getting everything ready to start hunting in about 3 weeks and I can't decide on choice of weapon. thoughts?

the ultra-lite is certainly nice to tote around:


but doesn't back nearly the punch of the magnums:





any advice would be muchly appreciated!

I'd go ultralite. That little critter looks ready for business.


Let the magnums bat clean up.

Who knew Walter White was a falconer.

That's cool chit though. I've gone with my buddy and watched his red-tail do its thing. Pretty cool.

do not , I repeat do not mess with the kestrel!

I don't think the "ultra-light" knows he isn't a magnum. Very cool.

Way cool!

UBER Magnum is where it's at.................

Harris. Way more fun to watch.
Patrick

Very, very cool!

Great photos, very cool indeed.
How does the bird bring back an elk?

nah stick, the fish stealers have never really gotten it done for me.

a real magnum...

Awesome action pic!

This one looks like a magnum:

Way cool pics! Too bad you didn't have this hobby before I left...

harpies - I've handled many large raptors and they'r the only ones that I truly fear. their strength is unreal...

UtahLefty;
It's good to see you posting again Matt, especially so when you share the fine photos of your family and the birds.

You asked for any advice - so mine is to share more photos......

By the way if you or anyone would care to identify the "magnum" for me I'd appreciate it. To me it looks like the Golden Eagles we have around here, but then it's been decades since I've seen one up close and can't be sure.

Thanks again for the photos of your hunting battery for the fall Matt. I look forward to seeing some field reports of how the loads worked out for you all. All the best to you and your fine family this fall Matt.

Dwayne

TFF...

Awesome pics Utah! Good luck this season.



Travis

I think Utah Lefty was right, the Harpy is the UBER mag!



Question for Utah Lefty�. if you fear Harpys, can they sense it like a dog, or a horse?

sure thing Dwayne! (and good to see you again as well) I've been off gallivanting this summer (actually I was invited to moderate the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology's raptor nest-cam program so spent quite a bit of time doing so - we had kids and even whole classrooms from all over the world participating.

the birds shown so far:

a) female american kestrel (mine)
b) female Harris Hawks x 2 (mine)
c) female Golden Eagle (a friend's)
d) Harpie eagle (handler unknown)

both my wife and eldest daughter are also licensed falconers as you may recall.

we took the girls up out of their summer flight chamber yesterday and should be hunting within a couple weeks!

yes Ingwe, they can.

Figured as much�..

Matt;
Thanks for the reply sir, I do appreciate the information and was madly googling the sizes of the birds.

I'm quite certain that someone else can wrestle with the eagles thanks - I'm busy that day......

So when you are hunting with the birds, is it tough to get them to share the kill?

Does that vary somewhat with the personality of the bird as I imagine it might?

Anyway Matt, no panic on answering my queries, it's just idle curiosity on my part as falconry is far removed from anything I've experienced first hand, though I see there is a BC Falconry Association and it's legal up here - again which I didn't know until now...

Thanks again sir and all the best to you and your fine family.

Dwayne

the kestrel hunts at 105 grams (16" wingspan)
the Harris' hunt at 960 grams (4 ft wingspan)
the Golden hunts at 6000 grams (7' wingspan)
the Harpy hunts at 9000 grams (8' wingspan)

for comparison sake the bald eagle's I've handled have all been around 3000 grams

the harris eat about a jackrabbit a week. in the field I tear off a front leg apiece for them and 2 jacks a day is a good average for them. I freeze the rest. they killed 58 jacks, 4 cottontails, and 4 pheasants last season -- enough for a year's supply (of which we're down to six and need to get back into the field soon!)

Thanks for the information on Falconry. I saw it in the CT laws. Your topic has brought it to life for me.

Here is quote from CT on it.

"Mar 17, 2008 - A little known aspect of hunting is the ancient practice and art of falconry which, yes, is legal in Connecticut as in most states. A recent Hartford ..."

Matt;
Thanks for the size comparison, again I'll say that eagle wrangling isn't for me.

A now passed on friend had a taxidermy shop a couple of km from here and when work was slow back in the day I'd go help him out to pass the time.

Anyway once this logging truck operator brought in a Golden to get mounted and they are of course very tough to get a permit to possess, so the Ministry guy wanted proof it wasn't poached.

As that was suspected, buddy had thoughtfully brought his logging truck to the Ministry and showed said Ministry guy the passenger window that the bird had entered through and the feathers and such on the passenger seat.

He'd told my taxidermist friend it was "unbelievably loud" when the bird came through the window.......

Unsettling too I should imagine.

That was the last Golden I looked at "up close" Matt and if memory serves it was in the late '80's.

Dwayne

Awesome post! I always pull my wife over to view your posts as they must be shared. I really like the ultra-lite. We have a few of them around our "farm" ENE of Edmonton. Fantastic bird to watch fly.
GRF

thanks! I'm going to try to make a better effort to bring my DSLR more this season and get some "real" pics as opposed to primarily cell phone shots. it gets tricky to fly two birds alone and get pics too. I've got a friend who's a photog for the local rag and he wants to tag along more this year as well so that should help.

a little "extra" eye candy:

That is one MEAN looking bird.

U L -

THNX for the thread. Very interesting.

A W E S O M E picts!!!

Super! Please keep us updated on the hunts and all pics are appreciated! The guy I knew that worked at Deseret that did falconry had lots of fun turning his bird loose on the coots they have on their reservoirs/ponds.

Utah Lefty,

Thanks for the pix and for the info. Fascinating ! Look forward to seeing more...

Utah Lefty,

Good stuff. Thanks for sharing. I have always been interested in the birds of prey. Really enjoy your posts.

Cool stuff right there!!

WOW ! Great stuff there, Utah. e

as of yesterday the girls were 1030 and 1070 grams -- maybe 10 days to get under 1000grams and we'll be set loose upon the land!

Really like the looks of the ultra light, great pixs

Utah,

Your birds are prettier than mine. Smarter too. All I can do is get mine to circle a while, then land on something already dead.



What am I doing wrong?

Man, I concur. One of the coolest things about The Fire is being exposed to topics I know absolutely nothing about.

THANKS!!

great post Utah, very interesting pictures. Thanks

I would take the one that doesn't eat all the rabbits. Rabbit roasted in a mustard cream sauce is delicious!

Very nice. I am glad I clicked on this thread.

Just give them the bird man.

that's a chicken v. egg thing -- the ones that eat the rabbits are also the ones that are catching them.





what 60 rabbits in a 20' freezer looks like:

they do pheasants too



and sometimes goldfish

Yup .... Them's dump birds here. Seeing lots of hawks and osprey last couple years.

That Harpy Eagle is a cool bird too.

Amazing photos. The kestrlyl is especially amazing.

if the weather holds, we're going out Monday for their first flights of the season. not expecting much as it takes a time or two for them to knock the cobwebs off but we'll get some pics anyhow.

they're flying well on the long line now (creance)

Cool thread . How labor intense are these to keep and how often should you fly them to keep them in shape?

I had the priviledge last year to watch a Golden and a bald Eagle fight mid air above the river, out of nowhere a second Bald came screaming in and joined the fight. Absolutely amazing. That Harpy is an amazing beast

Are the females easier to train and fly than the males?

Great pictures!

answers to those last couple of questions:

females are bigger and stronger (1/3 heavier) and can go after larger game

males are smaller but more maneuverable ---->they tend to do better hunting birds on the wing

no real difference in trainability that I've found

figure one hour per bird per day on average when not hunting.

figure 3-5 hour trip per day when hunting (and this we do 4 days a week for 7 months of the year).

so yes, more of a lifestyle than a hobby - it is very, very time intensive (but addictive)!

first bunny of the season last thurs: