Catching up fox cubs

rambo87

Shot a vixen last night. How do you go and kill the cubs humanely? Do you have to find the den and dig them out or will they come out looking for the vixen? Dont like the idea of leaving cubs starving to death!

kildare.17hmr

do you know where the den is? im seeing a few cubs around the place the last while and have seen quite a few on the road side dead so guessing alot of them are out now, find the den and wait till they come out id say

Spunk84

rambo87 wrote: »

Shot a vixen last night. How do you go and kill the cubs humanely? Do you have to find the den and dig them out or will they come out looking for the vixen? Dont like the idea of leaving cubs starving to death!

Dig a hole put the vixen in the hole and cubs will find her, they wont get out of the hole either. I heard that if the vixen dies another one will look after them but would doubt it, I'd say she would eat them instead:DIf you can't find them, then you can't find them. Would be the same if she was hit by a car, the cubs wouldnt last long

bazza888

i heard that aswell but not with a hole,just leave her on the ground 20mtrs or so from the den and wait till they are right out to shoot,iv never done so not sure if it will work.Did you get anything the other night kildare?

kildare.17hmr

Didnt know that lads but something to keep in mind!

Just the 2 crows and a few rabbits that are in the freezer now, the foxes were not interested in the call at all!!

went out for a walk at half8 last night with the dog and spotted a fox eating a lamb down the field, turned and legged it back fr the gun and nailed the fecker:D 1st one with the 20g hollow points and im very impressed

rambo87

I switched from the 17 gram to the 20 gram hollow points- way cleaner kills on foxes... got one at 165 yards with the .17 HMR! Thought he was nearer until i measured the distance!

kildare.17hmr

rambo87 wrote: »

I switched from the 17 gram to the 20 gram hollow points- way cleaner kills on foxes... got one at 165 yards with the .17 HMR! Thought he was nearer until i measured the distance!

yeah thats why i got them because i do be out after foxes a fair bit too, usually have a mag full of each on me when im out. this lad was 180 paces so prob 150 yards about and didnt twich, dead before he hit the ground and i got a bit of an exit hole too which i think is a first

Spunk84

Wereabouts you getting the 20g and what price they running at? I've only seen the 17g about.

kildare.17hmr

Spunk84 wrote: »

Wereabouts you getting the 20g and what price they running at? I've only seen the 17g about.

McCarthys in prosperous €20 a box, he always has them there in Hornady. €19 for the 17g VMAX. what part of the country you in lad?

johngalway

rambo87 wrote: »

dig them out

Terrier and this method if you have one/want to do it that way.

Spunk84 wrote: »

Dig a hole put the vixen in the hole and cubs will find her, they wont get out of the hole either.

This if you need to get them but can't stick around half the day

bazza888 wrote: »

i heard that aswell but not with a hole,just leave her on the ground 20mtrs or so from the den and wait till they are right out to shoot

This if you can You won't even need her that far from the den, once they get hungry they'll come out, smell her and go to her. So as long as you have a clear view, job done.


Needless to say, if you haven't got the right den you're going to be waiting a fairly long time to get any result from it That's where the terriers come in really handy.

rambo87

17.99 in Clarkes in Navan for the Hornady Hollow point 20gr. YAou can buy them online aswell - www.sportsden.ie - you just text them a photo of your license and they deliver it the next day. job done

kildare.17hmr

rambo87 wrote: »

17.99 in Clarkes in Navan for the Hornady Hollow point 20gr. YAou can buy them online aswell - www.sportsden.ie - you just text them a photo of your license and they deliver it the next day. job done

hardly €17.99 incl delivery??????

rambo87

No i just go up to the shop and get all the ammo off him then and there.. 12g aswell... id say theres a delivery charge on top alright.

kildare.17hmr

rambo87 wrote: »

No i just go up to the shop and get all the ammo off him then and there.. 12g aswell... id say theres a delivery charge on top alright.

must keep it in mind because im just waitin on the licence back for the shottie so might buy in bulk for the 2 guns soon and see if i can save a few quid that way!

rambo87

5 Euro fixed rate delivery... not too bad if you bought 4 boxes and then your shotgun ammo on top of that id say youd still save money

kildare.17hmr

sounds good lad, didnt know ya could get this stuff delivered!

Spunk84

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

McCarthys in prosperous €20 a box, he always has them there in Hornady. €19 for the 17g VMAX. what part of the country you in lad?

I'm up the road from ya in kilcock area, was down prosperous yesterday but this foreign chick was there and the language barrier was bad so I ended up leaving:D didn't get any .17 rounds:(

fallowbuck

It would be great if you knew where they were? It could take a very long time searching for them otherwise as a vixen will travel mile's in search for food. But on the other hand, sometimes last years cubs (the females) will stay near and help her out if they haven't got their own to worry about. Search the area with working dogs - its your best bet. From my experience, digging a hole and leaving her in it is a waste of time unless the den was very near by and if it was you would'n need to do that method as you could just dig to them.

kildare.17hmr

Spunk84 wrote: »

I'm up the road from ya in kilcock area, was down prosperous yesterday but this foreign chick was there and the language barrier was bad so I ended up leaving:D didn't get any .17 rounds:(

haha she covers break times and that for the lads, iv gone with her a few times to the ammo room to pick what i needed, much easier:p

@Fallowbuck, would the dogs be able to pick the right den for digging out yeah?

Spunk84

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

haha she covers break times and that for the lads, iv gone with her a few times to the ammo room to pick what i needed, yeah?

That's her!!! Swear to god it was like talking to a Parrot, she repeat everything I said LOL I did get a fox caller, few snares and a box of Remmie shells of her of for 20quid which was alright:p think the poor girl confused herself that much she just wanted rid of me:p

kildare.17hmr

happy days lad:D

bazza888

yeah shes great she doesnt know the prices at all cheap ammo if theres a que behind you!

fallowbuck

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

haha she covers break times and that for the lads, iv gone with her a few times to the ammo room to pick what i needed, much easier:p

@Fallowbuck, would the dogs be able to pick the right den for digging out yeah?

It really is hard to say but with in range the vixen and dog fox has a certain amount of territory , but been honest its just luck of the draw to get them cubs. Foxes do roam into eachothers land in search of food. So knowing which cubs belong to a certain vixen is a hard one.:(

rugerman

try lamping aswell if there hungry they be roaming near the den usually when the vixen is with the cubs and ur lamping she be barking at the cubs that danger is coming so u should definatley get them with the lamp

Spunk84

A fox can travel for miles in search of food so how would you know where the den is unless you shot it outside of it?

As stated before have you looked at the motorways with the amount of vixens and cubs laying on it as road kill! The OP did a great job by shooting the vixen, one less fox to worry about and if the cubs don't survive they don't survive! You could shoot 100 fox this season and next season have the same amount again:mad:

how many people are shooting bunnies on here including mother bunnies leaving their young to die? Same thing. As Kildare said he didn't ask for an anti rant from a member he asked advice to find them if it's possible fallow!

fallowbuck

The normal hunting man nose even if he went out for the whole family of foxes, the vixen if can will lead your terrier away to another earth for safety of her cubs. Then there you are same situation your patterdale or j russell has her chocked to death maybe a mile away, what im trying to say is this stuff happens cubs will be left to starve some of the time. But a hunts man has the heart to get on with his work, and if certain people have problems sleeping in the night bout it just give it up and for god sake dont read these forums simple!!!!

johngalway

OK, let's give this thread another shot. A couple of things to bear in mind before passing this point:

It's usually easier to get someone around to your point of view by help and encouragement instead of name calling and smileys.
Not everyone is going to agree with everyone elses point of view, and that's perfectly fine, once people are civil about it.