crafty fox

xchrisshana

lads im at my wits end im try to get this 1 fox for a good while now his not coming to any calls or baited traps iv tried over ten different calls iv used cat food fresh deer, fish ,rabbits ,still born lambs , you name it i have used it i have shot a good few foxes im my time but this lad is busting my chops is there any one out there that can give me a few ideas thanks lads

Birdnuts

A snare is a good way of getting the tricky ones. If you've been tracking him it should be easy enough to find his regular routes and set the snare at a bottle neck like a small gap in a hedge or fence.

xchrisshana

ya we have some snares and fen traps out too im beginning to think this lad has a degree he is so clever

yubabill1

You will have to invest some time to establish a pattern for his movements.

Lay off trying to shoot him for a while (no gun) and spend the time on observation.

Clearly, he's had a taste of lead. There is going to be no easy way with this lad. Calls, bait, scent probably put him on his guard. Ambush or lucky snare only way.

Slowly, slowly catchee monkey.

they never see the one that gets them.

.243

use the cat food again but half open the top of the tin and leave it out,give him a cpl of weeks to get used to chasing the tin around the field,havin readily food in front of him will in time keep his mind more occupied on the food than his surroundings

sniperman

hi there,im not a fan of snares,can mean a long painful death,i had a fox like that about 2 years ago,tried everything for bait that was dead,then i thought maybe something live might attract him,so being aware of where he might show,i got a small live chicken with a 4 foot length of string,tied to chicken leg,and pegged to ground,the chicken was in no way stressed,she was happily picking around her,anyway done this on a night with a full moon,hid in the ditch,about 50 yards from the chicken,and waited,was there for about 2 hours ,who appears slowly up the middle of the field,charlie,chicken got a bit restless,but i let foxy get as near as i could,only had a 22lr,he stopped about 55 yards away,bang front chest shot,he jumped about 4 foot and ran.found him 30 yards away dead,and i still have the chicken,try this way and i bet you will get your fox,they have great hearing and smelling abilities,and they love Kentucky fried

xchrisshana

sniperman wrote: »

hi there,im not a fan of snares,can mean a long painful death,i had a fox like that about 2 years ago,tried everything for bait that was dead,then i thought maybe something live might attract him,so being aware of where he might show,i got a small live chicken with a 4 foot length of string,tied to chicken leg,and pegged to ground,the chicken was in no way stressed,she was happily picking around her,anyway done this on a night with a full moon,hid in the ditch,about 50 yards from the chicken,and waited,was there for about 2 hours ,who appears slowly up the middle of the field,charlie,chicken got a bit restless,but i let foxy get as near as i could,only had a 22lr,he stopped about 55 yards away,bang front chest shot,he jumped about 4 foot and ran.found him 30 yards away dead,and i still have the chicken,try this way and i bet you will get your fox,they have great hearing and smelling abilities,and they love Kentucky fried

Sounds like a plan

J.R.

sniperman wrote: »

hi there,im not a fan of snares,can mean a long painful death,i had a fox like that about 2 years ago,tried everything for bait that was dead,then i thought maybe something live might attract him,so being aware of where he might show,i got a small live chicken with a 4 foot length of string,tied to chicken leg,and pegged to ground,the chicken was in no way stressed,she was happily picking around her,anyway done this on a night with a full moon,hid in the ditch,about 50 yards from the chicken,and waited,was there for about 2 hours ,who appears slowly up the middle of the field,charlie,chicken got a bit restless,but i let foxy get as near as i could,only had a 22lr,he stopped about 55 yards away,bang front chest shot,he jumped about 4 foot and ran.found him 30 yards away dead,and i still have the chicken,try this way and i bet you will get your fox,they have great hearing and smelling abilities,and they love Kentucky fried

The only problem with this is that it is illegal, in my opinion.

Although the act states wild bird I could not see it being justified with a domestic bird.

I could not see how it could be illegal to use a tethered wild rabbit but acceptable to use a tethered domestic chicken.


The only time you can use a live animal / bird as a decoy is with a greycrow or magpie in a larsen trap.



Wildlife Act 1976 section 35 ammended to section 43 in the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000


“(a) use, for the purpose of hunting, repelling or scaring any wild bird or any wild animal—

(i) any live wild bird or live wild animal which is tethered or secured by braces or other similar appliance or which is confined in a cage or pen or which is blind, maimed or injured, or

(ii) any kite, light trap, balloon, aircraft (including model aircraft) or similar device,

The Aussie

J.R. wrote: »

(i) any live wild bird or live wild animal which is tethered or secured by braces or other similar appliance or which is confined in a cage or pen.

Are domestic Chickens Wild?
Are they not kept in a Pen?

An alternative would be to put the chicken inside a closed Fox Trap (so the Fox can't get to it) in a safe shooting position (regarding backstop and general safety concerns).

4200fps

If you had animal gutts of some kind and rap in chicken wire and steak it to the ground it will keep him there for a good while

deeksofdoom

What about getting the cat food and rubbing it into the ground with you boot or the back of a shovel. Spread it out over the ground evenly. There'll be a fairly good whiff of it in the air and the fox will have to stay in the one spot to eat it. The fox will be so preoccupied licking it up of the ground he won't notice you.

Other than that go off looking for signs off fox paths, where he's running and find the den.

xchrisshana

4200fps wrote: »

If you had animal gutts of some kind and rap in chicken wire and steak it to the ground it will keep him there for a good while

I have done all the baiting in the world it's not working the chicken is the way to go I'd say il put it into a live trap so the fox can't get him

rsole1

sniperman wrote: »

hi there,im not a fan of snares,can mean a long painful death,i had a fox like that about 2 years ago,tried everything for bait that was dead,then i thought maybe something live might attract him,so being aware of where he might show,i got a small live chicken with a 4 foot length of string,tied to chicken leg,and pegged to ground,the chicken was in no way stressed,she was happily picking around her,anyway done this on a night with a full moon,hid in the ditch,about 50 yards from the chicken,and waited,was there for about 2 hours ,who appears slowly up the middle of the field,charlie,chicken got a bit restless,but i let foxy get as near as i could,only had a 22lr,he stopped about 55 yards away,bang front chest shot,he jumped about 4 foot and ran.found him 30 yards away dead,and i still have the chicken,try this way and i bet you will get your fox,they have great hearing and smelling abilities,and they love Kentucky fried

Did the chicken need counselling? lol

sniperman

J.R. wrote: »

The only problem with this is that it is illegal, in my opinion.

Although the act states wild bird I could not see it being justified with a domestic bird.

I could not see how it could be illegal to use a tethered wild rabbit but acceptable to use a tethered domestic chicken.


The only time you can use a live animal / bird as a decoy is with a greycrow or magpie in a larsen trap.



Wildlife Act 1976 section 35 ammended to section 43 in the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000


“(a) use, for the purpose of hunting, repelling or scaring any wild bird or any wild animal—

(i) any live wild bird or live wild animal which is tethered or secured by braces or other similar appliance or which is confined in a cage or pen or which is blind, maimed or injured, or

(ii) any kite, light trap, balloon, aircraft (including model aircraft) or similar device,

fair point,but it only refers to wild birds,i cant find any acts or laws to do with domestic birds being tethered,before i done what i done,i looked into this very carefully,as i would never do anything illegal,but everyone is entitled to their opinion;)

sniperman

xchrisshana wrote: »

I have done all the baiting in the world it's not working the chicken is the way to go I'd say il put it into a live trap so the fox can't get him

hi if this fox is as cute as you say he is,do you not think he would be a bit cautious approaching a big wire cage?the more natural the food looks to him,the less cautious he is going to be,he will be fully focused on the bait,knowing full well he could be in for a chase,he will be too busy stalking his prey to notice a a well hid you in the ditch,everyone will have their own way of doing things,buts that's how i dealt with my problem;)

MadYaker

Why are you so determined to kill this fox?

The Aussie

MadYaker wrote: »

Why are you so determined to kill this fox?

Your first post in the Hunting Forum I see, I will try and make it enjoyable for you. :pac:


Obviously it's an on going problem, a problem Fox kills animals (if you watched the Animals of Farthing Wood as a child, it was a lie)
So a problem Fox needs to be eradicated, I hope I've been of help.

xchrisshana

MadYaker wrote: »

Why are you so determined to kill this fox?

(It's personal ) his getting a few lambs

hrcbob

I almost always have a fox sniffing around my larsen traps when they are set.. My grey crow one gets huge amounts of attention to the point where the fox kept nicking the stick i had through the wire as a perch, Maybe if you had a larsen Mr fox might come for a good look at it?? Plus the bird is only realy there because youre trying to catch mags/grey crows..

cubbyleader

MadYaker wrote: »

Why are you so determined to kill this fox?

He was talking about the OPs sister down the pub

yubabill1

xchrisshana wrote: »

I have done all the baiting in the world it's not working the chicken is the way to go I'd say il put it into a live trap so the fox can't get him

I doon't know about the legality of tethering the chicken, but whatever you are doing, if this fox is as clever as you say, it's going to be difficult to get him with any moon out.

I have often used a LIDL night vision monocular until they come in and then fire up the lamp.

xchrisshana

yubabill1 wrote: »

I doon't know about the legality of tethering the chicken, but whatever you are doing, if this fox is as clever as you say, it's going to be difficult to get him with any moon out.

I have often used a LIDL night vision monocular until they come in and then fire up the lamp.

I'm using the ND 5 it's a great bit of kit I have it on the rifle its just as good . I have two nd5s one is up for sale

MadYaker

xchrisshana wrote: »

(It's personal ) his getting a few lambs

Ah thats fair enough.

sniperman

yubabill1 wrote: »

I doon't know about the legality of tethering the chicken, but whatever you are doing, if this fox is as clever as you say, it's going to be difficult to get him with any moon out.

I have often used a LIDL night vision monocular until they come in and then fire up the lamp.

and when you fire up the lamp,the clever fox will stand there until you aim and get the shot off?

6.5 tikka

xchrisshana wrote: »

lads im at my wits end im try to get this 1 fox for a good while now his not coming to any calls or baited traps iv tried over ten different calls iv used cat food fresh deer, fish ,rabbits ,still born lambs , you name it i have used it i have shot a good few foxes im my time but this lad is busting my chops is there any one out there that can give me a few ideas thanks lads

yeah let him go

yubabill1

sniperman wrote: »

and when you fire up the lamp,the clever fox will stand there until you aim and get the shot off?

Well, with a full moon, as you suggest, he will be off the minute you move and most likely you will not even know he was around, because he will see you first.:eek:

sniperman

yubabill1 wrote: »

Well, with a full moon, as you suggest, he will be off the minute you move and most likely you will not even know he was around, because he will see you first.:eek:

,....well the one i got did not evan know what hit him,i think he would be off alot faster if he saw a bright lamp shining at him;)

yubabill1

sniperman wrote: »

,....well the one i got did not evan know what hit him,i think he would be off alot faster if he saw a bright lamp shining at him;)

Does that happen to you often?

dwighet

This is a job for John Galway.He be one of the best foxers I have ever shot with..By the way were is he..Havnt heard from him for ages..

aaakev

dwighet wrote: »

This is a job for John Galway.He be one of the best foxers I have ever shot with..By the way were is he..Havnt heard from him for ages..

John closed his account a long time ago

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056718680/1/#post80068612

sniperman

yubabill1 wrote: »

Does that happen to you often?

only with lamp shy foxes

yubabill1

I've met my share of them. Can't say I got them all first time, but been through that already.

You need a good lamp man and you should be right.

Of course, it helps to be quick with the shot, but a skilled lamp man will buy you time.

sniperman

yubabill1 wrote: »

I've met my share of them. Can't say I got them all first time, but been through that already.

You need a good lamp man and you should be right.

Of course, it helps to be quick with the shot, but a skilled lamp man will buy you time.

fully agree.a sceond pair of hands is a great help,and yes he has to know what he is doing,no good lamping the tops of trees:D

Sika98k

Unfortunately the full moon is only a couple of days away but I would bait a spot regularly.Set up a trail camera to get an idea of when he shows up and make my plans accordingly.

If you cant put up a high seat nearby,park a vehicle,4x4,tractor whatever and wait and wait.

Foxes[in my area] are fairly active early morning and evening at the moment. Got a big dog fox at 840 this morning after beening out from 6am[again] 42 inches from muzzle to tail tip.

sniperman

Sika98k wrote: »

Unfortunately the full moon is only a couple of days away but I would bait a spot regularly.Set up a trail camera to get an idea of when he shows up and make my plans accordingly.

If you cant put up a high seat nearby,park a vehicle,4x4,tractor whatever and wait and wait.

Foxes[in my area] are fairly active early morning and evening at the moment. Got a big dog fox at 840 this morning after beening out from 6am[again] 42 inches from muzzle to tail tip.

are you sure that was a fox and not a wolf:D

Sika98k

sniperman wrote: »

are you sure that was a fox and not a wolf:D

Oh,you may jest .

lb1981

Sika98k wrote: »

Unfortunately the full moon is only a couple of days away but I would bait a spot regularly.Set up a trail camera to get an idea of when he shows up and make my plans accordingly.

If you cant put up a high seat nearby,park a vehicle,4x4,tractor whatever and wait and wait.

Foxes[in my area] are fairly active early morning and evening at the moment. Got a big dog fox at 840 this morning after beening out from 6am[again] 42 inches from muzzle to tail tip.

Perfect advise, go by this and you will nail any craty foxes

sniperman

Sika98k wrote: »

Unfortunately the full moon is only a couple of days away but I would bait a spot regularly.Set up a trail camera to get an idea of when he shows up and make my plans accordingly.

If you cant put up a high seat nearby,park a vehicle,4x4,tractor whatever and wait and wait.

Foxes[in my area] are fairly active early morning and evening at the moment. Got a big dog fox at 840 this morning after beening out from 6am[again] 42 inches from muzzle to tail tip.

on a serious note, sounds like a good plan also;)

dodderangler

Heard a story over the weekend of a lad I was fishing with that told me he had a troublesome feral cat that would often take his chickens and he tried traps and didn't work snares aswell and nothing
Now I dunno if he was telling the truth or if its illegal but said he left a dead chicken out and put two sleeping tabs in it and found the cat nnext morning end of garden with chicken beside him half eaten and cat out for the count asleep
Now sounds like a fib but maybe an option or a waste of sleeping tablets

Sika98k

Years ago we used to use Alphachloralase in carcasses to get rid of magpies,grey crows.
It is a narcotic,not a poison. It works by lowering the metabolism of the animal and then the frost does the rest of the work. Yes it was only good in the winter,useless in warm weather.I used to use it with great effect on dead foxs. I would always pick up a few greys or magpies the next day.

Sadly its use is now prohibited and it is unavailable form the local Coop as it used to be.

Birdnuts

dodderangler wrote: »

Heard a story over the weekend of a lad I was fishing with that told me he had a troublesome feral cat that would often take his chickens and he tried traps and didn't work snares aswell and nothing
Now I dunno if he was telling the truth or if its illegal but said he left a dead chicken out and put two sleeping tabs in it and found the cat nnext morning end of garden with chicken beside him half eaten and cat out for the count asleep
Now sounds like a fib but maybe an option or a waste of sleeping tablets

It would be an illegal use of such a drug - all medicines, veterinary products, pesticides etc. can only be used in ways that conform to their particular licence, issued by the relevant government body that controls how they can be used, sold, administered or prescribed. Someone mentioned Alphachloralase - this was banned from use as it was a threat to non-target species, pets etc. Which is why all potential poisons/narcotics are subject to such a strict licensing scheme under Irish and EU law.

In any case it is now illegal to use any type of poison/narcotic/stupefying bait against any bird or mammal species in this country - apart from certain rodenticides that are licensed for use in rodent only bait boxes for the control of rats/mice.

dodderangler

I had a feeling it would be illegal now
I started thinkin of all the bops that were poisoned and suppose its similar with a few sleepy tabs
Any luck on this lad op??

lb1981

Get some mackeral leave them in a bag over night so they are fairly stinking ,dig a hole and bury them with their tails up sticking about half way out of the hole , go back and check are they gone the next morning,if they are you are on to a winner , do this for a few nights then wait out for the fox ,they will be over confident as they have got free food a few nights in a row so they will dig away and it will give you plenty of time for the shot.

sniperman

lb1981 wrote: »

Get some mackeral leave them in a bag over night so they are fairly stinking ,dig a hole and bury them with their tails up sticking about half way out of the hole , go back and check are they gone the next morning,if they are you are on to a winner , do this for a few nights then wait out for the fox ,they will be over confident as they have got free food a few nights in a row so they will dig away and it will give you plenty of time for the shot.

+1, sounds like a good plan:cool: