Hunting in england

Patrick_D

New member
I was encouraged by one of the other members here to give a little insight into what we get up to here, so here it is. I hope some of you will gain something from it.

I thought I may take a little time to describe how things are here, and what we do, as I know a lot of people think no-one here even shoots any more. That's just not true.

The species we hunt are not very diverse. On the land I have access to, the smallest are rabbits, moving up through fox and boar (some in the wild now, escaped from farms), and deer. The largest species are red deer, although these are found primarily Scotland and the western counties of England. Foxhunting - the hunting of foxes on horseback with a pack of hounds is currently under threat from an over-liberal and ill-informed government. It's a high-profile sport, but actually very ineffective at controlling foxes. I know of one individual who single-handed probably accounts for more foxes in a year than a dozen foxhunts do.

Typically weighing around 20 pounds, the British fox is a bit of a contradiction. They are sly, clever, ruthless predators but - if they have not heard a squeak before - they are one of the most stupid creatures on God's earth. "Squeaking" is an imitation of the distress cry of an injured rabbit, and this is the type of call just about everyone uses for foxes. Foxes who have heard this before and somehow lived through the experience won't be interested, in fact they may well head off in the opposite direction. Those who have not will just come running, right up until they just about bump into you. So it is normal to whistle or maybe shout when the fox is at an suitable range, and this will stop it for just a couple of seconds allowing a quick shot to be taken. Farmers here are particularly keen on fox control because there is a lot of sheep farming - and lambs do fall victim to foxes.

My own preference is to get out on the farm an hour or more before dark and sit in the shade under a tree. I use a folding camp chair and some sticks made out of dowel. The clothing favoured for this is ex-military camo - it is inexpensive and works well, it also makes little noise if you are moving about. Seated like this I can take a fox at 250-300 yards with reasonable certainty. I use a Sako in .222 rem with 50 gr Nosler BTs, and the rifle wears an 8x56 Swarovski scope - not cheap but important for good performance in low light. It's also good to have a flat-shooting round as I find judging distances accurately in low light to be quite a challenge. My own preference is not to call the animals in unless necessary, I find the snap shot less reliable than a shot at an animal which is sitting still at a distance. The last evening I was out I injured a running animal at about 70 yards, needing a second shot to finish it, but the next shot was a clean kill on a sitter at 250. I guess this is partly down to inexperience, but I'm working on that. Of course, if we don't see any foxes then a squeak is required, and is often successful in bringing the animals in.

After dark we will use lamps, and many shooters like to use a red filter on the lamp. It seems to upset the foxes less. Lamping is done both from vehicles and on foot. A really good evening around here would yield about 7 or 8 foxes.

Like so many nations we have a whole lot of misguided individuals - "bunny huggers" - who just don't understand what really goes on. Some of these people trap urban foxes which are making a nuisance and take them out into the countryside where they release them. It's actually quite sad to see these animals as just about the only food source they have ever known are trash cans and maybe the odd mouse or rat. Very often they show no fear of humans, and are in poor condition because they can't feed themselves in the wild. Mange is quite common among urban foxes, and one of the unfortunate side-effects of this relocation of animals is the risk of spreading this disease. These animals don't make very challenging targets.
 
Very interesting, Patrick. Thanks for sharing that with us.

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Critr

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www.SaguaroSafaris.com
 
Patrick_D

Hoooowddyyy!

Welcome to Predator Masters!!!

It’s very pleasing to know that the membership of Predator Masters crosses the great oceans of the world to include England.

A 20 pound fox here in Arizona would be a monster! The fox in England must eat very well indeed.

When you refer to "Squeaking," are you talking about a typical hand call with a rabbit type distress sound, or something else?

Is “squeaking” critters a popular sport in England?

From your post, I get the impression that the fox is the biggest predator you have in England, is that the case? If you ever get a chance, send us a photo or two.

Tell you what Patrick, you ever get the chance to get to Arizona (during the winter months) we’ll hook you up with the predator hunt of your life.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your time here....
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http://www.predatormasters.com
 
Patrick_D--Welcome! I would invite you to stop by the Predator Biology forum and make some posts or at least read up on current and past discussion topics. In addition, lots of these guys would be interested in what you see in England re: the red fox--populations, predation rates and problems, territories and a whole host of interesting biological phenomena. Again, welcome to PM.
 
Patrick_D,

I have been in touch with a few hunters in the UK, mainly working terrier men, through some of the other discussion boards. From what I understand, you have a far bigger problem with the anti-hunters over there than we do here. I have also heard that hunting, and field sports in general, has pretty much come to a stand still due to the foot and mouth epidemic. What is the latest report from over there? The last I heard (in a report from The Countryman's Weekly) there was a hefty fine for just being in the country unless you had a good reason for being there.
 
Hi Patrick,

I was stationed for a few years in the west, in the Cotswolds at Fairford AB in Oxfordshire. That was back in 78-81 I think...too many light and bitters, can't really remember. I lived in a small village not far from base called Stanford-in-the-Vale..lovely little village. The pub was called the anchor, I can't remember the publicans name, but they were quite nice. I really miss England, wonderful country.

I remember gunning for dove on private property just outside of Stanford, near Farington. The laws you folks have to deal with are atrocious and unfortunately many of us, especially those of us that live or have homes in places like California, are experiencing the same.

Well, welcome to the board, it's a great one. Wish I could visit more myself. How bout gunning for those little hedge-hogs? Always saw a ton those pesky critters.

Cheers!



[This message has been edited by Big Jerk (edited 12-17-2001).]
 
Patrick_D, that was some great info. Thanks for sharing. Always wondered what the shooting sports were like across the pond. Was watching a show the other night about how a previously thought extinct species of puma is making a come back over there. They said that a lot of sheep were being taken by these aggressive cats. Have you heard anything about that?

Thanks again for the insight on hunting in England. Curt
 
Hi,

First, my thanks to all of you for giving me such a warm welcome. That's really good. I have tried to reply to everyone in the following text.

AzWill,

Yes, by squeaking I mean hand calling. Some people use purpose-build calls, and one or two improvise. I know one guy who uses a wheel from a model (toy?) train. No kidding. That works well for him. I also know one lucky guy whose mouth/teeth/whatever are just the right shape so he doesn't use anything else. Electronic calls are not legal.

The foxes here are eating very well just now because there has been a ban on movements over farms with livestock due to the foot & mouth disease. However, that's getting cleared up now, and in fact I went shooting Saturday night for the first time in several months. Took 2 foxes at around 200 yards; it was just GREAT to be out again.

I will take some pictures and post them when I can. Will also show you a few scenes of the type of ground we are shooting over.

As for Arizona, sounds good to me, so be careful, I may just take you up on that offer. I have been to the states several times, always NY, always on business. Next time, maybe I will stay on a bit longer and hop across to say hello.

Steve Allen,

I will look into the biology forum later this evening.

Bob Mc,

You are right, we have stopped due to foot & mouth. Things are just starting to move again now, and there are fewer new cases of the disease every day. I think it is summed up best by the fact that I was asked to go out on Saturday because the farmer obviously believed that there was more risk to his lambs through fox predation than the risk of us bringing the disease onto his land. Having said that, it's the ONLY farm with livestock which I will go onto until the disease is eradicated.

You are also right about penalties. There are fines of up to 5000 pounds (about 7 or 8 thousand US) for people found using footpaths which have been marked as closed.

Big Jerk,

I don't know the Cotswolds too well, but I do know it is a beautiful part of the country.

As for hedgehogs, they are unfortunately protected. I don't like them, and I could be tempted......

Curt,

We have had a large number of reports of large cats in the wild. Like so many things here, the keeping of dangerous animals has been regulated. It is generally accepted that some people who kept these animals released them into the wild rather than conforming with the regulations. I don't know if these were ever indigenous here, but I am sure that they are out in the wild now. I know one person who has seen these animals, and this particular guy is not prone to inventing stories or imagining things. He is one of my best friends and a keen shooter, so he would not misinterpret a large domestic cat as something else.

Anyway, just for the record, this may amuse you. I am a smoker, but in order to avoid subjecting my family to my bad habit, I go out in the back yard to smoke. Last night, I went out and something hissed at me. The noise was like a domestic cat, but much "bigger" and lower. Anyway, I stood and watched and listened, and a short while later a fox ran across the garden towards where the noise came from. When he reached that spot he turned around and ran back the way he had come. Clearly something had upset him. I heard later that a large cat had been seen in the grounds of the school my younger son attends, less than a mile away. It may be that I will get a bit of sport quite close to home before too long. I never actually saw anything myself, but I know what I heard.

Coykiller,

That name is not familiar. I know that things are tough here, but there are still a good few of us getting out there and having fun, so it should not be too surprising if I don't know all the others. Do you know what part of the coutry he comes from?


Best regards to all
 
Patrick
The name Pat Carey is more familiarly known by is the Warrener who I think you will be more familiar with.

Tim.E

[This message has been edited by Tim.E (edited 05-16-2001).]
 
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