New Benelli MRl Is Varmint-Hunting Ready

THE THERMOMETER at the bank
in the small rural Iowa town
displayed -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
It was that glaring minus sign
before that number that really
made me stare with a prolonged
glance as I drove past. A short
time later I opened the truck
door and stepped into a strong
Midwestern wind. I began my trek
across soft snow that squeaked
loudly underfoot. I glanced
up often as I waded through
snowdrifts and shuffled over icy
patches to confirm that my target
was still visible and sleeping on
the distant hilltop. That target
was a fluffy red — a.k.a. red fox.
52 —nmsrt'twiifkw Kiwtitw
When the temps are
bitter cold, reds will
lie on sunny hillsides
to absorb the warm
sunlight, giving the,
observant hunter
the option to glass
for prime fur.
Yes, it was definitely bitterly cold
out, but that fox had emerged
from its den to soak up the
sun's warming rays while trying
to increase its body warmth. I
wondered what was warming
about being out in a -40 degree
temperature and a stiff wind?
When I was alxnit 150 yards away,
I hunkered over a Stoney Point
tripcxl and settled the Mcxlel
70 rifle on the rubber prongs.
The unsuspecting red fox was
headed into a very deep — and
permanent — sleep.
When I shot, the fox spun like
a top, struggling to its feet, and
then it dashed about 20 yards
before collapsing in a heap of
red fur. 'Hie really odd thing,
however, was that the rifle
report — I was shooting a
rifle chambered for .22-250
Win. — sounded more like an
air rifle's "Whumpf" instead
of a prominent loud bang. It
was indeed bitterly cold out
today. After I collected the fox,
I made a hasty dash for the
truck and its heater. It was time
to find another red and make
another shot. Today, more
and more predator hunters are
bagging reds because they have
returned in gcxxl numbers to
many regions.
A few years back much of
the Midwest was nearly void
of red fox. Mange, not hunters,
had taken the toll. Mange is a
contagious skin disease caused
by parasitic mites. The mites
embed themselves in the host
animal's hair follicles or skin.
Sarcoptic mange, or canine
scabies, is highly contagious.
Infected animals lose hair and
have inflamed skin crusted
over. Without hair for warmth,
wild fox literally freeze to
death in a raw Midwest winter.
And with this problem so
highly contagious, it spreads
faster than a California brush
fire and runs through a fox
population in short order.
Coyotes can also catch the
mange and assist in
spreading it.
Another law of nature also
worked against fox. As fox
numbers dropped and fox
weakened and hunted less
for food, coyotes muscled
in on food sources and turf.
The years 2(XX> through 2006
were not kind to fox in much
of middle America. Hunters
everywhere noted that fox had
vanished from the landscape.
Now there's gcxxl news for
those hunters with bullets in
their jxxkets and visions of
fox in their rifle sights. In many
areas, fox numbers have either
returned or are rebounding. The
mange ran its course and Mother
Nature is rebuilding. There has,
however, been a noted change
in the new generation of reds by
some hunters. In many cases the
fox have moved into towns or
close to farmsteads and buildings.
They've given up the wilds to
coyotes and have found a new
habitat niche. The fox I shot
on that knoll had been across
the highway to a farmhouse
and barn according the clues
left by the tracks I followed and
observed after my killing shot.
"'Iliey (fox) do make a
cyclic rebound, and we're on
the rebound side of the cycle
now," said Ron Andrews,
Iowa's Department of Natural
Resources' furlx-arer biologist.
"Fox have also retreated to the
edges of their habitat to avoid
harassment, with some coming
from coyotes and some coming
from humans. Overall, people
are more accepting of fox these
days." Andrews noted while he
ear tagged about 1,500 red fox
during a four-year period for a
study in the 1960s and early "70s,
he'd Ix? hard pressed to find fox
so plentiful anywhere today.
Red fox populations were also
up in Illinois in 2007 when
compared to 2003-2006 data,
based on observations made and
reported by archery hunters. It's
important to note that reported
coyote sightings in this survey
are about 10 times higher than
red fox sightings.
Deadly Tactics
First, layoff the coyote howlers
and coyote-yip calls if you
want to kill a red. A howler
call says loud and clear that
coyotes are about, and any fox
who hears your howl will head
underground or under a nearby
farm building.
Fox will definitely come to
most common small mammal
distress calls, and while they dine
on rabbits, smaller mice mimics
and loud squeaks will also lure
them near. He certain you are set
up properly, are camouflaged,
have your rifle loaded, and will
just need to flip the safety and tug
the trigger before you push your
call's remote or press a call to your
lips. Fox have been known to get
up and come running in pronto.
There's rarely the lag-and-look that
a more cautious coyote often does
before committing to the call.
On cold days fox act more like
cats, lying in the open to sun.
The colder the temperature, the
more this seems to bring out the
sunning fox. And speaking of
small cats, a fox is actually alxnit
the size of most farm cats. I>on't
let that 3-4 inches of fluffy fur
above and below the midsection
fool you. Fox are small, so
shoot for center mass. Many
hunters overlook this, or forget
to remember in the seconds of
excitement as the rifle settles, and
they shoot through fur. T hink of
a fox as an illusion, and you are
seeing twice as much animal as
is actually there. Now you know
how small your target is.
Rifles favored by fox hunters
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