Lamping foxes

allnight_2002

I am about to buy a rifle for lamping foxs. What would you Recommended

civdef

You have a few calibre options to start with, .22Hornet, .17Remington, .222Remington, .22/250, .220 Swift. They run roughly in that order in power and expense and noise.

What sort of range are you expecting/able to shoot at?

allnight_2002

The range would be around 100 to 120 yards. Put noise would be an issuse. I would need to be able to silence it with out affecting the accuracy or power.

shinobi

I've got a BRNO .22 Magnum...Less powerful than the hornet. Good for 100 - 120 yrds, bullets are also cheaper than the hornet ~€12.00 a box of 50. (Winchester Super X).

Musashi

I had a little .22 Hornet Bolt Action made by Ruger which was a great gun for fox, but the ammo can make practice a bit pricey.A very accurate gun/round combo though, which is handy enough getting in and out of vehicles ,and to lug around mountainsides!

A$$A$$IN

.220 swift is highly recommended. My cousin has one and I've seen him fell foxes over 300 yards I think. Would also recommend Ballistic tipped bullets -big damage at long range.

civdef

Worth mentioning also that .222rem and .223rem are in the shops now. These are favourites internationally for the job, but haven't been availble here up to now. CZ makes their 527 rifle in both these calibres as well as .22 Hornet.

shinobi

Do the coloured filter lights make much of a difference for lamping foxes.
I've thought about getting them, but don't know what circumstances each is used for i.e. red/blue/orange.

civdef

It's like a lot of other gimmicks, it'll work a few times till the foxes get used to it. The trade off is being able to see a lot less, with attendant safety risks.

It's worth noting two kids got mistakenly shot in the heads by lampers in the UK in the last fortnight, most likely due to them firing at the first pair of eyes glinting in the lamp they saw.

Sparks

And a third man was shot last month under the same circumstances while birdwatching, civ. Took a .270 hollowpoint right in the chest and managed to survive, quite remarkably.

A$$A$$IN

I've shot with filtered lights before and to be honest theres no real difference. Best method is to keep the lamp just below your quarry before you take the shot, obviously being downwind is a great help aswell. Most of my shooting is done with shotguns so my above method is tried tested and approved!

fiacha

Sparks wrote:

And a third man was shot last month under the same circumstances while birdwatching, civ. Took a .270 hollowpoint right in the chest and managed to survive, quite remarkably.

not sure if this is the same one, but there were two idiots involved in this incident. one behind the gun and the other in front. the badger watcher had been out using night vision goggles and went to investigate the sound of shooting and bright lights, by getting into cover ahead of the lamp !. turns out he was also trespassing on the land at the time.

don't know about you, but if I was out alone at night and heard shots coming from the direction of bright light, I would move in the opposite direction or at least try to make my presence known. obviously the shooter did not make sure of his target and should not have taken the shot.

the shooter was cleared of any criminal charges.

benhurt1

when foxes have been hunted a lot with white lamps they become wary. use the different colour filters when your success rate drops. But be aware that the foxes eyes will appear a different colour too so test the filters first without shooting!

woody

Lads no offence and I am a shooter..

Personally there is no need to shoot these animals as they are not a threat.

Yes I hunt rabbits etc but eat them

But a fox no, yes I have done it in the past and vowed never again, why because there is no need.

I regards to using high calibre centre fire rifles for this is an overkill, as they are to powerful for a terrain such as ours, yes deer but foxes no.

A .22" LR or magnum in the correct hands is a better and safer choice.

Again I don't condem shooting of these animals but have recinded from it as they are a rare site indeed and do little or no harm to farms etc contray to what farmers etc say...

civdef

I'm not sure where you are located in the country, but foxes aren't rare at all; in most parts.

I agree with you that generally, stray / wandering dogs do more harm to livestock than foxes, but the fox is by no means innocent either.

As for overkill there's two parts to this, the first is that the 22lr you recommend is entirely inadequate for shooting foxes cleanly. The 22wmr, will do the job, but not past 150 yards tops, and in many places you'll do well to get a fox to come anything near that close.

As for safety, it's well known that the rimfires pose greater safety risks due to ricochets, a centrefire 22 will generally disintegrate on hitting objects, the rimfires bounce.

A$$A$$IN

Foxes are shot because they are considered vermin. I believe that personally they pose a minor threat to livestock. In my local club we breed Pheasants and release them and foxes are considered a threat especially just after the birds have been released.

Over 200 foxes were killed last year alone in our clubs district and this years numbers are following the same pattern these animals are by no means a rare sight.

I do agree on the point raised about the overkill .220 swift is perhaps too high of a calibre. I shot a .22 magnum lastnight and it is perhaps better equiped for the job.

gouda

woody wrote:

Lads no offence and I am a shooter..

Personally there is no need to shoot these animals as they are not a threat.

Yes I hunt rabbits etc but eat them

But a fox no, yes I have done it in the past and vowed never again, why because there is no need.

I regards to using high calibre centre fire rifles for this is an overkill, as they are to powerful for a terrain such as ours, yes deer but foxes no.

A .22" LR or magnum in the correct hands is a better and safer choice.

Again I don't condem shooting of these animals but have recinded from it as they are a rare site indeed and do little or no harm to farms etc contray to what farmers etc say...

Possibly they are no threat where you live,others do have problems. Large calibre rifles in the hands of responsible shooters are a more effective means of killing foxes ensuring a humane kill. Isn't this what we should be trying for? We all realise that a .22 rimfire will kill even large animals if used correctly but the larger calibres have the effect of ensuring a humane kill because of the higher terminal velocity. As stated by civdef,they are not rare and as they are classed as vermin they are offered no protection under the Wildlife Act.

woody

They are indeed rare were I live there was once, quite a few indeed but alas they are almost wiped out..

Vermin yes but they are a lovely creature although, had a bad run in shooting a fox a while back, while I did'nt shot it the person with me did and subsequently went to wipe out the cubs, which I did not allow, to me it was just wrong.

As for .22LR I have used it with much success, I have in the UK used a .303 Lee Enfield to hunt foxes but at distances up to 200 Metres, where I live you would engage at around 50 to 100 Metres.

.22 WMR would be slightly better choice for power and first shot kill.

Only have used it once but was impressed indeed.

fiacha

woody wrote:

Vermin yes but they are a lovely creature although, had a bad run in shooting a fox a while back, while I did'nt shot it the person with me did and subsequently went to wipe out the cubs, which I did not allow, to me it was just wrong.

have never had the need to shoot a fox myself as there are no gamebirds or chickens etc reared on the the land I shoot.

however, if you have a need to control the fox population then it is your responsibility to insure that it is done with the least stress and cruelty to the animal. if the vixen was shot, then the cubs should have been killed. to the best of my knowledge the dog will not stay with the cubs, and they would have starved. to me that is just wrong.

woody

Cubs went to local wildlife sanctuary and are fine...

The person with me was an idiot and since then i have parted ways, a bit of a wyatt erp to be honest and gives the shooting fratenity a bad name you always get one.

And correct the dog fox will not stay with the cubs

A$$A$$IN

Don't think Im a brute meself and me father dont shoot foxes during the summer months, usually when they have young, thats disrespectful to the animal. Most of our fox hunting is done in the winter months i.e. when all have grown and are independent.

Terrier

I've been lamping for a few years now. My kit includes
22 Hornet
11-87 (super mag)
Electronic Caller (http://www.multisensorydesign.com/callout)
1m Power Lamp
.5m hand held lamp

Since i've bought the electronic caller i have gone from 40 foxes a year to 150 a year, I only lamp between oct- march. Like to give everthing a chance.
The caller can also be used for magpies, greys, ducks as well as foxes...

shinobi

I've an electronic caller as well. I mostly use the rabbit call when lamping. When are the dog/vixen calls best used/Most effective?

Terrier

Vixen call Jan - March, although I normally always stick to the rabbit,