Post by erict on Feb 20, 2009 23:11:10 GMT -5
From a few weeks ago:
Went out with a friend of mine to a big farm we have been coyote hunting at in southern Saratoga County. Big field about 200 yards deep by 100 yards wide. We sit at the top middle of the field overlooking the whole thing. Bordered on the left and back with woods, to the right with brush and behind us with woods.
Calling with my FX3 at about 9 PM using a rabbit in distress. I catch eyeballs in the brush to the right but can't tell what it is because the brush is too thick. Several times it comes close to the edge, but even on full intensity at 100 yards my Lightforce couldn't make out what it was. Eyeballs looked close together, but we'd never seen fox tracks, only coyote. This went on for the better part of an hour, with the critter travelling in the thick stuff around the field edge to the right, then the back, then the left, then back again, then to the left.
At one point I hear a bark and we're sure it's a fox. My friend has his .243 and decides that even though he's "next up" for a shot that I better take the shot with my .223 or there will be nothing left. Finally, an hour after first spotting, it's getting closer to us on the left edge. I kept up with the FX3 every 10 or 15 minutes and got it's attention every time, but it did not want to come out of the brush.
I've read plenty on coyote and fox hunting and remembered my mouse squeaker was in my bag. I fumbled around but never found it. It then dawned on me that I still had two lips so I put them together and a big "ppppqqqtttt" lip squeak later I got movement. I had my gun up and on target, squeaked again and the fox came out and got broadside on top of a snow covered rock wall. I got the shot off at about 80 yards with my .223 Rem 700 using 40 gr. V-Max at about 3,300 fps. That did the trick. Small entrance wound right behind the elbow and no exit wound, believe it or not!
I do a lot of hunting but this is the first grey I've ever seen. These things have to be some of the prettiest critters in the woods, especially the prime pelted ones. This was a female right around 10 lbs.
Having a fully charged battery and the rheostat on my Lightforce let me keep an eye on it for about an hour, even when it was over 200 yards away. Sometimes it pays to stick it out, that's for sure.
Went out with a friend of mine to a big farm we have been coyote hunting at in southern Saratoga County. Big field about 200 yards deep by 100 yards wide. We sit at the top middle of the field overlooking the whole thing. Bordered on the left and back with woods, to the right with brush and behind us with woods.
Calling with my FX3 at about 9 PM using a rabbit in distress. I catch eyeballs in the brush to the right but can't tell what it is because the brush is too thick. Several times it comes close to the edge, but even on full intensity at 100 yards my Lightforce couldn't make out what it was. Eyeballs looked close together, but we'd never seen fox tracks, only coyote. This went on for the better part of an hour, with the critter travelling in the thick stuff around the field edge to the right, then the back, then the left, then back again, then to the left.
At one point I hear a bark and we're sure it's a fox. My friend has his .243 and decides that even though he's "next up" for a shot that I better take the shot with my .223 or there will be nothing left. Finally, an hour after first spotting, it's getting closer to us on the left edge. I kept up with the FX3 every 10 or 15 minutes and got it's attention every time, but it did not want to come out of the brush.
I've read plenty on coyote and fox hunting and remembered my mouse squeaker was in my bag. I fumbled around but never found it. It then dawned on me that I still had two lips so I put them together and a big "ppppqqqtttt" lip squeak later I got movement. I had my gun up and on target, squeaked again and the fox came out and got broadside on top of a snow covered rock wall. I got the shot off at about 80 yards with my .223 Rem 700 using 40 gr. V-Max at about 3,300 fps. That did the trick. Small entrance wound right behind the elbow and no exit wound, believe it or not!
I do a lot of hunting but this is the first grey I've ever seen. These things have to be some of the prettiest critters in the woods, especially the prime pelted ones. This was a female right around 10 lbs.
Having a fully charged battery and the rheostat on my Lightforce let me keep an eye on it for about an hour, even when it was over 200 yards away. Sometimes it pays to stick it out, that's for sure.