It's been awhile since I posted any pics, so here's a fun story from earlier this week.

I hiked back about a mile from the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and into a canyon that looked like a good spot for some critters to be living in. It was a nice clear day, mid-80's, 1-3mph wind, around 1pm. I took my rifle instead of the shotgun because I was anticipating some longer shots, but when I got back there it was pretty thick. I setup my FoxPro and Quiver Critter decoy about 30m away in some tall grass where animals would be forced to expose themselves if they wanted to get closer, and started with some bird distress sounds.

About 3 mins in, fox #1 shows up and heads straight for the decoy - I shoot him about 3 feet from the decoy (red is fox, yellow is decoy and caller):



Less than a minute later, fox #2 shows up from the same location and runs to the decoy and attacks it - I shoot it off of the decoy (no bullet hole in the Quiver Critter - hooray!). Another minute and fox #3 creeps up behind me - I catch him from the corner of my eye and try to swing on him but he sees my head move and heads for the brush at 100mph. I got him in the scope but not lined up:



I switch to fox distress to try and bring back fox #3 (it's worked well in the past). Another minute and fox #4 (or #3?) suddenly pops up in front of the decoy - shot to the neck and he's down. Fast forward another minute, and here comes fox #5:



I got it all on GoPro (first time I've used it for hunting) so that video will get edited at some point. 5 foxes showed in 5 minutes, and 4 went down with 5 shots (shot fox #2 twice - turned out to not be needed but I didn't want him running off). I didn't have to move much for the shots - they were all killed within a 10ft radius, as evidence by my ejection pattern:



All in all, it was a helluva stand, and a great opportunity to test out my new SJK Carbine 2500 pack, which I had been hiking with that morning. It carries the carbine easily, as well as all of my other gear, which was nice considering that I had to carry 4 foxes a mile back to the truck, which was out of the canyon, through several washes, and brush busting through some nasty stuff.



Taking a break about halfway back to the truck - I only had one pelt packer, so all four foxes' feet are jammed in the carrier loops.




Happy Hunting!

Awesome!

What rounds were you using? I hate holes in my pelts.

Yeah, about that . . . . I was not expecting such close shots in this area, so I was packing my AR in .223 with 55gr VMAX rounds. One of the foxes got pretty much skinned before he hit the ground, if you know what I mean. The others have decently sized exit holes, which sucks, but I'll get over it.

i love reading your posts!

That is awesome!!  

Cool hunt Rizzo... Are they worth skinning this time of year down there?

Tag for vidja.

They're not that furred up yet, but I skin them anyway if they have good color. We really don't get good fur around here until late-November.

So cool!!
Thanks

 Nice!

Nicely done!

NICE!

I'm at the age now, where I skin lots of stuff in the field instead of carrying them, and grays, at least here, peel EASY!

Wow that is awesome. Gray fox have to be some of the most fun animals to call for. Nothing comes to a call with more aggression or disregard for it's safety like a gray fox.

I had a similar experience like yours here in AZ too. I had four come in in just a matter of a few minutes and killed 3. And 55 grain v-max's are not very fox fur friendly.



Can't wait to see the video!

I need to try and find some fox this year, I haven't called any in yet.

Looking forward to the video!

Video is coming soon, just have to get the time to sit down and do some editing.

Thanks for posting.  Great photos and story.  Can't wait for the video!

Tag for video!

Oh, the anticipation . . . .

Had this one in the trapline this morning. Was hoping for a coyote.

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FINALLY had the time to edit and upload the video. Here it is!

The pelt packer is a wood handle (for comfort) with 550 cord and a couple of steel rings attached to it. I use just 550 cord to hang animals when I am skinning.

Great video, thanks for putting it together.  

Awesome that you called in 5! I would've been super stoked!!!