Got a call from a farmer the other day, his wife had seen a Fox eyeing up her Chicken run a couple of times as she was about to lock the Chooks up for the night. The farmer himself was without a rifle, & didn't have time to deal with the problem himself anyway.
(He was without a rifle because he'd had 2 ( Yes two !) .17 HMR's "blow up" on him. More about that in a different thread).
Anyway, as there was now a contract out on this Fox, I thought Id do my best to nail it ASAP, & maybe accumulate some "Brownie points". Which would maybe go towards further invites.
I knew the time's this Fox had been seen, & being creatures of habit, I was expecting it to show up at a similar time & place every evening.
I got set up with my .22-250 on a hay bail, overlooking a small 2 acre pasture. I was almost regretting not bringing a .22 rim fire, as there was 8 or 9 Rabbits taunting me from between 5 to 50 yds out. I could almost taste Rabbit fried in bread crumbs !.
It was getting dark & I was about to mount the lamp on my rifle, when something considerably bigger than a Rabbit passed about 50yds in front of me. I couldn't tell if it was a Fox or a Muntjack, I couldn't see a Brush, & It didnt stop when I tried to call it in. It just kept going & passed through a closed 5 bar gate into the next field.
I mounted my lamp on the rifle as quick as I could, gathered up my gear, and after (carefully) negotiating an electric fence, I glassed the field through the gate. Nothing. Not a sign. It was still light enough to scan through Bino's. & I managed to open & shut the gate without too much noise, & crept down the nearest hedge with the wind in my favor. Still nothing. After creeping maybe 3/4's of the way down the field ( about 220/230 yds). I noticed the flock of about 30 yews looking at something, & it wasn't me.  I got down behind the rifle, (not sure what I was laying in, but it didnt smell too savory), switched on the lamp & started calling. It didnt take long for Mr Fox's stomach to over rule his head & he came running in. He was looking big in the scope, but I couldn't shoot till he was clear of the sheep. When he was, I shouted to make him stop, He was almost broad side to me & ready to bolt, but I was a bit quicker than he was & a 52g A-Max put him down. Mr Fox turned out to be Mrs Fox, or rather Miss Fox, as I think she was this years cub.
Rifles a Sako 75 stainless synthetic in .22-250, load is 52g A-Max over 40g 0f H380, doing 3,717 fps over the chronograph, loaded in RP brass. Scopes a Sig Sauer Whisky 5, 5 to 25 x 52. Lamp is by Laser Genetics.

Well done!
Both the hunt and the story.


Congratulations.

Thank you !.

Good job!

Good job, Jaeger88. I like stories like this. Never tried night hunting except coon & possum with dogs. It's illegal  in Ky. except coyotes with shotguns far as I know. ......Paul H ....

Nice!

Did you get the brownie points?

Are the foxes not spooked by the lamp? They are very much so, here, at least in my experience. Also,  it's not legal to use a light with ANY form of hunting in most states, and where it is, only for a limited number of species. As a rule, not fox.

I was just yesterday looking through some of your old posts wondering 'where' you were of late. Glad to see the post! Also, I would really like to hear about those .17 HMR blow-ups!

Paul

Thanks guys for the comments !.


Yes Paul, I believe I have acquired some useful Brownie points.
Dead Fox + Happy farmers wife = "happier" farmer !. ( Is a really happy farmer even possible ?, or is that a myth !)

Ive not been away from THL as such, I just lost the land I had to shoot over, so not had much to write about. Many UK shooters can pay for their shooting, but us mere mortals have to rely on the generosity of land owners, farmers & gamekeepers for our sport. Basically we pay our way by shooting pests & vermin, which generally IS our sport.


I'm not going to quote chapter & verse, & bore you with a complete run down of UK Game Law.
So, basically its legal to shoot Rabbit, Hare (though they are both classed as Ground Game, not vermin) & Fox's at night with rifle or shotgun, using lamps or night vision equipment. That includes shooting from a vehicle. There's other UK pests/vermin, that can be controlled by "legally-approved methods". Including Stoat, Weasel, Brown Rat, Mink, Grey Squirrel, Feral Cat &.......................Mice !.  (With the exception of the Common/Hazel Dormouse).

As for your question about lamps Paul. We use Red, Amber, Blue & Green filters, or just a white light. Ive always found that white lights dont spook our Fox's, unless they've been shot at and missed before, while using one.  Red is generally the preferred colour most lamper's use, & green filters are said to work better in mist & fog.  It seems (according to AnimalQuestions.org) that Fox's are most likely Red & Green colour blind.
The lamp on my scope is a Laser Genetics Sub Zero. Basically its just a big focus able green laser, it goes from a 2" spot to a wide flood, & Fox's dont seem to see it. Though Ive  pointed it at Deer, & while they dont seem to look at the light or see the light shining on them, they seem to be able to see their own shadow, & that spooks them. Which is odd ?.
I will post a thread on in  "Firearms" about the "blown up" .17 HMR's Paul.

Those 'lamping',  (we call it 'spot-lighting' if performed within the law, or 'jack-lighting' if done illegally), regs are pretty close to ours in SOME states. Alaska allows NO "artificial" light whatsoever for ANY species. By the same token, unlike every other state of which I am aware, Alaska has no "half hour before sunrise and half hour after sunset" regs constraining "shooting hours". In other words, you can hunt around the clock, you just can't use "artificial" - including a campfire or a burning branch - light.

Maybe you'll get to hunt that farmer's property for more than foxes! (I'm thinking mostly of wascally wabbits and munties.)

Paul

What are the maximum & minimum hours of daylight you get Paul ?.

My sister lives in Scotland ( 55 37' 41.42"N  / 3 15' 05.94" W ), about 350 miles North of me. I'm not sure what times Sun rise & Sun set are, but at the height of Summer it never really gets dark at night. I would guess where you are, at times you could hunt almost 24 hours a day ?. Provided there's something legal to hunt of course.

"My" farmer seems suitably impressed with my hunting "capabilities" ( and I use that word loosely ).
He gave me a call last night & said did I fancy going out for a drive round " with the lamp " ?. He didnt have to ask twice.

11 Rabbits & 2 Hares later he said I could come up & shoot anytime I like, anything legal that is.  Just give him a call first to let him know I'm about.
 Hes got a dairy herd & sheep & is keen for me to do some Ratting round the farm.

One thing I'm happy to shoot in any quantity is the Brown Rat.

Ive put a bit on the two .17 HMR's the farmer had blow up, on the "Firearms & optics" Post.

Max number of hours of sun ABOVE THE HORIZON at ~61 degrees north latitude on the summer solstice (June 21) is about 16 hours and 20 minutes. Conversely, the number of hours of "dark" at the winter solstice (Dec 21) is 19 hours and 20 minutes with 4 hours and 40 minutes of sun above the horizon. HOWEVER, "shooting light" in the 'summer' is definitely 24 hours for at least a month, probably 6 weeks. On the other end of the spectrum, even when the sun is above the horizon, it is VERY LOW, so even at 'noon', the light is only slightly more than 'dawn'.

Kill dem rats!

Were the bunnies free of myxo?

Paul

Good job!

Rats are the only critters I have absolutely no compunction about shooting as many of as I possibly can !.



 Despite the fact I also shoot Fox's whenever I can, I actually like them, & have great respect for them. They are one of life's survivors.


Every creature I can think of has a place in this world, except for Rats, unless destroying everything they can chew & spreading disease is a "place" of course.



The Rabbits were all clean & healthy, with no sign of disease.
Gonna get my fried Wabbit in breadcrumbs after all !, plus some for the freezer. Hare I'm not too keen on, I find the flavor a bit too strong for my taste.