SmallCaliberCentral

Went calling in between gusts of wind this afternoon and to do a little scouting on a new place.

This little guy came in for a look. I tried to get him closer with my squeaker but he didn't like my looks.



Wish I had packed my good camera along, the one I had is just for closeups. Hope you can see him. He hung around for so long I thought about giving him a name.


He actually went to a hole and laid down.




He's the only critter I saw, pretty neat. I thought some of you guys that have never been out west might enjoy seeing a pic. They are very tiny and might weigh 5 lbs soaking wet.

Colorado used to list both Kit and Swift Fox, now they say they are the same critter. I'm not sure, I've seen slight variations in color and size. This one seemed to be bigger than any I'd seen before.

OH, I almost forgot, I was packing my 204 today just so you'll know I really do have one.

You were packing your 204, but got no close-ups?
Are they a protected species?

The camera isn't much. The fox was within 30 yards, camera is just a little point and shoot type.

They are not protected but the land owner doesn't want them shot and I see so few of them they get a pass. I'm sure even the 204 would have torn him up pretty bad.

Well at least you got some pics. We do love them.
I was scouting a new property yesterday and spotted a very healthy looking fox. Didn't have any guns though. No camera either. Silly me. I promise to tell everyone about it when the 204 does it's thing

I give the Red Fox a pass here in Ohio as well. The coyotes are decimating the Fox population around here. I would like to HMR a nice Red someday for the back of the couch but that's a little selfish on my behalf so I let them go. They lead an extremely rough & short life here.

Glen wrote:They lead an extremely rough & short life here.

They tend to lead a short life around here too - since they're an introduced pest and kill sheep and native fauna. They do keep a lid on rabbit populations though, but I'm happy to whack both

I have a couple Aussie Friends on another board & they feel the same way. They help with the rabbits well enough but are devastating on the Fauna. They have no problems with shooting the Fox or the rabbits. Where I'm at the Deer herd is getting a bit too large. The number of deer/car collisions is way too high & the big buck population is lowering. Seems nobody wants to shoot does & small bucks anymore. Happy hunting as you go into the Fall season!!!!!!

I'm with you Glen......I've let the foxes go the past few years. This year I've seen a few more so I allowed myself to take one. I've noticed that in the areas that I've been hitting the coyote population really hard with snares, bait piles, and calling for 3 years that the fox population is increasing!

I live in Idaho and am an avid upland hunter. According to our fish and game, the fox is much harder on game birds than the coyote because of their limited range. I was told that a single fox will only hunt one square mile but vaccuums through it thoroughly. Coyotes have a much larger range and are spottier in their predation habits. Again, that is according to the Idaho F&G.

Glen wrote:nobody wants to shoot does & small bucks anymore.

It's a bit like a cat bringing a mouse or bird to your door "look what I killed". Some people just love the trophy. I'd happily take a smaller deer and get a quality feed for myself, friends and family (if I had access to that kind of territory, but as a one off hunt, guess I'd have a go at the prize).

sharptailhunter wrote:I was told that a single fox will only hunt one square mile

Could be seasonal. They will happily travel more than 5 mile a night around here. With pups in the den that would be the same area each night, but with no dependants they'd probably go a lot further.

ryutzy-- Congratulations on the fox!! Last year we found 3 dead fox kits on the property I deer hunt in the late Spring. Darn shame but that is the way Life is in the wild.

Dan-- I used to trophy hunt during the 1st 2 months of the season with the crossbow but now I take Diane out to get her 1st deer. Now my trophy hunting is done the week of gun season but a nice doe never gets a free pass. I try to take 2 deer every year regardless of sex.

The last I had heard UT was thinking about making swiffies/kit fox a protected species seeing as how it is "indigenous" here. Just like prairie dogs. we cannot hunt them on public lands from April 15 until June 1. Cuz thats their mating season. and there aren't enough to go around.

I didn't know Colorado had Kit foxes. I also let the fox go when I do see them. There are very few around here but I have been seeing one in the field across the road from my house around sun rise.

Neat pictures, Dennis.

Dennis, You're right. They ain't very big. The old CDOW biologists used to say the Kit fox and Prairie Swift fox were separate subspecies. When the designation was changed to 'kit', the protected status of the swift was dropped. I found one this fall that met his demise via pair of coyotes. They tug-o-war'ed him to death and didn't eat a bite...

front half.


rear half.


pic to give size reference. I'm 5'8"....




17hmr is big medicine on 'em.....