Up a tree...

SnowmanMo

SnowmanMo

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We have a confirmed sighting of the Arizona Grey Tree Climbing fox. This little fox came to a very LOW rendition of grey fox distress at about the 90 second mark. I let her run in and jump up at the caller so that my guys could get a crack at her. Neither of them had a good vantage so I let her circle the tree. Then I watched her shimmy up the tree trunk and actually walk out onto the same limb that the FoxPro Scorpion was on. Both of my shooters were using shotguns and that could have spelled tragedy for the Scorpion so I took the shot at 40 yards with our Predator Technology Group, 18in 204ruger, shooting Hornady Superformance 32gr Vmax. This was the rifle that I built up to demo at the PM Convention. Three of our members got to shoot it at 600 yards, so i knew it was more than capable. The Nikon 2.5-10 with the BDC's gave me a great point of aim at that close distance.

It was somewhat surreal watching a fox flying through the air...

 
I have seen these PA ones climb a few Times. A couple weeks ago we had one climb about 200yds out from us in the edge of the woods. The tree top was busted off and laying in a Y, angling sharply down to the ground. The grey climbed up the top (about 15ft up) and stood on the big limb sticking out for about 30 seconds or so. I lit it up to confirm it was a Fox but we ended up not getting it.
 
Originally Posted By: Doc25What kind of damage does the 204 do to fox?

I know you are asking the op, but in my experience, I quit using one because it tears a lot of them to pieces. I have learnt that if I want almost zero percent damage I just use my .22 mag. I have found a high percent of damage comes from any of the centerfire cartridges out there. My buddy has a .17 hornet and midseason we started getting a lot of damage on fur with that too. But about half the time there would be no exit with it. If you load them down you might find a load that shoots good and is good on fur, but I figured if I was going to do that I may just as well use my mag shooting 2200-2350fps and go cheap on bullets. Lol.
 
Originally Posted By: Doc25What kind of damage does the 204 do to fox?

I got about a half dollar sized exit hole. No tearing on entry or exit. I attribute the exit hole size to the close proximity of the fox to me. It was under 40 yards, which is a bit close. When we shoot them over 60 yards we are not getting exits nearly that size. I was using Hornady Superformance factory loaded 32gr V-max bullets as an experiment. It did not expand as violently as the same bullet from a 24in barrel would have. The fox was DRT on impact.

Next up will be to use a thin jacketed hollowpoint which should eliminate the exit hole.
 
Originally Posted By: SnowmanMoOriginally Posted By: Doc25What kind of damage does the 204 do to fox?

I got about a half dollar sized exit hole. No tearing on entry or exit. I attribute the exit hole size to the close proximity of the fox to me. It was under 40 yards, which is a bit close. When we shoot them over 60 yards we are not getting exits nearly that size. I was using Hornady Superformance factory loaded 32gr V-max bullets as an experiment. It did not expand as violently as the same bullet from a 24in barrel would have. The fox was DRT on impact.

Next up will be to use a thin jacketed hollowpoint which should eliminate the exit hole.


Thanks for the input
What jhp are you planning to try? Varmegeddon? I'm still looking to knock down coyote with mine but if a fox or cat shows ...
 
Yes, I actually have some of the Varmegeddon bullets that I think we are going to try. I have had great success with the 25gr Hornady HP's in our 17remington and I think that we can replicate those results with a similar bullet in the 204.

We are also looking to try the Berger 35gr flat based HP.

I will certainly keep you guys posted on the results of that quest.
 
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