Nath and you other fox hunters Cabin fever fix

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:40 pm

Well I took the advice that is going around and got out and had some fun.

My varmint buddy and I went out to shoot some coyotes. We hit the trail before sunup now our San Diego members might know the area we were on the Pacific Crest Trail on the BLM portion. It was a great morning high clouds low temps and open country. There was still some snow in the shadows at around 4,000' elevation.

Our first 2 stands scored us nothing but it was only about 7AM so no problem. Stand #3 was reall fun after about 2min of calling a grey fox pops up 10yds in front of me spots us and bolts I took one shot at 130yds with the ole 22mag but he was so busy moving in and out of cover that all I did was scare the daylights out of him.
Stand #4 we called about 3min when I notice what looked like a Bobcat sitting on a rock @ around 200yds I glassed it and it was another grey fox

I tell my buddie to keep calling. This dog hops off the rock and makes a bee line right for me. I lost sight of him for a moment when he dropped into a draw below me when he popped back up he was 20yds away in some thick brush that I couldnt shoot threw. I tracked him until he was 10yds away when he went behind a bush wich is when my buddy finnaly saw him and put a 223 threw him at 10yds

. We decided that we both got the credit for this one. Unfortunatly the only part of the hide worth saving was the tail

you cant see it in the pic but his hole gut was torn out by the 55grn blitzking at near muzzle velocity

.
It was quite the hunt for us in the years he and I have been varmint hunting together we had never called in a fox before let alone 2 in a row.
So here is a pic of a California grey fox for you.

Here is one that shows the damage a bit better he only went 3yds after the shot but that is because he thrashed for a second or 2 before we could finish him.

Just thought I would show our British brothers what fox look like in my end of the world

JerryB · Post by **JerryB** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:46 pm

It sounds like ya'll had a great day of being in the hills with a rifle and scoring too.

dr walker · Post by **dr walker** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:53 pm

Great post. Looks like fun.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:00 pm

It was a great day until we got back to his car and found that someone had broken in to it

. Good thing the guns were with us. But even so it was a great hunt and we saw some great country. Fox season goes until the 28th of Feb hopefully we can get back out there and get a couple more.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:30 pm

Great post Jeremy!!!

Sorry to hear about the low-life breaking into your friend's car though. Wish you had caught him in the act!

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:34 pm

So do we

. They broke into another truck that was parked close to us also.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:40 pm

Man, I hate thieves. I will probably make the evening news someday happen I ever catch one in action...

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:45 pm

The LEO we talked to said we should take the car back to the same place and sit on a hill top with a high power rifle ( I dont think he was serious

)

GANJIRO · Post by **GANJIRO** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:57 pm

Would have been great if you spotted him/them breaking in at 500 yards, and started stealthfully taking out his tires...

Bass-turds should roast!

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:00 am

Well I have great faith in Karma.

We didnt let it take away from a great hunt we still had a blast.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:51 am

Jeremy,

Great shootin' nice to see a fox without mange, especially a grey fox.

Shame about the lowlife, we have the same sort of thing here, sometimes it's the "bunny huggers"

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:33 am

Congratulations, looks like alot of fun!
However I suspect setting up a vehicle decoy and shooting out the tires on the thiefs get away vehicle might be MORE FUN!

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:21 am

Well done jeremy! that fox looks like you ran him through with your Sword!! I have been in that exact location before. I lived in SD for a few years. I miss all that land!!

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:38 am

Cool story and pic's.

Weather's breaking here in Washington State. It won't be long before I'm out riding horses and shooting something, I don't care what it is I just gotta shoot something (even targets will work).

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:52 pm

game keeper wrote:Jeremy,

Great shootin' nice to see a fox without mange, especially a grey fox.

Shame about the lowlife, we have the same sort of thing here, sometimes it's the "bunny huggers"

Game Keeper
We havent found a single instance of mange here in So California. We have shot coyotes, bobcat, and now fox at all times of year and in diferent spots and not one case.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:29 pm

Jeremy,
I'm glad to here your critters are mange free.

The foxes over here are OK out in the sticks but we get do gooders releasing trapped foxes from the cities into the countryside. That seems to be why we see so many mangy foxes. We had a vermin drive last Saturday on the estate where I live and two of the three foxes we saw had mange real bad! It don't help when city folk keep feeding foxes in their gardens, the population just keeps going up! Someone will call in a pest control company but insist that the darlin' little creatures are not harmed just let loose in the countryside to starve!

Then of course we have the Fox Hunting ban which means the Fox Hounds aren't allowed to kill foxes only chase them towards men with guns. It may mean more foxes are killed but the natural selection of the weakest being killed by hounds may not hold as well as before. Nath may have some answers to that!

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:52 pm

Thats not a fox, thats a bloody big squirrel. Try taking some nuts next time

No really thats great, exciting when you get them running in to you . Espeicially when there is brush and your struggling to get a"window" for your bullet, kinder intense

I would rather hunt them in day light than night anytime.
Sorry for your friends car, good luck with that.
223--is that a new lever gun?????

What was the 22mag you were using Mr Reed?
Nath.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:16 pm

My buddy was using his Ruger Mini 14 in 223Rem. The 22mag is a Marlin 783 bolt that I just sold to him this weekend to fund other prodjects.

Where we were I dont think anyone has been hunting predators it is a walking trail and we covered about 10 or so miles. Those foxes came in to us like it was an all you can eat buffet. We were supprised we didnt see any bobcats there were tracks everywhere but they were playing shy. We also saw some large Mt lion tracks glad we didn't call him in. My buddy is gonna head back out there this weekend and try and get a couple more.

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:19 pm

Fantastic, I wish we had big cats like that and boar and bear and wolf.
Nath.

bigbore442001 · Post by **bigbore442001** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:39 pm

I never think of that part of California as having any sort of hunting. I had always assumed that the majority of the hunting was in the north and Imperial Valley.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:43 pm

bigbore442001 wrote:I never think of that part of California as having any sort of hunting. I had always assumed that the majority of the hunting was in the north and Imperial Valley.

Alot of people think that way. Most of So Cal is open country with alot of National Forest and BLM land. You just have to do your home work and have good maps that show all the public land.

Here in the San Diego area we have duck, geese, quail, turkey, rabbit, ground squirrel, deer, bobcat, fox, coyote, dove, and desert big horn sheep just to name a few.

sgtgrinche · Post by **sgtgrinche** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 8:50 pm

jreed were those lead free bullets?

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:29 pm

sgtgrinche wrote:jreed were those lead free bullets?

Heck No!!
Down here in San Diego County we dont have no stinkin lead ban.

sgtgrinche · Post by **sgtgrinche** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:47 pm

glad to see you had a good hunt sorry to hear about the theives, send some of that sunshine up to n.e. ohio

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:28 pm

sgtgrinche wrote:glad to see you had a good hunt sorry to hear about the theives, send some of that sunshine up to n.e. ohio

Wish the theives had still been in the car when we had gotten back.

Well I hope the sun makes it up your way because it was cloudy all day here and it is suposed to start raining tonight.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Tue Feb 19, 2008 10:43 pm

Nath wrote:Thats not a fox, thats a bloody big squirrel.
Nath.

Okay Nath, now you owe me for a new keyboard. I just spit my drink all over it!

Nath · Post by **Nath** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:44 pm

now that squirrel is worth stewing

Post by **Old Savage** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 2:49 pm

We got chukkar, quail and duck in the same day near Rigdecrest and there are cottontails and jack rabbits and doves around here and coyotes are always in season and you can get wild hogs.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:12 pm

Nath wrote: now that squirrel is worth stewing

It was a long dry year last year. Not a whole lot of food for the critters even the coyotes were thiner the normal this past year. Judging by his teeth he was only about a year old so more then likely one of last springs pups. We did see one that was larger but that fox was a bit to sly for us and will live to be hunted another day.

Rusty · Post by **Rusty** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:06 pm

Jeremy,
I think you're a bad boy. My father always taught me to do as the nice policemen say. You need to go back out there and set up another blind and do as you were told.

Rusty <><

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:36 pm

Rusty wrote:Jeremy,
I think you're a bad boy. My father always taught me to do as the nice policemen say. You need to go back out there and set up another blind and do as you were told.

Rusty <><

I'll wait a week or two until I pick up my .308 and get my guilly suit finished I am only half way done and still need to tie in the burlap. Then it is game time

JK