Partners in crime

johngalway

Finished off a small bracket this evening for the Yukon Ranger to help ambushing lamp shy foxes. More on that in due course :cool:

Afterward I decided to check what's going on out on my own farm at night, not something I've done in a while. So I park at my sisters house, get mugged by ewe lambs used to being fed on the way up, talk about spoiled.

Usual route through the farm up a piece by the wood, cut across then up on the high hill close in to the stone boundary wall. There's a good frost tonight, no snow on the ground here like in other parts of the country.

As I'm almost at the top of the hill I see golden eyes set close together close to my water barrels I had for spraying earlier in the year. This has caught me off guard a bit as I don't get many foxes actually on my farm, they're smart like that.

While I'm going through the motions, getting prone, loading etc. I'm thinking all the time this fox is going to be gone by the time I'm ready here. But no, lovely and quiet lying down on a rock, I can only see the neck and head because of a low stone wall so I pick a nice safe neck shot and Pshhht! Thwap! Not out five minutes and it's JG 1 - 0 Foxy.

Thought it may be that dog fox John has been looking for but no, turned out to be a vixen, something like an 85 yard shot.



Onwards and upwards, literally, and I'm across into the neighbours place. Lovely big hill here which is great for these dark nights. I have, depending which way I'm turned :pac:, my sisters two houses and rough land sloping down to the sea one side, a flat-ish wet, rocky field extending away from me to the boundary wall then on to the hill which I can't see much of. On one side I have my farm, some of which obscured by rocky hillocks - the one weak side really. Finally I can see a large area as well, lots of rocks, low walls, and the usual other rubbish :pac: but very open and presents lots of good shots. All in all it's a good spot tonight.

The wind is light but blowing down towards the sea, when I turn on the rabbit squeal guess where the next set of eyes turn up? Yeah, right down wind of me.

He's well down the land but coming up fast below the sisters house. Rifle turned around on the rock I'm scanning around looking for him again and ready to clip the lamp to the scope quickly. If he's to come straight in, then he'll appear out of thick gorse through a spot in the wall about 90 yards from me. If he's liking the call too much that could be a problem, as he'll close the gap between where I can shoot him and where I can't in a second or two. Alternatively he may go into my farm, travel up along the wall and pop out anywhere on the weak side.

Which does he do? Neither :rolleyes:

He's pulled a vanishing act Then after a while he reappears next door about 280 yards away, but he's not fond of the lamp and won't show when I'm behind the rifle. I see John is out behind the next hill shining, and try ringing him and texting but no reply

Ten or fifteen minutes pass. I try the rabbit call, nothing. Then I hear a bark, ah. You're looking for someone, aren't you. So I bark back with the vixen setting on the mini colibri, just very short bursts. And he replies each time!

So I can't see him, and he's answering the call but not shifting, but I know he's down in the rough land somewhere. Spotting a high rock down the bottom of the field I'm in I decide to make for it down a steep gorse bank.

We all know what happens next. (No, not me going arse over head).

In no mans land I spy a pair of bright eyes strolling up along a path through the creeping gorse. He's in open ground looking at me, I'm in a spot I can do absolutely nothing with the rifle looking back at him :rolleyes:

He's had enough, and so have I. My fox turns tail back down the path and I make for the fence quick as I can. In the next field he's just my side of a big pile of dumped rocks. If he get's over that, he's gone.

The only post I can use in the fence is one with the point up, fence is built into the stone wall. The only thing I can do is take a standing shot, so palm down I cover the barb, then rest the 14lb rifle on the back of my hand - why do I do this again?

He won't stop. He's scrambling along the top of the rock pile and I've got one chance.

This is where knowing your land comes into play. Without thinking about it I know there's no stock in this field. There are no houses or buildings or anything else that can be killed/damaged/put at risk from a snap shot.

Pssshhtttt.........

Thwap!



Dog fox, on the move, something around 50 yards I think. That'll be the other John's tour guide from two nights ago, dark dog fox he said.

steyrman2

good report 2 nice clean fit looking foxes good work

4gun

Well done again John...no hope for Charlie while your about
Roughly whats your tally for the year ?

Cass

No Crrrrraaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkk tonight john? :D

MarkD.

Love it when I see a new thread from "johngalway" its like the chronicles of a comic section iin the paper. Really entertaining and your descriptions make the reader imagine that they are actually there doing it themselves. Great piece of journalism and mighty shooting I must say.

Keep it up :cool:

garv123

MarkD. wrote: »

Love it when I see a new thread from "johngalway" its like the chronicles of a comic section iin the paper. Really entertaining and your descriptions make the reader imagine that they are actually there doing it themselves. Great piece of journalism and mighty shooting I must say.

Keep it up :cool:

agreed. I think his posts should be moved to the creative writing section. but i don#t think they'd agree with his slaughtering so much.

no fog in your direction tonight i guess? was for a spin for something to do tonight between dungarvan and clonmel and on the 26 mile stretch of road you could only see three broken lines of the road infront of you so lamping would be pretty pointless. more dangerous driving than the snow. thank god thats gone off the roads here though

johngalway

The vixen was a little on the small side, a lot like the one the previous night size wise. But the dog fox was a good stump of a fox.

That's no. 23 & 24 now. There was a couple of farmers looking for my phone number at the mart for "lambing time".

Very uneventful on the personal injury/misfortune front last night Ez :pac: Didn't even gouge out my hand on the barb wire

Thanks Mark, chronic comic journalism I like it

Nah, no fog here last night. Clear skies, light breeze, could see for a long way to be honest.



Oh!


I almost forgot the funniest bit, I did forget the funniest bit.

Just as the WD40 smoke had cleared and I saw the dog fox lying on the pile of rocks my phone rang. And I do mean just after I had shot the fox. John wondering what I had seen :pac:

tikkamark

That's a quality write up yet again john enjoyed reading that.:) And that was some shot for that last fox,he wasn't going far with placement like that.
I couldn't get over the amount of fox footprints in the snow while out this morning on my own little patch and i thought there wasn't many about here,gonna have to make a few trips out myself before they start slaughtering the pheasants about the place.

MacraPat

Hey John you must go through a serious amount of foxes, I think I remember a thread about you considering saving some hides. I found this link several years ago and I'm still waiting for an appropriate roadkill victim to volunteer.

http://www.primitiveways.com/foxtan/Tanafox.htm

here foxy foxy foxy

CJhaughey

I shot a good dog fox two nights ago, he had been persecuting my friends poultry for the last few months and they asked me to come and try for him.
My buddy lent me his Mini Colibri and I was trying the rabbit distress as well but no joy, I then switched to the last two calls, one sounds like there is a duck in it! but it seemed to do the trick.
I definately think that the mating season has started now and they can be distracted with the right call.

landkeeper

14lbjeepers john your a glutton for punishment :eek:you need a gun bearer;)

johngalway

Where are you based Pat, someone may donate a shot fox to your cause.

There's a definite air of romance around alright CJ. Mate of mine shot at two last year while I had the vixen call on, he missed both :eek: (bad rest), but the foxes still stayed in range for a few more minutes.

landkeeper wrote: »

you need a gun bearer;)

Not a bad idea at all. I'll have to get the butler to draw up a shortlist :pac: