whats the best way to deal with a fox

[Mark H]

I have noticed a increase in the foxs around my house and across the road where i solo my dogs and i was wondering what would be the best way to decrease the population i dont want to set any traps or snares because of my dogs or any one elses animals.any suggestions would be apprecited.The only time i see them is when im driving home or what ever and the headlights catch them crossing the road.

[ANTHONY KERR]

My buddy lets a guy trap on his land for a few weeks every year. He catches an astonishing amount every year. If he wants to run they put 5 gallon buckets over the sets and take them off when they leave. There is a guy that lives near me that has 2 rabbit pens. No matter what he does he ends up with foxes in them every year. He has somebody trapping them now. One of the pens is 100 acres with electric wire at the top and they have caught double digits the last two years. They use the soft close traps that have the padding on them. I had a dog caught in one last year on an out of town hunt. He was not hourt at all.
Other than that you could stock up on coyotes I hear they are pretty tough on foxes.

[Buckeye Blues]

Step on the gas pedal!

Naa, really though, if you dont want to trap you could always get ya a rabbit squeeler to call them into gun range. You might be surprised what you call up! Generally you can buy one that includes an instructional CD or DVD.

Good luck

[nb11]

We started to see a big loss in the rabbit population in a couple of our honey holes several years ago. Although it came up in conversation as we hunted, we didn't ponder it too long. Until we saw it a couple years in a row. It isn't odd for us to see fox track here or there in the places we hunt. But at these honey holes, we saw an increase in fox tracks over those couple years that we saw the rabbits making a sharp decline.
We got into hunting them at night with an E caller and a red light. Fun, fun, fun! Just about as much fun as running rabbits. You've heard "sly as a fox" before? not at night. They get pretty dumb. They run full bore straight at you across a wide open field. Twice in the last year, we intentionally didn't shoot. Both times, the fox ran right past us within 40 ft. Sometimes they will hang up and not run in. Depending on the distance, it might be handy to have a second guy with a rifle. Just make sure it is a fox when you squeeze the trigger and not the 8 point that got away in deer season.

[DIXIEDOG]

An electric caller is probably the easiest way. Call them in and shoot them. Predator hunting is an addictive sport, if you luck out you may get a coyote or two while you're at it

[Mark H]

What is the best rifle caliber for this

[bucks better beagles]

From an avid fox running beagle man, why not run them and shoot them? I don't like the idea of trapping due to possible catching someone's dog. I run my beagles on them when the snow is deep and never seem to have a problem when the snow is gone and rabbits are around.

[stavemillbeagles]

i prefer a 25-06 but any fast flat shooting caliber will work 223,243,7mm-08

[KILLNTM]

I've always had good luck with just a .22 rifle. I've found fox are pretty easy to call compared to coyotes. I used to call them in from my kitchen window, just by squealing on the palm of my hand. They'd come right on up to the window. A 12 ga. with turkey loads also works nicely.

BiL

[nb11]

Running fox with a dog: I had a pair of beagles several years ago (don't have them anymore). I was out rabbit hunting a very small strip in the middle of a farm field, only about 100 ft square, but so thick you couldn't spit into it. The dogs were barking and running something. I assumed it was a rabbit. They never ran fox or deer before that, so I never thought it was anything other than a rabbit. I let them run for several minutes trying to see a rabbit jump out. Lo and behold a fox jumped out! Surprised me so much that I didn't even pull up and shoot right away. I eventually did shoot, but waited too long. I crippled him, but he still got across the field and away.
Well, I think that one episode ruined the dogs. They liked fox scent from then on. If I was in an area that I knew held foxes, I could never trust their bark from that day on. I eventually got rid of the pair. If I have a rabbit dog, I want it to run rabbits. I don't want it to think that it is okay to run other game.

Gun for E calling: I have a 223/12ga o/u that is practically built for predator calling.

[SMITTY1233]

Find a houndsmen in your area that runs yotes or fox and have them bring over the hounds and shoot them.... You will need permission on most of the section though and probably won't get anyone unless it is safe from most major roadways.

[sgc]

When I was a kid, it was acceptable and exciting for the beagles to run a fox.

[brknhrtskbeagles]

Mark H.
I don't know where you are located at but I have just recently been addicted to predator hunting here in TN. We have had a bad problem with coyotes on our rabbit hunting grounds and I have seed coyotes and fox in the area and had coyotes run in on the dogs while running a rabbit. If you do not want to hunt them yourself, put the word out in your area and I am sure you will find a hunter that will do all he can to find them. The guy I have started coyote hunting with uses 3 mouth calls and he has a e-call that he uses from time to time. He hunts with a 22-250 and I was carrying his .17 HMR as I don't have a rifle yet. In the past 2 weeks he has had 2 foxes and 1 bobcat meet their end with the same coyote calls. Mouth calls are relatively cheap and it is a blast to do. I am hooked now and maybe will benefit by there being more rabbits for my culls to run...

[TallPaul]

My opinion
Though some are good at calling predators, they seem to only connect on a small percentage. I would contact a very seasoned trapper and let him in the area for about 10 days. If you don't want your beagles in a foot hold you may want to hold them up during that time. You will be surpised on what a good trapper can take out. Sportsman in different realms can benefit from each other.
Good Luck a fox can give a good run.

[bigjohn]

Have to agree with Tallpaul.I call predators and have trapped for over 40 years.Although I can kill a few with calls,I can really hammer them with traps or snares.A caller is only after them about thirty minutes ,whereas that trap set is diligent 24 hours continuous.Cable restraint type snares can be very effective around livestock and dogs with no harm to either.