A good night

[Redfox]

Got a phone call from one of the farmers I know, "foxes all over the bloody place" and his next door neighbour not happy.

Apparently 4 cubs and a "big one" had gone on an afternoon duck eating spree and when chased with half bricks , retreated onto Johns land, so it was his fault .

After sitting for about twenty minutes in the corner of a well grazed field which is a highroad for foxes crossing his land, a cub appeared about 100yds away in the hedge bottom to the left of the truck, it was only about 9.30pm so still light. I had to sneak the drivers door open and step quietly out, I rested the rifle ( back to 17Rem) n a bag on the mirror and braced my left leg on the sill of the truck, not much time as it had started to move away from me, So crosshairs on the middle and squeeze, it flipped over and shot off diagonally away into the middle of the field with tail straight up ( means its well hit). After about 60 yds it stopped and lay down side on and looking towards me, I had already reloaded, so I aimed at the heart area and fired again, it got up and ranslowly the twenty yards or so towards the hedge on that side of the field and dissapeared. I watched the other side of the hedge to see if it appeared and after five mins or so drove over to look for it. I was reasonably sure it had not gone through the hedge as the fields on this farm nearly all have deep narrow ditchesat the bottom of the hedges which have water in them. Sure enough after a couple of minutes looking into the jungle of weeds and stuff, my mate called to say he had found it, it was stone dead, which is why I waited, as they will try to run even as they die if you go too soon ( like any wild animal).

The first shot had removed most of the stomach area and the second at about 170 yds ( with new laser) had gone into the heart lung area ( zero is holding nicely) so we put it on the hedge top and walked back to the truck ( very crap photo with phone as I couldnt get the flash to work in the heat of the moment and new phone). My mate looked quickly round with the lam as the light was going now and whispered another one behind us!! in the hedge far side of the field. So I turned the truck round ans sure enough sat in the hedge side is another cub.

It was a longish way so laser, 178yds, quick look at exbal chart and corrective height clicks, bang and it fell backwards, waited a few mins looking round and then went over. It had fell back through the gap in the hedge and gone into a deep and very smelly ditch behind ( dont ask how i know) and was obviously dead so we drove back to tabout 150yds off that hedge and 10-15 mins later another showed up about 40yds to the right of the last one, but sneaked off and didnt come out again. another 20 mins or so and I spotted one my side but behind us in the middle of the field, I said to my mate it will come round us as the wind is wrong for it to smell us. Sure enough after a short while it was in front on his side in the hedge, where the cubs had been, I shneaked out again and through the scope could see it was the vixen, she was sat up and I just took a high middle shot uner her chin. straight down and rolled into the smelly ditch!.

We had a brew and I said we can go now there is always another night, when a quick look with the lamp and another cub sat not ten yards from where the second cub had been, as I lined up on it it started to sneak back into the hedge, so a bit of a pressure shot, but it justed stopped moving on the shot and when we picked it it was hit right through the engine room with no exit wound, again about 180yds.

So we called it a night and rang John this morning to say only one cub and possibly a dog fox left, he was pleased and we still have another night out to go at and I resisted the temptation to use the 222 although it was in the car

Redfox

[auquhollie]

Sounds like a good night Its always a winner when they turn up in the daylight.

 

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[bob tail]

Well done that man, doesn't it make you smile when it you get a good result.

cheers

chris.

[jimmyzx]

Well done! sounds like a great nights shooting. Keep up the good work

 

Paul.

[6mmBR]

A great night out. The cubs seem to be appearing thick and fast now

Dave