http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.uk 45PICTURE:DOM HOLTAMFOXING WITH MARK RIPLEY
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TOP TIP
Using satellite imagery,
such as Google Maps,
can be a great way
to assess the ground
before your first
visit.farm buildings behind, which I’d seen
on Google Maps, so there was no
chance of a safe shot. I watched as
the fox made its way towards a single
oak tree, where it was met by another
fox I hadn’t noticed and the pair made
their way off towards a hedge that
borders a nearby reservoir.
The woman had mentioned in
one of her text messages that the
guilty fox or foxes had been seen
heading off in this general direction
and I couldn’t help but wonder if the
culprits were right there in front of me?
I didn’t have a safe shot so I could
do nothing but watch them
disappear into cover.
I carried on and
wandered the fields that
surrounded the small
paddock immediately
behind the houses
where foxes had been
seen and chose the field
behind this to try and call a fox in.
The field was ideal, with hedges and
ditches all round, and some tall trees
where I could tuck myself in to hide my
silhouette. From here, looking out
across the maize field, I had a good
clear view out to a grass bank 250
yards away, which I could shoot
towards.
With the darkness finally around me,
I put the caller out in the field and let itsing out its enticing tunes while I stood
in the shadows with the rifle sat ready
on the tripod.
Having seen a couple of foxes
already, I was surprised that it took a
while for a fox to come in, but when it
did, it came in slowly and cautiously
from the left about 70 yards from me. I
let it slink towards the caller before
flicking on the PBiR laser (another very
good bit of kit on test).
The fox stood out crystal clear in the
scope, and just as I lined up on its
chest, it became spooky and decided
to back away down the field. I tried a
click of the tongue, which seemed to
spook it further, causing it to bound
away. I quickly hit the call button again
for a quick burst and it stopped to look
back. Again, I lined up and again was
just about to shoot and it was off – but
not far. A few more bounds and it
couldn’t resist another look back as
they always do and the hefty thump
confirmed a solid strike from the .223
putting the first fox on the ground.
I reloaded and gave the field a quick
scan with the thermal to check the fox
hadn’t resurrected itself and spotted a
second fox again to the left and at a
similar distance. I tried several
squeaks, but the fox took little
notice instead jumping around the
fallen fox like a cub would play fight
with its siblings. It quickly lost interestbesides, I felt sure if the fox was
around in daylight it was sure to be
lurking around at night also.
The first thing I like to do before
shooting an area is to get online and
look at some satellite imagery of the
ground and pick out the whereabouts
of any nearby buildings, footpaths and
roads, or anything that might be hidden
from view on the ground behind trees
and so on.
As well as safety aspects, an aerial
view of the ground will often show you
where gateways between fields are,
which saves a lot of leg work!
With a good overview of the ground
in question, my next part of the plan
was to visit the ground in daylight. As
this was a somewhat quick response
situation on a Sunday evening, and I
had a busy week ahead at work, I
chose to visit the ground for the first
time ‘armed’. I would usually have awander around with nothing but a
rangefinder on the first visit.
As this was essentially just a few
fields, I decided to visit just as the light
was fading – light enough to see the
ground around but darkening enough
for me to discreetly wander the fields
away from the houses without being
noticed. I didn’t plan to be shooting
near the houses anyway as I didn’t
want to be heard or seen and I would
obviously be shooting away from them.
I packed the faithful .223 rifle
into the truck along with my thermal
spotter and Rekon tripod. I had the
Pulsar Thermion thermal scope on test
and would have loved to have taken
that, but it was sat zeroed on a .308
and I didn’t have time to rezero it on
the .223, which was far better suited
to the job. I would have to stick with
the nightscope.
I arrived as planned, just as the light
was fading, and parked the truck a
little way from the houses before
walking back along the road and into
the first field of maize leading up to the
first of the houses in the row.
As I reached the end of the field and
walked out wide into the field to avoid
the rear gardens, I spotted a fox
wandering across the field in front of
me. There were a few trees and
bushes at the end of the field and
beyond that I could see the roofs of the»
“I PUT THE CALLER IN THE FIELD AND LET IT SING OUT ITS
ENTICING TUNES WHILE I STOOD IN THE SHADOWS”
ABOVE: Mark
normally likes to
take time to research
the ground with
a rangefinder