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How to Hunt Foxes
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Thank you for visiting How to Hunt Foxes. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about Fox Hunting. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll down to learn more.

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Please note that we have two parts to this site - Hunting Foxes - and - Fox Hunting. This page is on Hunting Foxes. For traditional Fox Hunting on a horse, Go to Fox Hunting

Hunting Foxes

Hunting Foxes
This page was written by an Australian but what he says is applicable anywhere

Foxes have always been known as cunning and formidable opponents when hunting. Although they can't be eaten, there pelts are prizes enough to hunt for. However if you are hunting them for pelts, I recommend that you hunt in them during the winter months, as this is when there pelts are looking the best.

The hunting of foxes has declined of late, mainly because that there is no bounty reward offered for killing them these days. One thing is for sure though, they have made a huge impact on the Native Australian Wildlife, and have either caused many native species to become extinct, or taken them to the brink of extinction.

All in all the hunting of foxes offers a great challenge to the sporting shooter; and as well as being fun, you are helping rid our precious environment of these native wildlife killers!

The European red fox was first released near Melbourne in 1855 for recreational hunting. Within 50 years, it had spread into Western Australia. By 1893 some shires in Victoria had a bounty on foxes indicating that they were quickly considered pests. New South Wales soon followed suit.

Although not established in Tasmania, it is now found on most of the mainland, except in the tropical regions of the far north. It is not clear whether the climate or higher concentrations of dingoes limit their spread in these parts. Today the fox is one of the most widely spread feral animals in Australia.

It has long been recognized that foxes have played a major role in the decline of certain species of native wildlife. As Australian animals did not evolve with the fox present, they have not developed suitable strategies to avoid predation.

Smaller ground dwelling native mammals that have had their habitat reduced by activities such as land clearing are particularly at risk. If not controlled, the fox could cause some species, such as the Numbat and the Black-flanked Rock Wallaby, to become extinct.

Foxes can survive in many different habitats ranging from arid through to alpine as well as urban. In non-urban areas, foxes appear to be most abundant in lightly wooded areas typically found in agricultural landscapes. These offer a wide variety of shelter and food.

Foxes are predominantly carnivores although they do eat insects and wild fruit, particularly in summer when their preferred prey is less abundant. I have seen many fox droppings full of Christmas beetle wings when the beetles are in season. In pastoral regions, foxes mainly eat rabbits, lambs and house mice and scavenge on carrion. In alpine and arid areas such as south-west Western Australia where these prey are scarce, foxes eat small native mammals.

Foxes breed once a year with cubs being born during August and September. Although foxes have few natural predators, they rarely live beyond four years old. Mortality is influenced by shooting, trapping and road accidents as well as the effect of drought on numbers of their prey. However, this alone is not enough to control the damage that is being caused by foxes.

The main problem with tracking foxes is that there tracks are very similar to that of a dog. So if you are hunting for them on a farm, or an area where dogs are present, it can be hard to ascertain whether the tracks were made by a dog, or a fox. The main difference that should tell them apart is that a fox is usually smaller than a dog, and therefore there prints are also smaller.

Another problem with tracking foxes is that because they are fairly light and their feet are padded, the ground has to be soft or moist for their feet to make imprints. It is virtually impossible to track them by footprints on hard ground, and you will have to revert to other methods of tracking down old brier fox.

The easiest way is to look for their excretions. They area fairly distinctive, usually dark in colour, and are very different to that of a cat or a dog. Looking at their faeces, and in fact any animals feces can help you tremendously when tracking game. For example if you find fresh fox droppings with black berry seeds in them, you know it will pay off to take a quick look around the black berry patch.

Foxes can be very cunning animals at times, but they can also be quite stupid! There are many different methods of hunting foxes, but the main ones are by using rifles and shotguns, usually combined with whistling.

Hunting Foxes with rifles can be easy at times, but it can also be quite a challenge. They are a fairly elusive creature, and more than likely you stumble across them whilst looking for other game. If you aren't shooting them for their pelts, just for eradication purposes, then whatever rifle you have on you at the time will do. I have heard of deer hunters coming across foxes whilst after deer, and quickly dispatching them with their .300 Win Magnums. This is definitely a case of overkill, but if you are not going to keep the pelt, then this is fine.

However if you DO want to hunt foxes for their skins, you will have to keep to a .22 rim fire, or a small caliber centrefire. Caliber's like the .17, .22 hornet, and the .223 are all good fox calibers. If you are whistling foxes, then I think the best rifle for this is a .22 Magnum. The reasons being that the .22 Magnum doesn't cause too much pelt damage, shots at foxes when whistling rarely exceed 100m, and ammunition is relatively cheap. For an all round fox rifle for harvesting pelts, I don't think you couldn't go past a nice rifle chambered for the .22 Magnum.

Hunting foxes with shotguns can be a very exciting experience; however it is a lot harder now thanks to the banning of pump-action and semi-automatic firearms. Now because we are limited to only 2 shots, and possibly even one, we have to make the shots that we have count!

Most of the fox hunting done with shotguns is usually using a method of finding a suitable valley, or area where foxes are likely to be found, and just slowly making your way through the area, checking all the bushes as you go. More than likely a fox will sprint out from a bush, and you only have a few seconds to take your shot before it is out of range. This calls for good instinct, and quick reflexes!

Shotgun selection is fairly important when shotgunning for foxes, and you want a gun that is light, that can be shouldered quickly, and that doesn't kick too much. The type of shotgun that you choose (side by side, under and over, or single barrel) should depend upon the one that feels the best, and that you can shoot the best with. Just because a shotgun isn't as expensive as some others, don't rule it out because sometimes they can 'feel' better than others.

The most popular cartridge size for use on foxes is invariably a 12 gauge. I haven't even heard of other gauges, and the 12 gauge is the one I would recommend. I have heard of some people using BB's for shooting foxes, but i wouldn't use anything larger than a No.2 shot. The reason for this is that even though BB's are bigger, and have more knockdown energy, if you look at the shot pattern that they make, there are large areas in the pattern that a fox could easily pass through. Therefore more of the lighter pellets will ensure you make a clean hit!

Whistling for foxes is a fun and very satisfying way of fox hunting. All you need is a rifle, and a fox whistle (whistles can either be made, or bought from gun shops). The whistle that you use imitates the sound of a wounded rabbit, and can sometimes also bring the attention of cats, pigs, and even rabbits.

The most common way of fox whistling is to position yourself up against a log, tree or rock, preferably with nothing behind you, so that you are facing the area most likely for the fox to come out of.

Start your whistling with a series of loud, piercing shrieks. Then slowly bring it down into a low wailing sound as if the rabbits is helpless and defenseless. Now just sit there and wait, and be sure not to repeat the call too soon. Foxes can hear the call from about 2 km away, so give it time to come to you before you repeat the call. Always be on the lookout for any signs of movement. If you do see a fox coming towards you, don't whistle any more. Only whistle if it looks like it is losing interest, and it needs some more coaxing.

If no foxes appear, start calling again after every five minutes. If no foxes appear after the third time, then move on to another area at least 500m away.

Be aware that foxes will not take the shortest route from where they are to where they hear the whistle coming from. They will take the route that gives them the most concealment, dotting from tree to tree. The best time to whistle for foxes is around dawn and dusk. Foxes will NOT come to the whistle during the breeding season, so it is pointless trying! The breeding season varies for different areas, but it is usually at either the start of winter, or during winter depending on where you live.

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