tenterfield fox whistle

[humphrey]

went for a wander this morning with my curve and new tenterfield fox whistle to give it a try. the property i hunt has plenty of rabbits, and quite a few foxes, but they rarely come to the regular tin whistle or predator call or any of the other varieties ive tried. in the 2 years ive been hunting it ive whistled all over it many times at different times of the year and only ever had one respond.

only 30 seconds from the car i noticed a fox about 60 metres below me nibbling on some blackberries, so i got to 40 metres and stood in front of a tree and gave it a blow. his ears pricked up and in no time came barrelling in. i drew when he passed through the bracken, and had him broadside staring up past the hill at 12 mtrs. perfect i thought. i chuckled to myself when i released, thinking id secured my first trad harvest. it wasn't to be as the arrow passed through his legs a whisker below his chest. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
only 300 mtrs further on i gave it another try, with a fox appearing about 150 mtrs away and coming in fast.
i prayed that it was going to go well this time, but at 30 mtrs he took flight for safety thanks to the hot and unpredictable wind.
a third time saw nothing, but 2/3 on this property was a 100% improvement.

so im really looking forward to giving it another go next weekend and hopefully get my first trad critter. its been so frustrating for me in the last 7 months. :cry: and at only $15 i reckon the tenterfield is definately worth having in the kit. 8)

[Clinglish]

Where did you get the whistle from??? :?: :?:

[Mozza]

you can make them yourself, i will try to take some pics of how to make one next week if you like :)

[humphrey]

i got mine from a shooting store down the road, but i reckon nearly all fire arms stores should sell them.
i might have a go at making a couple too. they are pretty simple.

[Dave]

and at only $15 i reckon the tenterfield is definately worth having in the kit. 8)

That seems a bit steep, The one I got for Sparra only cost $9.95. But I do agree, once you have seen one you would be able to make one easy enough. It would be just a matter of getting the hole size right to make the proper noise.

[Sparra]

It would be just a matter of getting the hole size right to make the proper noise.


:lol: :lol: :lol: And then practicing to get any noise at all!!!!!

[humphrey]

well i just made a couple before. the second one doesn't really work, but the first one sounds very similar to the tenterfield, just a bit quieter. but its super easy to get a sound out of it compared to the tenterfield.
i just cut up some lids from jars in the pantry.

[Piggy]

Pic's hump, that would be great thanks

[Mick Smith]

Back when I was a kid, we used to make effective fox whistles out of two 12 gauge shotgun shells. In those days the base of shotgun cartridges were made of brass, now days they're made of plated steel. We'd throw a couple of empty (fired) shells into the fire until all the cardboard was burnt off, then we'd fish them out. With a hacksaw, we cut out a vee'd section out of one on the walls of the brass base. The cut out would be just big enough to allow the cut base to slip inside the other base. We'd knock out the primers with a nail and push to two bases together so you would end up with a little brass cylinder with a hole in either side. The height of the cylinder depended on what sort of shotgun shells you used. We mainly used Eley Grand Prix's, which only had about 1/8 inch sides. You would just blow through it in the normal way. It gave a deeper richer sound that carried further than the button type. They were very effective. In fact that's all we used for many years.

Just a bit of useless information. 8) :D

Mick

[Piggy]

thanks Mick that sound great

[humphrey]

heres a couple of photos of the tenterfield. i didn't take any of the ones i made cause the lids i used had writing all over them and you couldn't see the holes.
the big hole is 4mm, the small one is 2mm, and the centres of the holes are 4.5 mm in from the end.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/humphrey_bear/100_0025.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/humphrey_bear/100_0024.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/humphrey_bear/100_0023.jpg

[Piggy]

thanks Hump the metal looks like a colorbond color sample I will make one up from one of them then post it here.
Cheers

Paul

[Dave]

WTF ,, $15 for that ,, I was making 'em as a kid ,, I thought this whistle was gunna be something special :roll:

Settle down mate, you get the piece of string as well...it's included in the price. :wink:

[humphrey]

i know for $15 its crap, but i just went into the gun shop, asked for it and it was all wrapped up in the instruction sheet, so i didn't know what it was till i got home.
but even with tin whistles they all may sound the same, but some dont work and others do. ive got one whistle that works really well in good fox country where they respond well, where others of mine dont, yet they still sound the same.

[jindydiver]

WTF ,, $15 for that ,, I was making 'em as a kid ,, I thought this whistle was gunna be something special :roll:

Settle down mate, you get the piece of string as well...it's included in the price. :wink:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Wareagle]

The wheels off toy trains work well, I could never get used to carrying a bent over jam tin lid with me, these days a $2 conv. fox whistle is good enough for me.

[Paul R]

IMO Humphrey, if the Tenterfield whistle brings in the foxes when the others won't, then its worth the $15 you paid for it.

The foxes around my hunting grounds don't respond to the button type whistle I use so I might have to give a Tenterfield a go and see what happens. :D

[humphrey]

mate if i knew it would work and they charged me $50 id still pay it.
having a visual on that fox was the real test. ive seen them there before and tried the very same button whistle which has got me foxes before, and they showed no interest or even ran from it.
its awesome to have a bow in hand and watch these guys come charging up towards you, draw your bow, and take a shot, even if you miss :lol:

[Piggy]

Hey Hump I also think if it works it's worth the $$ I have a button whistle $2.00, Scotch preditor call $ 45.00 and have found in some areas the foxes run from both and in others they will bolt straight for one or the other.

[Clinglish]

I asked at 2 gunshops in town and both of them looked at me like I was strange. They hadn't heard of a tenterfield fox whistle before. (i do look strange) could someone post or pm me the name of a store that has them so I can get my hands on one.

[Axe]

Any of you fellas ever tried a "squeaker" / "reed" out of a kids soft / rubber toy?..... work great, hands free, hold it between your teeth, can blow or suck, down side can be it's easily lost in pockets & if you ain't careful if you suck you could swallow it... touch wood haven't had the downside happen to date :)

[macka]

Hey Axe i have got one i have been playing around with and it sounds good. Will have to try it soon.

Macka

[Paul R]

The kids have heaps of those old sqeaker toys lying around, i'll have to give one a try. :D

Axe are they louder than the button type?

[Axe]

Paul,

The best ones are in the toys you buy for dogs, they are louder than buttons & have varied "cries"
The kids toys vary, but there are plenty that make a fair racket, if they are too quiet, no probs to put 'em back for the kids, or not, that's the upside, kids with quiet toys :D

[jindydiver]

I have used the same thing here in town. I went to the pet shop and bought a toy that the dog chews and it sends them crazy with the noise. I just put it under my foot to use it.

I also tried a dog whistle last year, but all I whistled in was hawks and a peregrine falcon.

[Dave]

When I bought my predator call it came with a mouse squeeker, which is exactly what Axe is talking about with a small bellows that you squeeze between your fingers. Have not tried it on a fox yet but it drives my dog nuts. :twisted:

[Sparra]

:lol:

[humphrey]

ive got one of the mouse squeakers and two of the reed type calls. one is just a simple thing you blow on, and the other is one you bite on and blow, and the harder you bite, the more high pitched it goes.
i haven't had success with either, but haven't really given them much of a go. id imagine the mouse sqeuaker would be good in areas not populated by rabbits. its just a shame its so quiet. :?

[macka]

The best way is the learn to whistle like a wrabbit with your fingers. Cheapest idea yet :D

Macka

[jerry redman]

gday i made one the other day and it was good it took me about 10 mins to make it, i made it out of a whiskers cat food tin the top of it i used and me and a mate went out the other night and whistled one up with it, it worked no worries. jerry

[jerry redman]

hey paul R if the foxes dont come it to that whistle is it because its not loud enough because i no that a preditor call volume 2 will bring them in defently and its very loud and big tin whistle will bring them in but i now a preditor call will i called a fox up the other night in open area along a creek and they dont just walk in they dont f#*k around i was lucky enough to get a shot at him and get him but i did him a favour he had mange from nose to tail what me and owen uselly do is if we see a few rabbits along the creek we use the home ade tendifield and if we see none or a couple we use the preditor call we know they both work if its sorter open area and we think the fox is gunna come from a fair way i use the tenderfield for the extra distence get both the preditor call is about $55 bucks i think its worth it tho. jerry

[jerry redman]

thats why i got a bad taste in my mouth

[Owen]

Jerry that fox looked more like an overgrown tip rat than a fox, the only good thing about shooting it is that now it wont give the other ones mange, but it was a good shot :lol: :lol: :lol:

[jerry redman]

it looked like one of those cats with no fur like mr bigglesworth dr. evils cat yeah it was a good shot

[Paul R]

Yeah thats what I reckon Jerry, the button type is definately not loud enough for the open rolling hills around Tenterfield that I normally hunt.

I will be trying some of the other types next time I visit the place, should be fun testing them out.

Jerry, a cousin of mine has a preditor call too and he swears by it and has had great success with it, calling in over 50 foxes in one night.

I tested out all of my kids old squeaker toys and found a really loud one to use, they wont miss it and neither will their Mum :D Thanks for the tip Axe

[Owen]

paul those preditor calls also call hares in too

[Paul R]

Thats a cool bonus.

I wonder why a Hare would respond?

[Owen]

im not sure what it is that the hares like but they love it and will bloody near sit on your foot if you let them

[Clinglish]

Is that a "scott" call?

[Owen]

yep cling its a scott preditor call. i took one out last night and called 6 hares in, only managed to get 1 though, the others came in to fast and took me a bit by supprise :oops: :?

[jerry redman]

i called in another fox with the preditor the other night but dad mist though but we sqeeked another method i use which is the best and never fails he ran in flat out and i shot him at 3 yards the caller would of been just as good

[Clinglish]

I got my tenterfield whistle in the post today. It coincided beautifully with me securing another good rabbit spot. I took my korean trad bow and a few arrows with me to work this afternoon. and practiced with my whistle as I drove between jobs .
I finished the last job and headed out to the property. I parked downwind from the warrens and stalked in .Not a rabbit to be seen.
I was disapointed till I relised why. I watch a fox crossing the paddock about 250m away so I thought I would give the new whistle a blast.

The first few trys all I did was spit on myself, but then I got it right , the fox was coming so fast I lost sight of him. I only saw him at the last minute , about 15 yards away as he was taking off. The smart bugger had circled round slightly and caught my scent.

Im still shaking with the rush of it but unfortunately still yet to make my first trad kill.

AH but Next time

[humphrey]

mate i know what you mean :lol:
i was so excited and so pumped when i saw the fox i whistled that it took me about 4 goes to make a sound out of it, even though i had it perfect before.
and about the first trad kill, im in the same boat as you. its been 7 months for me. :cry:

[Owen]

went out for a whistle with jerry redman this morning, whistled 2 in, first one came in and wouldnt stop for a shot even after saying "oi" 3 times he just kept running at jerry then finaly heard me but it was too late by then and he got away. The second one i had the most frustrating thing ive ever had happen to me. He was about 25 yards out coming into the whistle when i started to draw back, half way thru the draw i must have bumped the trigger, the arrow landed about 10 yards in front of him :oops: to our suprise he just sat there bout 20 yds out i nocked another arrow and took a shot that hit him high in the front leg missing all vitals :evil:

[Clinglish]

I bought a scott predater call , so I'm taking it out tonight to try to get a hare or fox , anybody got any tips. :?:

[aussiehunter]

clinglish.gday mate where did u buy it and how much,ive been told they will even work on pigs and dingos..cheers pat

[Owen]

jerry redman and i were driving out to one of our good fox spots when we noticed this bloke in the middle of a paddock searching for grass hoppers. We drove on for about 200 yards grabed the bow and vidieo camera and set off after him, to start with we uesed the button whistle but the wind was up and he couldnt hear it, i told jerry to give his tenterfield a go but he said he left it back in the ute, after about 6-7 minutes of whistling i decided to give whistling with my fingers a go, within a matter of seconds it ran about 60-70 yards across the paddock jumped the fence and sitting about 15 yards from jerry, the fox had know idea we were there but then an arrow throu the chest put him down for keeps.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c113/o-ring/foxes008.jpg
here's jerry and his fox

[jerry redman]

you dont understand the look in your eye when that arrow came of the string that was one of the funnist thing ive even seen hahah it was so funny wasnt at the time but the more i think of it the funnier it gets it was a look of ......no this cant be happening you looked at you bow and just said to yourself ....nuh no way ..what a pissa!

[Clinglish]

Walked into the local gunshop in town and asked if they had 1 ,to my surprise they did . It cost me $50 but I think it was worth it. I just secured a good hare and rabbit block so I am hoping to get my monies worth.

[Owen]

trust me mate you'll get your moneys worth the first time you use it :wink:

[humphrey]

thats a nice looking fox there jerry. did you skin him?
i went out this morning with the tenterfield and muffed 2 chances, but learnt 2 new lessons. :lol:
i had one come in pretty quickly, and when it got to about 30 metres in the long grass i drew back with the whistle still in my mouth and anchored. he then came out of the grass and stopped about 18mtrs away. as i released i felt a very painful sting to the back of my neck, then watched the whistle fly straight towards the fox and the arrow off to the right. :evil: it only ran about 10 metres to the left and just stood there for about 2 minutes snapping at the flys, so i was just happy to watch it for a bit before it lost interest and disappeared. i told myself that im an idiot, found the whistle and retrieved the arrow then thought next time i better spit the whistle out before i shoot.
so another 400 mtrs down and i gave it another go. i had one coming in about 150mtrs away and he went down into the gully in front, and i knew it would come out about 30 mtrs in front. soon after i could see its face through the grass. i waited for it to look away then drew the bow, gave the whistle a couple of quick blows then spat it on the ground. the fox came out from the grass only to stop directly behind a tree 20 mtrs away, with only its tail visible. :roll: the bow became too heavy to hold so i let it down, and did my best attempt to whistle it from behind the tree with my lips but the bugger lost interest and after 20 or so seconds turned to wander back down into the scrub before i could get a shot.
maybe next time i'll have better luck. :lol:

[Owen]

humphrey, normally when me and jerry go whistling we whistle till there about 30-40 yards out then we start making a sqeeking noise, kinda like the noise a mouse makes, foxes absilutely love it, then when there about 10 yards out we go "OI".

the fox will sit up and expose his chest making it easy to put in a good shot :wink:

[humphrey]

you mean like a smooching sound? i'll give that a go next time cause theres no way i can shoot with the whistle still in my mouth.

[Dave]

Humphrey it might be a good idea to not get caught making that "smooching" sound with your bow to close to your face....people will talk :lol: :lol:

Seriously though I have actually been doing what Axe suggested with using squeaky toys. Sit it on the ground next to your foot/knee and when the fox needs that last little push, kneel on it.

[jerry redman]

hey owen you sure it is EASY to put a good cheast shot in???? hey humphry you know on brad smiths movies he does it on there it is worth learning even if you are stalking up on a fox within 100 yards if its to noisy ground give him a sqeeke they cant resist it but if they are in the open and you can see them catching crickets eating them dont bother useing it, either the caller or whistle they dont seem to care they probebly have a guts full of crickets 99% of the time it works ive only ever had couple thats ever not come into it and he was catching/eating crickets.