pointer
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Everything posted by pointer
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I can see what your saying, I've found the weather and the lowest rabbit numbers in my lifetime have been the over riding factors of my season, yet the books and threads on places like the IFF forum mainly go on about the time needed. Give me the rabbit numbers that were about when I worked lurchers and I'd have easily tripled my kill count this season and spent less time doing it. I've found it hasn't been as simple as I thought it was going to be, I held off getting a hawk until I had no other commitments in my like except having to go to work forty hours a week. I suppose I expected t
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For me its not just about if a hawk can perform at the weekend or whatever but the fact that the weather has stopped me doing as much hunting as I wanted to. Fitness and a good working hawk is one side of it then there's the owner that wants to be out several times a week because he enjoys it. I never had the best of lurchers, I was lucky enough to see some good ones but my dog was out regularly. Sometimes maybe pushed too much. So I guess what I'm saying is I feel the working ability of an animal isn't directly in line with the amount of work it sees. If that makes any sense lol.
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I totally agree mate and I would hate to think any of my posts would imply that hunting a Harris hawk can be done with limited time and commitment. No other hunting I've done has caused me so much worry and stress. The difference between working a hawk and a dog is vast, I found the dogs easier. I spent more time hunting with dogs because the weather didn't affect them but my hawk has me constantly thinking about how things are going, worrying about the weather, fitness, am I putting enough quarry in front of her etc etc etc.
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I wouldn't own a hawk if I could only fly it on a weekend the same as I wouldn't have owned a lurcher. I agree with everything you have said regarding time, commitment, fitness etc but I feel that the same applies to dogs. I know what your saying though and I don't think everybody could fly a hawk, I've spent less time actually hunting this season than any other but have had to think about it more getting over issues like my hawk hating dogs, wanting to attack ferrets etc.
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Brilliant photos, how's your season gone? Have you got a good rabbit population where your at?
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I think far too many in the falconry world think they are doing something which takes up more time and requires more commitment than other hunting pursuits. It really annoys me because I find it disrespectful to those that partake in those sports. I dare bet there are stamp collectors and train spotters that spend more time doing their hobby than anybody who will read this. Most people have to go to work so regardless of what hobby we partake in we get a few hours after work days, every weekend and twenty odd days of holiday to do it. That's all there is to it.
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That's my point, the weather plays such a big part in flying hawks. I never used to think about it much with other hunting. With hounds for example you go out on the fells in all weathers setting off early morning and walking until near darkness and often later if a hound is missing, I was often cold and more often than not wet to some degree but nothing stopped hunting. Lurchermen look forward to a windy night where a hawk would be blown away. Rain dosent matter either or even sleet and snow. I high jumped mine etc to keep her ticking over when we couldn't get out flying.That took less
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Sorry but I don't understand your point of view, you lamp your hawk to keep it fit and to get out as much as possible. That makes sense but your hawk wouldn't be able to fly in conditions that a lurcher could. I'm sat at home now and could have been out my hawk two hours after work but the gales were experiencing make it impossible to do so, yet a lurcher can work in that. Therefore no matter how keen you are at lamping a hawk you could never work it as many nights as a lurcherman his dog. That's just obvious so I can't see a different point if view, never mind the fact a lurcher can be slippe
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I have to disagree, at least in part. A lurcher and terrier team takes up a lot of time, when I had them I'd be lamping a lurcher or lamping a few rats with the terriers almost every night. In the hunting season I'd be working them at least one day in the week but usually two and then every Saturday and Sunday. When I followed hounds I'd be doing two days mid week and every Saturday and Sunday plus still doing some lamping with an ageing lurcher and also ratting with either the dogs or airgun two or three nights a week. Now with a hawk I've found you lose a load of days to the weather, I'll
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Thanks mate I've learnt a lot this season.
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Nothing much to post about lately, mixi has hit the area again and so the hawk or the dogs were getting easy kills. Then my hawk caught a baby rabbit in a blackthorn bush. She cut her toe doing it as she dragged it up into the bush and although I cleaned and sprayed her feet with F-10 as I do all the time her toe started to swell up so after a trip to the vets she was on a course of anti- biotics. I didn't hunt her for a week but let her fly around a few trees every day. Today she was overweight but as her toe is back to normal I let her follow on and although she was hanging back ignoring qu
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I won't fly without it, it's the hawk that could suffer if lost. She could end up injured or into areas where she would be shot. I'd rather not fly her, I wouldn't have deliberately put a terrier to ground without a locator when I had them so I won't do the same with a hawk.
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I wonder how many fly a Harris without telemetry, more than would admit it on here or IFF I'd bet. Mine bent the feather the mount was on and it was hanging down so I didn't get to fly her yesterday as I had to wait for our lass to help me put another mount on in the afternoon. By then it was too windy. I won't risk flying without it even if I've never really needed it. Peace of mind I suppose.
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Telemetry is the only real cost after the bird. The rest of the equipment is about a hundred quid or so if you make a lot of it yourself. The time involved depends upon how far your travelling to hunting grounds but I've found I've lost so much time to bad weather that I spend more time looking at the met office website and out of the window at trees bending double or rain belting off the window. Hunting a Harris hawk takes up less time than working terriers or lurchers or hunting with hounds does.
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I had an invite out after work today, we only had an hour before dark but she had a few flights at rabbit before perching up in a tree looking down. She wouldn't move on so I had to go back to get her, as I got near she landed in the narrow ditch and stood looking into the reeds. The hawk was agitated and because she looked so sure there was something in there I slowly walked down the ditch towards her treading on the short reeds and she suddenly jumped at something which turned out to be a vole. Now usually that would be nothing worth posting about but it was the way it happened that I found
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I will do, I did read the fly fishing for coarse fish book last year and its becoming more popular for sea fishing so its a method that can be used anywhere.
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Sounds great, I'm starting to think about fishing now that we only have a couple more weeks of hunting left.
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She has only recently started to soar around us when out hunting bushes and hedges. When I go to the dales I've only flown her off the glove at bolters. She did attack a ferret earlier this season but seems ok with them now. I can see the benefits of having the hawk soaring so its something I can look to in the future.
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She missed at least half a dozen rabbits this morning up the dales and only caught one. She did have some good flights on these strong bunnies so it was worth the drive. I planned to go back out this afternoon but it's raining and its due to get heavier.
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Yesterday she had flights and dives at a dozen rabbits but just couldn't catch one in the waist high bramble and bushes. That's maybe why there's more rabbits at this little place than anywhere else I go. This morning she caught a rabbit, then Arcticgun rang to see if I wanted a look out this afternoon. I'd fed mine from the rabbit but even at the higher weight she still followed on ok making two more kills the last one being a rat. At times both hawks were loose and we had no incidents. I think they are happy enough in each other's company now. I don't think cast flying is something I'd want
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I enjoy any fishing. I fished for everything from sticklebacks to marlin last summer in everything from five inches of water in a stream to trolling in the Atlantic. I like variety in my hunting and fishing. I spent four nights trying to catch a stickleback in full breeding colours. It meant as much to me if not more than the shark, skate and tuna I've caught abroad. Fishing attracts debate like nothing else, my fishing mates cannot understand why I would spend days catching mini species when I could be with them catching hard fighting carp, I divide my fishing up between the species that can
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It sounds great, I'll make the effort to try it this summer.
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I enjoy hunting but fishing has become a big part of my life, I can fire a gun, slip a lurcher or hawk and be part of the hunt but with fishing your directly attached to your quarry. It's mine to land or lose and making the wrong decision has me wanting to cry, to see a float getting pulled under or to feel something like a ling hitting your lure is just brilliant. Then there's just the power of a good carp when it bends a rod double. Or something like a ray that feels like your lifting up the sea bed. God I love it.
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I keep saying I'm going to give fly fishing a go but I never get around to it, maybe this year.
