Fox's Chocolatey Chocolate Rounds (12 packets x 130g)

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Much less velocity and we have to start judging range more accurately and allowing for the correct bullet drop. And if we zero higher at 100 yards there’s more risk of shooting over the top of a small target at short range. What we’re on the look out for After about half an hour, a decent-sized fox appeared next door where as usual some scraps had been left out. It was an ideal night, cold with some light rain, more than enough to deter people from a town being out and about.

Better are the little .22 Shorts. These can be reduced velocity at 710fps as with the CCI CB load, or you can have a standard load that shoots a 27-gr bullet at 1,105fps. In a pump-action Winchester they are excellent for dealing with squirrels. I used one for 10 years on everything from roe to Red and was always satisfied. Bullets are available from 85 grains to 160 grains, so there’s plenty of choice, but I tended to use 140-grain bullets for everything. This saved having to re-zero the rifle constantly. If fox were a regular requirement, then perhaps 120-129 grain bullets at higher velocity would be a better all-round choice. A .243 fitted with a sound moderator would make an excellent fox rifle. Shooting the .243 calibre when the quarry is foxes I have various people for whom I have been doing fox control for many years, and because I know both the land and the distances involved, I know the rifle that will be best suited for the job. Realistically, a centrefire is usually the most suitable for anything larger than a hare. The newer .204 Ruger is a capable round delivering a blend of higher ballistic coefficient bullets for better down-range performance and accurate shot placement. Either a 32-gr or 40-gr factory load is effective, with velocities of 4,225fps and 3,900fps respectively. The 32-gr bullet zeroed at 100 yards is still within the kill zone of a fox at 275 yards.

Gun buying guide

Q: I’ve recently bought a .223 for foxes. I was wondering what would be the best distance to zero it at and what the best weight of ammunition is? These folk had come down from London to retire and immediately started feeding the local foxes and badgers! He wasn’t over pleased at having nightly visits from foxes, who came into the next-door garden for appetisers before looking for the main course in his! Today there seems to be an ever-growing desire to shoot foxes further and further away, and while I have absolutely no problem with this if it’s done by those who are capable of it, killing foxes at over 200 yards is hard enough in daylight, let alone at night. Next up are the old retainers, .222 Rem, .223 Rem, .22-250 and the .220 Swift rounds. The .222 Rem is a wonderful round — sweet to shoot, low recoil, accurate and available in a wide variety of lighter weight or heavy varmint rifle configurations. With a sound moderator fitted you have yourself a quiet effective fox round to 250 yards or so and it doubles up as a small species deer round, with the correct bullets.

Of course, these are the extremes and nearly all foxes are shot somewhere in between – and it’s here that the controversy starts! Not wishing to have a major fall out, he rang me up to ask if I could help. Neighbourly relationships wouldn’t be helped by having a .243 let off within 20 yards of their living-room window so other tools had to be used. First, bullet weight will depend on the barrel twist. As a rule, the .223 should shoot well with 50-gr to 55-gr ammo. This is a good bullet weight for foxes. If you zero an inch high at 100 yards then, give or take, you will be bang on at 50 yards and at 200 yards. I like the Norma 40-gr V-Max factory load at 3,051fps and 1,137ft/lb is an accurate round with reloads such as the 55-gr Sierra soft nose bullet on top of 25-gr of Varget powder for 3,095fps and 1,170 ft/lb. If you want a tad more range or want to use a heavier bullet then the .223 Rem is an excellent choice. Slightly bigger than the .222, the .223 is great for small game or foxes. You can load with bullets as light as 30-gr up to 90-gr if necessary. But you will need a rifle with fast-twist rifling, 1-in- 9in or 1-in-7in to stabilise bullets above 70-gr as the standard 1-in-12in is only good for the lighter bullets. Regardless, the .223 Rem does everything the .222 Rem does but just that little bit better. A good load is 40-gr V-Max and 25-gr of RL10X for 3,750fps for smaller game giving accurate longer-range shots if necessary and safer more frangible bullets, while a load of 23.5 grains of Vit N133 and a 50-gr Berger Varmint gives 3,400fps plus and is ideal for foxes. I’ve been using .223 GECO 56- gr Express factory ammo with excellent results on small game and on foxes. A good .22LR will sort you for all your small game issues, a .17 HMR bridges the gap between small game and foxes (with the right ammo and at shorter ranges) while a good centrefire is really the best for foxes. Plus a .22 centrefire can double as a small species deer rifle with the right ammunition.

Bigger guns

Two questions I see crop up time and time again in shooting magazines or on the internet are what is the best calibre for foxes, and the distance at which you can shoot them.