Fox only 12g load?

I did some patterning the other day using Win's 3" 4 shot turkey load and Mbergs UltiFull .695 choke vs Kicks GT .685.Both at 40yds did so well I jumped to 50.Still excellent patterns.Still both chokes neck and neck.I decided to hold off before going to 60yds until I get some plywood/catalogs or whatever to start checking penetration.With both chokes doing so well that's all that matters at this point.
 
Quote:Have you lost a number of fox after shooting them with #4 buck or are you just worried you "might"? Just wondering what prompted your initial quandary.
Worried that the spread of #4 buck will sometimes only injure foxes, allowing them to run into the super thick brush I often hunt never to be seen again. #4 buck will probably work fine most of the time, but a higher pellet count will ensure more hits. That's all.
 
I'll begin by saying to the best of my sometimes foggy memory I have never shot a fox with a number #4 shot pellet so take this for what it is worth to you. As someone mentioned above I have no doubt #4's would work on fox within some mid-range mark (which I have no idea what that range would be). However, 50 or 60 yards is quite a stretch for such small shot I would think. I've skinned squirrels with #4's stuck just under their hide that failed to penetrate any more than that just there. I always imagined that some hunter misjudged the distance or was hopeful that somehow he would be blessed with the "magic pellet" and get a lucky brain hit. But if such a pellet won't penetrate more than just through the hide on a grey squirrel, I seriously doubt that it is going to be lethal enough for you to recover a fox shot with one at such distances. Just a semi-educated guesstimate…
 
Too bad different loads have different point of impacts (testing done using a Burris FastFire III red dot). Otherwise I could switch in the field. As it is, one load shoots wide right, several others are dead on, and some are a foot low. Crazy!

I have no idea how you "bead sight" fans get it to work for you...
 
I think you are trying too hard to make your shotgun a precision instrument. There is a reason it holds 4 + 1!!!
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This project isn't worth it to me anymore, too bad I couldn't get those copper plated BBs to pattern with the 5 different chokes I tried. Time to move on!

I'm just going to go with #4 buck shot. After I finish the two boxes of DC T's I still have left over from last season.
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A new search here brought up a ton of posts on 12g fox loads going back to 2003. A bunch of folks said lead #4 shot will do great. Even more said lead #2 is the go-to load. Some said BB, and a few said #4 buck has too much space between pelets to garuntee a good kill on a fox.

So I ordered some 3" lead #2 shot, and will try it out when it arrives. It came to $1.60 per shot, including the $16 shipping (ouch).
 
Research is over. A good patterning 3" 2 shot load hits them like a hammer out to at least 40 yards.

4 shot would probably do fine as well.
 
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