birds.

February 28, 1999, 10:35 AM	#6
DC Moderator Emeritus Join Date: September 30, 1998 Location: Calif Posts: 4,229	The foxes here are endangered species and are rarely seen. I have lived on my farm all my life and have seen fox twice. Coyotes are another thing all together. Normally I use .223 but have shot them with almost everything I have. Two weeks ago I killed one in my "back yard": My dog was barking oddly and I grabbed a .22 and went out to investigate. There was a coyote about 100 yds from the house (this was around 3 pm ), the dog goes after him when I arrive, the coyote runs and when I called the dog to come and she does, the coyote turned and went after the dog. Well, that clinched the deal and I dropped ol Wiley E. with 3 quick shots. Rabies can be a problem here, so if I see a coyote,skunk or badger close to the house in broad daylite, it is a goner.

March 2, 1999, 08:17 AM	#7
Bruce from West Oz Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 1999 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 274	DC Admin: Wow! We don't have rabies in Australia (AFAIK), so we're very lucky. How big do coyotes get?? Are they fox size, or bigger, say like a dingo, which can be German Shepherd size? By the way, calling foxes (with a rabbit squeal whistle) is also popular here, but is used for hunting rather than "vermin control".

March 2, 1999, 01:03 PM	#8
DC Moderator Emeritus Join Date: September 30, 1998 Location: Calif Posts: 4,229	Bruce.. Coyotes range beyween 30 up to 60 lbs. <img src=http://www.tcsn.net/doncicci/coyote10.jpg> They, skunks and badgers are primarily nocturnal, tho they are seen during daylight hours. However if they come close to the house in the daytime, something is wrong ********** Coyotes are also very adaptable and successful critters and their population has actually risen. In some Los Angeles suburbs they have gotten bold and actually have killed children and taken numerous household pets. They come out of the foothills and raid trashcans and take whatever looks tasty and easy. [This message has been edited by DC (edited March 02, 1999).]

March 4, 1999, 05:45 AM	#9
Bulldog Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 1999 Location: Texas Posts: 564	I work in a highly populated suburb of Dallas. Problem is, this town has grown faster than the critters could find anywhere to go. I could step out on the porch on any given night and hear the coyotes yapping, see the coons going through trash, and watch rabbits nibble on the bushes of the well-landscaped grounds. Just the other morning, there was a fox sleeping on the sidewalk leading up to the entrance of one of our buildings. It didn't seem too bothered by all of the employees walking past it. This fox was a big surprise because you never see them around here, however the animal control officer said that they are around. On the other hand, I can see coyotes nearly every night. I wish it was legal to hunt in town. I see more wildlife in one night at work than I'll see in four days at my farm in Oklahoma! I've thought about bringing my game call and 10-22 to work, but if anyone found out, I'd be a gonner!

March 4, 1999, 10:24 AM	#10
Byron Quick Staff In Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Waynesboro, Georgia, USA Posts: 2,361	Here in east central Georgia the fox population is rebounding. All my life, you'd see a fox at night on the road maybe once of twice a year. In the past year, I've seen four in the daytime. Their numbers were so low for so long that most people got out of the habit of actively hunting them. That might be about to change. Coyotes have come to stay in the past ten years and are now into South Carolina as well. Supposedly, some fox hunters introduced them into western Georgia and eastern Alabama for the foxes were too easy. Then they couldn't catch them Most of the people hunting them do so as targets of opportunity as far as I know. My hunting partner bagged one during deer season.

March 5, 1999, 07:48 AM	#11
Bruce from West Oz Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 1999 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 274	DC: Thanks heaps for the pic. From it, I can deduce that a coyote is somewhere between a fox and a dingo. I find it an amazing fact that they have actually killed children and we have never heard about it. We had a dingo take one baby at Ayers Rock, and I'm sure you all heard about Lindy Chamberlain (and Meryl Streep's atrocious Australian accent -- "The dingo's got my boiby!!" Australians can tell the difference between a genuine Oz accent and a Cockney accent!! Hollywood please note ;-)) Bulldog: It never really occurred to me until you put it in print, but that's exactly the situation here in Perth, too! I live in a northern, seaside suburb, about 30 km (19 miles) from the city centre. Just down the road from us is a major dual carriageway leading to the freeway -- and they've just put up "Watch out for kangaroos" signs on the side of the road! And I regularly see squished rabbits or foxes on West Coast Drive, the main north-south coastal road up this end of the world. Maybe I'd better get a packet of subsonics for the .22 and take the Jackaroo (Isuzu Trooper) out for a run later tonight ;-) (Just jokin' -- I'll have a beer instead and watch "Groundhog Day" again on TV for the 6th or 7th time)