Entering the world of foxes
These days, I do various types of pest control here in the UK: rats, corvids, pigeons, squirrels, rabbits. But the main one is the very smart and cunning – the red fox, Vulpes vulpes.
I started my self-taught journey learning from my own mistakes at a very early age, bunking off school to go out ferreting in the early frosty winter mornings and rabbiting or lamping with my lurcher running dog in the nighttime. By the age of 13, I was earning good money supplying fresh, sustainable rabbit meat to the game dealer while helping the farmers protect their crops and livelihood so that they could provide excellent fresh food for the greengrocers and the vegetarian market.
When I was 18, I gained my shotgun certificate and bought my first shotgun, which I used for the odd clay shooting days but mainly for rabbit pest control on walk-up rough shooting days with my Springer Spaniel Tate.
In my early 20s, I applied for my firearms certificate and bought my 1st rifle, which was a .22 Bruno rim fire. This was an absolute game-changer for my pest control. I added a Clulite lamp, which had 3 different color filters – red, orange, and green – for those lamp-shy rabbits and foxes.
Within a week, I shot my first close-range fox, a young vixen. I still remember it to this day.
After a month, I discovered that I needed something a little bigger as I was a little undergunned, especially if trying to control foxes at a longer range. So, I purchased my first center fire rifle, a .223 Tikka T3, which was an absolute tack driver. I bought a bigger lamp with filters and took many problem foxes over the coming years, saving thousands of pounds in livestock. I still use the rifle to this day, but now it’s graced with a Pulsar scope – the Thermion Duo DXP55, which has made the job more efficient, easier and humane.