Unlike the typical red fox, the gray fox prefers to live in the thickest areas made up of dense forests and thickets.

With hooked claws, a gray fox has the ability to climb trees and will often forage for food and seek shelter in a tree. They will also climb a tree to escape danger. They make their dens in rock crevices, caves, trees, hollow logs, and piles of brush. A gray often widens the burrow of a smaller animal and uses it to raise its young. Burrows are only used during mating season and when raising cubs.

They also have a reputation for responding aggressively to a call for help. Without many signs of fear or caution, a gray fox will often rush in those first few minutes of the call. Popular distress calls include cottontail rabbit distress sounds, mouse and vole squeaks, and gray fox cub distress.

Small fields of grass surrounded by forests are some of the best places to hunt. You’ll want to sit 30 to 40 yards from the tree line. Like all predators that hunt and call, you will want to blend your silhouette with the environment by sitting against a tree, hillside or hiding in a tall bush, from head to toe paying more attention to your head and hands.

The gray fox has a very capable sense of smell and will turn and bolt at the slightest hint of human scent. Like hunting all predators, you will need to consider the direction of the wind in your setup.

Producing a distress sound at a high volume generally results in a quick response from the fox. It doesn’t seem to matter if you send the distress call in a sequence or continuously. Both techniques seem to work on a gray fox. If nothing responds in the first 10 minutes, it usually means there are no grays and it is time to move to a new location.

Gray foxes are not large animals and the smaller caliber weapons start with a 22 gauge shotgun or a 12 gauge shotgun using n. 4 are popular choices. A load of turkey shot # 4 will do the trick. A 22 magazine is a good choice for around 100 yards. A shotgun is a very good option for about 30 yards.

Like hunting coyotes, wildcats, and all other predators, gray fox hunting will challenge your hunting and calling skills while providing you with a bit of adrenaline to call out fast-paced predators.