Post by jballone on Mar 8, 2009 20:12:28 GMT -5
I've been trying hard to get some SS Hare with my RT for the last month. And although I've found some spots with a ton of sign, the cover has just been too thick. Her flights consisted of dropping out of the tree and getting tangled in a cedar shrub. Well, all that changed yesterday when she scored her first SS Hare!
My vet had mentioned that he has a spot near his house that was thick with SS. He mentioned that on a weekend, him and a couple buddies took 14! He offered to take me out to see if Mystic could get one.
I met him and the rest of the hunting party at his residence. All were enthusiastic about seeing my hawk hunt so we headed out. The hunting spot was at the end of the private road he lives on and only a 2 minute drive. I took Mystic out, showed her to the group, then cast her off. I could tell that the cover seemed very good. Pockets of small pines separated by open areas with immature aspens. It didn't take long and a SS ran between me and the group with Mystic hot on it's tail. The hare ran into some cover and Mystic went down but came up short. This was about 5 minutes into the hunt.
The hunt continued and SS were getting flushed about every 5-10 minutes. She had some great flights but was fighting a little headwind during the first half of the hunt. After about an hour, we turned back and started working back towards the vehicles. She had a couple more flights before she finally ended up in front of us and on a good perch. We just started to work another pine tree clump when I heard bells and looked over to see her pumping hard towards the ground. She disappeared behind a pine tree and then I heard a faint squeal! I ran over to find her on her first SS! I made in quickly and dispatched the quarry. The rest of the hunting party moved in and started taking pics and video. All were enthusiastic and thoroughly impressed with Mystic. I was beaming too The day was perfect: clear skies, 37 degrees and just a little wind.
After letting her get a nice crop, we walked back to the vehicles and I fielded a bunch of questions. The hunt ended with an invitation to try another "hot spot" the following weekend so some more friends can witness this awesome sport.
The only down side to this day was that I only took 1 pic for myself. Here it is:
Hare was running towards the clump of pines pictured behind me.
Location: Upper Michigan
Joe
My vet had mentioned that he has a spot near his house that was thick with SS. He mentioned that on a weekend, him and a couple buddies took 14! He offered to take me out to see if Mystic could get one.
I met him and the rest of the hunting party at his residence. All were enthusiastic about seeing my hawk hunt so we headed out. The hunting spot was at the end of the private road he lives on and only a 2 minute drive. I took Mystic out, showed her to the group, then cast her off. I could tell that the cover seemed very good. Pockets of small pines separated by open areas with immature aspens. It didn't take long and a SS ran between me and the group with Mystic hot on it's tail. The hare ran into some cover and Mystic went down but came up short. This was about 5 minutes into the hunt.
The hunt continued and SS were getting flushed about every 5-10 minutes. She had some great flights but was fighting a little headwind during the first half of the hunt. After about an hour, we turned back and started working back towards the vehicles. She had a couple more flights before she finally ended up in front of us and on a good perch. We just started to work another pine tree clump when I heard bells and looked over to see her pumping hard towards the ground. She disappeared behind a pine tree and then I heard a faint squeal! I ran over to find her on her first SS! I made in quickly and dispatched the quarry. The rest of the hunting party moved in and started taking pics and video. All were enthusiastic and thoroughly impressed with Mystic. I was beaming too The day was perfect: clear skies, 37 degrees and just a little wind.
After letting her get a nice crop, we walked back to the vehicles and I fielded a bunch of questions. The hunt ended with an invitation to try another "hot spot" the following weekend so some more friends can witness this awesome sport.
The only down side to this day was that I only took 1 pic for myself. Here it is:
Hare was running towards the clump of pines pictured behind me.
Location: Upper Michigan
Joe
