Lures & Gosses

[ChrisGos]

I would be interested in hearing from the Gos flyers out there. The question is how do you recall your Gos? Is it to the fist only, the lure only or a mixture of both. I know that most imprints are only ever called to the lure but what about the guys that are flying PR birds...

ATB Chris

[Hardcore Hawker]

I fly an imprint male to the lure only, it can seem like a pain sometimes and it would be easier to use the fist at times but i have resisted so far and have a better mannered bird because he has no glove / food association.

[Bones]

I fly me PR female to the fist and lure but if any distance recalls are required i have to use the lure as she slow to recall to the fist at times but instant to the lure a bit of a pain at times as she can get wet from the ground but it works for me lol

PAUL

[Keith Barker]

hello chris,
i fly an imprint male he is an eyass and my first imprint goshawk, i flew him to the lure until he had around forty kills under his belt and then started to fly him to the fist gradually, i found that luring the bird had its disadvantages with manling and ending up with a soaked train being a couple of resons why i wanted him to come to the fist.
he is as keen now to the fist as he was to the lure.
keith

[FireAsh123]

well you know my situation chris but thought id post incase anyone else is interested. i fly mine to the lure only as i had problems in the beggining of training. its my only recall. and its a pain when damp to say the least. i call to the lure with a small tit bit then have another bit on the glove and he jumps on. the same is true when he is on kills to. im hoping to get him on the glove next year and do things properly. he isnt great over distances but great in the woods. he will keep flying behind me to see where i am but as soon as we are in the open he stops at the edge.
for anyone else that doesnt know he is pr

ash

[SSL]

I fly a parent reared female to the fist in the field.

I did lure her last year, when I didnt have enough daylight to fly I would do a single 600 yard + call, (with the help of an assistant) up a large hill.

She got a full crop each time.

I've never used the lure other than for this, I hope should I ever be in the smelly brown stuff, the lure will act as a Magnet to a greedy Goshawk.

Steve.

[GoodFooter]

I have a PR female. I use both. 50 yrd or less I tend to call to the fist any longer to the lure mainly because I'm any distance the lure is a hell of a lot quicker, not just for her to start flying but she really flaps those wing when locked on the lure which has got to be good for fitness and simulates a flight.

[Stu Bailey]

At the mo im mainly useing a carcuss but he maybe a bit higher than his best weight,ive found by myself & others that a gos thats killing is sometimes hard to get down with a grubby chick leg.
Though at a slightly lower weight he comes back looking for me after an un successful flight.

Atb Stu..

[page whatley]

Hi, lure only once in awhile she'll fly to the fist. only if she's missed, and theres no chance at asecond slip. She's a wild imprint, and does mantle on the lure. I didn't train her (third owner). She's been a handful but I've learn alot from her.

[PrinceOfTheWesternDesert]

first gos i ever had was a tiercel that i took out of a nest at about 15 days old,,
i trained him only to the fist,, and had killled about 15 bunnies when i went hawking with another goshawker, with a tiercel the same age from the same region,,he was a renowned shortwinger who had alot of experience flying desert quail,,
there was a world of difference between my bird and his,,
my bird had a very dry tail,,my bird screamed,,my bird didnt take the hood well,,,
i was a very exposed beginner,,
but i was young and proud(stupid) and i still loved my bird,,,and i caught the first rabbit,,,
but the biggest difference between his handling and mine was how fast he could get his bird back on his fist after a miss,,
his bird was lure trained,, and would come long distances fast,, and thump into his lure,, for a tiny little piece of meat,, and then with another quick move he had his bird up on his fist again,, and would be walking the brush with his bird on his fist , and tucking the lure away before i could take it all in,,
my bird on the other hand,,was always slow to come back,, i didnt mind it because he always seemed to catch a rabbit every day,, but i spent 5min coaxing him out of a tree i dont know how many times,,
after seeing the difference,, i have always lure trained every bird i have ever handled,, and it has been worth the trouble,,

[Keith Robert Talbot]

I fly an imprint male to the lure only, it can seem like a pain sometimes and it would be easier to use the fist at times but i have resisted so far and have a better mannered bird because he has no glove / food association.

Please expand, does this prevent problems with screaming etc or just cut out aggression. i also fly an imprinted male and from early training saw no reason to treat him any differently to any other bird i have flown so fly to fist and lure, his response is good and never had any problems with aggresion which i out down to getting him hunting quickly. He does however scream still (2ND season now) though it is getting better and certainly not as bad as last season.

Keith

[SparsTheOne]

I fly nell to both,but mainly the to the fist,as on wet days it means I can hunt longer,as wet wing and tail feathers end hunt trips quickly.



jase.

[OutFlying]

Fly my imprint male to the lure only, recalled to a very small reward but not fed up from the lure - the feed up takes place away from the lure.

No mantling ever, no aggression neither, recall spot on.

Jim.

[Jack]

I have flown a lot of passage accipiters, and one imprint goshawk. By accipiters, I am meaning Cooper's and Sharpies. I have had a male and a female goshawk, the female being a brancher, the male an imprint. I have always trained my accipiters to hunt strictly from my fist and not to follow on, branching tree to tree. I have always been for feathers, and in hunting birds you have to fly the hawk strictly from your fist if you intend to have exceptional hawking. Or it was that way for me. So I would do a great deal of fist carrying and training. I do not call the hawk to the fist for food. The reward for that is that it will produce slips for the hawk. It is a hunting platform if you will. So the hawk will always want to be there while hunting. I never have to recall the hawk, unless of course it is on point over the put in, which is exceptable. I then make in and refist the hawk before I go for a reflush. I seldom try to effect a reflush because the quarry has already been flown in by the hawk and is not very likely to fly again. I make all my hawks to the lure however, and I never use the lure without a reward on it. Unless of course it is a dire emergency and I have no time to load it. I have gone an entire season without using the lure once for recall. I use it on each hunt to transfer the hawk off a kill. I can load a tiny bit of meat on it and toss it just out of her reach so that she has to move to get it. I will pin the kill down so that she can not take it with her. Once she has eaten the lure reward I will have hidden the kill except possibly for the head, which is a further reward tossed on the ground where the kill took place. I then offer the fist and the hawk loads up. The hunt resumes. During the first season with the imprinted gos male, he never took perch anywhere except on my fist or at my feet if I did not offer the fist. He never went to tree or pole. He would at times fly around looking for the escapee if there was one, and eventually return to the fist. If I did not offer the fist he would usually circle me and land right at my feet. I would then offer the fist and he would load up. This sort of training takes a lot of time and patience, but anyone can do it.

Jack

[SSL]

my bird on the other hand,,was always slow to come back,, i didnt mind it because he always seemed to catch a rabbit every day,, but i spent 5min coaxing him out of a tree i dont know how many times,,
after seeing the difference,, i have always lure trained every bird i have ever handled,, and it has been worth the trouble,,

I'm no Goshawk expert but I think you'll find that there was more to this than using a lure.

Steve.

[CJTaylor]

It is always a good idea to train any bird to the lure, i always used and will use lures for pr gosses,havin flown gosses extensively ive found occasionally when they miss a kill and put up a tree or so, they arent sulkin or moody as many people read or hear about them, they actually switch completely of for a few mins, as theyve became so focused on the previous flight. ive seen well handled and trained gosses miss ,then put in a bush at head height and not notice the garnished fist at all even though they are looking right at it! then they suddenly startle as if its suddenly appeared! and thats with a fist at their beak, so yes lure train the goss as this can help you in real diff situations, but also try just leaving completely alone for 5 mins or more [ this is a supprisingly long time when in the field ] to it settles, and let the bird switch back on to you, then present your fist,you will get a much better response...colin

[Tom Kent Gos]

I trained her to a lure when she was an eyass but I didnt need to use it much to be honest and now she wont come to a lure at all, everything is to the fist. I dont carry a lure now but I will re install it at some point as its well handy to have a lure bird. My fault she wont come to a lure I didnt use it enough, but has not been a problem so far she seems wedded to the fist and will come amazing distances to it (some times):D

Tom

[CJTaylor]

I trained her to a lure when she was an eyass but I didnt need to use it much to be honest and now she wont come to a lure at all, everything is to the fist. I dont carry a lure now but I will re install it at some point as its well handy to have a lure bird. My fault she wont come to a lure I didnt use it enough, but has not been a problem so far she seems wedded to the fist and will come amazing distances to it (some times):D

Tom
Tom people mostly harris flyers can be astounded at the distance a well managed pr goss will fly from to the glove, but it is always advisable to lure train, just retrain her to the lure, giving her good feeds of quality food on the lure for a week or so, youl find she will soon turn back onto it...colin