Tailguard on a kill. thanks again Jim.

[Gyr69]

I know plenty of people use them but this was the first time I tried mine on a kill and it does work very well. Last year my female Harris would always mantle over her kill but never had a problem with me getting my hands in to open it up for her.She kept bending her deck feathers and did manage to break one so this year I decided to try one of Jims tailguards (OutFlying) and I can say it is very well made and does the job very well and I am very happy with it. Thanks Jim top work;)


Before OUCH!

[Glyn]

Good stuff,I had one off jim for my spar,well made, essential piece of kit if you want to keep your bird in good nick.You have a nice bird there m8:D do you cope your bird?

[OutFlying]

Good to see one doing it's job in the field.

Hope it saves her tail for you Ian.

All the best,

Jim.

[Hawkmaster]

Great pictures anyone else got any?;)

[Vernon]

my male gos with one of jims tail guards on. his tail is ok for a brown bird at this time of year.
pic of him on his 99 and 100 kill.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee160/vernon_070/campics084.jpg

[Gyr69]

How the hell did I fly a full season without one?I will order another for my male soon:supz:

[Stu Bailey]

Great pictures anyone else got any?;)

In action...


http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z123/stugos1/005-5.jpg

Well into the season...

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z123/stugos1/016.jpg

[Berkut]

Here's one of Jims' Tail sheaths in use with the Spar.

[Berkut]

Eagle size arriving shortly.I'll post pics when they do.

[Hawkmaster]

Nice one Guys!

We should do an archive thread just for them Jim?

Say the word and I will give you a hand?:lol:

[Jiff]

in my first season when my bird started nailing rabbits, i used to be that pumped up, and bussy! i would make in despatch the kill open it, tie the bird off, rush back locate and sort the ferrets out, dash back to the bird to monitor her feed up and then trade off, it was never untill going back to the car or sometimes actualy back in the car that i'd remeber about my westweald tail gaurd :lol:, i never got to use it and infact gave it away on here to one of our members, after the first season sky had no white bar on her tail, all the tips had broken off, it didnt bother her one bit or stop her catching rabbits, so i could never see the point after that apart from a cosmetic view which doesnt bother me.:-|

[Berkut]

in my first season when my bird started nailing rabbits, i used to be that pumped up, and bussy! i would make in despatch the kill open it, tie the bird off, rush back locate and sort the ferrets out, dash back to the bird to monitor her feed up and then trade off, it was never untill going back to the car or sometimes actualy back in the car that i'd remeber about my westweald tail gaurd :lol:, i never got to use it and infact gave it away on here to one of our members, after the first season sky had no white bar on her tail, all the tips had broken off, it didnt bother her one bit or stop her catching rabbits, so i could never see the point after that apart from a cosmetic view which doesnt bother me.:-|

Jiff,
I want my birds to look their best.100 % feather perfect.Every falconer should strive for the same. For the effort required to put a tailguard on ,everyone should use one (even on a Harris:D)

ATB,
Neil

[Hardcore Hawker]

Agree with neil, your bird should look 100% regardless of how hard you hunt, my imprint is on 74 kills this season and only has one tip missing by about half inch which im gutted about to be honest with you, there is no excuse use your tail guard. I would also use one if i were to fly a Harris i know they have very maleable feathers but they can still bend or break especially a male who catches plenty of Rabbits.

[Jiff]

i've seen birds that would win any show, i've spoken to the owner about hunting with the bird and i've seen in he's eye's the lies he's spouting, i will tell you that once the bird hits a rabbit in thigh high bramble, you make in (properly) sort things out, the last thing on youre mind is a fn tail gaurd, and besides at that point what good would it be! you just want to get out in one piece, and to be blunt! F what the bird looks like at the end of the season as long as she's fit and healthy, we're only two months ish away from packing up, my bird looks a bit rough round the edges, but she don't miss rabbits, she at times sits tight, but if she makes a move it's one in the bag, white bar or no white bar!:lol:, if i wanted to show birds i'd have forked out for a white gyr, or a budgie/cannarie hybrid!

[Perebrine]

Why is it wild hawks don't have broken tails or feathers?
John B

[Yeoman]

i've seen birds that would win any show, i've spoken to the owner about hunting with the bird and i've seen in he's eye's the lies he's spouting, i will tell you that once the bird hits a rabbit in thigh high bramble, you make in (properly) sort things out, the last thing on youre mind is a fn tail gaurd, and besides at that point what good would it be! you just want to get out in one piece, and to be blunt! F what the bird looks like at the end of the season as long as she's fit and healthy, we're only two months ish away from packing up, my bird looks a bit rough round the edges, but she don't miss rabbits, she at times sits tight, but if she makes a move it's one in the bag, white bar or no white bar!:lol:, if i wanted to show birds i'd have forked out for a white gyr, or a budgie/cannarie hybrid!

Never used one whilst out hunting and at the end of the season my gos goes to moult with a perfect tail and somtimes thats after a full season on bunnys only, within days of putting her down she starts to break them, if i had a bird that crashed around in the carrying box id use one, breaking feathers that way is an avoidable traversty
Kev

[Yeoman]

Why is it wild hawks don't have broken tails or feathers?
John B
A bird that crashes around in the carrying box breaks more primarys and tail feathers than when hunting
Kev

[Perebrine]

I agree with you but, Trained hawks still tend to break tail feathers when on a kill, which could be bad news for a wild one.
John B

[Hardcore Hawker]

Jiff, its just another routine to adopt!! make in, dispatch, place tail guard on. as simple as that. Just out of interest what do you think others / non-falconers perception of a smashed up bird would be!! whether you give a hoot or not. my guess is they think it goes hand in hand with neglect and lack of care on the falconers part.

[Slippery Teal]

Why is it wild hawks don't have broken tails or feathers?
John B

Hi John

I put it down to they are exposed to the weather more, more preening oils in to feathers, but the key factor is food, if you catch up a wild bird up , lets say a spar for instance you pop it on the scales you would be amazed at the weight i have had a few spars here one for instance got caught with a blackbird in some pea netting this thing was round as an apple and weighed 13 oz and soon released after check over.

What i'm trying to say is we tend to have our birds in lower condition than wild birds. Thats why i love imprints as the weight difference and muscle mass to parent reared is better. Also i don't feed chicks i use what they catch.

ATB Ryan

[Perebrine]

I know what you mean about weights of wild birds. My mate was flying his falcon on a land tip, it unfortunately killed a Spar, which was already on it's own kill, he told me the spar had a chest the size of a tennis ball & hard as rock.
John B

[Jiff]

lets get one thing straight! my bird never looks smashed up! youre just been daft now!:lol: her train does look ragged especialy when wet, it's only the very tips that tend to break, all her primaries and secondries are in good order bar one, she broke her second primary trying to pull a collard dove through the roof mesh of her aviery, hedge row rabbiting usualy ends up with the bird and rabbit in a ditch full of wild rose or bramble, very few flights end in open ground, it wouldnt be impossible to fit a tail gaurd, but more painfull than not fitting it!:lol:, extracting the bird and quary without robbing the bird is always my priority, not easy i'll tell you! and as i said, then i have the ferrets to sort out, then feed up or trade off for another go at em! even when i had a tail gaurd there was so much more that i regarded more important than a tail gaurd, that as like i said it was only after the hunt was over i'd remember about it, but we're all differant i suppose! i can see the importance with stooping falcons ect, they need a full rudder at high speed other wise they'ed miss.

[Gyr69]

Jiff if you want to come over here and fly her on very large areas of open ground with tons of rabbits then drop me a pm crashing around brambles cant be much fun;)

[Jiff]

i'll bare that in mind mate, would be nice to get on some easier or should i say more pleasureable land.:yawinkle:

[Gyr69]

Another two pictures from today Jim:supz:

http://www.tekniq.org/mac1/FH20.jpg


http://www.tekniq.org/mac1/FH21.jpg

[Gyr69]

So happy with it Jim I will have another for my male PM sent;)

[Millet]

For imprint's and harris's can you not think of a design for wing guard's..:lol:..
Millet
P.s Edited to add...this is a light hearted joke by the way..

[K.Massey]

For imprint's and harris's can you not think of a design for wing guard's..:lol:..
Millet

Not all Imprints mantle on the kill....come to that not do all harrises:idea:

[CJTaylor]

In 25 years off hunting Gosses ( albeit pr) never once except when initialy training or for travelling ,used a tail gaurd on a kill , and never even lost the tail tips!! , just manage the tail on the kill , dead easy ?

[K.Massey]

just manage the tail on the kill , dead easy ?

I use a tail guard on Gabi to manage her tail on kills.... For me its just so easy to put it on her back off and take some pics if I want etc.... Gabi Has tipped 4 of her decks all but one was done taking down quarry the other was when I thought I could get away with boxing her for a move of location with out putting it on her:oops::roll: She has never done any damage to her tail while wearing it:idea:

[Gordie]

After your hawk kills its quarry why put on a tail gaurd?

[CJTaylor]

I use a tail guard on Gabi to manage her tail on kills.... For me its just so easy to put it on her back off and take some pics if I want etc.... Gabi Has tipped 4 of her decks all but one was done taking down quarry the other was when I thought I could get away with boxing her for a move of location with out putting it on her:oops::roll: She has never done any damage to her tail while wearing it:idea:

Each to their own Kev , all i know is ,if the hawk kills in an awkward spot just ease the tail out of harms way ! , never ever had a single problem with it , and have caught as much game as anyone , after all you dont see wild goss fitting gaurds , and rarely do you see damaged feathers ! feathers are designed to take the rough and tumble of a kill , most tail damage and indeed feather damage i come across is almost always bird management probs...but what ever floats your boat atb Col

[Yeoman]

Each to their own Kev , all i know is ,if the hawk kills in an awkward spot just ease the tail out of harms way ! , never ever had a single problem with it , and have caught as much game as anyone , after all you dont see wild goss fitting gaurds , and rarely do you see damaged feathers ! feathers are designed to take the rough and tumble of a kill , most tail damage and indeed feather damage i come across is almost always bird management probs...but what ever floats your boat atb Col

Spot on in 6 seasons of hunting my last gos and 4 of those were exclusively on rabbits, she never broke a tail feather, in the field the damage will be done in the tussle the hawk has with its quarry, and unless you have a mantling mess of a hawk sitting on its tail, bad perching set up and a bird bouncing around in the box breaks more feathers imo, if my gos was unsteady in the box then she would ware one, but never had to in the field.
Atb Kev

[K.Massey]

Each to their own Kev ,

True Col...same as telemetry I do prefer if I can to cover as many bases as possable:supz:

[K.Massey]

Spot on in 6 seasons of hunting my last gos and 4 of those were exclusively on rabbits, she never broke a tail feather, in the field the damage will be done in the tussle the hawk has with its quarry, and unless you have a mantling mess of a hawk sitting on its tail, bad perching set up and a bird bouncing around in the box breaks more feathers imo, if my gos was unsteady in the box then she would ware one, but never had to in the field.
Atb Kev

Yea but Kev your season is only half the duration of everyone elses:lol::butthead::lol:

[Yeoman]

Yea but Kev your season is only half the duration of everyone elses:lol::butthead::lol:

Only this one Kev:yawinkle: