Where can I hunt bunnies with a hawk?

[RC K9]

About halfway in is where this gets fun.

[SVT007]

That is too awesome!

I might suggest Deer Creek State Park. I've had a lot of success there and know others who have too. It's big enough where you don't have to worry a whole lot about idiots, although I would be mindful. (If you see another vehicle, just leave the area). I would offer some private land where I'm at, 1 hour straight north of columbus, but there are a few known eagles in the area. I don't know if they would play nice.

[Otis Nice]

Yes and no. There is no closed season on rabbit and squirrels. With falconry though, the law in Texas is, if it kills something that is either not legal game, or is not in season, the raptor can eat it, but you cannot take it into your possession. So for instance, if I come up on a creek while rabbit hunting this week, and there are ducks that take off, and she goes for one and nabs it, I can allow her to feed up on the kill, but then I have to transfer her off whatever is left when she is done and leave it where it lies. I can't take it into my possession.

 

Seems both wasteful and stupid. The animal is dead. Why let any of it go to waste?

 

That is too awesome!

I might suggest Deer Creek State Park. I've had a lot of success there and know others who have too. It's big enough where you don't have to worry a whole lot about idiots, although I would be mindful. (If you see another vehicle, just leave the area). I would offer some private land where I'm at, 1 hour straight north of columbus, but there are a few known eagles in the area. I don't know if they would play nice.

 

If you want private land kinda near DC but a slightly shorter drive hit me up. My folks have land outside of Circleville. Rabbits abound. Doves too. I plan to hunt them but I'd love to see falconry in action. It's always fascinated me.

[RC K9]

Seems both wasteful and stupid. The animal is dead. Why let any of it go to waste?

 

I can see both sides. When a hawk is done, there isn't going to be a whole lot that is left over, let alone go to waste. There are plenty of scavengers, (at least around here) that need to eat too. Opossum, two different species of vulture, coyotes, crows, etc. So I doubt that much is really being "wasted" per se.

 

I am only guessing here, but I would venture to say that the reason the state has said laws in place is because if they didn't, you would have people out "hunting for rabbits" when really they are duck hunting, and taking 2-3 ducks in their game bag out of season. "Sorry Warden...we were going for rabbits, but she just kept going for these ducks in that ditch." Whereas, if you made it illegal to take said out-of-season game into possession, you have a lower likelihood of people actively going for out of season game since there really isn't much benefit to the hunter since he/she can't keep anything.

 

Also, the law USED to be that if the hawk took out-of-season game or a protected species, you had to transfer it off of the game and leave the whole carcass. The state realized that most likely led to more unnecessary waste, coupled with the fact that hawks hunt anything, and as such, modified the laws to allow the raptor to eat what it kills. So in a way, the state has taken measurements to address your concern, while still attempting to keep the hunter/falconer from actively going for game that he/she shouldn't be after.

[zeitgeist57]

There is no closed season on rabbit and squirrels. So for instance, if I come up on a creek while rabbit hunting this week, and there are ducks that take off, and she goes for one and nabs it, I can allow her to feed up on the kill, but then I have to transfer her off whatever is left when she is done and leave it where it lies.

 

[RC K9]

 

Zactly

[El Karacho1647545492]

You're welcome to post up in my yard in Grandview, I'll even provide the beer on the condition that you make her eviscerate the goddamn possum that has taken up residence in our area.

 

Also there's a shitton of rabbits and squirrels, but unfortunately lots of trees.

[99StockGT]

You're welcome to post up in my yard in Grandview, I'll even provide the beer on the condition that you make her eviscerate the goddamn possum that has taken up residence in our area.

 

Also there's a shitton of rabbits and squirrels, but unfortunately lots of trees.

 

Would love to see this conversation with the neighbors. Both of you lounging in the yard drinking a beer with a raptor circling above.

 

Hey neighbor, what ya doin?

 

*beer slurp*

 

Huntin' possum

 

*neighbor looks skyward, looks back, retreats to suburban safety*

[RC K9]

Would love to see this conversation with the neighbors. Both of you lounging in the yard drinking a beer with a raptor circling above.

 

Hey neighbor, what ya doin?

 

*beer slurp*

 

Huntin' possum

 

*neighbor looks skyward, looks back, retreats to suburban safety*

 

Bahahahaha

[RC K9]

That is too awesome!

I might suggest Deer Creek State Park. I've had a lot of success there and know others who have too. It's big enough where you don't have to worry a whole lot about idiots, although I would be mindful. (If you see another vehicle, just leave the area). I would offer some private land where I'm at, 1 hour straight north of columbus, but there are a few known eagles in the area. I don't know if they would play nice.

 

I've never hunted deer creek state park. I used to hunt some private party way out past mount sterling, and I'd see signs for Deer Creek, but i've never been. I may need to try to check that out when I come back.

 

As for the eagles...other raptors are always a concern, which is why you usually get yourself or your dog near the hark after it is on the ground with a kill as other raptors can and will try to kill them. Usually when I am in a field if the resident RT's don't fly away by the time I am out of my comfort zone, i'll usually try to scare them, or if I see them coming after my birds. The RT's won't usually connect as they don't want to risk getting hurt themselves, but its always a possibility.

[Otis Nice]

I've never hunted deer creek state park. I used to hunt some private party way out past mount sterling, and I'd see signs for Deer Creek, but i've never been. I may need to try to check that out when I come back.

 

As for the eagles...other raptors are always a concern, which is why you usually get yourself or your dog near the hark after it is on the ground with a kill as other raptors can and will try to kill them. Usually when I am in a field if the resident RT's don't fly away by the time I am out of my comfort zone, i'll usually try to scare them, or if I see them coming after my birds. The RT's won't usually connect as they don't want to risk getting hurt themselves, but its always a possibility.

 

You bring your fighting falcon birb's my way and I'll offer security. Promise you that.

[jerrodh]

This thread delivered. My wife hates all the Falconry talk I gave her but now I want a fucking hawk. Will I ever get one? No but much respect to those who do.

[turbospec29]

Can she take care of the stay cats that keep pissing on my grill cover?

[RC K9]

Can she take care of the stay cats that keep pissing on my grill cover?

 

I'm not sure if she would go after cats or not. They'd have to be smaller if she did, but that poses a whole other problem. One being liability. I don't need her nailing someone's pet cat or chihuahua then I have a lawsuit on my hands. Once a bird is wed to prey, I can't really unwed it. Once something is food in it's mind, it's food, so I can't tell it not to go after certain animals.

 

Sounds like you need some divine natural intervention. Kind of like this:

 

[RC K9]

The irony at the end of that video has me cracking up every time.

[El Karacho1647545492]

Would love to see this conversation with the neighbors. Both of you lounging in the yard drinking a beer with a raptor circling above.

 

Hey neighbor, what ya doin?

 

*beer slurp*

 

Huntin' possum

 

*neighbor looks skyward, looks back, retreats to suburban safety*

 

*a couple hours after the kill*

 

 

"HEY JAKE, DINNER'S ON, YOU WANNA TRY SOME?"

[RC K9]

Here is Ventress killing a rat last week. Nowhere near as exciting as a rabbit chase, but hey, a kill is a kill. Any day you get your bird back is a good one. Any day you get a kill AND get your bird back, is a great one.

 

Anyway, you can hear my annoyance that she carried the rat before eating it, but she is making a lot of progress in that department.

 

[RC K9]

The stars aligned yesterday and we got our first bunny.

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1005&pictureid=8907

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1005&pictureid=8908

 

http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1005&pictureid=8909

[Lauren]

How does the guy at auburn fly the eagle and get it to come back before home games? Is this falconry or some wizard shit

[Orion]

Nice.

[RC K9]

How does the guy at auburn fly the eagle and get it to come back before home games? Is this falconry or some wizard shit

 

Have a vid? You usually fly a bird when they are hungry. They come back for food. Let the bird fly and "look for food", then recall it with food on your glove, aka a "tidbit."

[xlr8tn]

Would be cool.sport to get into but lots of dedication needed. Over the years sitting in my stand I've seen a few Hawks make kills. I see alot of Cooper's hawks and have seen a few take small birds. A couple times I've seen redtails take a squirrel. It's a violent thing for the first 10 seconds. That seems to be about the time it takes one to get a squirrel under control

Blows my mind every time. Last year right at dawn I saw a barred owl finishing up it's night hunting up the ridge next to me. I was wanting it to catch something so bad I could taste it. That would be cool to see in person.

[RC K9]

Would be cool.sport to get into but lots of dedication needed. Over the years sitting in my stand I've seen a few Hawks make kills. I see alot of Cooper's hawks and have seen a few take small birds. A couple times I've seen redtails take a squirrel. It's a violent thing for the first 10 seconds. That seems to be about the time it takes one to get a squirrel under control

Blows my mind every time. Last year right at dawn I saw a barred owl finishing up it's night hunting up the ridge next to me. I was wanting it to catch something so bad I could taste it. That would be cool to see in person.

 

Yeah, it's a lot of dedication, but it's insane to be a part of it. RT's are great on squirrels. I could use my HH on them, but RT's have much more powerful feet and squirrels are a lot harder to kill so an RT would be the ideal bird for that. There are all kinds of squirrel vids on youtube with people flying redtails.

[Lauren]

Auburn fly's two different eagles. A bald eagle and a golden eagle. The golden is sidelined this year due to health so only the bald eagle spirit is in play. Are you fimilar with the trainers

 

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/si/college-football/2015/09/29/look-inside-how-auburns-iconic-war-eagles-are-trained-their-gameday-flights%3Fsource=dam

[RC K9]

I'm not familiar with the trainers. Like it says in the article, food is the motivator. They aren't flying fat birds. The birds are hungry when they fly them, that's why the birds return to them. If they were to do that with birds that weren't hungry, it's very likely those eagles would peace out.