Red Fox -vs- Soddy Daisy .36

After a one year long battle of wits, that I've been losing, against a Red Fox Vixen and her outlaw boyfriend I finally landed the coup de gras. I saw them in the pasture exercising the Geese when I came home from the store today, so once again I ran up to the house and grabbed the Soddy and headed the 1/4 mile up to the front pasture. I spotted him sitting in the middle of the pasture taking a breather from being ran ragged by the Geese, who just fly from one side to the other til the Fox gets bored (the ducks are helpless against them). A well placed 60y shot braced on a fence post dropped him cold. He was a little off broadside so the RB crossed his body entering just behind the shoulder and exiting his belly. Once I dropped him I reloaded and set down in the shade knowing the Vixen would come sniffing around (she was a full 150 yards away). Sure enough, a half hour later and only 10' from him I dented her sheet metal. Not as good a shot and she made it 20 yards into a groundhog hole and I couldn't retrieve her. So after 11 Ducks, 1 Goose, and at least 5 Chickens (although, the chickens could've done in by Coons) I've restored calm to the livestock of Half Creek Ranch....

....and the old Vixen was sport enough to bury herself.



...That's the thing about farming and living a rural, hunting, and livestock lifestyle. Death is almost a daily occurence it seems. Beautiful momma goats stuck in fences all night in the freezing cold with Kids depending on her, calves and kids stillborn, ducks and chickens murdered by the 2-3's by Coons with not a bite eaten, the dogs tying into groundhogs and needing their ears stitched, hardy Sows that die from Pneumonia in the Spring after weeks of almost hourly care so they don't die of dehydration and malnutrition while they're trying to beat a virus, me riding the fence lines at 2am in 3 degree (f) weather to make sure they're all ok, losing one little baby pig after another for no apparent reason. It's much easier when you know it's part of life but I still murmur a few words over each and every one of them. Particularly the ones raised or harvested for food, because, and this is my favorite part, I know I'm a part of all of it, and no different than any of them.... That beautiful Vixen died because other things needed to live.

Bob, all so true. Birth, death and life, if you have never lived on or worked on a farm you really should try it even for a week’s vacation. I think that’s why farm kids and country kids seem to mature quicker than city kids. And they know hamburger doesn’t come from Mickey D’s.

My kids were raised on a farm and both moved to a city .... which they hate. However, their jobs depend on being where they are.

I've never been bothered by crows until this year. They've positively eaten hundreds of dollars worth of fruit (mostly blueberries and apples) and have done a decent job of destroying a dozen blueberry bushes in the meantime. They're incredibly sharp and the way my property's laid out, it's difficult for me to get anywhere close to within shotgun range of them, so I've decided to lay them out when I'm able by quietly and carefully sliding a window open upstairs and whacking them with small caliber flintlocks at 50-100 yards. As a rule, I've killed enough stuff in my life and I don't like taking animals that I don't intend to eat, but enough is enough and I had reached my limit. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. The good news is that the rest of the flock learns quickly and I won't have to continue to shoot them.....

Protecting the herd 18th century style! I love it. I still live on the farm that I was born on. Same house even. It's true what you say about life and death being an almost daily occurrence. No different in the wild either. It can be hard at times both physically and emotionally but I know there is no other life I would want to live or would want my two young boys to live. Hopefully you can rest a little easier tonight knowing your animals are a little safer.

Well spoken, and nice shooting.

You won't find many animal rights wackos where I live. I could grow a great garden if it weren't for the nuisance animals. Sometime they fall after having been in my sights. Only animals I have a problem with are coons,rabbits , squirrels, crows, groundhogs, and coyotes. Let's not forget the tastiest of all , deer.
Dave

A pair if foxes got all my chickens and all my neighbor's as well. They'd only come by every 3-4 days and disappear very quickly. Too much row crop and woods to see them for more than a couple seconds and always moving quickly when in the open.

Congratulations! Glad to hear that you stopped them from destroying your flocks!!!

Yep Rodd, a flash or two here or there is all you see. They’re Foxy. This was the first shots I’ve gotten on them.

Glad you made the most of your chance!

Bob McBride said:

That beautiful Vixen died because other things needed to live.

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Believe it or not, it is illegal to kill a fox in Florida. Yep, it's true. I had one kill 8 geese and only chew the throats out of them. I tried to trap it with the only legal way, a box trap. HA! A red fox is usually too savvy to get that way .. at least for me.
I think it died by some other means because the problem stopped.

Patocazador said:

Believe it or not, it is illegal to kill a fox in Florida. Yep, it's true. I had one kill 8 geese and only chew the throats out of them. I tried to trap it with the only legal way, a box trap. HA! A red fox is usually too savvy to get that way .. at least for me.
I think it died by some other means because the problem stopped.

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I sympathize. There’s a season for them here. There’s no shortage of Bobcats, Coyotes, or Fox to eat our livestock around here.

GANGGREEN said:

I've never been bothered by crows until this year. They've positively eaten hundreds of dollars worth of fruit (mostly blueberries and apples) and have done a decent job of destroying a dozen blueberry bushes in the meantime. They're incredibly sharp and the way my property's laid out, it's difficult for me to get anywhere close to within shotgun range of them, so I've decided to lay them out when I'm able by quietly and carefully sliding a window open upstairs and whacking them with small caliber flintlocks at 50-100 yards. As a rule, I've killed enough stuff in my life and I don't like taking animals that I don't intend to eat, but enough is enough and I had reached my limit. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. The good news is that the rest of the flock learns quickly and I won't have to continue to shoot them.....

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My mother tells me that her uncle raised crow from a baby and it could talk, like a parrot. I've never heard of that from any other source. My point is, though, that crows are pretty smart.

That's a fine looking rifle, Bob. I was raised around chickens, goats, hogs and an outhouse. I did kill coons and bobcats (coyote & other stuff) down in my native Georgia but never shot a fox although they frequently came around while I was out deer hunting. My sister, brother and I had a baby crow - and a pet squirrel - that we fed by hand. Ever since then I've had a soft spot for these black bandits. They are incredibly intelligent possibly exceeding the vaunted chimpanzee. Crows are tool makers, can solve problems beyond the ability of chimps and kids of a certain age. I just can't bring myself to shoot them.
BUT

I always felt exactly the same way about crows until this year. They were just brutal. The good news is that they're very quick learners and I didn't need to lay out very many of them.

Gangreen i once saw Andrew Zimmern, the TV guy w2ho eats anything, hunt crows. I believe it was in NC where his host, a lady breasted the crows, wrapped them in bacon, and stuffed them with a jalepino pepper. She BBQ them over charcoal, Mr. Zimmern pronounced them delicious!

rrebuck said:

My mother tells me that her uncle raised crow from a baby and it could talk, like a parrot. I've never heard of that from any other source. My point is, though, that crows are pretty smart.

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We had an old preacher when I was a kid at the Church I grew up in. He had a crow that they taught to talk like a parrot.

Patocazador said:

Believe it or not, it is illegal to kill a fox in Florida.

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That's why the 3 S rule was implemented.

Shoot.
Shovel.
Shut Up.

nice Bob!