The fox pages

[Stix]

Good stuff BLR...

The poor bugger...that mange is nasty stuff i rekon...would be a horrible way to go...you probably gave him a relatively painless way out of his distress...

[Blr243]

I saw a darkish wallaby last night with a bit of bark of its back. More than a scrape that would come from crawling under a fence .. they are not known here to foolishly dart across the track in front of a Ute they keep to themselves and stay out of trouble. It’s the greys here who’s antics Make you think they are auditioning for some sort of daredevil circus freak show..... so the wallaby I saw after I shot the fox and it got me thinking can wallabies get mange , Can cats get mange?



Pantics make you think they

[Stix]

Im not sure mate...

I dont recall seeing it on roos or cats...but compared with foxes, i dont shoot many of them either...

[bigpete]

Humans can

[RoginaJack]

Roos, can't ever recall seeing one with mange or a feral dog for that matter but foxes, hell yeah lots of them. Could be that foxes tend to live underground, so if one of the pack or litter get it,all get it. Dunno, just a theory...

[RoginaJack]

Humans can

Oh, I thought that was just due to "old age". You know, where things shrink or fall out except ya chest muscles; they just drop down to your stomach!

[bigpete]

Nah,a few of dad's fox shooting mates got mange off foxes

[Stix]

Roos, can't ever recall seeing one with mange or a feral dog for that matter but foxes, hell yeah lots of them. Could be that foxes tend to live underground, so if one of the pack or litter get it,all get it. Dunno, just a theory... :unknown:

id say that'd be a theory made real...

It is a mite, so like fleas would be sure to pass from one to another in a den...

Dogs will get it...

[Oldbloke]

Nah,a few of dad's fox shooting mates got mange off foxes

Fair dinkum. Ill be more carefull about handling mangy foxes in future.

Its scabies. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mange

[bigpete]

Yep. Absolutely

[AJB]

[Stix]

Here's a few from a few weeks ago out in the mallee...
(Think i may have posted one or two of these pics somewhere else here... )

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Some from couple weeks ago...

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Within them & shot in same paddock are these two--completely different looking foxes with a very different colour orange...

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Here's last nights effort...
Shouldve been seven, or atleast 5...but someone missed 2 easy shots, & also got a little cocky & tried to see how close he could call in a couple, instead of taking easy 150 yd shots... ...( )

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Here they are layed out before i skun em...

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So i opened the account last night with one off the shoulder at a smidge under 80 yds... (looked a lot further)...
Was calling one in when it just went nuts & took off...so i swung the torch around to see a set of eyes checking me out from only 40ish yds behind the car...a brisk quiet swagger over there keeping it in the light & got within 30 yds of it before it figured it'd better get more distance...
I came to an electric fence & couldnt go any further, & the fox was well on his way to elsewhere...
I kept the light on him, gave a little squeek to pull it up & thought bugger it, ill give it a crack...
So i let rip & was most happy to see the eyes go down in the grass to the sound of a loud "pop"......
...popped right through the heart & left a big splod of coagulated blood on the lush lucerne...

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Ive had good success of late with the 20 cal Nos 32gr Varmageddon not blowing big holes in them, but all 4 of these had big exits...
Still kept the furs of 3--unfortunately left a big dog fox eith a thinning tail from the early stages of mange... ...shame cos he was a good looking boy...!!
Anyway, think i need to go back to hitting higher/the shoulder again instead of popping out the hearts...
The last bullet used to remove legs if i hit the shoulder...

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[AJB]

[AJB]

[Blr243]

My new fox rig Ruger American 450 bm. 300 grain Hornady xtp. Pulsar NV scope 15 m shot

[AJB]

Thats a cool looking fox rig blr

[Blr243]

Ajb. I’m not terribly serious about it as a fox rig. The 243 was on the ground beside me in the dark. I was sitting in a folding chair waiting for a pig to arrive with the 450 in my lap. I did not have time to change rifles. .. 15 mins prior when I was just about to leave the hole I saw a very big boar coming in for a drink but he was cautious and skirted around to enter the water area with the wind in his face ... so somewhere behind mounds of earth and tall grass he has caught my scent and quietly gotten out of there

[brinny]

Been getting into a few of late with the new GSCI S675 thermal scope set up on my Sako 85 204.......Good to have something that holds zero for a change....

[GQshayne]

Good work mate. Must be a lot around your area.

[Stix]

Good work mate. Must be a lot around your area.

He owns Victoria...

[brinny]

Good work mate. Must be a lot around your area.

Cheers mate....generally dont start this early as a rule....but had an urgent SOS off a cocky lambing late.....He has 100 acres himself and leases another 100 acres next to him.....
In 6 trips there i have taken 30 foxes off the 200 acres he has....Which has led to a couple of his neighbors asking me to shoot their places as well....
Cant beat word of mouth.....

Ha ha...I wish Stix....

[Stix]

Using thermal with a 204 on fox pups is just cheating...
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(Good stuff Brinny...)

[brinny]

Using thermal with a 204 on fox pups is just cheating...
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(Good stuff Brinny...)

Pity there isnt a finger emoji here......

[Stix]

Mate my eyes would've been poked out LONG ago if there was...



One day...one day ill have a dream that i get over there & have a night on them with ya...

Ill bring the food n drinks...

Ill let you know how many we got once i have it...

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I was out testing a bullet in mine today--had a little confusion with a load that put 3 shots in one hole at 100...then spread the same load over nearly 3 inches at 200...then 2 cases wouldnt chamber... ...then...!!!...then a 20mph wind blew in...FFS...you think i was happy...3 hours in the car for that...!!!...GGGRRRRR

[Member-Deleted]

BUGGA me brinny, any fox's left down there? I thought the dogs were bad up here. Geez mate good work.

[brinny]

Mate my eyes would've been poked out LONG ago if there was...



One day...one day ill have a dream that i get over there & have a night on them with ya...

Ill bring the food n drinks...

Ill let you know how many we got once i have it...

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I was out testing a bullet in mine today--had a little confusion with a load that put 3 shots in one hole at 100...then spread the same load over nearly 3 inches at 200...then 2 cases wouldnt chamber... ...then...!!!...then a 20mph wind blew in...FFS...you think i was happy...3 hours in the car for that...!!!...GGGRRRRR

OOOOHHHHH....ouch.....That hurts.....I share your frustration there mate.......was going through simillar frustration with those damn XQ50 Trail thermals not holding zero....reckon i missed easily 100 last year....thats hard to cop too i can tell you....Would go out nights and not miss one...then go out the next and miss straight away...check it and shooting 3 inches to the right at 100m.....but still hold a tight group....some of my trips were over 3 hours travelling too.....blood pressure pills were working overtime.....
What are you trialing....what cal and load??

[Blr243]

Good work brinny. All my foxes are mangy I don’t shoot any fine looking specimen s. I wonder if the heat up here is causing more of it

[Stix]

Youve upset me Brinny...upset me because ive already told you its same as yours--a Sako 85 Varmint in 204... i thought we had a connection...thought we were fox 204 brothers...

Well you're dropped...!!...

Couldnt help myself...sorry...

Mate, its same as yours with a laminate stock...i had all sorts of troubles & ended up getting the rifle swapped over...& another cheer for Beretta Aust for that--they did the right thing & looked after me, giving me what i payed for...

Anyway, it loves Nosler Varmegeddon 32's--well so far--but i bought it for a Long range Bunny rig so want to use 40's in it...
Ive tried 40 Vamx & 39 Sper HP's but doesnt seem to like either...well, sub inch out of the Speers,& shotgun with the Vmax...

Put a new Bushnell Scope on it & its faulty. ..my Zeiss 5-25 which i'll mount on it permanently is also faulty.. .along with 2 other Bushnells.. .
So i did a big scope swap around today...
So i lashed out & bought a pack of Sierra Blitz's 39's...first 3 shots today in same hole with 26.6 of 8208...
Then thought id go straight out to 200m...aaannnddd...it was a fukn abortion...

Tried the next load (26.9) & one case wouldnt chamber...(PITA because i loose my rythm & the wind had picked up a bit so i had to wait for the lull, as well as stand up & fiddle to see WTF's going on... )...

Went back to another group of the 26.6 & it sprayed them across the page...

I also bought a set of Burris Signature Zee's for my go to 204 to mount a different scope (stole this scope for the Sako) & have realised i bought too high rings... ...no use to me & cant swap them...just a waste of money i desperately need ATM...

So i feel our pain with the faulty gear mate...
I literrally have 3 faulty scopes here, & have had 2 others already replaced in the last year...these are all new(ish) scopes purchased in the last 3 or so years & have not been thrown about...
Ive wasted so much ammo sighting in & resighting in...not to mention fuel.....then blow the back leg off a bunny at 250...resight it then gut shot or miss fox at 200...only to check them & they be out of wack again...

Anyway...Good stuff on the foxes...wish i could get on properties like that...

[brinny]

Good work brinny. All my foxes are mangy I don’t shoot any fine looking specimen s. I wonder if the heat up here is causing more of it

Cheers Blr243....Same down here mate....I shoot a lot of properties here around Bacchus Marsh and Melton and cant believe the amount of mangy critters im getting....
Been shooting a few properties up around Mansfield way and its the same up there....
Not sure whats going on with them.....a lot are saying the same thing.....

[Blr243]

Good to hear from you again brinny , Always good to be able to share thermal tips and tricks