Monday, December 14, 2009

Changing jewelry




Gonzo's old anklets had seen better days and I had been procrastinating about changing them. I was in the weathering area yesterday when his jesse broke at the leash hole. I had some back ups, but they were too thin. I wanted to beef them up a bit to cover his tarsus for squirrel hunting.

I am not a big fan of the Brewer Chaps. I know that there are a lot of disciples out there, but I am not convinced.

I've used them on both harris' and red tails, and I worry that the bird may have slower foot speed when using them, resulting in more bites instead of fewer. I have had the pleasure of meeting Brewer and I agree with about 90% of what he says. His book was one of my main teaching tools when it came to learning about squirrel hawking.

So anyway, we took off the old anklets and replaced Gonzo's jewelry. He's ready for more squirrels.

3 comments:

Dan said...

I just borrowed this book from a good buddy, and am looking forward to reading it. Are there any sections that you feel are "more important" than others, that I should dedicate a little extra time to while reading? I'm not a fan of the chaps either....

Stephen Olner said...

i've been looking at http://virtualvideo.cc/falconry/chaps.html and prefer chucks design rather than brewers.

Doug said...

Steve,

Good link. I like the look of those anklets. I'll need to look into them a bit further.

As far as buteos and bushytails; it is a great primer to get you started. I cannot say enough how important it is to get with squirrel hawkers in your area and seeing what they are doing.

That said - (I refer to my signed copy) - read about squirrels, squirrel habitat, and technique. Take the equipment section with a grain of salt. If you have been hunting squirrels, you already know what you need. Then read about advanced training. it is a good read to set you in the right direction. Hood training is a personal choice, as is lure training.

I need to go into this more in a different post.
Thanks for the comments guys!
Doug