Hunt Reports

[ClaytonT88]

Great thread guys, looking forward to getting out their and doing my bit for the fox and rabbit population. I'm a big fan of venison pie so hopefully I'll get a chance at some deer once I get a bit of practice in.

[Jon79]

went for a shot yesterday afternoon looking to pick off a fox or two, ended up picking up a fallow for the freezer instead....only had the 223 but luckily it walked in close enough for a head shot

Anyway finished dividing up the meat last night and notice the poor bugger had been blasted with a shot gun at some stage, why someone would shoot a deer with a shot gun I have no idea, under the skin and in the joints of its rear leg was riddled with BB shot...….gotta wonder sometimes

[Stix]

So i went up to a property on the long weekend, the one i bowl most of my foxes over on.

Over the last 3 years the bunny population directly around the farm infrastructure (houses, sheds, sheep yards, rubbish tip & old car bodies etc etc--say a guess of half to 3/4's of a square kilometre)has built up to a healthy head count but was largely knocked over by the calici virus a couple of years ago.

But even after the calici virus has done its bit, there were still signs of bunnies around, & it didnt tske too long for the population to get some numbers back...enough that id see them around when i teturn to base from a night out chasing foxes, & always see a few white fluffy tails bobbing around when id go for an early morning stroll with the shotty.

Earlier this year when i was frequenting the property every month, i had accidentally shot 2 feral cats-(one ginger one i thought was a fox, & a black one i wasnt sure was a fox or a cat due to spotlight flare off the stainless barrel & damp/moist air making it impossible to make out anything but the eyes.)

I say accidentally because the farmer doesnt wsnt cats shot as he believes they keep the mice down (sigh--yea i know...!!!).

So ive obviously got these 2 cats just as they've moved in to the area, & before they've done any damage to my little bunny population.

So this trip, i was a bit miffed as to why i saw no bunnies around the farm....
Calici virus doesnt apoear to have been through, so at first i just figured that mr & mrs fox have been shopping more often due to extra mouths to feed this time of the year...

But the second night i came back from spotlighting another block, i drove around & through the farm yard & saw a dam black cat shoot across the track & head through mallee scrub & headed towards the old car & steel rubbish tip, which is where the greatest population of bunnies were.

My ol' man was also uo there trapping, & so i got up with him at 6 the next morning to go check his traps with him.
He was swearing & carrying on about having seen 3 cats, & having had half eaten bunnies in his traps that were buried...'eff' cats' he cursing.

So look what was in one of the traps i checked with him...(yes i posted these pics earlier in another thread)

Healthier than a house cat...!!

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Beautiful fur to touch.

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So...it would appear that 2 or 3 cats have moved in to the area & have completely decimated the rabbit population...& im pissed off...!!!

Ive only shot 2 rabbits around the yards in the last year to let them get up in numbers, & i actually use the bunny population as they bring foxes into to yard, & the farm.dogs let me know when a fox os around....

Fukn cats...!!!

The painful thing is the farmer doesnt want them shot...but they do so much damage...!!

There was a couple of bearded dragons around, but my guess is they'll be toast by now.

Serves me right for not getting there for 3 months...

Anyway...that cat now looks a bit flatter, & tomorrow ill be taking it off the salt & fleshing it out...

Flat Cat

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I also saw the eyes of another cat on the other property that i was too slow to get a shot off..

I also prefer to leave foxes alone this time of year, but i was eyeing off a couple of young tender bunnies when this old boy made his prescence clear to me...so he took off from only about 20yds from the car.
So i poked the 204 out the window & stuck the whidtle in my mouth & figured if it pulls up real easy ill think about popping it...
Well it was too easy to pull it up at around 100 with the whistle so i slung a 32 grainer into the middle of his engine bay...thankfully it was an old boy so i didnt need to worry about young not being weined for some next summer & autum activity.

Grandpa Fox

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He was so hard to find--only 110 odd yards & barely 50 yds from a fence line but it still took 20 mins to find him, & given i was on my way back to the shack to hit the sack, i wasnt happy i had another body to skin.
But thankfully i didnt have to skin him as he was suffering bad from mange...

Poor fella

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He appeared pretty healthy apart from the mange...his teeth were big for a fox, but he was a big boy with a big head...

You can tell he's got a few years behind him from his teeth...
Young ones, certainly in their first year or 2 of being have super sharp needle point teeth...but you can see this fellas teeth are well rounded over.

Good teeth

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So when i looked up i noticed the moonrise--its a shame these pics on my mobile couldnt capure the view, it really was a beautiful sight seeing that big orange moon rise up the otherwise invisible horizon...

Moonrise

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[YoungBuck]

N1 Stix, you seem to have a great success rate.
I went out yesterday morning to one of regular forests for a bit of an armed bushwalk with the .243. Managed to call this chap in to about 10 meters with the tenterfield.

[southwest shooter]

Nice work , going whistling this afternoon , just me and the 12 guage .

[Stix]

Nice one youngBuck...!!!

I dont always have great sucess actually...driving spotting & shooting by myself is a task, & one that usually leaves me with up to half the amount of foxes i could knock over in a night (during what i call fox season)...but i dont know anyone who can drive & spot, or who can shoot well enough to take along with me...
Earlier in the year on a night when lambs were droppiing out left right n centre, i couldve had a count of between 9-12...but i only got 4, as by the time i position the car, poke the rifle out the window & get settled enough to take a shot the darn things move...

Anyway,
Is that the exit hole in your pic i assume...? or is it entry...?

What proj are you using...?
(243 very big round for foxes, but i guess you got deer around too...? )

[Stix]

By the way YoungBuck...you should stick that one in fox pages mate...

[YoungBuck]

Nice one youngBuck...!!!
Anyway,
Is that the exit hole in your pic i assume...? or is it entry...?

What proj are you using...?
(243 very big round for foxes, but i guess you got deer around too...? )

Sry Stix been a while since I visited this thread.
Exit hole in the pic above. Made with 87gr Hornady SP. They are too heavy for foxes but it's all I've got loaded at the moment. I've got a box of Hornady 65gr V-Max that I need to load up and test which would be much better on foxes.


On topic, I've acquired access to some new land to help a farmer out. Ended up with 5 hares for the day and nearly a dozen rabbits. No shortage of them that's for sure. The bottom three were all taken within 60 seconds.

[Stix]

Hey YoungBuck.
What about a light load using 55's with the 243 for foxes...?

Nice going on the little hoppy thingy critters...

You eating them mate...?

Im gonna have to try one thats been slowly bubbled away in pasta sauce-i hear its great...!!

Ive left the hares alone the last couple years since i learned they mate for life & as i ve almost always seen them in pairs, & i cant be bothered skinning n dressing em out...but seeing yours laying there & knowing i havnt tried to tan & i dont have a hare fur, i think the next one i see might headbut a bullet.... (that is if i dont give away shooting all together after some hugely deflating results today).

Those hares look very orange/ginger...they not like that in the parts i wander...

[YoungBuck]

Those ones stayed on the ground mate, I didn't have the right tools with me on the day for cleaning them up out there. I will be more prepared next time though. I don't bother eating them, but the dog loves a bit of fresh rabbit.

[bigpete]

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You could say I've been doing a bit of hunting now that the wife has left...

[Oldbloke]

Goodonya. Giving the foxes heaps, nice to see. Was the fallow good eating?

[bigpete]

Very good eating

[Oldbloke]

What did you shoot him with?

[bigpete]

A cz 550 American in 308 left me by my best mate,firing 170gn rnfp sierra 3030 pills at around 2600,topped with an excalibur 2.5x crossbow scope....

[Oldbloke]

A cz 550 American in 308 left me by my best mate,firing 170gn rnfp sierra 3030 pills at around 2600,topped with an excalibur 2.5x crossbow scope....

Sorry to hear about your mates passing. Bet He would be happy with u putting it to good use. Bloody nice looking rifle. 308 is a great all round deer cartridge. Just not quite as good as 30-06

[bigpete]

Your opinion only

[Oldbloke]

Your opinion only

It was a joke

[Stix]

Nice pics BigPete...!

I particularly like the first pic...thats a fine looking mature fox there, & thats a bludy nice looking rifle-i really like that timber..

Since starting my tanning fur fettish its interesting seeing the different markings on foxes & wish i could have one or 2 from down your way...!!
(Not a hint, just a statement )

There is a blood line on a farm.i bowl them over on that has some great black markings, & another with some slate grey colour around the neck...
Yet on another farm the fur pattern is quite subtle & non interesting.

Yea i know...simple things/simple minds...

I never really noticed the subtle differences until tanning the furs.

Nice pics...

[bigpete]

That's funny you say that Stix...
The first one had the worst pelt of all of them,and was probably the youngest....

[Stix]

Fair enuf...
I can only see the pics...you held it in real life.

So your saying the first fox is younger than the second one (in order of your pics)...?

[bigpete]

Yep. The second one was a vixen though...

[Stix]

Yea righto...!

You should send it to the authorities, you might have super genetic fox species down there...mite mske yourself famous for descovering a new species.

[bigpete]

He really wasnt that big hey. Must just be the photo ?

[Stix]

Yes & no...
I can see he's not a 'large' fox going by size in relation to the rifle...and it also depends on what you call 'mature' (& note i said 'mature'-not 'old')...i understand they only live up to 5 or so years, & so with hunting & baiting i consider a 3yr old fox "old".

I call a mature fox one that is breeding/or capable of.

And as for the pic, its the proportions of the fox that tell my its 'mature'.

The width of its 'cheeks'-boys dont fill out like that while young/pups-even when full height/size, rather they usually long slender heads until they get more 'manly'.

Also the tails dont usually bush out like that when young...that comes with maturity too...& the tail on that one is (clearly looks) as wide as its upper hind leg--thats not a pup by any stretch...!!

But im not here to argue with you, if you call it young/the youngest, thats ok by me...!
i just made an observation in comment to your post.

[Bent Arrow]

Had a pretty crap week so felt the need to go for a walk to find some personal space. Almost back to the car and bumped a hare out of the grass, he bound away but made the mistake of stopping about 100-110 m away. Dogs will be happy for a couple of days......

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[bigpete]

Bugger the dogs,eat him yourself!

[Stix]

Yep...that did the job...thumbsup: .

Out of curiosity, what round did the damage. ..?

[Bent Arrow]

Bugger the dogs,eat him yourself!

Nahh I like the rabbits, not keen on these guys,. The dogs go nuts for them though

[Bent Arrow]

Yep...that did the job...thumbsup: .

Out of curiosity, what round did the damage. ..?

Cheers. 117 gn out of my 25-06.