Lamping

[Mickey Finn 2,702]

I'm working on getting lamping for rabbits legal in my home state of Michigan. We can use lamps for predators, Coyote's and Fox, etc. But rabbits are exempt. Mostly because it's not part of our hunting history.

 

So, I was wondering if anyone knew ,

1. When the practice started in the UK?

2. How did the first lamping systems come about? Were they homemade? If so, were they put together from mining lamps? Or lamps from some other occupation?

3. Who manufactured the first commercially available lamping systems?

4. Which lamps are preferred these days?

 

Thanks in advance for any information!

 

ATB

[j316 119]

when it gets dark

[TOMO 24,839]

i answered this yesterday ,,, in ted walsh's book lurchers and longdogs he mentions keepers doing it in the 30-40's with the head lights from army jeeps and landrovers with lurchers.

 

but in last weeks countrymans weekly magazine , the warrener did an artical about poachers doing it a 100m years ago

[RustyG 0]

i read in a lurcher book that it all realy started in the 40s or 50s, using motorbike headlights and car batteries, all home made and very heavy!

[Guest storm70]

two of my old mates lamped in the 50 and 60s davie clark whos 76 and jock brandon whos 70 odds davie used pure whippets and whippetx grey minners dogs these dogs were kept in washhouses to keep you feed and the rats away before the collie and deerhound types were about the first lurcher davie seen was called flash and belonged to one of his travaller frinds he said it killed 22 brown hares whithout missing in the daytime at eaglesam ive a great picture of him in glasgow in the 50s whith 9 brown hares they had some good days and ive had many whith them night and day old jock was a great terrierman to

[long dogs 580]

i use the lightforce striker powerd by a 17ah battery get a good few hour from it,when i was a kid i used the old sibbys spot lights off cars bit of plastic pipe with a switch and old battery that rotted my clothes from the acid spilling ha ha thank fack for lightforce now

[bird 9,587]

i think it really took off in the 70's , it was round before but 70's was when it got very popular i think.Just look at lurchers now they are popular what ever the x !!

[chartpolski 20,371]

I started lamping in the late 60's, and the lads that started me off were doing it earlier. We used any car headlight or spotlight we could get from the local scrapyard and rigged up a handle from a piece of broomstick and a toggle switch that used to be used in cars and household ligthing in those days. You could always tell a "Lamper" in the pub as his coat pocket would be rotted away from acid leaking from the (unsealed) motor bike batteries we used !! The lamps wern't nearly as powerful as the ones today, but we still managed some good bags !!

 

Cheers.

[trigger2 3,100]

not excactly sure when it started but i know lads that have been doing it around here for the best part of 40yrs. i know when i was a young lad my father used a motorbike bike battery and a lr6 spot lamp off a car.

 

you could always tell lampers of old because there cloths were often burnt by the acid that leaked out the batteries. these are three popular lamps that i can remember when i was a boy and ones i have used myself LR6 LR9 LR14. all used with a motorbike battery in a wooden box with car seatbelt for a carry strap, and a match broken off in the breather on the battery to stop the acid leaking out.

[RustyG 0]

talked to my grate uncle yesterday, he recons all lamping used to be iligal, as it was seen to be unsporting, i duno if this is true or not tho

[Mickey Finn 2,702]

Thanks for the reply's guys. Very informative. I had trouble getting on the site for a few days. Now I see why. It's been redone.

 

I guess I thought they started with mining lamps because our coon hunters did. But, car lights are common and make more sense.

 

Selling the sporting angle will probably be the test for our national resources commision. But, I have hope.

 

Good luck to everyone this coming season!

 

ATB