Fox.

[Logcutter]

I agree with Hanshi, that's a BIG fox. Maybe they grow big over there eating lamb.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I've seen lots of gray and red foxes but yours, Nate, is about as large as any I've come across.

In all honesty I believe they are getting bigger! 30 years ago I would say it was normal to shoot 12-14 pound weight with the odd tiny one and a rare #17+.
Now it seems they are mostly #17-#20.

I have not shot one under #10 for over a decade now.
B.

 

[Poboy]

Congratulations.

 

[Feltwad]

Since the hunting ban with hounds in the UK the fox population has increased which is causing problems , in some areas the town fox catch up and realised in the countryside some with the mange and have little fear of man can be seen hunting in broad daylight.
Feltwad

 

[Britsmoothy]

Since the hunting ban with hounds in the UK the fox population has increased which is causing problems , in some areas the town fox catch up and realised in the countryside some with the mange and have little fear of man can be seen hunting in broad daylight.
Feltwad

Actually I don't believe since hunting with hounds was banned numbers of fox's have increased feltwad. I am shooting no more per anum than pre ban.
What I do see with our local hunt is the release of town fox's into areas they hunt under the pretence of laying a dragline for the hounds only to hope they pick up on a bewildered live fox!
It is those I usually have to mop up at night with rifle to protect livestock.
I have actually witnessed it many a late night over the years.
Fox hunting with hounds was never an efficient method of vermin control. Originally it was the thrill of a chase by a priveledge few. If it was efficient gamekeepers would not lay snare lines for fox or own rifles!

 

[renegadehunter]

Britsmoothy, I can't tell you how much I enjoy your posts.
The photo of instructing Jess on hares is priceless.
My aunt and uncle used to have a shepard/lab cross (Radar) that wasn't a fan of cats...it was not a nice sight if one got into the yard and didn't get back over the fence before Radar became aware of its presence. After a couple of years of having the dog my aunt decided she wanted a cat. She took her new cat over to Radar, knelt down in front of him, and then while letting him sniff the cat she explained to him in no uncertain terms that the cat was HER cat and off limits to his shenanigans.
That dog never paid any attention to that cat for the whole of his life. He just ignored it like it didn't exist.

 

[Poboy]

Ya know, foxes are actually pretty rare in my neck of the woods, and I just probably wouldn't shoot one. Not everything is bigger in Texss, and foxes are most likely to harras chicken coops, and I sure didn't want to shoot the last one I saw, as it was on a rich man's Country Club golf course, soooo... the only food source it had access to was wild vermin, soooo.....

 

[Britsmoothy]

Ya know, foxes are actually pretty rare in my neck of the woods, and I just probably wouldn't shoot one. Not everything is bigger in Texss, and foxes are most likely to harras chicken coops, and I sure didn't want to shoot the last one I saw, as it was on a rich man's Country Club golf course, soooo... the only food source it had access to was wild vermin, soooo.....

Fair enough, it's just different over here.
You soon loose biodiversity via over predation, especially as other preditors are protected and the fox here has no material preditors.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Britsmoothy, I can't tell you how much I enjoy your posts.
The photo of instructing Jess on hares is priceless.
My aunt and uncle used to have a shepard/lab cross (Radar) that wasn't a fan of cats...it was not a nice sight if one got into the yard and didn't get back over the fence before Radar became aware of its presence. After a couple of years of having the dog my aunt decided she wanted a cat. She took her new cat over to Radar, knelt down in front of him, and then while letting him sniff the cat she explained to him in no uncertain terms that the cat was HER cat and off limits to his shenanigans.
That dog never paid any attention to that cat for the whole of his life. He just ignored it like it didn't exist.

Yeah, took this photo last week.
It's a stand off these two have on the farm I was at for this fox.
It's a ritual they go through every day.

The cat and dog are usually nose to nose, the cat only turned around because I approached.

 

[Eterry]

Brit, even from Texas where Everything is bigger THAT is a dandy red fox. Well done to you and Jess.
We have 3 creeks on our property, Dad was a houndsman til he drew his last breath. He had a nice pack of beagles that would seine the woods of our red fox, and finally put them to bay in a briar thicket. Many a morning were spent on the porch sipping coffee listening to 10-15 hounds coursing thru the woods.

Thanks for the memories Brother.

 

[Poboy]

Fair enough, it's just different over here.
You soon loose biodiversity via over predation, especially as other preditors are protected and the fox here has no material preditors.

I totally understand. What we do have here in my part of Texas is coyotes. Something weird is going on here too. I used to go to the lake to fish and right around dark, when the coyotes would give their round up calls, I would copy them, and the whole pack would track me down, and either figure out I was a person, or I couldn't help myself, and give myself away giggling when they got super close. A coyote attack was nearly unheard of.

But recently, there have been coyote attacks on joggers near Dallas. The authorities have given little explanation or solutions for this. They're too far away for me to worry about, but I think in my neighborhood ,they would suffer lead poisoning in short order.

 

[tenngun]

I’ve trapped a fox or two over the years, never saw one that big. Bet that was a hoot.
Looks near the size of local coyotes. Do you save the fur?
It’s always a thrill being so close to game. Good shot my friend.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I totally understand. What we do have here in my part of Texas is coyotes. Something weird is going on here too. I used to go to the lake to fish and right around dark, when the coyotes would give their round up calls, I would copy them, and the whole pack would track me down, and either figure out I was a person, or I couldn't help myself, and give myself away giggling when they got super close. A coyote attack was nearly unheard of.

But recently, there have been coyote attacks on joggers near Dallas. The authorities have given little explanation or solutions for this. They're too far away for me to worry about, but I think in my neighborhood ,they would suffer lead poisoning in short order.

Hunger! They are starving and a jogger is suddenly fair prey!
Gerr'm shot.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I’ve trapped a fox or two over the years, never saw one that big. Bet that was a hoot.
Looks near the size of local coyotes. Do you save the fur?
It’s always a thrill being so close to game. Good shot my friend.

Thank you.
No I don't save the pelts. If I did I would need a warehouse!
There is no market here any more.
This is purely vermin control.
I took another a couple of days later and know of a third all in the same spot.

 

[Eterry]

I totally understand. What we do have here in my part of Texas is coyotes. Something weird is going on here too. I used to go to the lake to fish and right around dark, when the coyotes would give their round up calls, I would copy them, and the whole pack would track me down, and either figure out I was a person, or I couldn't help myself, and give myself away giggling when they got super close. A coyote attack was nearly unheard of.

But recently, there have been coyote attacks on joggers near Dallas. The authorities have given little explanation or solutions for this. They're too far away for me to worry about, but I think in my neighborhood ,they would suffer lead poisoning in short order.

Poboy... my family had Plott, Redbone, Bluetick hounds we hunted coons with, July, Walker, Trigg hounds to run coyotes, half July, half Beagles to run coyotes, fox, and the occasional rabbit in a plum thicket.

We hunted Wichita, Archer, Clay, Montague counties locally, and anywhere we got invited to hunt nationwide.

One of dad's best friends was a State Trapper, he got some July pups to hog hunt in East Texas.

Dad's kennel at its height had over 125 hounds. The deer population seriously curtailed open hunting.

What part of Texas are you from? I'm sure we know some of the same folks.

 

[PluggedNickel]

Sweet, I bagged one rabbit hunting years ago. It was sneaking out as the hounds ran the rabbit in the honeysuckle. Mounted it, way back when I did such stuff. My grandson still has it now. I got rid of most of my critters. Betty said the house was starting to look like a zoo! LOL

 

[smo]

Congrats B

 

[peashooterJoe]

I agree that is a large Fox and congrats on it. A question how come there no hunting on the Hares? Peashooterjoe

 

[Poboy]

Poboy... my family had Plott, Redbone, Bluetick hounds we hunted coons with, July, Walker, Trigg hounds to run coyotes, half July, half Beagles to run coyotes, fox, and the occasional rabbit in a plum thicket.

We hunted Wichita, Archer, Clay, Montague counties locally, and anywhere we got invited to hunt nationwide.

One of dad's best friends was a State Trapper, he got some July pups to hog hunt in East Texas.

Dad's kennel at its height had over 125 hounds. The deer population seriously curtailed open hunting.

What part of Texas are you from? I'm sure we know some of the same folks.

Yeah, close, but no cigar...born in San Antonio, now live on the west side of Ft. Worth. Probably the only same folks we know are Bush's, Bass's, JR, or LBJ.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I agree that is a large Fox and congrats on it. A question how come there no hunting on the Hares? Peashooterjoe

We can shoot them but can't run them under the same legislation that banned hunting with hounds for fox.
The bunny huggers jump on these items promising votes etc! It's bribery at the end of the day.

Still goes on, just secretly, in fact it has just encouraged illegal gambling by low life folk who care little for the dogs or the hare.
Well done bunny huggers