graham01

Althought i wouldnt tell anyone to get a Gos as a first bird without an experienced Falconer to help,neither would i suggest a Harris.I started with,like many my age and older a Kestrel,and again i wouldnt suggest one of these as P/R Kestrels weights can be tricky to manage.A Redtail or Common Buzzard would be my choice as they will both teach you respect for a BOP (and thier feet!),they will teach you good weight management and husbandry.Harrises are too easy IMO Jasper that bow is a corker lol,i had one for my female Buzzard you could have limbo'd underneath it was mate from blue water pi

This is my point Ross,imagine all those lads who lost harrises getting Goses as there first bird either a countryside full of lost Goses or more likely bins full of dead goses.Id rather put one lad off who just might make it than encourage 20 dickheads who dont know a hawks arse from its elbow.Ive said all along mate i dont think your wrong regaurding getting a Gos,if you have a ggod head on your shoulders but how do you distinguish on here the good from the bad?.You got your Gos off Keith because he knew you were a good lad who had what it takes.We dont have that luxury on here mate. goo

i agree, but for every f****d up gos for sale there are twice as many harris hawks lost its all down to the person and how much actual knowledge they have and how much land and time they have on there hands to fly a gos. look at my brother,the first bop he seen was mine and keith gave him his imprint franie to fly which the brother manned,done the initail traing and flew him successfully with me giving him a few pointers along the way and me being a beginner myself. it can be done with someone who has a good head on there shoulders and knowing the basic,s as my brother proved This is

dont forget hte harris hawk. i seen my mates female bag more than 2 goses on a few occasions. and they wernt muggins either. but for flying feather then it has to be mugged for the harris and redtail imo. i liked nothing mre than flying ducks with my gos last year. for that kind of sport ya need a gos imho. Your mentor was Keith Barker wasnt he? theres the difference in you having a Gos as a first bird and this guy,you had someone guiding you through it all:victory: yes he was but your wrong in that keith guided me through it all. he mentored me for a season when i had no bir

dont forget hte harris hawk. i seen my mates female bag more than 2 goses on a few occasions. and they wernt muggins either. but for flying feather then it has to be mugged for the harris and redtail imo. i liked nothing mre than flying ducks with my gos last year. for that kind of sport ya need a gos imho. Your mentor was Keith Barker wasnt he? theres the difference in you having a Gos as a first bird and this guy,you had someone guiding you through it all:victory:

Mate,like Jasper said,with a sensible head or the right mentor that has good experience,there is no reason why you couldnt have a Gos BUT you cannot take advice from Harrishawkers about Goshawks! The only bit i will disagree with that Jasper posted is weight management experience.Most Harrishawkers weight management is lax at best, woefull at worst,Harris fly at so many different weights that an idiot could get them to fly free(and there are thousands to prove that)Goses,well almost anything else really, have a very tight hunting weight range and will be easily lost if not adhered to.If none o

VERY!.You can get away with flying a Harris on a weekend,you will never get anywere flying a Falcon flying it less than 4 times a week,idealy six.The weight management is far mor crucial as is your telemetry skill,if hunting it you will track your falcon weekly if pursuit hawking and for a good few miles lol.You need far more land for Falcons also,we are talking thousands of acres.Training is pretty straight forward,more difficult with a Gamehawk and a more expensive passtime.

Flying free now mate,check out my other thread http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/162330-afew-video-clips-of-our-perexgytrsaker/

Many thanks to Alan (trappa)for lending us a pigeon trap yesterday,hes a top bloke

Crows and Gulls for me,ill be interested to see if you can catch a Magpie with a Kestrel! ive caught a few various with an imprint Kes but ive never heard of anyone catching anything bigger than a grey partridge with one and that was flown in a cast with a lannerette.Good luck matey ,keep us updated. Cheers mate will do. ive heard of a few taking magies but only a few but i will try my best.is that with your new bird looks a great bird. bring on the season and good luck. Atb Matt Yeah,its with our PerexGyr/Saker,slow going with this one

Crows and Gulls for me,ill be interested to see if you can catch a Magpie with a Kestrel! ive caught a few various with an imprint Kes but ive never heard of anyone catching anything bigger than a grey partridge with one and that was flown in a cast with a lannerette.Good luck matey ,keep us updated.

Cracking shots Jay ,Im sat looking at this PerexG/S wishing the training away lol.

When accidents happen its really tragic,when someone causes the death of a bird through their own mismanagment its even more tragic.To tether a Hawk/Falcon/Owl in an area were it can reach a vunerable bird is just unacceptable in my book.

Some pics of her now she is home with us

My advice about forum land is trust no one, % are just full of shit,spouting what they have read in books or regurgatating other peoples threads and knowledge.Find someone who will let you tag along,prefrebly someone who has flown more than a Harris and learn from them.Ive read so much stuff on forums from guys who sound the bollocks and when you meet them ,they aint .Some exellent Falconers out there and if im honest i do trust a few ive never met but ill know someone who does know them.The amount of people who comer on forums saying "hi there,im interested in getting into Hawks so im here t