Post by shortwingn on Oct 15, 2005 18:09:39 GMT -5
Greetings Wolf, I have been flying birds for 15 years now. I have been on an accipiter kick for a while now. I also run dachshunds in front of my birds. One of the newer falconers was with me when that incident with the blue light happened. He trained his RT to the fist under a light after it. About 3 months later we where hunting with his bird late in the day. We got separated from the bird after a slip. We found her in a pine tree after dark. He broke out his flash light and lit up his fist. She came down. In the past I had spent cold nights out waiting for daybreak to get a bird back. I must admit a warm ride home and a warm bed was better! I do find flying the gos at night to be a kick in the butt too.
Lamping with a hawk is the same as lamping with a lurcher, scan a section of the field when you have the rabbit in the beam let the hawk go. always keep your beam on the rabbit and never turn the torch off or your hawk will be flying blind. It is important to walk the land that you will be lamping on during the day so you are awair of any dangers i.e overhead lines e.t.c. Start by feeding your hawk in the mews by torch light then going on to short flys in the garden before going on to your hunting fields. As with any training session once your bird has masterd one part move on to the next but dont expect your hawk to become a lamper over night.
Nevada allows Jacklighting (spotlighting rabbits at night) in certain counties.... you california guys interested it could be a chance to kill 2 birds with one stone(figure of speech only) dont seem to be anyone in northern nevada that hawks and I am interested in observing LOL
..... He trained his RT to the fist under a light after it. About 3 months later we where hunting with his bird late in the day. We got separated from the bird after a slip. We found her in a pine tree after dark. He broke out his flash light and lit up his fist. She came down. ....
Wow, to me that sounds like standard operating procedure for those days when you get home late and the bird needs to work/eat. Get the flashlight/torch and get him going. Especially good if his next day is a day off and I can give him a good reward for coming in the dark.
One of those things that would be great if never used but if used, saves a cold night out camped under a tree.
in England as mentioned its legal. I have done it many a time but am not a lover of it.
For a HH to follow a beam of light to its target who is more than often stunned and is what we call a 'Sitter' is just not Sport.
Hawk......Beam of light.....Rabbit. You might as well use a Gun its the same thing.
But i do understand that in the darker months over here you can go to work in the dark and come home in the dark so when do you get your bird fit? Lamping is great for those with little time, for those who have more time i think its done for a numbers of kills game and the slip and flight is lost. My tuppence worth
WHEN THE 'EAGLES' ARE SILENT THE 'PARROTS' BEGIN TO JABBER! SIR W.CHURCHILL
it is illegal in alabama but i do train my birds to light just in case i need to recover one.
I of course would never break a sacred game law ;D but I have seen night hawking before and most of the time the rabbits do run and indeed know the hawk is after them. I have also seen them just sit there until the last second then make a quick evasive move to leave the hawk sitting puzzled on the ground and the rabbit at full speed. I believe the only thing legal to hunt with a spotlight here is racoons. Not applicable with a hawk obviously
I train my birds {eagle, HH and the falcon} to the spotlight just in case I have to get them back at night. I have also done a little night hawking with a rt and the tiercel HH I have right now. I am not a big fan of it, but, every once in a while its something different. I also train my eagle to come to a pigeon on a string and about 3 weeks ago it really paid off when he was cropped up sitting in a tree with the leash attached. I dropped out the pigeon on a string and he came instantly even thugh he was cropped up.
BULLSH!@t! its just as sporting, if not more sporting at night. sitters will only sit for a bit, as soon as the hawk is near they will shift, its one of there defences! during the day almost every rabbit hit by a bird with be held, but at night its like 1 in 6 that the hawk manages to hold, its most certainly an art. the flights you can get at night can also last alot longer than during the day, and no, the rabbits arent blinded, the heads be in the other direction.
grappler said:
in England as mentioned its legal. I have done it many a time but am not a lover of it.
For a HH to follow a beam of light to its target who is more than often stunned and is what we call a 'Sitter' is just not Sport.
Hawk......Beam of light.....Rabbit. You might as well use a Gun its the same thing.
But i do understand that in the darker months over here you can go to work in the dark and come home in the dark so when do you get your bird fit? Lamping is great for those with little time, for those who have more time i think its done for a numbers of kills game and the slip and flight is lost. My tuppence worth
i agree i think its pretty cool. And most rabbits still escape. Sean describes what i noticed. The sitters are doing that not because they are blind but because they are caught in the open and know that is what they need to do to be able to evade the bird. You get some good open long tail chases that really challenge the bird and exercises him to the max. and you get to see it all. Its awesome!!!!!!!