Something that I have always loved doing is fox hunting at night, so when my friend Glenn called me and asked if I wanted to go, I couldn't get changed fast enough. While driving to Glenn’s to pick him up, I was mentally going over all the spots that have produced for me in the past and evaluating the ambush sites.
When we arrived at our first site there was a calm in the air that made it feel like tonight was going to be a good night; little did we know just how good. The sun had just set and we were setting up for the first ambush. We picked out a spot near the top of a ridge that gave us cover over the whole bottom. Glenn positioned himself on one side of a big, old oak tree, and I was on the other side with the caller. The idea was for Glenn to shoot the fox while I did the calling.

With the decoy out, I pushed play on the caller and adjusted the volume down low. No sooner than I pushed play, a gray fox came running out of the woods about 80 yards away. As he got closer you could see that he was carrying something in his mouth. About this time the fox spotted the decoy bouncing around and that was all it took. He dropped what turned out to be a dove and ran towards the decoy like a bat out of hell. I sat there thinking that Glenn would shoot any minute. . .any minute now. . .come on Glenn, shoot! The shot never came and I had to shoot before the fox got to the decoy. I grabbed my .410 and let her rip, hitting the fox about 10 yards from the decoy. Glenn jumped about a mile and looked at me like I was crazy. Just then he heard the fox start to bark and he put the finishing touch on him with his 12-gauge. With one gray in the bag, we drove to our next set-up. By now the moon was full and completely illuminating the entire field. I positioned the truck next to a big brush pile and we set up once again. I had only been calling for a couple of minutes when a big beautiful red came wondering down the wood line to investigate. As soon as he got within range, Glenn let loose and the dust went flying. . .that makes two! To keep this short, we set up four more times and four more foxes met their demise. In total we killed five grays and one gorgeous red fox. This had been the most productive night of fox hunting I had ever had. At each set-up it only took a couple of minutes of calling and a fox was quickly on top of us to investigate.
If you’ve ever though about fox hunting, I highly recommend that you give it a try sometime. You don't need to spend a lot of money on an expensive game caller; I use an old radio/CD/tape player from my garage. It has detachable speakers that I spliced 20 feet of wire onto and I use a battery-operated decoy that bounces around on a stick. This decoy works wonders. When the fox sees this fur ball bouncing around, he won’t hesitate to come in. I used to use a small plastic garden rabbit, which works too, but not nearly as well as the moving decoy. I just set my speaker out about 20 feet and stick the decoy in the ground a few yards from the speaker, turn on the caller and wait for the action while scanning the area with a red light. The red light has no effect on the fox whatsoever and it doesn't get any easier than that. Give it a try sometime!

Posted by P. Faucheux at 09:00 AM | Permalink

It’s 100 degrees outside with flashes on the TV warn the general public about the humidity. One would think all these factors would be enough to detour any rational person from heading out on a hiking adventure with 50 pounds of corn and a 20 pound pack on his back filled with the latest scouting camera technology. For the truly addicted whitetail hunter there is no detouring the upcoming season and things must get done whether it’s 100 degrees outside or not.

I have a semi-set course as I head out into the woods: 50 pounds of corn at “Creek Ridge” along with a Wildlife Eye to monitor deer traffic over the coming week, and then scout the back half of the property to find good trails to hang 2 other scouting cameras. The first stop was easy; we had hunted “Creek Ridge” many times over the past couple years and the stand is already in place for the fast approaching season.

Part 2 of this adventure wasn’t so planned out. Using a topographical map and some aerial photos I obtained from the Internet, I was able to locate a piece of ground we seemingly overlooked in years past. A huge funnel connecting 2 huge wood lots is where I set my sights to start. This funnel was a mere 75 yards wide with a creek flowing through its bottom. As I approach the funnel, I notice a trail paralleling the creek bottom, which has been worn down to dirt in both directions. As I look around, I notice the pine thicket across the creek and can’t help but wonder how many roaming bucks travel this funnel during the rut. I decided this was the perfect place to monitor some summer traffic and see what was currently using the area, so I set up camera #2. As I am setting up the camera and placing it in the perfect position to catch a great shot of a buck walking down the trail, I hear some leaves crunching behind me. I crouch down and dig my binoculars out of my pack to try to get a better look. It’s a single doe heading toward the pine thicket. With the wind in my favor, she never took notice of my presence. I let her pass by and I began to gather my gear to begin the search for the perfect spot for camera #3.
I already had a good idea of where I was going to set up camera 3, so I headed in that direction. I had seen a lot of good bucks in this area during the season, but I had never hung a camera there. As early as it was, I figured I had time to spy on the area and slip in once more to pick it up before the season gets too close. This area is just off the same pine thicket that is near camera 2 and the funnel. I had hunted here many times, and was fortunate enough to take a great 11-point with bow a couple years back. As I approach the area, I notice the same trail that I had hunted prior and thought this would be the prefect trail for camera #3. I got the camera all set up and threw my pack on to begin the ¾ mile walk back to the truck.
As I was walking back to the truck, I couldn’t help the excitement of what I might catch on the cameras. I am going to give them a good 10 days to be sure the film is completely used, and I will slip back in and pick them up. I’m looking forward to waiting in line to pick up the prints. It’s almost as exciting as sitting in the tree stand waiting for the deer of a lifetime to walk by. Only time will tell!

Posted by S. Johnson at 09:00 AM | Permalink