First Fox with my new NV

[badsworth]

I stayed up all night lastnight. The trail cam at the bottom of my garden told me that I was getting a visit by Charlie at 0410. I stayed up all night (F*** me it was cold -8 degrees) - then at around 0415 this morning this vixen came to sniff around the staked pheasant + catfood I had placed in the field behind my house. I shot her at about 50 yards with the .17 HMR ( I have been using my S/G but my neighbours were getting a little vexed) and new ATN 'Night Spirit' NV. I thought I had missed when Charlie (Charlotte???) bolted about 40 yards out of sight - but then she came back and dropped in the field. It was a clean heart shot - but it is amazing what adrenalin can do!

 

The first pic is the Trail Cam shot from the night before (in the snow storm) and the second is from this morning.

 

I have had six foxes in six weeks from the field behind my house which is attached to a dairy farm which seems to bring them in time after time. The timings are amazingly precise - but until I had the Trail Cam I had no idea how often I have been visited.

 

Stay warm!

 

B

[badsworth]

I stayed up all night lastnight. The trail cam at the bottom of my garden told me that I was getting a visit by Charlie at 0410. I stayed up all night (F*** me it was cold -8 degrees) - then at around 0415 this morning this vixen came to sniff around the staked pheasant + catfood I had placed in the field behind my house. I shot her at about 50 yards with the .17 HMR ( I have been using my S/G but my neighbours were getting a little vexed) and new ATN 'Night Spirit' NV. I thought I had missed when Charlie (Charlotte???) bolted about 40 yards out of sight - but then she came back and dropped in the field. It was a clean heart shot - but it is amazing what adrenalin can do!

 

The 2nd pic is the Trail Cam shot from the night before (in the snow storm) and the first is from this morning.

 

I have had six foxes in six weeks from the field behind my house which is attached to a dairy farm which seems to bring them in time after time. The timings are amazingly precise - but until I had the Trail Cam I had no idea how often I have been visited.

 

Stay warm!

 

BReview

[garyw]

well done badsworth-my first nv fox is a good memory but i dont think i would stay up all night,if you bait an area often enough charles will show up earlier every time works well for me,and if your really cute you get the farmer to throw the bait out saves travelling to and fro.

[andybrock]

Well done, it's always good to get your first one with new kit, gives you confidence in your kit. Don't think I would have sat waiting all night watching the garden... must be a brave man -8. I think you can get PIR's with a receiver (next to your bed) that activates if movement is detected.

in the garden.

Andy

[mutley]

well done on the fox balsworth what exactly is a ''Trail Cam shot'' i could do with this type system at my house shot 7 in jan this year on a stake 40 yards or so from my back window sleeping with the window open. but my girlfriend has moved in and won't put up with it. any help gladly apprieated

 

many thanks matt

[DMCI]

 

Fox hunting is when a bunch of country toffs go out on horses and use a load of beagles to hunt anything that even remotely resembles a fox. Fox hunting is unlikely to be banned, due to the mass canine unemployment it would cause

 

Ok, so let me get this right. All of the above have been replaced by a single Englishman with a precision rifle in his garden with a staked pheasant and some catfood. Now that is efficiency and the "Toffs" are safe at home! Who'd have thought.

 

[badsworth]

what exactly is a ''Trail Cam shot'' -many thanks matt

 

 

Have a look here for examples of Trail Cameras;

 

http://shop.ebay.co....-All-Categories - also called Trophy Cameras, Stealth Cameras, Hunting or Game Cameras. Mine cost me £40 S/H on Ebay. It has an infra red flash so takes pictures without the wildlife being disturbed. As you will read elsewhere on this forum - Foxes can be amazingly predictable and often keep to a regular routine. Once the camera tells you what time Charlie is visiting you can focus your efforts on a limited time frame - and get less cold.

 

My camera isn't very good - the buttons are fiddly and some of the figures on the LCD display don't work so it is hard to read. The performance at sub zero temperatures is hit and miss. About 1 shot in three 'pinks out' when the temperature is very cold, though that might be the fault of the batteries and not the camera. Nevertheless I have learned a lot about my visitors and now know that the field right behind my house is an absolute magnet for Charlies (and 'Grey Things'). Hopefully Santa is going to give me enough money to buy a new model. I don't want a high spec camera (someone will probably nick it eventually) - all I need is a picture that is clear enough to identify my visitor and tell me when they are calling.

 

The reason I sat up all night is that I still have more than one fox visiting and I don't know the time for them all. One thing a trail cam tells you is that even though many foxes are creatures of habit - some aren't - and can turn up at any time.

 

I sometimes hang small bells (from a cats collar) on the snare wire I use to secure the bait. That way if I am dropping off the fox tugging at the lure will wake me up. From this forum I have been given some ideas for better methods, including PIR sensors, lights, and fishing rod bite detectors. I'll try them all eventually.

 

The day after I shot the fox shown above my camera showed a series of pictures of a fox visiting and tugging at my bait between 0130 and 0230. Last night I went out with the intention of getting set up for midnight - I like to be set up and settled well before Charlie arrives. Five minutes after I set up a fox jogged across the bottom of the field without slowing. At 0015 a fox (might have been the same one) started sniffing its way towards my bait. I took the shot but missed - I either misjudged the distance or rushed it. My shot went low and the fox jumped before departing at high speed. As it left it disturbed another fox which I hadn't seen. The other fox ran off in the opposite direction. I'm really hacked off that I missed - but at least I know that I shall have two more charlies to deal with. Sadly they will be even more wary next time.

 

Now that I have the NV I look forward to lots more shooting in the future.

 

Badsworth

[Alycidon]

I thought I had missed when Charlie (Charlotte???) bolted about 40 yards out of sight - but then she came back and dropped in the field. It was a clean heart shot - but it is amazing what adrenalin can do!

 

Not enough gun !!. 40 yards, head shot maybe?. I know they can be more tricky though.

 

A

[garyw]

 

 

 

Ok, so let me get this right. All of the above have been replaced by a single Englishman with a precision rifle in his garden with a staked pheasant and some catfood. Now that is efficiency and the "Toffs" are safe at home! Who'd have thought.

 

Where is this quoted from?

no sheite stirring here lets all play along together.

[Streeker59]

Nicely done B... Those trail cams are a boon...

[DMCI]

Where is this quoted from?

no sheite stirring here lets all play along together.

 

While researching the subject of Fox Hunting, something about which, I obviously know little or nothing I found one of the counter wikipedias had this quote. I found it to be so irreverent that I thought it was worth repeating. I always thought fox hunting with horses and dogs to be a very elegant sport and good exercise for all involved.

 

Heck, even the idea of a little chicken thief getting ripped to shreds by some very enthusiastic hounds was rather satisfying!

[clivej]

Well done and good shooting.

 

Can you please tell me more about the ATN 'Night Spirit' that you used.

Did it come with a scope attachment?

Where did you buy from and how much was it?

Was it easy to use?

And what was the image like "in the field" so to speak?

 

Been thinking of getting a NV set up and like the idea of being able to use my own scope.

 

cheers

[badsworth]

Well done and good shooting.

 

Can you please tell me more about the ATN 'Night Spirit' that you used.

Did it come with a scope attachment?

Where did you buy from and how much was it?

Was it easy to use?

And what was the image like "in the field" so to speak?

 

Been thinking of getting a NV set up and like the idea of being able to use my own scope.

 

cheers

 

The 'Night Spirit' is here;

 

http://www.nightvisi...NightSpirit.htm

 

Speak to Carl. I spent about £1500 - which is by far the cheapest gen 2+ kit on the market. I also bought a head mount which you will probably not need. The performance is awesome - especially if you are used to gen 1 gear. With the snowy background and the clear nights I have not yet needed to use the laser. Take some time discussing things with Carl - he needs to know what you will use it on in order to send you the correct DSA.

 

Setting it up was not as easy as it could have been. ATN provide only a brief user manual which does not tell you how to set it up to use with a DSA. The manual also tells you to put the battery in the wrong way around!! I had to exchange a few panicky e-mails with Carl but he got me sorted and I am now very happy. Apparently the company (Nightvisiongear) are thinking of adding their own fact sheet on setting up the kit with a DSA - a good idea!.

 

Remember - using a DSA always involves an element of compromise. The extra glass absorbs light (hence the additional laser) and the angle of view is more limited. You will also have to spend a little time getting it set up correctly. On the other hand the ability to swap it between guns without re-zeroing is great and the additional magnification is a boon - currently dedicated NV scopes only range between about 2.5 to 6 x magnification. You also have to zero them - usually in the dark.

 

Have a look at the available digital gear (especially the Pulsar N550 which is very popular). Digital is probably the way to go in the future - but arguably not quite there yet. The biggest disadvantage is the time delay in the display of the image. Essentially you are shooting at an image of 'what was' instead of 'what is'. The delay is only slight but might limit you in shooting at a moving target. Also, digital add ons offer an even more limited field of view than a tubed unit. If this sounds like I am knocking digital gear I am not - I just think it has a little more scope for development before it sweeps the board with the competition.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Badsworth

[badsworth]

I managed to settle some unfinished business in the early hours of New Year's Eve. I thought I had waited long enough since missing a fox on the 21st December at a quarter past midnight. I guessed that it (they) would have settled back into their routine after the scare on the 21st.

 

Sure enough - at twenty past midnight a biggish vixen started sniffing her way up the field towards where I had staked out some bait - a pheasant sprinkled with cheap and smelly Tuna cat food. I waited until she sat down at around 60 yards and shot her with the .17 HMR and NV. I heard the usual 'thwack' and she leaped into the air and screamed. I knew she was well hit but she still managed to run 60 yards before dropping. Even more amazingly she did so on only three legs. When I recovered the body later I found that although it was a good heart shot I had also managed to smash one of her front legs - it is once again incredible how far a surge of adrenalin will enable a fatally injured animal to move.

 

This time I didn't go straight out to recover the carcass. If this was indeed the one I had shot at on the 21st, then on that occasion there were two of them - I guessed a mating pair. I stayed in my 'hide' (the car port) and kept watch. At ten to one I was scanning around with my 'Bresser' gen 1 NV monocular when I suddenly found a dog fox eating something about 30 yards out from the hide. My neighbour insists on throwing pieces of bread over the fence for the birds and I am guessing that if hungry enough a fox will have a go at that. Anyway - I shot him and he went straight down.

 

I waited till after 2 o'clock then started to tidy my stuff away. I took the gun into the garage to clean it and was moving kit out of the hide. In walking around I set off the security lights and was well illuminated for all to see. At a quarter to three, out of habit, I casually shone my little torch around the field and was stunned to light up the eyes of yet another predator - in fact it was another fox. I had a mad scrabble around and just got the gun and NV in time to see a fox jogging out of the far side of the field. Although I did not think it would come back - what if it did?

 

I moved all my kit back into the car port and set up again. After a few minutes the security light went out and I was once again in darkness. Would it come back after the pantomime it had seen me perform under the lights?

 

At about ten past three a fox (I think the same one) came back into the field but stretched out for a rest at about 130 yards. I have to take my shots from a standing position in the hide, and 130 yards is not a range I am happy to shoot foxes at with the .17. I disagree with Alycidon that the .17 is "not enough gun" - it is if you are sensible about the ranges. You can hit them OK at 130 yards but you usually have to shoot them several times to finish the job. Sometimes that is unavoidable - but on this occasion I didn't fancy a wounded fox hightailing it through the hedge and being seen by my neighbour's kids the next day around the adjoining play area. I thought that would cause grief so I waited.

 

After about ten minutes I decided to try a couple of 'squeeks' through my fingers - after all the foxes I had trouble with originally (which were call and lamp shy) were now dead. This one might be more receptive. Sure enough, after only two squeeks he jumped up and trotted up the field towards my hide.

 

He came to about 20 yards away and sat down puzzled because the noise had stopped. Again it was a clean shot and an instant kill. It was particularly satisfying because although I have occasionally had some brilliant successes with calling them in, I am no Warrener - and more often than not I draw a complete blank. It was also good because I had so nearly packed up and missed this one completely.

 

I haven't been out today to check my trail cam and bait but I guess I will be fox free for a short while (but I will let the forum know). That is three foxes in one night and 9 in the last ten weeks. Although the field is only about two acres in size it stands next to a dairy and has a crossing place where the foxes like to cross over a large brook. It seems to be a calling point for many different critters in their nightly routines and I am sure I will be out there again soon. Although I shoot foxes all over the place the field at the bottom of my garden is now the place where I have shot the most - 16 over the last three years. I can only guess at the number of opportunities I have missed because I underestimated its attractiveness to Charlie. I won't do that again!

 

 

Badsworth.

 

I have a small picture to add but cannot - apparently I have exceeded my 'global upload limit' - whatever that is!