Night Vision Diaries: Hot Spots

The long awaited Pulsar Core FXD50 has finally hit the shelves, and is available to be bought by patient thermal shooters. As it’s now for sale, I will be testing it over a longer period of time, which you can read about in future editions of Shooting Sports magazine. I will also be looking at the budget-conscious ATN Xsight HD digital day/night scope, at round £750.00 it’s a cracking piece of kit for the money.

Brand loyalty!

Since I wrote-off my last Hilux pickup after hitting a roe deer, I decided to buy the latest version, as the old one saved my life. So, after a few weeks away from the foxing job, due to not having a motor, it was time to get back into the driving seat and the gun out the cabinet and hit the M90 motorway up to Perth. I was due to meet-up with my friend, and gamekeeper, Willy Bains for a night of foxing and to try his brand new all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

Willy and I first met at the launch of Night Master Scotland a few months back now. I sold him a Pulsar XQ38S thermal spotter and the Pulsar N870 digisight. However, after a week of using the N870, he soon realised that a digital NV scope was not the best choice for working his type of ground. He invited me up to his estate to take a look and advise him on what would be best to use on moorland.

Not long after arriving at his estate, I was in the ATV and surveying the land and it was obvious that a thermal weapon scope would be the better option. After looking through my Pulsar XD75 he agreed and the next morning I had set up and zeroed-in his brand new thermal scope and he was ready to go out foxing that evening.

Three’s company!

Willy’s friend, Tam, who’s the keeper on the neighboring estate, also came out with us because he enjoys foxing and he wanted to get a look at thermal imaging equipment. We stopped at the first available field, which had cattle in it, to set-up the brightness, contrast and focus in preparation for the night ahead.

This gave Tam an opportunity to have his first look through the thermal gear and boy was he impressed! So impressed, in fact, that he ordered a Pulsar XD75 on the spot! He had never seen anything like it and was surprised at the detail and clarity.

We drove the ATV to a good vantage point and walked a while to keep it out of sight. Then spread ourselves out along the gorse banking. Willy and I sat together, so that I could give him a few pointers and Tam sat along the other side watching with his Pulsar Recon 870 digital spotter. An hour or so had passed and I noticed a fox walking along the top of the banking on the skyline. I pointed it out to Willy, but we had to wait on it dropping down a little to give us to a safe backstop. Once it re-appeared, and infront of a safe backstop, but it was too far away for Willy’s first shot with the thermal and he didn’t want to miss it, or even worse wound it.

Every fox counts on a pheasant shoot. I think it was a good 260 yards. Willy was happy for me to take the shot – he knew I’d had a lot of experience with the thermal scope. As soon as the fox presented itself within a clearing, I was composed and ready to take the shot. It kept making its way further along away from us and it was starting to get out of range. Then it disappeared completely in the gorse bushes.

Eyes on!

The opportunity had passed. However, I knew it was a waiting game and patience can pay off. There was a good chance it could come back into view. Another 15 minutes passed but it was a no show. We decided to give up on it, but just as we stood up, I had another scan with the spotter and saw it cutting its way back along the banking. I quickly hit the deck and Willy followed. Within seconds the fox was in the screen of the thermal scope and standing in a clearing on the banking.

I got the shot off and down he went. Even with a thermal spotter there was no way we were going to find this fox, so the only way was for me to keep the gun safely unloaded and hold the crosshair on the small white heat signal, which I could still see. I then talked Willy into its location over the phone. I had to keep my eye on the glow whilst getting the phone out my pocket and phoning Willy. The heat glow was so small that if I moved off it, I would never find it again. I know this because I’ve been in the same situation before and keeping eyes-on through the scope was the only way to find the quarry.

Guiding light

I got Willy to walk into the view of the scope and then guided him to the fox, which lay in the gorse bushes. He had to veer off track a few times due to thick cover but I soon had him right on top of it. It’s always good to find them, especially in that sort of scenario. And given the lay of the land and all that cover, thermal imaging was the only way you would be able to successfully shoot and find the fox.

We started to head down from the hill, still scanning with the thermal and Tam’s digital spotter, covering both sides of the ATV. We got back onto a forestry track and down on the right hand side there was a massive clearing, with felled trees scattered all over the place. We were convinced there was something walking up one of the felled trees. It turned out to be a fox. I got out of the ATV and steadied myself on the back of the tub. Bang! Down went number two at around 300 yards and downhill. It was a cracking shot! We went down to try and find it but all the trees and branches made it impossible. Willy drove back up the hill to where I shot from and guided me straight to it.

Heading back through the courtyard, Willy suggested we go for a look around the low ground, which was all flat fields and hedgerows rather than the high ground (moorland) where we had just come from. All the fields were in stubble, so we would get a good look around. But it wasn’t long before we spotted our third target. This particular fox was on a mission and we had to follow it for four fields before it finally settled and started raking around, scavenging for food. It kept stopping and starting and not presenting itself in a shootable position. There seemed to be no chance for a safe shot. It was one of those times that wherever the fox stopped, there was no backstop, or there was a farm in the distance or cattle behind it. It’s frustrating and I felt as if I’d never get a shot at it. However, the shot finally came off when the conditions and target were perfect.

Squeeeeze!

I got steady and squeezed the trigger as delicately as I could. I heard the clean, crisp crack from, and kept eyes on, the target, which is when I saw the fox run away. It was a clean miss. Reason? I misjudged the distance. It’s one of the most common reasons for missing when shooting with thermal imaging equipment, and you just have to put it down to human error. You really need to spend time to get to know your ground. When you are out on new ground, don’t be shy to ask the keeper to get out of the motor when you’re going to take a shot and ask their opinion on distance rather than guessing. It’s harder when you’re moving around thermaling, compared to laying out over a banking or field, because when you’re sitting out you only have to memorise one distance, rather than trying to memorise distances throughout a whole new estate.

In all it was a good night – we accounted for two tricky foxes and sold another Pulsar XD75 thermal scope to Tam. The thermal imaging equipment is becoming extremely popular with gamekeepers. In fact, I’ve lost count of how many I’ve setup this year. So, if you are looking to buy night vision or thermal imaging equipment and would like advice from someone who uses the gear, don’t hesitate to contact me on 07990 954973 or email [email protected]