mauser06

ok...i live in a small town...i am one who loves hunting and fishing but am not allowed to hunt alone...so i think i wanna try trapping..i kno for sure there are coon in the woods down the road...this set of woods is probably 8-20 sqr miles...maybe longer...ive only walked about 2 square miles of it....and kno that it goes alot farther...not sure to where tho...and i wanna kno how to find out if there are fox back there....without trapping them...jsut something i can do simply..my dad is betting there is...and theres alota rabbits ect back there for them to eat...there are also many creeks that run through the area..is htere any way i can find out if i have a fox hollow in walking in walking distance?? thanx

mauser06

coyoteseeker

well without visauly seeing them the only way to know is look for tracks and dens.a red foxes track will be about 2 to 2 1/2 inches long and about 1 3/4 inches wide.if your seeing them in snow you problably won't see claw marks.those measurements will be for the front paws,the rears are slightly smaller.a gray foxes track is about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches long and slightly longer then wide.very simalar to a reds but smaller.again the fronts are larger then the rears.when following a set of tracks keep an eay out for any scat(droppings)for both reds and grays there will most times be two pieces,one slightly longer then the other.the longest one will be about 2 to 3 inches long and about the thickness of your index finger.there will be berries and fur in a reds and mostly just fur in a grays.den sites will look like a woodchuck hole(maybe slightly larger) for both spieces.most times there will be bones near the entrance to the hole,sometimes right on the rim.the best way to tell the difference between a woodchuck hole and a fox hole is reach down inside the hole about 6 inches and grab a hand full of dirt,smell it.a fox hole will have very musky smelling dirt,a woodchucks won't.WARNIG!!!don't be reaching in there to far or you might have a hand full of pist off fur <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>hope this helps.

mauser06

thanx alot yote seeker...after the snow falls i will be out looking for sheds...and keeping an eye out for fox tracks....hope they are there! i will have this set of woods to myself and have foxes that never seen a trap or someone hunting them b4...

mauser06

coyoteseeker

i'm sure there is fox in there and if its alot of creek bottom with thick wet lands,swamps and just thick ground theres problably alot of grays in there.

mauser06

well that describes my area...alota thickets and trees down...lots of trees down...and on area where a logging co. i gess logged out and it left a lil wide open space...but the young trees grew up already and there some apple orchards..big oaks on the other side...and creeks running through the thicket..and a few others going all around the land...i hope their out there
thanx
mauser06

Pesky Critters

06 -- Your Dad and coyoteseeker are both, probably, right about fox being there. There are a lot of fox in PA. Check the edge of the woods for tracks in the snow, also.

Lilhunter

heck set some sets where you think they will run. Saw a write up on coyotes and I dont see why it wouldnt work for fox also! You know, faint trails (hopefully ones deer arent using) where there are no tracks of fox....nab them when they come through the first time! Put out 12 snares this year and was busted on 11 of them! Every one had a fox doing the fox trot down the 'trails' I had choosen..some before some after they had gone through. every stinkin one they came up to my snare within a couple feet and walked around it! I think I should have put out legholds and let them hang longer. My wire is where the scent came from! Didnt boil it long enuf and didnt hang it but for an evening....lessons learned! Now if I only could find another area to go at it in!...got one need more time though and its awful small!

mauser06

thanx everyone....im lookin forward to findin me some fox...i hope there back there...a nice fox pelt on my wall will look perfect...i got 2 windows with an open space caliing a few tanned pelts...and a set of antlers from my first buck if i get one of them!! lol..i will jsut walk the woods and creek and edges of thicket looking for tracks...i duno if i can use snares in pa...im thinkin not...i will be sure to check the laws before trapping...i hope coon and fox are in high demand next year coz im hopin to get on em!!! thanx

mauser06

Lilhunter

from what I have heard the prices raised a little. Heck you dont need snares, put out some legholds. Try it while you are walking all over the woods, put out a few trail sets and a few dirthole/peepost sets. Ya aint got anything to loose by doing so. besides the trapping season is starting to wind down in most states. I think march or apr is the end cant remember.