end of fox season

endasmail

just wondering when do lads hear stop hunting the foxes ,is it the end of this month or what?

jwshooter

endasmail wrote: »

just wondering when do lads hear stop hunting the foxes ,is it the end of this month or what?

paddys day is cut off point for me ,dont lamp them after that

ivanthehunter

endasmail wrote: »

just wondering when do lads hear stop hunting the foxes ,is it the end of this month or what?

It depends one you reason for believing that a season actual exist!

If people bothered to look(not having a go at you endasmail) up the facts about their prey via a click of a mouse or a flick through a book then they'd know that a hunter that values his prey is never going to interfere with the animals breeding if possible.

Foxes start to breed from the end of December on wards and it take s 50 to 55 days from the day the mate to when the vixen gives birth.

The cubs then are born in late February, the mother stays with them continuously in the den for about a week and a half. She depends on the dog to source her food and as he is hunting for 5 or 6 cubs and the vixen he's fairly flat out.. The vixen will actually call him to the den entrance with a call that only a female could make:eek:

These cubs wont be properly weaned until July or August.
You will start to see them playing outside during the day in late march or early April..

So after reading this I'll leave it up to your self as to when you think fox season exists..

jwshooter

its not so much as a season ,as all animals have to live in this world , i will go out of my way to kill foxes from late summer to paddys day after that il leave it so,

endasmail

ok ivan thanks for the info,
isnt that what boards .ie is for , finding out information ?

ivanthehunter

endasmail wrote: »

ok ivan thanks for the info,
isn't that what boards .IE is for , finding out information ?

It sure is and TBH the first thing that any was to do is have an open mind.
I'm not trying to ram my believes of foxing down your neck or anyone else neck for that matter, but this is how i see it, sure I'll shoot them myself when its required but whats required and whats done for a shooting/hunting (i.e. sport) buzz are two different things..

I'm not going to read out your name in church for doing it and I'd still buy you a pint down the pub and talk about you last fox shoot but i wont be partaking in the challenge until after march and as Nonamerange says "take cubs first and leave the vixen until yoursatisified that all cubs are dead"

Yes its a hard world, but there is no need to make it harder just for the sake of it.
I dont want to think of cubs starving with their parents dead.

meathstevie

Last spring a vixen with a litter was causing serious trouble on a farm a friend of mine has permission for so we had to do something about it. The way we went about it was :
- one evening of observation to find how many was in the litter
- following evening was suppressed .17 HMR for all the cubs and waiting for
the vixen to come back for feeding when she was taken with a .223

Normally my cut off date for foxes would be late february and back in late august.

jimmyzx

I normally finish at the end of march and start back again in August/September. I find I don't see many cubs till end of July round here.

Trojan911

endasmail wrote: »

just wondering when do lads hear stop hunting the foxes ,is it the end of this month or what?

We stop on Paddys Day through to September. But if we get a call from a farmer in between we will head over to his land & shoot if needed.

il gatto

They're classed as vermin, so it depends on you're own point of view as to whether you want to preserve your chosen prey to ensure you have healthy numbers in the following year, or are you controlling a pest. Coming from a farming area (although I have no interest in shooting foxes myself) most people into foxing in my area have no particular interest in preserving fox numbers. Having said that, many give it a little break as they find the idea of shooting a heavily pregnant mother or orphaning cubs unable to fend for themselves a little distasteful, regardless of the species.
By the way I don't think I've posted here before. Hi all. I should probably stay off this forum as the only thing I shoot is targets and rats:D

jwshooter

vermin they are i would get as much sport shooting foxes as game ,the country place would be a lesser place with out them . to kill a vixen with cubs in a den some where and left to starve is not acceptable .

cavan shooter

jwshooter wrote: »

its not so much as a season ,as all animals have to live in this world , i will go out of my way to kill foxes from late summer to paddys day after that il leave it so,

Ditto for me I'll continue shooting foxes till paddys day or there abouts then start again late summer/Autumn. On the other hand I try to leave the older foxes on my shoots as to clear an area of foxes is an open invite for them to come in from the next county. I can live with a fox or two once I know where they are and at the moment I have a good idea on most of them, its about control of numbers and there is a plenty out there.

thelurcher

If you have trouble with the odd fox post paddy's day best thing to do is get someone with a decent terrier out there - only way for sure of getting all the cubs and the vixen at once. Most lads won't want to do it - but if there's a genuine reason why they need to go then I doubt they'll argue.

whitser

thelurcher wrote: »

If you have trouble with the odd fox post paddy's day best thing to do is get someone with a decent terrier out there - only way for sure of getting all the cubs and the vixen at once. Most lads won't want to do it - but if there's a genuine reason why they need to go then I doubt they'll argue.

i stop by mid march but if i had a call out of course i'd do it.
we did some work for a farmer and gun club lad a few years back. accounting for vixens and cubs. not something i enjoy but if your permission depends on it it must be done, thankfully it was only the once. i keep a strict season other wise although a vixen with cubs is the most dangerous fox as far as live stock is concerned.
if someone shoots a vixen in summer they should contact the local terrier man who might know where the cubs and he can kill them quick and easy rather then let them starve.

snelltrading

endasmail wrote: »

just wondering when do lads hear stop hunting the foxes ,is it the end of this month or what?

A there's no real season on foxes i live in wicklow have bout 1000 acres to shoot down here and we shoot them all year round me a mate have shot 23 since st stephens day i got fed up shooting them with .17 so started useing my 2506 deer rifle and that makes some mess ha:eek: