Mountain fox in Iceland, photo

[H666]

Shot at 20:18, in full moonlight, frost 10°below.  Taken with a Remington 1187, from an old Blazer in which I hide.  Couple of dead sheep to lure them in.  Range around 15 yards.[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/35145449@N05/3259609329//img]

[Graybeard]

Not the way to post photos. You need a valid URL or use the additional options feature and just attach it below your post.

[Ladobe]

Hmmmm.  URL is valid - picture comes up fine with a copy and past in your browser.   But it sure is not accepted here with the insert image feature.   Hmmmm.   SMF must not like flickr.com

[Graybeard]

This software requires an image URL ending in .jpg, .gif or such. That format won't work. But so long as it's on his hard drive he can use the additional options and place it as an attachment as below.

[jshootr]

This is just to cool
I make 3 trips to Iceland while active in the Navy Reserve
I loved it there, beatiful country, people were friendly
did not know that there was much hunting there
Keflavic has been closed
Regards
Jerry 
USNR(ret)
jshootr(at)cox.net

[H666]

Thanks for the help graybeard.

I'm going up to the valley next weekend with a buddy of mine, hopefully we can get just a few more.  We also have been asked to clear a couple of foxlayers in the spring.  That's a first for both of us but we have veteran foxhunters in every direction (my grampa hunted fox for 55 years) and they give us plenty of good advice.

Best regards

Stefán Jökull

[hillbill]

thats a big ole fuzzy fox. what species exactly is it?do yu always hunt with a shotgun or is it the law where yu are?

[H666]

I believe it's called a Nordic Mountain Fox (in English) and it's a subspecies of the Arctic (Polar) Fox.  this one is in winter fur, but in spring and summer it's got shorter hairs.  Some are white and turn brown in spring but some, like this one, are brown all year round, unless early in spring when they shed the outer hairs first and turn grey for a week.

Hopefully I can send in some more pics, especially of the layer hunt in May.

In winter we use a shotgun for those closer ranges but keep a rifle close.  In spring we use a fast small caliber rifle.  My buddy will be packing a .22-250 Winchester but I'll be shooting a Ruger M77 mark II Frontier in .243 with a 58 gr. bullet  in a Norma Cartridge, unless I give up longer ranges to him and choose a heavier bullet.

The law says that you can hunt them with any gun as long as it's registered to you, but you can't blind them with a light or use a night vision scope, or laser or poison or traps.  But you can set legtraps for cubs in spring near a layer if you don't leave the premises and you have no other alternative.

[S.S.]

Man nature played a nasty trick on that little fella"
Gave him dark fur in a land of snow!
Nice!

[manofthe45]

Iceland or Greenland?  Which one has more snow.  That fox stands a better chance of blending in to surrounding cover than our reds on a snowy cut corn field.

[H666]

Greenland, in fact, has both less and more snow than Iceland because it stretches further to north and south than Iceland.  Over the whole it's quite snowier because of the biggest glacier in the northern hemisphere, which occupies as much as 70 to 80% of the country.  Iceland has the biggest one in Europe but in quite smaller than the one in Greenland, but the again, Greenland is in America.

In spring, these critters, brown and white, all get brown fur and blend in with the landscape, and come late winter when the snow melts, the can be quite hard to see, unless under a clear sky and bright moonlight.

It's near spring here and daytime stretches, and when the temperature picks up a bit, we track them to their layers, most of which are in the mountains.

What do you use on the Red fox?  How do you hunt it?

[bigbore442001]

Hello H666:

Fox hunting in the United States differs from state to state and even from areas of each state depending on the local culture, terrain, game laws and regulations,etc.

Here in Massachusetts our red and gray fox season runs from October to the end of February. We're allowed to use shotguns, rifles, muzzleloading arms as well as archery and handguns. You can hunt at night but you cannot use a light, so you're dependent on hunting in moonlight with snowcover. One of the most popular ways to hunt fox as well as coyote here in the Bay State is to use a bait pile in the middle of winter. I know many hunters who will create what is called a "meatsicle" ( a pun on the frozen sweet treat Popsicle). You take meat scraps from a butcher and put them in a 5 gallon white plastic bucket. Fill it with water and let it freeze up solid. I found it helps to spray the inside of the bucket with PAM or other non stick cooking oil spray. After it is frozen solid you go to your hunting site and let it fall out . Many will set up a treestand within shooting range of the "meatsicle"  and some will set up a trail camera to find out when the bait is being eaten. I have done that and obtained some interesting pictures. Due to work and family issues I did not hunt predators this winter but I did set out two meatsicles and have pictures of red and gray fox as well as a member of the weasel family called a fisher.

[H666]

It's legal in Iceland to use a stationary light, but is debated by hunters such as myself as a kind of an "easy way out".  Plus we enjoy taking in the mountain scenery in full moonlight.

We hunters battle those who use a spotlight out of a jeep (window shooting) to find gleaming eyes to shoot at, and argue it being dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention immoral, as is our take on those who chase fox on snowmobiles and tire them down and then drive over them a couple of times.

This isn't the way grampa taught me to shoot fox and I as others despise it.  I kinda like doing it the hard way....

[manofthe45]

Here in PA ,USA we are allowed gun mounted lights for the shot, but not for scanning. No hunting from cars unless you have a valid disability vehicle permit.

 I use a 12 ga and a 17 remington contender in open fields and woods.  Mouth blown cals and electronic  almost 50/50.  Local state game lands see more mouth calls after the season gets really going due to everyone and their brother using the same calls in their fox pro's.  I love cut fields for red fox.  I see more than I get, but for me hunting solo is king.  I have been doing well setting my electronic caller upwind and sitting 40 to 50 yards downwind along the field edge.

Red and Grey fox along with raccoon are my main targets.

[billy_56081]

Thank you for sharing.

[H666]

Just recently I came across a tube call for fox.  Electronic calls are forbidden in all hunting in Iceland.  It's legal though to own an electronic call for "practice purposes only". 

The tube call, like any other call, takes some practice to use but works quite well when you've mastered it.

I enjoy this comparison of hunting similar species very much, and am more than eager to share what knowledge I have of Icelandic hunting compared to the States or continental Europe or where ever. 

I think it's legal for the disabled to hunt from a car here too.  Otherwise you have to be 250 meters away from a car, a public road or a house before you load your weapon.

Please tell me if my writing or use of language is in any way incorrect.

[manofthe45]

Your not french so you are ok in my book.

[Oldshooter]

Please tell me if my writing or use of language is in any way incorrect

yea writing and use of correct language is a must here!  NOT   

A nice pic and a good post pardner!