I hunted for about 12 years with Iron Bridge Hunt in Maryland and 2 years (when I moved) with Marlboro Hunt in Maryland.
In those years of hunting we never killed a fox. What would we hunt the next week if we killed our fox? I have seen many foxes while hunting and have never seen one panicked. The fox outwits the hounds in many humorous ways. In the old days, it was called "riding to hounds" and that is precisely what we did. Our foxes had many holes in which to "go to ground" if they had had enough.
With the horns ta-raaing, the hounds barking, the bits jingling, no fox that didn't want a run for his money would come out. But they usually did feel like a nice chase, and came out. The master of the hunt frequently led us, "the field," to a place where we could watch the fox, and then later, the hounds work.
I've seen some clever ruses that the fox laid on the hounds, like crossing a log halfway over a creek, then jumping into the water and swimming for a bit. Once, the hounds were going crazy circling around a heavy bunch of brambles and brush. Suddenly the fox burst out of the thicket, jumped across the backs of the hounds and took off away. As
@RMH said, there is a lot of fun socializing, a bit of dangerous riding and jumping, and enjoyment seeing the fox and hounds try to outwit one another.
When the fox gets tired of the game, he just goes in one of his holes, and the chase is over for that day. Then we'd ride to another fox's territory and try for that one. Many hunts, including ours, had 1:00 foxes or 4:00 foxes--certain foxes would be waiting for the hounds to show up so he/she could have a romp with them.
If you saw the foxes, you would know they were enjoying themselves. The word I would use is "jaunty." That's how they moved.
Perhaps because the hunts I rode with were in Maryland, but we did not cross any roads and kept away from people's property.
Both Iron Bridge Hunt and Marlboro Hunt were not clubs for rich people. Our Hunt Master owned a small town hardware store. Our Field Master was a truck driver. About half of the hunt field were young people and mothers looking after their young people. The hunters were teachers, students, farmers (lots of farmers), and small business owners.