Is it legal to shoot a fox on your own land?
Discussion
southendpier said:
A friend had a young headless and tailless fox's corpse thrown into their garden. This was found by my 4 yr old (who thought it quite cute) and his friend (who thought it was a bird).
Is it common to top and tail foxs then? Some odd country way?
Not that I know of. Maybe someone wanted them for a trophy?? Mounting the head etc?Is it common to top and tail foxs then? Some odd country way?
samdale said:
Lefty Guns said:
markh1 said:
Lefty Guns said:
GingerWizard said:
Shirly someone would not shoota fox with an air rifle, maybe in the eye!?
You might be surprised. I was speaking to the local dog warden the other day and apparently there have been a few foxes near me shot (but not killed obviously) with air rifles recently.I used to be a member of a shooting forum and some t
ts used to reckons that shooting a fox with an air rifle was OK as long as you got a headshot. Not even an FAC-rated air gun, just a 12ft/lb'er. 
I wouldn't shoot anything at a fox other than a CF. I wouldn't even trust a rimfire to do it. (Although the .17 HMR is rumoured to be a decent enough round for foxing, better than .22 anyway). I suppose a shotgun with a tight choke would be OK but still, I wouldn't.
I don't own a CF, wouldn't mind though. A nice AR15 in .223 maybe
N.B. footage of fox being shot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLwX9DxICR8
The legal limit of an air rifle is 12ft/lbs which you can use to kill a fox, however you would have to be pretty close to it. I was in a gun shop on saturday and was asking about higher power air rifles. (Which you need a fire arms liscence for) Apparently any higher than 12ft/lbs will give you greater range but not greater killing power.
I suppose you could maybe justify a .22 or .25 if it were running at around 30lb/ft but you would still want a clean headshot to guarantee a kill.
12ft/lb with .22 or .25 isn't going to give you the range you need (and it'll have a bastid of a trajectory) and .177 at 12lb/ft isn't going to have the stopping power.
oh and ayahuasca, do you know the legalities of using a bow?
i was under the impression that bow hunting was illegal in britain?
or is this another one of those "on your own land" things?
or where you just joking
Sorry bout that.
southendpier said:
A friend had a young headless and tailless fox's corpse thrown into their garden. This was found by my 4 yr old (who thought it quite cute) and his friend (who thought it was a bird).
Is it common to top and tail foxs then? Some odd country way?
Maybe they were making some form of British Davey Crocket hat?Is it common to top and tail foxs then? Some odd country way?
Try this as it covers most of what is being discussed.
No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
The above link contains all of the arguments in favour and against the use of air rifles. Regardless of how compelling they may be, they are wrong.
A valid point was made by ganglandboss, Foxy is treated as a seperate entity in terms of licensing. Having a firearm marked for use on vermin does not allow foxes to be shot!
12b is perfectly acceptable out to 50-60 yds but a seriously heavyweight shell will be needed. No.1 40g or larger, even a bb round. Be wary of choke sizes with these monster rounds and hold tight if you have never used them before.
As with all things firearm, if in doubt, get help!
No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
The above link contains all of the arguments in favour and against the use of air rifles. Regardless of how compelling they may be, they are wrong.
A valid point was made by ganglandboss, Foxy is treated as a seperate entity in terms of licensing. Having a firearm marked for use on vermin does not allow foxes to be shot!
12b is perfectly acceptable out to 50-60 yds but a seriously heavyweight shell will be needed. No.1 40g or larger, even a bb round. Be wary of choke sizes with these monster rounds and hold tight if you have never used them before.
As with all things firearm, if in doubt, get help!
markcjd said:
Try this as it covers most of what is being discussed.
No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
Pretty much what I said above.
Lefty Guns said:
I wouldn't shoot anything at a fox other than a CF. I wouldn't even trust a rimfire to do it. (Although the .17 HMR is rumoured to be a decent enough round for foxing, better than .22 anyway). I suppose a shotgun with a tight choke would be OK but still, I wouldn't.
I'll quote myself for posterity 
[quote=Shake&Bake]If it's a small pen, and you plan on keeping chickens long term, it may be a better idea to dig down a meter or so and install heavy gauge chicken wire in the trench,around the pen then back fill accordingly. To me it would be a better solution as you're not going to be at home all of the time and they are known as crafty for a reason.
[/quote]
This is the most sensible advice.
A friend had the same problem when a fox killed all his chickens.
He killed a fox with a shotgun and though that was the end of his troubles but a few months later a different fox managed to kill his new chickens.
If you build the coup strong enough you should keep a fox out, if you see any attempts at entry then you need to reinforce things.
Shoot the fix if you want too, but you need to make the coup more secure as well.
[/quote]
This is the most sensible advice.
A friend had the same problem when a fox killed all his chickens.
He killed a fox with a shotgun and though that was the end of his troubles but a few months later a different fox managed to kill his new chickens.
If you build the coup strong enough you should keep a fox out, if you see any attempts at entry then you need to reinforce things.
Shoot the fix if you want too, but you need to make the coup more secure as well.
ShakenBake said:
If it's a small pen, and you plan on keeping chickens long term, it may be a better idea to dig down a meter or so and install heavy gauge chicken wire in the trench,around the pen then back fill accordingly. To me it would be a better solution as you're not going to be at home all of the time and they are known as crafty for a reason.
You shoot this fox, there'll be another along pretty soon. Habitable territory won't stay empty for very long at all.
Much better bet to just fox-proof your hen coops more, because you're never ever going to get rid of the possibility of a fox having a go. Or a feral cat or stray dog for that matter.
Sorry about your chickens, must be nasty to walk in on carnage one day.
As to trapping it... yeah you'll end up with the odd cat or dog in the humane trap, let them out and try again!
Incidentally someone mentioned shooting 'woodies' in trees... what on earth is a 'woody'?! I really hope you don't mean woodpeckers
Edited by BlackVanGirl on Tuesday 16th June 15:55
markcjd said:
Try this as it covers most of what is being discussed.
No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
The above link contains all of the arguments in favour and against the use of air rifles. Regardless of how compelling they may be, they are wrong.
A valid point was made by ganglandboss, Foxy is treated as a seperate entity in terms of licensing. Having a firearm marked for use on vermin does not allow foxes to be shot!
12b is perfectly acceptable out to 50-60 yds but a seriously heavyweight shell will be needed. No.1 40g or larger, even a bb round. Be wary of choke sizes with these monster rounds and hold tight if you have never used them before.
As with all things firearm, if in doubt, get help!
Best post on this thread, though I thought the .22/250 was a more effective round than the .17 hmr - I have a .22/250, but never shot a .17 hmr.No air rifles for foxes, EVER! Just because something can be done, does not mean it should. An air rifle, FAC or not, cannot gaurantee a clean kill for an animal the size of a fox. Most firearms licensing officers will not approve .22lr for foxes with .22-250 having been viewed as the minimum calibre until the arrival of the .17 hmr.
The above link contains all of the arguments in favour and against the use of air rifles. Regardless of how compelling they may be, they are wrong.
A valid point was made by ganglandboss, Foxy is treated as a seperate entity in terms of licensing. Having a firearm marked for use on vermin does not allow foxes to be shot!
12b is perfectly acceptable out to 50-60 yds but a seriously heavyweight shell will be needed. No.1 40g or larger, even a bb round. Be wary of choke sizes with these monster rounds and hold tight if you have never used them before.
As with all things firearm, if in doubt, get help!
I also thought that shooting foxes with a 12b was illegal, so would check with a Firearms Officer - you can phone one in another county to keep it confidential....
AFAIK shooting foxes with a rifle and getting a kill is difficult due to the size and position of the brain within the skull, but sure there's more knowledgeable than me on this subject on PH.
I built a 3 foot breeze block wall underground first and then built the chicken coop on top so pretty secure.
problem is when you let them out in the mornings.
Jan and Aug are the most dangerous months. Jan particulary. We normally let them out at 08:00. in Jan this is around sunrise when Mr Fox is on the prowl.
We live in the middle of nowhere so there are a lot of foxes about but since re-inforcing the garden perimeter none have been in the garden for around 3.5 years.
As said already if you have a problem traps are best. Forget air guns, shot guns, cross bows etc. You need to be very very lucky to kill one that way.
A good bit of "Man Pee" around the perimeter works well.
Ex77
problem is when you let them out in the mornings.
Jan and Aug are the most dangerous months. Jan particulary. We normally let them out at 08:00. in Jan this is around sunrise when Mr Fox is on the prowl.
We live in the middle of nowhere so there are a lot of foxes about but since re-inforcing the garden perimeter none have been in the garden for around 3.5 years.
As said already if you have a problem traps are best. Forget air guns, shot guns, cross bows etc. You need to be very very lucky to kill one that way.
A good bit of "Man Pee" around the perimeter works well.
Ex77
Lefty Guns said:
It does happen though. Bloody cretins
Air rifles are useful for taking woodies out of trees and short-range rabbits but that's about it.
Is 150m short range or long range? I know jack sAir rifles are useful for taking woodies out of trees and short-range rabbits but that's about it.
t 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.
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.
Useful range for rabbits is 30m or so. Field target competitions run up to 50m by which time a .177 pellet will drop 11cm...t 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.mechsympathy 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.
Useful range for rabbits is 30m or so. Field target competitions run up to 50m by which time a .177 pellet will drop 11cm...t 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.king genius with one then really? unless he's telling porkies about the rifle LOL - distance is definitely in the 100-150m range, and he takes them out with no qualms. He is 65 and been shooting since he was old enough to lift a gun so not like he's lacking in experience...
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.
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 s
t 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.
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