Got a New Hood

Got a new hood from Robert Huber today. Can't wait to start using it.

First Kill of the Season

We had to go to the VA in Dallas today and i wasn't even sure i would

get out to hunt but we made it back in time. The weather was a bit warmer than yesterday and he was a few grams heavier than i would have liked.

I have this field that is basically the spill off from a truck salvage yard. In the center of the field is a large stock pond that has managed to keep some of its water. The owners are long time friends of my wife.The lad next door who is 12 wanted to come with me and my wife. For my wife to come on a hunt is something pretty special. As has been previously written she came into falconry kicking and screaming but has totally fallen in love with it the only part she cant cope with is the dispatching. We started to flush the field with lots of large grasshoppers flying everywhere. Within a few minutes of entering the we kicked up our first bunny of the day, Shiloh actually didn't see it but saw another and chased after that. We started to flush towards some brier bushes and some other broken down truck beds. All of a sudden there was a wing over a crash of brush and briers and one very excited hawk. I dispatched the rabbit and let Shiloh break in and eat. We traded off OK for the lure and headed home. One very nice rabbit in the bag. I did have an issue with Shiloh wanting to carry the rabbit off and the picture shows him completely covering the rabbit and not letting anyone near it. But i think once we get a few more in the bag it will be a different story. 

The boy next door had a great day, my wife was more excited about the hunt than she let on. So it was the end of a prett y perfect day as we got some great news that my wife doesn't have cancer as previously diagnosed and really the day couldn't have been any better than it was.

False start

The weekend got off to a false start for one reason or another, hoping to go out tonight if the falconry gods let me. The good thing is we saw rabbit sign.

Just a quick note and links to some other sites.

Ryan VanZant has a great post on Transmitters.

Just got my Pineo Swivel in.

Also Duck and Dove season are either happening or about to start , Oklahoma wildlife department have just published there Waterfowl Guide. I got my Oklahoma Wildfowl permit and my Federal Duck Stamp yesterday. Maybe if this drought lightens up it will get some use

A funny video from the UK

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Spotting Scopes & Binoculars

After our little trapping trip it became very obvious that we where lacking on the optics department. In the past with money being tight i have always gone with cheap binoculars . Bushnell and Tasco, mainly because if a 3 year old gets hold of them it doesn't matter too much if they break.

The wife (Latrell) said its time to get a decent pair of binoculars and a spotting scope. Having looked around at different makes , types and magnifications i was left somewhat confused by the whole process. With photography its really simple if you want a new lens or camera then its easy to find conjectural reviews down to distortion of the lens, how they hold up, speed of shooting. This is what i'm used to having seached the net this isn't the case with binoculars or spotting scope. Many people say you pay for what you get, many people say well there clear and sharp. It doesn't really help when deciding...

There is a new Carbelas in Allen Texas, the only way i found any help with the whole matter was to do a side by side comparison on the binoculars front, Leupold, Nikon, Redfield ( part of Leupold and Stevens), Basrask and Tracker.

I had set a price point of 100 - 200 dollars for my binoculars and a price point of $150 - $200 for the spotting scope. The result came down to a Nikon 10x50 pair of Binoculars that where on sale. Very sharp, no color distortion around the edges of distant objects and fairly well built.

The scope was a different matter, everything i saw was well disappointing to say the list, lots of distortion, very soft focus so ended up walking away and deciding to try a few other shops.

I was wanting a scope from Hawke Optics, after a phone call with them ( they was out of stock) i wasn't that impressed. They wouldn't have the item i wanted until early October , Hawk and Falcon trapping season is now not something i really wanted to wait for. They wanted to upsell me to the next level up ($250+).  I'm sure their scopes are very nice but i wanted to check them out before purchasing, something they were reluctant to do as i had already set a price bracket i was willing to go to. They are a new brand to the USA from my home country. So i wanted to know for the price bracket what did they compare to ? Simple enough question i thought but one they couldn't answer.

So of to the local Gander mountain i went, Again i did a side by side compassion and ended up getting a Redfield 20x60x60 Spotting scope and so far i am delighted with my purchase.  They retail for $220 dollars and i really felt i got my monies worth. Construction is second to know these are solid. Come with a small tripod and carry case.

Over the next few weeks i'll be trying them out in really earnest so i report back on how they do but for now i couldn't be happier with my purchase and how they have preformed so far.

Oh and we stated flying Shiloh to the Creance this week.

Labor Day

Spent the weekend at Hackberry Flats looking for Redtails and Falcons. The red area in the picture is the refuge area and you are not allowed to enter into this area after October 12th.

We have gone ti the flats every year a couple of times in the fall and normally the area is under water with plenty of birds flying around. More often than not you can spot many adult Redtails, and Harriers. In previous years i haven't looked for anything else but this year is a little different as i wanted to see what falcons where there.

Ryan VanZant went trapping there in 2009 and Caught a Prairie Falcon. Because of the heat and the lack of rain the landscape is vastly different. The lake is only down to a few acres of water and the normally flooded wet plains are dry. We spotted a few ducks and Canadian geese on the lake sure but that was about it. I did spot a Falcon by the primitive camp grounds diving in and out of the long grass.

There should be 2-3 feet of water here. I want to go back in a few weeks on my own and try trapping again but unless some rain comes really soon there probably wouldn't be much point.