It’s a chilling evening in Staffordshire and with lamb season underway, Steve Wild is heading out on a fox patrol outing. Foxing is a vital undertaking during this time of the year, they are regularly on the lookout for any young lambs.
Steve takes the opportunity before darkness covers the woodland to discuss the equipment he will be using today. Steve’s rifle of choice for pest control is the Blaser R8 Professional Success in .223. Atop of the rifle is a Longbow scope by Starlight Night vision, this is ideal scope for job ahead. For transport, Steve uses his trusty quadbike, which allows him to move around the edge of the field with ease. When it comes to moving around on foot, Steve has his sticks that have travelled the globe to help him cross the terrain. The Hellion XP50 Thermal Imager from Pulsar is a must piece of equipment for each of Steve’s fox shooting adventures. Another of Steve’s favourite tool is the Igotec caller, which includes a huge variation of calls for all manner of situations. A comfortable jacket is a must when running any pest control at night, for this Steve is wearing the Deerhunter Muflon jacket in Realtree Max-5.
Now surrounding in pitch black darkness, Steve heads out on the quad bike. The plan for tonight is scout around the outskirts of the field and monitor the sheep from a distance to see if there is any fox movement nearby. Steve is really familiar with this location and has been hunting this ground for many years.
Steve moves towards an area that he knows has had some recent fox activity. The Hellion XP50 is a perfect tool to help spot any warm-blooded species. It allows him to locate and identify any foxes that might be lurking in the hedges or treeline. Unfortunately, Steve doesn’t spot anything here and decides to move onto the next field.
Now in a different field, Steve takes the opportunity to set up the Igotec Caller and sets it to a rabbit in distress call.. Keeping the fox population under control is a vitally important when managing land. If left un-checked they can have a devastating effect on not just lambs, but other wildlife and poultry as well. As Steve continues to scan for signs of foxes he notices what appears to be a fox moving in the distance. He readiness the Blaser R8 Professional Success and uses the Night vision to confirm that it is a fox. Unfortunately, the fox retires into a treeline behind a herd of grazing sheep. Unable to take the shoot, Steve heads back to the quad and makes a new plan.
Later in the night, Steve finally spots what he’s been looking for. A fox is sat under a tree 100 yards away. However, there is another herd of sheep behind. Without a safe backdrop, he can’t take the shot. Steve decides to move on and hope he sees the fox again a little later in a more suitable shooting position.
Steve turns on the caller again hoping to bring in the ever-elusive fox. This time one has taken an interest in the call and Steve immediately grabs his rifle and shooting sticks to being stalking in a bit closer. Again, the fox doesn’t stick around long enough for Steve to take a shot. It’s starting to get a little frustrating for Steve, so he decides to try one more field.
As he arrives, Steve quickly spots a fox. He doesn’t let another opportunity slip by and readiness his rifle and begins to call it in. Steve slowly squeezes the trigger and the fox is quickly dispatched. Although it has been a very challenging night in the field, Steve has a fox down and it’s time to head back in.
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24 июл 2019
