Coursing Hares In New Mexico

[titan 109]

Fantastic pics mate looks like great fun with a deadly team Are hares run in other parts of the country, Kansas Iowa etc?

[Silversnake 1,099]

That is the most awesome thing I have ever seen

[roybo 2,873]

Fantastic hunting ,would love to see it in the flesh

[strayshot 105]

 

 

Great topic cheers.

 

Not wanting to upset the apple cart, but ............... do those Hares stand much of a chance? 2 dogs a Falcon and all that space.

And has the Merle got Colie blood or did I miss something?

Was about to say the same thing - strikes me as overkill running two dogs and a bird on one hare, would much rather watch either dogs or falcon.

 

The problem is that if you just fly a falcon the hare will just hide under bushes and refuse to run so it ends up being a rat hunt. With the dogs pushing the hare it has to run and you get a nice multistoop flight. As we are not running flat winter wheat fields but rolling broken ground with bushes arroyos all kinds of cover it is very easy for the dogs to be unsighted so the kill rate with just dogs is pretty low. The falcon can spot the hares and the dogs learn to run to the bird if they lose the hare. Often the hare flushes in the distance so the law I give the hare can be upto a 1/4mile and the dogs may not see the hare for longer distances than that. they just see the falcon go and follow her til they see the hare.

with a really good tight team they can be very deadly over time but that doesnt mean its easy just that they are very good at what they do. While I do like a good course it should also be understood that the dogs are technically there to support the falcon who takes down the hare most of the time. We do get to see some really good running on the dogs part too of course but the falcon is the head of the team. We see some really good hares pull some really impressive moves too and they do get away.

 

Thanks for the explanation - they certainly look a handy team.

[fluff 409]

had the pleasure to course with running dogs further down near demin siccorro with some very good saluki types they didnt need no hawk to kill saw them kill several jack rabbits over the years , but falcon and dog team sounds like good sport

[Stomp 1]

It looks like fun where do you get your falcons from and are they hard to train up

[dirtwinger 235]

had the pleasure to course with running dogs further down near demin siccorro with some very good saluki types they didnt need no hawk to kill saw them kill several jack rabbits over the years , but falcon and dog team sounds like good sport

Lots of good coursing dogs run and bred in New Mexico, but that would be Deming and Soccoro. Who where you out with, Dutch Salmon?

[dirtwinger 235]

It looks like fun where do you get your falcons from and are they hard to train up

It is fun but you have to know what you are doing, I get my falcons either captive bred or wild taken in the case of Prairie Falcons. However if you live in Oz you are screwed as falconry is Illegal.

[fluff 409]

out with several hunters from there and along the texas border , good days and some were not so good , a few dogs never made it home, hunting accidents , cat claw arroyas,ditches wire ,pronghorn hawk and dogs now that would be a blast if it was legal

Edited February 14, 2014 by fluff

[highplainswolfer 0]

 

I am surprised your dogs haven't killed a coyote yet

My dogs just arent hard enough Wolfer, my merle lurcher will tangle with them and my saluki bitch flipped one end over end back before christmas but they wont seal the deal. I flew a 1lb 8oz female prairie falcon last season who hated coyotes and would actively hunt them and pound them in the head til they were bleeding. That did fire the dogs up a bit and we almost hadf a couple but never sealed the deal. My hunting buddy Greg did get a very fast coldblood stag bitch with the idea of having a coyote dog as part of the team but she didnt work out. She started getting aggressive with his dogs at the kill and then attacked his falcon although luckily the bird wasnt hurt. So she has gone to be a coyote dog and he swapped her for a saluki grey.

A dog that could switch to coyotes would be nice but while our dogs chase em off and even bite them and knock them down they wont kill them;(

 

I think what you do is pretty sweet!! I don't know how my dogs would be with the falcon either. I have one who would probably be fine once he figured out what was going on, he is also the one who has handled coyotes by himself.

[mushroom 12,352]

How do you go on with the thorns and shit??

[dirtwinger 235]

How do you go on with the thorns and shit??

Where I hunt the worst thing i deal with apart from Cholla cactus (Big bushy spiky as hell) is goatheads which are horrible spiky seedpods. They can carpet the ground particularly where the ground has been disturbed and stick in the dogs pads and between their toes. while the dogs will run through them while coursing they do tend to grind the dogs to a halt while they are mooching around and you have to sometimes carry the dogs out of a patch and pick their feet clean. Next time I am out I will take some pics to show you all our nasty plants. No brambles or nettles here though but plenty to make you miserable, dont sit on a catcus whatever you do!

[mushroom 12,352]

 

How do you go on with the thorns and shit??

Where I hunt the worst thing i deal with apart from Cholla cactus (Big bushy spiky as hell) is goatheads which are horrible spiky seedpods. They can carpet the ground particularly where the ground has been disturbed and stick in the dogs pads and between their toes. while the dogs will run through them while coursing they do tend to grind the dogs to a halt while they are mooching around and you have to sometimes carry the dogs out of a patch and pick their feet clean. Next time I am out I will take some pics to show you all our nasty plants. No brambles or nettles here though but plenty to make you miserable, dont sit on a catcus whatever you do!

 

Seen some picks of thorns and shit out there. My Mrs is from Sonora (south of Arizona) and that shit (thorns) out there looks like the Devil's cum

[krawnden 1,036]

Absolutely loved this thread dirtwinger - thank you so much for the pics, vids and patient explanations. Having a crack at this is now right up there on my bucket list.

[hawki 1,418]

Great read, very informative thread keep it going