Newbie To Hare Netting

[BlackdogPete 0]

We are fortunate enough to have a very healthy hare population. Every year I shoot a good load that are visible from the roads, just to stop unwanted attention. I am increasingly keen to try and relocate some to local estates.

 

I've mucked around with longnets and ferrets a bit, many years ago and I have been involved in a couple of large daytime hare captures, so I have a basic understanding but am far from an expert and have a few questions.

 

A hundred yard quickset system seems to me to be a good starting point to me, but what spec should I be looking for in a hare specific net? Mesh size, height, weight etc.

 

Am I being overly optimistic trying to do this solo?

[J Darcy 5,871]

If the mesh is 4Z some hares will rip straight through it. You can catch the odd hare working solo, but thats all it will be. The net needs to be set where the hares naturally run to get any success doing it without a team of beaters IMO.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

We are fortunate enough to have a very healthy hare population. Every year I shoot a good load that are visible from the roads, just to stop unwanted attention. I am increasingly keen to try and relocate some to local estates.

 

I've mucked around with longnets and ferrets a bit, many years ago and I have been involved in a couple of large daytime hare captures, so I have a basic understanding but am far from an expert and have a few questions.

 

A hundred yard quickset system seems to me to be a good starting point to me, but what spec should I be looking for in a hare specific net? Mesh size, height, weight etc.

 

Am I being overly optimistic trying to do this solo?

 

Hi BlackdogPete,...if you have observed guys doing the job,..you will know that the prime requisite for capturing hares,..live,..is in the positioning of the long nets (and you will up your odds by using several hundred yards of netting)...but a major requirement , as you would know, is in the boxing and careful handling of the captured animals...

You also need to recruit enough help, (beaters) to encourage the hares to move forwards towards the hedgerows....Your nets will usually be placed behind them.

 

Netting hares by day, is obviously a different procedure to taking them by night....

 

If you fancy a few drops and need some extra mesh to cover more ground,.then do drop me a PM......

 

All the best, Phil.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Phil Lloyd

[RossM 8,119]

 

We are fortunate enough to have a very healthy hare population. Every year I shoot a good load that are visible from the roads, just to stop unwanted attention. I am increasingly keen to try and relocate some to local estates.

I've mucked around with longnets and ferrets a bit, many years ago and I have been involved in a couple of large daytime hare captures, so I have a basic understanding but am far from an expert and have a few questions.

A hundred yard quickset system seems to me to be a good starting point to me, but what spec should I be looking for in a hare specific net? Mesh size, height, weight etc.

Am I being overly optimistic trying to do this solo?

 

Hi BlackdogPete,...if you have observed guys doing the job,..you will know that the prime requisite for capturing hares,..live,..is in the positioning of the long nets (and you will up your odds by using several hundred yards of netting)...but a major requirement , as you would know, is in the boxing and careful handling of the captured animals...

You also need to recruit enough help, (beaters) to encourage the hares to move forwards towards the hedgerows....Your nets will usually be placed behind them.

 

Netting hares by day, is obviously a different procedure to taking them by night....

 

If you fancy a few drops and need some extra mesh to cover more ground,.then do drop me a PM......

 

All the best, Phil.

 

 

Grand offer Phil..

[neil cooney 10,416]

JMHO but to net a large number of hares in the daytime it must be as close to a military operation as any country sport can be.

From the setting of the nets to the organizing of the beaters to what has already been said, the men on the nets who'll be boxing the hares. IMO it's not something to chance your arm at, but if you have a large hare population and will be stocking them where they're scarce then well done to you.

Anythings better than shooting them.

 

Again IMO, you'd be mad to not take Phil up on his offer and remember to keep your mouth shut and your ears open if you do join him, LOL.

[BlackdogPete 0]

Thank you all for your replies.

 

I am very aware of the limitations of what I am proposing. Really I am just putting my toe in the water, I think it will be an interesting project, a chance to learn some new skills and the right thing to do with surplus hares. If I have any degree of success I would happily scale up, but for the moment I'm happy keeping it low key.

 

I was thinking of catching at night, possibly using a quad, or two, to drive hares. I think I know the ground and the hare population well enough to stand a fair chance of getting a net in the right place, but I do agree that a hundred yards of net is tiny in a twenty acre field! Don't get me wrong, I don't expect it to be easy, but where's the fun and satisfaction in easy?

 

Phil, thank you for your kind offer, I will bear it in mind. You did actually look over this ground with me six months ago! If you remember anything about it I would appreciate your discretion.

 

To get back to my original post, what spec should I be looking for in a hare specific net? From reading the forum I see that Nelson has a good reputation as a supplier, but are there any others I should be considering?

 

All the best,

 

Pete

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Hi Pete,...yes I do remember our meeting,..it was great to chat ,..and yes, you certainly know your ground.

 

I am suprised that the job has not been done ?

 

If I recall,.the conversation and indeed,.the speculation, was centred upon actual mesh size,.best suited for hanking up the hares..Obviously,.very few teams can aford to keep keep a loft full of large mesh, 'hare nets',...it would not be a viable proposition,..especialy now that the organised hare coursing scene is lying dormant,..hoping against hope, to return some day ...so,..as you know, most long nets, stop nets , ditch nets,..(unless purpose made by canny artisans),..are either 2" or 2 1/2" mesh.

In my opinion,..although not ideal or in any way comparable to the bumper bundles of netting that the guys utilised, to remove and transfer live hares , back in the day,..I feel sure that a victory is achievable...

 

Why not suck it and see...

[J Darcy 5,871]

Another thing worth mentioning; 50 yards of netting in the right spot is better than a 1000 yards in the wrong spot.

 

Last season I netted hares for a film crew, and having never set eyes on the land before I knew I'd had my work cut out. Pressure was on.

However, a quick spin around with the keeper soon saw places that were natural bottlenecks for the hares, where three fields met and a farm track crossed into more land. This proved to be the sweet spot, and it was well covered with 150 yards. Thankfully we had a team of beaters too, as without them you'll struggle to get any sense of urgency into the hare and she'll shy away from the mesh sometimes. You want them going to the net with commitment, until its too late.

Another thing worth mentioning, is to put a 90 degree corner on the ends of all the nets, the amount of hares you'll get with them is unreal.

I've netted hundreds of hares day and night with a variety of long nets, also gate netted them and even caught them in purse nets set on known runs, but from experience, I have to say that without beaters you'll not catch many to make much of a difference.....

 

Make sure you post a few pics...

[Giro 2,648]

J have you any footage or pictures of a days netting ??

[J Darcy 5,871]

J have you any footage or pictures of a days netting ??

I do matey, I have lots, but I need them.... :victory:

[Leeview 791]

JMHO but to net a large number of hares in the daytime it must be as close to a military operation as any country sport can be.

From the setting of the nets to the organizing of the beaters to what has already been said, the men on the nets who'll be boxing the hares. IMO it's not something to chance your arm at, but if you have a large hare population and will be stocking them where they're scarce then well done to you.

Anythings better than shooting them.

 

Again IMO, you'd be mad to not take Phil up on his offer and remember to keep your mouth shut and your ears open if you do join him, LOL.

 

 

Thank you all for your replies.

 

I am very aware of the limitations of what I am proposing. Really I am just putting my toe in the water, I think it will be an interesting project, a chance to learn some new skills and the right thing to do with surplus hares. If I have any degree of success I would happily scale up, but for the moment I'm happy keeping it low key.

 

I was thinking of catching at night, possibly using a quad, or two, to drive hares. I think I know the ground and the hare population well enough to stand a fair chance of getting a net in the right place, but I do agree that a hundred yards of net is tiny in a twenty acre field! Don't get me wrong, I don't expect it to be easy, but where's the fun and satisfaction in easy?

 

Phil, thank you for your kind offer, I will bear it in mind. You did actually look over this ground with me six months ago! If you remember anything about it I would appreciate your discretion.

 

To get back to my original post, what spec should I be looking for in a hare specific net? From reading the forum I see that Nelson has a good reputation as a supplier, but are there any others I should be considering?

 

All the best,

 

Pete

some good points there Neil on catching the hares.

now blackdog pete Why isnt there any hares where you intend to release them? You have plenty where you are(enough to be shooting them) and the numbers regenerate themselves annually, it happened on many coursing estates preban always a good head of hares year after year,because they were suited to the land and bred well to keep numbers up. You could move 50% of your resident hares to another estate and never see them again if their not suited with the land,where as your stock will reproduce and recover their numbers enough so that you would nt notice

Y.I.S Leeview

[Ferret123456 21]

I remember seeing Johnny Kingdom long netting hares for relocation on the TV , it was a good watch but I can't find it on YouTube

[Ferret123456 21]

I think it was called Johnnys new Kingdom

[BlackdogPete 0]

Leeview, you make a very good point. The only reason we have an abundance of hares is down to first rate habitat and fox control. I'm only prepared to move hares onto ground where they stand a similar chance. Fortunately with all the agri-environment schemes that most landowners are involved in now, good habitat is much more widespread than it has historically been. If the population has been wiped out then there is nothing to regenerate from, which is where I see my little project fitting in.

[Fly The Boy 339]

Still allowed to net hares over here with coursing club,,,,,,,,,,,going the last 30 years,,,,,fucckers bite........