When I first started venturing out on my own with a firearm in hand, one of my favorite wintertime pursuits was to crisscross the fields of eastern South Dakota in search of red fox. Back in the 1980s there actually were quite a few red fox scattered across the Midwest. That’s changed today with the spread of coyote numbers. The two don’t intermix well. It’s kind of like hunters and anti-hunters. They just don’t mix well at parties, especially when wild game hors d’ oeuvres are on the menu.
In the case of coyotes and red fox, the coyotes try and drive the fox out of their territory and killing isn’t out of the question. Wolves and coyotes face a similar neighborhood dilemma, but surprisingly, wolves and fox pay each other little mind according to studies. Apparently their prey differs enough that they don’t feel threatened by the other’s presence.
I still see red fox in the Dakotas and even in my backyard of Wyoming, but coyotes definitely rule the roost. If you have the good fortune to have red fox in your neck of the woods here are a few tactics to try. The easiest is driving county roads and glassing open fields, fence rows and hedgerows for little red lumps dozing in the sun. Reds routinely lie in the open near their den and snooze. Once you spot a napping red, secure landowner permission and then get as sneaky as a fox to pull of a stalk.
I don't see any fox. I thought you said you were good at calling in these critters.
A second tactic is calling. The problem with calling is that you’re just as likely to call in a coyote today as a red fox. Even so, get out your calls, but think small. Red fox weigh less than 12 pounds so they look for smaller prey. Rodent squeakers, squalling birds, cottontail distress and jackrabbit distress all sound tasty to a fox. If you want to test a red’s curiosity try a fox in distress call, especially during the mating season that is spread between December and March.
Give reds a try this weekend, but be prepared to be outfoxed.
Mark Kayser
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