What does the fox say?

Yesterday I decided to try coyote hunting again in Black Canyon. A few weeks ago I was coyote hunting there and shot a fox, previous blog post. I got a good shot on the fox, there was lots of blood, but the trail dried up after 20 yards. I think the fox made it under a huge pile of debris and I would have needed a tractor to move it. No doubt it was a kill, disappointed I didn't find it.

So yesterday I decided to try my luck again. This time I took a different trail on the same creek. My first setup I called in nothing. So I took a rough hike along the creek where the canyon walls have trees and cactus growing through the rocks. It was a nice scenic hike and I'm sure there were foxes all over the place but the brush was too thick to see 10 feet in front of me. So eventually after passing a homeless camp I found a clearing and went for round two. Nothing came in and the wind was getting strong so I was about to go home. 

Then I decided to hike a little further just to see where the trail goes. I decided to setup one more time. I put my call and decoy out in open ground in a dry wash in full sun and I just took a knee next to a bush in the shade. I turned left shoulder to towards the call, something I learned the hard way to do in the past. After not even a minute of calling a fox came running in my from my right side. I had obviously walked right passed her just a couple minutes prior and had no clue. They hide well so no surprise. I probably had walked past 50 of them that morning. If I had a fox hound I'd probably find them every couple minutes. Anyways, the fox was charging right at my call and decoy. I lifted up my rifle and when the fox got past the last tree it was obvious it still didn't know I was there.

I followed it for a couple seconds then about 20 yards before my decoy I pulled the trigger. Fox down. I no longer get the anxiety kicking in when I see foxes and coyotes so I'm landing some good shots now.  I got up and as soon as I did the fox did too so I took a couple more shots. By the time I got to the fox I had a chest shot and blew apart both front feet but fox was still alive. I'll spare the details but I had to finish the fox off without a bullet. Not the way I like it to go down but once they're shot there's no choice but to finish the job. Before skinning the fox I took a look at my shots and it's amazing how tough these things are. I landed a chest shot just a couple inches from the heart and lung. A good shot considering it was running when I pulled the trigger. The kill zone is probably slightly bigger than a golf ball. I had been using 30 06 but switched to .223 because I didn't want to ruin the pelt. I'm thinking I could get away with 30 06. I definitely see now why people use shotguns for predator hunting. It's nothing like stalking and hunting large game.

I got the fox mostly skinned out in the field and left it for the crows. They were circling and calling loud before I left. I made some noob mistakes. First mistake is don't skin it on the ground. Hang it so you can get a good pull on the pelt. I got both ears but only got half the snout and didn't get the nose. I also messed up the tail and it's going to have to be sewed back on after I'm done. So this one will probably be made into a scarf. Maybe next time a hat. 

Hiking through the canyon. Look at the root on that tree.

 Cactus growing through the rocks.