Fox Firearms | Fox Hunting Shotguns & Rifles

In the past, fox hunting was considered as a primarily British equestrian activity, but now it is practiced in the United States, Australia, Indian and New Zealand. Because of the excessive hunting, fox populations have decreased significantly and hunting today is limited to simply chasing the creatures to holes into the ground, with a few noticeable exceptions. Hunting pursuits frequently result in severe harms to private lands, unwanted killing of pet dogs and cats, as well as destructions on road or railway lines. Fox hunting is not that popular because many consider it very hard to do plus it is often seen as cruelty.

Fox Hunting Guns

Many hunters use a .223 or a .22 centerfire load with no problems whatsoever. Such fox hunting guns tend to be more long range, flat shooting and accurate deadly. The most suitable caliber for this type of hunting would have to be the .17 Remington, as this petit bullet leaves a 20” barrel at 4000 FPS +/-. It will hit and enter a fox, leaving an impressive .17” hole in the hide. This bullet explodes with force inside the fox killing it instantly and usually with no exit hole. It was designed primarily for hunting foxes.

Fox Hunting Rifles

For those of you that are interested in hunting foxes for their skin, trustworthy hunters recommend the usage of a small caliber centerfire, like the .17, .22 hornet and the .223. A Ruger 10/22 is a solid option for a fox hunting rifle, but there are others too. It is best to avoid large cartridges and big calibers, anything from this list should do just fine: 17 HMR, 22 LR, 221 Fireball, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 20 Vartarg and 20 Tactical. For pelt hunters, FMJ bullets are the wisest choice. Extensive research has shown that the most appreciated fox rifles are: Kimber Model 8400 Montana Lightweight Sporter, Remington Model 7 CDL, Ruger 10/22, Savage Arms 14C Classic Series Rifle and the Savage Arms 11BTH.

Fox Hunting Shotguns

For fox callers, it is best advised to use a proper fox shotgun. Many times, when initiating calling procedures, a fox will race right up into point-blank range. At such given moments the high-powered rifle of the hunter, with that big scope on it will be nearly, if not useless. At times like these it is good to be able to point and shoot. In fact, many hunters prefer to call them in close and take them with a shotgun on a regular basis. They find more sport and challenge in getting the critter up close. Our viewers recommended these fox shotguns: Savage Arms 200, Browning Gold 10, Winchester 3, Remington SF10 and the Winchester Super X2.

Fox Hunting Scopes

Standard fox hunting scopes in the 3-9X, 3.5-10X and no more than about 4-12X are ideal for calling, and in the more open country, they should be turned down to no more than 6X. How powerful the scope should be, it basically depends on the shooting the hunter prefers to do. A heavy varminter might be used at just 200 or 250 yards, or it might be used at twice that and more. Here are a couple of reliable fox scopes recommended by our visitors: Leupold Mark 2 6-18x, Nikon Monarch 5-20x44, Nikon Buckmaster 6-18x, Tasco 8-32x and the Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14 40mm objective.

All of avid hunters can agree with the following statement: there is no such thing as a best fox hunting rifle. All of them have their ups and downs, and only a few are very good for this type of hunting. After intensive research and study, our visitors and followers have come to the conclusion that a any Remington .17 Cal Center Fire should to the trick. As an alternative, the Sako is a valid choice. These rifles are very fun to shoot and will not do damage to the hide (most of the time). They can be used for coyote hunting as well. Hunters should be good out to 200 yards or so.

Fox hunting stands out from the rest of the hunting branches and requires special attention when selecting from the extensive list of fox hunting guns available for both amateur and experienced varmint hunters.