Thieving Fox!!!

[sandersj89]

Just back from a nice mooch with the HMR on rabbit control duty at the family farm. Nice evening, bit of a breeze and nice cloud cover. Took the HMR out with lamp and set of about 9.30pm

 

First field, winter wheat, first scan of the lamp and first rabbit in the bag within 5 mins, nice head shot at about 70m. Walk on about 100m and bingo, number two in the bag, down hill shot of about 90m.

 

Decide to leave these two at the side of the field to pick up later and carry on the hunt. Next field beside a conifer wood, eyes in the wood….hmmmmm Fox, badger or deer???

 

Turns out to be 3 roe hunkered down so leave well alone and turn the corner of the wood, number 3 rabbit in the bag. Approx 70m. Carry on 30 m past that one, again left to pick up later and scan the middle of the valley below me, eyes again and this time it is obviously Charlie.

 

Lamp off and move down towards him, wind in my favour, go about 15m to bring him into range and carefully drop down to take him of the bipod. As I flick the lamp back on and increase the power he takes one look at me and heads away to the far hedge…damn!

 

I sit there for 20 mins calling, WAM, hands, MP£ on the phone, no sign of him.

 

Carry on around the field and bag number 4 rabbit, easy 50m shot. Walk another 40m and scan the far hedge and eyes, two pairs sat on top of the bank.

 

Lie down and scope them and it is a pair of rabbits side my side about 100m away. Line up the first one and squeeze and get that lovely sound of the impact, rabbit disappears so I hope it has just rolled of the bank, cycled the bolt and the other one is still sat there…..silly bunny. He gets a 17gr vmax through the head as well! 6 in the bag. Both these two popped up on a gate post till later.

 

Scan the field to my right, steep bank rising up about 100ft. At the top on the skyline is Charlie again, sat proud as punch neatly silhouetted against the night sky and only 60m to 80m away!!!!!!

 

Again I call but he is not having any of it and moves slowly away from me out of sight, I work around the field to try and head him off but don’t see him again. Take another rabbit, nice long shot in the lie of a hedge, approx 100m, again he goes up on a fence post and I decide to head back the house to get the pick up to collect the bunnies and try once more for the fox.

 

Out to the first two rabbits and no sign of them, I marked where I left them but they have gone. Blood on the ground and my foot imprints but no rabbits!!!!!! This was not the fox I saw later so must have been another one!

 

Drive around and pick the rest up no problem:

 

 

No sign of the other fox so called it a day.

 

Very satisfying evening on one hand, the HMR, or more importantly me, did not miss a beat. 7 shots for 7 rabbits.

 

On the other hand the foxes are too clever by half at the moment. Tomorrow the paunch from the rabbits is going out as bait and we will try again.

 

Jerry

[Guest varmartin]

Good account of an evenings stalk Jerry.

 

Sneaky fox nicking your bunnies !!

 

Amazing ain`t it...I have left rabbits out purposely for the fox and he has not touched them, leave some to pick up an hour latter and there gone

 

Martin

[6mmBR]

A good nights work. Those foxes are sneaky devils. Hope you get to bag him on another trip.

Dave

[foxshot]

Good post Jerry nice sized rabbits as well,looks like you puled a couple of good shots off ,shame you didnt bump into the coney thief

[Guest varmartin]

A buddy of mine dropped a nice doe...tags it..guts it...walks 150yrds to the cabin

and come back with some help so he can drag it off....

 

Tag is stuck in the gut pile and the deer is gone...

 

Coyotes???

 

308Panther

 

 

More like a thieving `Red Neck Yote`

 

Martin

[nemasis243]

Good right up and Iv seen this happen once or twice myself, but remember revenge is sweet

[timbuck2]

Nice little bag of bunnys sanders WELL DONE.

[Redfox]

Good shooting, takes a bit of beating bunny shooting.

Used to shoot on a golf course which was surrounded by woodland ( sadly part built over now) and used to get between 50-100 rabbits a night, one night shot a rabbit quite near the fenceline to a wood, said to daughter pick that one up and we will go over to the driving range ( always good for ten or more bunnies) as she got out of the l/rover, a fox nipped out of the hedge grabbed the rabbit and off!, she came back and said are we going to get it back? , I said we are but not tonight, payback will be tomorrow night.

Went next night 222 at the ready potted 2 with the rimmy and waited half an hour, nothing . so we picked them and went on round potting more. About 130 in the morning came back that way and charlie was tucking into one we missed picking right out in the middle ( longer grass there off the fairway), 222 came out of the back, mag in and charlie got a sudden heartache .

Daughter wanted me to pick it as she said she wasnt going to work stinking all day

Redfox

[sandersj89]

Good account of an evenings stalk Jerry.

 

Sneaky fox nicking your bunnies !!

 

Amazing ain`t it...I have left rabbits out purposely for the fox and he has not touched them, leave some to pick up an hour latter and there gone

 

Martin

 

Just back in from a quick look, baited up 3 spots with the paunch from last nights bag near where I saw the fox last night, nothing has touched it.

 

Mind you awfull night for lamping, no wind, no cloud and bright moon!

 

Jerry