Is it legal to shoot a fox on your own land?

[Davi]

mechsympathy said:

Ye cannae break the laws of physics

no, but what are the laws - the pellet may have dropped by 11cm but what of it's velocity, still deadly? He may well be "bending the truth" on the power of the rifle, it's the only variable that is refutable.

[Bolebroke]

Ring your local Hunt - you can get the number from the MFHA website. Terrier boys will dispose of your problem humanely and efficiently.

If you don't want the bother just try peeing all around the chicken coup. Human urine keeps them away effectively.

Shoot one fox and 6 come to his funeral...

Don't kill it yourself unless you are good at dealing with twitching / limp carcasses that bleed a lot. What you going to do with the carcass ? Again - donate it to the local Hunt..

[G_T]

NobleLord said:

So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Well I've never killed a fox myself but, if you're not willing to shoot it, then get your spade and finish the job. Couple of well placed blows to the head should do it fairly humanely and you won't need to risk injury to yourself.

[stifler]

NobleLord said:

Thanks again for all the advice... it's given me plenty of ideas and things to watch out for.

A dumb question I guess, but, if I use one of these humane traps and get the fox, I'm then in the same position over killing it with a weapon on my property. Also, I don't really fancy a point blank shot at the little st with a 12 bore as that'll no doubt damage a bloody expensive fox trap. I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

NL

PS. I don't really want to go down the route of reinforcing the coup with deep wire as we use a movable electric fence setup and move the coup around during the year to ensure they always have fresh grass.

Take the trap somewhere in the car. A friends farm will do. Let it out and shoot it as it trots away.

Is there a sort of mixamatosis that would work on Foxes?

[mechsympathy]

Davi said:

mechsympathy said:

Ye cannae break the laws of physics

no, but what are the laws - the pellet may have dropped by 11cm but what of it's velocity, still deadly? He may well be "bending the truth" on the power of the rifle, it's the only variable that is refutable.

At 100m he's having to aim 20+cm above a target that is 2cm wide, and that's before you start trying to account for the wind.

It'd be an impressive shot with a .22 rimfire.

[Davi]

mechsympathy said:

Davi said:

mechsympathy said:

Ye cannae break the laws of physics

no, but what are the laws - the pellet may have dropped by 11cm but what of it's velocity, still deadly? He may well be "bending the truth" on the power of the rifle, it's the only variable that is refutable.

At 100m he's having to aim 20+cm above a target that is 2cm wide, and that's before you start trying to account for the wind.

It'd be an impressive shot with a .22 rimfire.

blimey. Well it's definitely an air rifle, not a fluke as I've seen him do it many times and distance is definitely in that region. Shame I was hoping for info that could lead to a piss take of him

[GingerWizard]

Davi said:

Is 150m short range or long range? I know jack st about guns, just regularly watched a good friend who's a fiend with guns take them out at that distance - clean headshot every time with a 12lb air rifle.

150 meters with a 12lb Air rifle, head shot you say? Has he got the Hubble Telescope as a sight and a skeleton made from metal? Thats quite good you know. The head of a woody is about the size of a £2 coin. A rabbit the size of a digestive biscuit. He should probably go into competitions, you sure you ment Meters not Feet?

[Ganglandboss]

NobleLord said:

I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Releasing it away from your property is all you can legally do. Foxes are protected animals which you cannot kill without a hunting licence. As I said earlier, as a farmer you may legally shoot any animal animal if it poses a threat to your livestock. If the amimal is caught in a humane trap, it no longer poses a threat.

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 16th June 17:03

[NobleLord]

Ganglandboss said:

NobleLord said:

I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Releasing it away from your property is all you can legally do. Foxes are protected animals which you cannot kill without a hunting licence. As I said earlier, as a farmer you may legally shoot any animal animal if it poses a threat to your livestock. If the amimal is caught in a humane trap, it no longer poses a threat.

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 16th June 17:03

Interesting point... bit of a dilemma there. I think I may need to apply for a firearms licence that covers more than shotguns.

NL

[NobleLord]

Ganglandboss said:

NobleLord said:

I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Releasing it away from your property is all you can legally do. Foxes are protected animals which you cannot kill without a hunting licence. As I said earlier, as a farmer you may legally shoot any animal animal if it poses a threat to your livestock. If the amimal is caught in a humane trap, it no longer poses a threat.

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 16th June 17:03

I suppose I could always leave the little st in the trap until it starves to death

NL

[GingerWizard]

NobleLord said:

Ganglandboss said:

NobleLord said:

I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Releasing it away from your property is all you can legally do. Foxes are protected animals which you cannot kill without a hunting licence. As I said earlier, as a farmer you may legally shoot any animal animal if it poses a threat to your livestock. If the amimal is caught in a humane trap, it no longer poses a threat.

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 16th June 17:03

I suppose I could always leave the little st in the trap until it starves to death

NL

poisened meat? Shoot Fireworks at it?

If you trapped a fox you could kill it with a steel dart from a .22 air rifle you would need a head shot at about 5 Ft Max.

[mat13]

drown the fker, the only animal i detest more than foxes are minks, now they are nasty little sts

[stifler]

mat13 said:

drown the fker, the only animal i detest more than foxes are minks, now they are nasty little sts

They make a nice coat though.

(Joking, before any yoghurt weaving, raffia tampon animal rights protesters try and get me banned)

[stifler]

NobleLord said:

Ganglandboss said:

NobleLord said:

I can't shoot it in the trap with a rifle as I don't have a licence. So, what the hell am I supposed to do with it once I've trapped it

Releasing it away from your property is all you can legally do. Foxes are protected animals which you cannot kill without a hunting licence. As I said earlier, as a farmer you may legally shoot any animal animal if it poses a threat to your livestock. If the amimal is caught in a humane trap, it no longer poses a threat.

Edited by Ganglandboss on Tuesday 16th June 17:03

Interesting point... bit of a dilemma there. I think I may need to apply for a firearms licence that covers more than shotguns.

NL

Like I said above, let it out the trap and it will "pose a threat" again. This time though, you have a gun with you.

[DIW35]

Davi said:

Is 150m short range or long range? I know jack st about guns, just regularly watched a good friend who's a fiend with guns take them out at that distance - clean headshot every time with a 12lb air rifle.

I call bullst on that one. A 12ft/lb air rifle will not retain sufficient energy at 150m to kill a rabbit. Even to hit the damn thing at that range would take exceptional skill. I have used a .17hmr at that sort of range which leaves the barrel at 2,500 fps and 250ft/lb, so has a much flatter trajectory than an airgun pellet. However, I wouldn't guarantee a headshot at that distance, so will always go for the heart/lung area. I wouldn't even think of using an airgun which only starts off at 500 or 800fps (depending on calibre).

Edited by DIW35 on Tuesday 16th June 18:27

[markcjd]

DIW35 said:

Davi said:

Is 150m short range or long range? I know jack st about guns, just regularly watched a good friend who's a fiend with guns take them out at that distance - clean headshot every time with a 12lb air rifle.

I call bullst on that one. A 12ft/lb air rifle will not retain sufficient energy at 150m to kill a rabbit. Even to hit the damn thing at that range would take exceptional skill. I have used a .17hmr at that sort of range which leaves the barrel at 2,500 fps and 250ft/lb, so has a much flatter trajectory than an airgun pellet. However, I wouldn't guarantee a headshot at that distance, so will always go for the heart/lung area. I wouldn't even think of using an airgun which only starts off at 500 or 800fps (depending on calibre).

Edited by DIW35 on Tuesday 16th June 18:27

No chance of 150m with an air gun. By this range the pellet has expended almost all of its energy and is likely to be tumbling. As posted above the head of a pigeon is a sun 1 inch target. Even using a 20X scope this is still a small area. If he is doing it free standing he should be in the Olympic team!

[julian64]

GingerWizard said:

WorAl said:

you cant shoot a fox with a bloody air rifle.

sorry that had me laughing my ass off! You can't shoot a fox with air rifle. Your quiet right! That would be like trying to kill a badger with a cricket ball! I only ment about distance from public high ways referance to air rifles. shoot a fox with an air rifle.... hehehehehehe

Edited by GingerWizard on Tuesday 16th June 11:31

You can easily kill a fox with an air rifle. Been there done that, got the hat to prove it. Three times now.

Don't believe everything you hear on womans hour.

Suppose I better edit this because of the last few posts.

No way will a 12 ftlb gun hit anything at 150 yards, The trajectory of 12 ftlb at 150 yrd would look like a hand grenade.

I need to be within an absolute maximum of 60 yrds with a 12 ftlb gun and have a very expensive gun to get the accuracy required to despatch a fox.

You cannot reliably penetrate the thicker skull of a fox at that range with an air rifle. Its not a humane kill. A fox skull is two to three times thicker than a rabbit.

If you have 10p sized accuracy at 60 yrds you can make a body shot on a fox that will drop the fox as quickly and as painlessly as the video.

Remember head shots are mostly overrated as a killing method, unless you like computer games. Any shot to the neck which traverses the mid line would kill instantly. Any shot to the heart, or high blood supply organ like the liver would do the same.

Edited by julian64 on Wednesday 17th June 09:34

[Don]

julian64 said:

GingerWizard said:

WorAl said:

you cant shoot a fox with a bloody air rifle.

sorry that had me laughing my ass off! You can't shoot a fox with air rifle. Your quiet right! That would be like trying to kill a badger with a cricket ball! I only ment about distance from public high ways referance to air rifles. shoot a fox with an air rifle.... hehehehehehe

Edited by GingerWizard on Tuesday 16th June 11:31

You can easily kill a fox with an air rifle. Been there done that, got the hat to prove it. Three times now.

Don't believe everything you hear on womans hour.

Close range?

Maximum lethal distance for my .22 air rifle (legal 12lb job) was about 30m - and I used to stalk to 25m. I used to hunt pigeons (for the meat) and could guarantee an immediate kill every time. I'd have thought a fox's head was better "armoured" so...you'd need to be right next to it with the gun I had.

[Lefty Guns]

julian64 said:

GingerWizard said:

WorAl said:

you cant shoot a fox with a bloody air rifle.

sorry that had me laughing my ass off! You can't shoot a fox with air rifle. Your quiet right! That would be like trying to kill a badger with a cricket ball! I only ment about distance from public high ways referance to air rifles. shoot a fox with an air rifle.... hehehehehehe

Edited by GingerWizard on Tuesday 16th June 11:31

You can easily kill a fox with an air rifle. Been there done that, got the hat to prove it. Three times now.

Don't believe everything you hear on womans hour.

Can you be a bit more specific?

Was it a 12ft/lb air rifle or one of those 200ft/lb air-powered elephant gun things.
What calibre?
What range?
Head shots?
Did you kill it immediately?

I stand by my earlier statement, I'd never ever take a shot at foxy with an air rifle, even an FAC one. I won't even use my .22 rf on them.

[Davi]

DIW35 said:

Davi said:

Is 150m short range or long range? I know jack st about guns, just regularly watched a good friend who's a fiend with guns take them out at that distance - clean headshot every time with a 12lb air rifle.

I call bullst on that one. A 12ft/lb air rifle will not retain sufficient energy at 150m to kill a rabbit. Even to hit the damn thing at that range would take exceptional skill. I have used a .17hmr at that sort of range which leaves the barrel at 2,500 fps and 250ft/lb, so has a much flatter trajectory than an airgun pellet. However, I wouldn't guarantee a headshot at that distance, so will always go for the heart/lung area. I wouldn't even think of using an airgun which only starts off at 500 or 800fps (depending on calibre).

Edited by DIW35 on Tuesday 16th June 18:27

Frankly couldn't give a monkey's arse on who calls what on it, I'm not looking for acceptance from peers, merely questioning his claim that it's a 12ft/lb rifle after reading the rest of the thread. I think I'm right on the distance - a square of land ~ 3 acres, so by my (poor) maths that is approx 110m x 110m so the diagonal across it is ~150m, give or take a bit!If that's right the only thing I'm interested in is the power of the air rifle, which from the various posts above he may be "playing down" the power of, a tad