arctek

I am so excited. I saw two fox very early this morning where I'll be calling tonight. My dad and I will be going out tonight for the first time and I could really use some advice. We will be located along a fence row which faces out toward a large open field, has a large woods up to the left and a small woods along a railroad track to the right. There is a standing cornfield behind us. If my dad and I sit together to light the field in front of us, which is the ideal direction for the wind? We are using shotguns so I don't have the luxury of a rifle's distance. Thank you in advance.

coyoteseeker

first off welcome to the board,your set up sounds good but don't expect the fox to cross that open field.reds will very rearly cross an open field to responed to a distress call,grays on the other hand just might.they will most likly trot down the hedge row your sitting in.the only thing i don't like about your set up is the standing corn to your back.if the wind is blowing to the corn,your going to get busted long before you see anything.if the wind is blowing to the open field expect the fox to run along side the hedge row and at any where from 50 to 100 yards trot out into the open field trying to wind and see the sourse of the sound.then again they may fallow the hedge row right to you.always give fox some cover to get within shooting distance of you,a hedge row is perfect.if the wind is blowing with the hedge row,don't hunt there.if this is the only stand site you have set up,you need to set up many more.even if you sit each stand for 30 min or so,if you only have 1 or 2 stands your fox hunt will be short.its also good to rotate stands,try to not hunt the same location twice in a row.over hunting the same location only serves to educate the predators in that area.night hunting fox is alot of fun,enjoy and shoot straight.

arctek

Thanks for the tips. I have 9 stands set up for the morning. We are starting at 2:30 AM. I have a few more farms to locate more stands so I hope we get something. I bought a hat light called the mighty max. It sure doesn't seem bright enough with the amber lens on. I also bought a light that fits on the shotgun. I sure hope this works.

As for my first stand, I didn't think the fox would come across the open field. If they won't come across the open field then I wonder why did I see the one in the field this morning? Who knows. So from your experience you think that most times the fox will circle downwind from where we are calling? If I am calling with a large open field to my back and the all of the cover is in front of me, won't the fox want to sneak up through the cover instead of exposing itself? This is a different stand tonight where there is a medium sized trash pile located 30 yards from an marshy overgown fild with with a small woods in dispersed beyond the field. The wind is blowing from the woods, across the marshy, overgrown field to the trash pile in the open field. Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just nervous and excited about tonight. I'm afraid that I will blow this opportunity. LOL

Kevin

Dan O.

If you want real excitement hunt the foxes with a Jack Russell Terrier. A lot of digging but it's comparable to coon hunting with hounds. The terriers are so worked up that they scream.

Dan O.

coyoteseeker

you miss understood me when i said a fox crossing an open feild.fox will mouse in a low cut open grass feild all the time,what i said is they are less likly to cross that same feild responding to a distress call.your light dosn't need to be bright all you have to see is there eyes reflecting back at you.it takes very little light for that to happen.a good way to see how and get used to it is tie your dog out or use a neighbors and get around 100 yards away on a dark night.this will show you how little light it takes to see a pair of eyes.fox will circle you but not to the extent that a coyote does.if a fox does try to circle he will likly try it much closer to your location then a coyote would.this doesn't mean you don't need to use the wind,becouse you do.a fox will always utilize any availible cover to get as close to the call sound as possible.if your sitting in a large thicket with little visabilty theres a good chance your not going to see the fox coming,you will hear it but you won't see to shoot.hedgerows,fencelines,drainage ditches etc.narrow pieces of cover they can fallow right into your lap.don't worry about mistakes,we all make them.every mistake you make,makes you a better hunter.your less likly to make that same mistake again.

Edited by - coyoteseeker on 11/09/2002 04:52:41

arctek

I couldn't respond for awhile because I got a very nast computer virus and had to reformat. What a pain. Anyhow, here is what happened with the fox calling. I called for the fox at first light. The wind was in my face and there was standing corn behind me. There was a brushy semi-open field in front, separated from me by a fence row 20 yards in front of me. There were woods to the right and left. I called for about 25 minutes, using the pause button to stop the CD. I saw nothing so I stopped, sat still for a bit and then slowly stood up to check out behind me in the corn. I noticed the was a path of the standing corn that had been removed so I stepped back there to scope it out. I was standing there for about 2 minutes when I heard the corn moving ahead of me. Hear comes a red fox trotting down in a rown of standing corn. It ran right by me. I wound up shooting 3 times and missed with each one. I'm so mad at myself because I should never have shoot. It was too close and at a bad angle going away from me. Now it will never come to a call.

I then went night calling last night. I was in a perfect location and there had been fox sightings. I perched myself on a knoll that overlooked a overgrown marshty stream area. I was calling for about 5 minuts when I saw a set of eyes 80 yards out looking at me. It moved a bit but after 25 minuts, it never came closer. What a bummer. I will sit in tighter cover next time and see how this works. I am so frustrated right now with myself and calling. I feel like a complete idiot, but I'll do it all over again. LOL I'm still not clear on the wind thing. Do you call into the wind or with it? It seemsed as if that fox came behind me downwind. I would never have known.

Kevin

Squirrel Master

Hi arctek. I hunt fox all the time. What I have come up with is...you need the wind blowing from you to the fox. The fox will almost always try to scent you. Every single time I have called one in, they circled me till they could get smell of me and where I was. Make sure you use cover scent. Make sure you use it right. Dont use evergreen scent in a corn field where there are no evergreens. Its just common sense. If there isnt any wind, thats good too. What makes it even more exciting is when you have two or more foxes trying to locate your calls. I hunt with a bow in a tree or on the ground and its very exciting. I had a fox last year, walk 3 feet from me. Thats no bull****. I had on my cover scent, I was sitting in a group of willow trees in a marshy area, my shot gun this time. I heard something behind me but didnt move. Then I saw it out of the corner of my eye. The fox was looking straight at me. Just be curious as what I was. And the wind was blowing right to left and he was left to me. He had no idea what I was. So he walked in front of me, and I made the mistake of him catching my movement and he started to get a little nervous. He walked about 10 yards from me as as soon as I pulled the trigger, he turned away from me and I missed him. I never seen an animal haul ass as fast as he did. I even have the same fox on tape from December of last year. I use a rabbit distree call and mouse call, mouth calls. I have never once went after him and not had him come back to me. They will always come back. These are red fox im hunting. Fox are so nosey and curious. They will work an area for hours till they find where the call is coming from. When you think their gone, trust me, their not gone, their somewhere very close to you. I thought the one I was hunting had left, so I strated calling again, I didnt see him. So just for the heck if it, I looked behind me, as what do ya know, there he was jsut looking at me, like, you think Im stupid or something, then he was gone. I went back the very next day and got him back again, but I wasnt hunting him, just calling. So anyways, you will get him eventually. Sometimes, Id rather not even shoot them, just hunting them gets me going. I love it, expecially with a bow because you have to be so quiet and move without them see you. Feed them too. They love corn. I watch them eat all the time when im in the stand. I wish I could show you the video. Where do you live at? Im from Kentucky. anything else I can help you with let me know....

Squirrel Master

sdzumbro

Saw the Fox calling post and thought I'd ring in with my 2 cents . I used to hunt foxes very hard with a friend of mine , but now due to work , kids , fur prices , and loss of hunting area we just go out the first night every year .
Last night was the first night here in Ohio and we started at midnight .Due to the late start we only made about 15 stops killing 4 greys ( 2 singles and 1 double ).
I think the most important key to having a good night for greys is to cover alot of ground and make a bunch of calls .
20 5 minute stops will always be better than 5 20 minute calls .After you get used to seeing foxes coming with a red light you can tell if it's a fox , dog , or cat pretty easy so we just shoot them with a dim red light .
After years of shooting and trapping hundreds of foxes the best advise I can give anyone on greys is never take more than 2 from your spots and those spots will produce year after year .
Have fun and be careful
Scott Zumbro

coyoteseeker

like i said in the earlyer post"the corn being down wind will present problems" and as you found out,it did.that fox did come from behind you(downwind)becouse your set up aloud him to.never hunt a set up with heavy cover on the down wind side that comes right tight to your location.most times a predator will wind you and leave without you knowing he was there,somtimes they will run you over becouse of the heavy cover,assuming your scent management is working.then your presented with that hurried up shot.as far as that fox never coming to a call again,he will just give him a few day to mellow out.the fox that hung up on you may have cought some movment,this could be why he held back.next time that happens,use a mouse squeeker or kiss the palm of your hand(with your glove off)this will intice him to come closer to investagate.somtimes they will come at a dead run so be ready.as a general rule on a calm or mildly breezy day you call into the wind(wind in your face)somtimes on real windy days you can call with the wind(wind at your back)this helps get the call sound to carry farther.blowing into a stiff wind your sound will not carry to far.then again real windy days are not the best time to call up predators.as with most wildlife,there movments are at a minamum on real windy days.i just reread your statement"after 25 min it moved a bit but never came any closer"the fact is(if he was up wind of you)he may have circled to the down wind side of you trying to get a nosefull of what you were.or he could have just lost interest.mouse squeeking,its that close in coaxer call that works almost every time.just be sure to not let him see you moving.if the squeeker dosn't do it,rustle the leaves with you foot along with the mouse squeeker.most times will find this totaly irresistable(sp)and come charging in.don't let that frustration make you quit,stick with it and it will begin to get easyer as time goes on.

arctek

Man, I just don't know what to think. I have been calling on farms where I know there are red fox. I just missed one several days ago, but haven't had anything come in since. I know there are trappers on these farms also and it has been rather warm. My question is, do you guys average a fox every night or day you go out? I'm sure I've been setting up good stands. I am about as odorless as you can get, use a cover scent, have the wind now blowing from my back towards where I expect to shoot, have called morning and at night, and I'm camo'ed up to the hilt. I just expected more action then this. I'm going to keep trying and see what happens.