Originally Posted by
goshawkr
I have been using these systems for about 20 years. Like all things, there is a +/- trade off.
On the + side, they are a much quicker way to secure a hawk/falcon than any other setup. Tie up time is a few seconds as opposed to a minute or so with other systems. Also, once you get the leash tied to the length you want, it just stays with the perch and every time you clip them up the leash is correct. One other + is that there are more swivels, overall, in the system which reduces the likelihood that the leash will foul.
On the - side, these clips are not secure. They should only be used in contained environments (indoors, in a fully enclosed weathering yard, in the mew, etc.) where it will not be extremely dangerous to the hawk or other hawks if it gets loose. For example, don't tie off two hawks with this kind of a setup in the same weathering yard unless you are confident that if one of the hawks gets loose and they make contact with each other that both will be OK. Failure comes when the jesses move just right against the clip and slip off. It took me some time to realize how this was happening. I can now demonstrate it, but it is very complex to describe verbally. This can come on the first bate, or not ever happen in 4,000 bates, but it can happen. Failure also happens when the spring in the clip fatigues and fails. This usually happens after lots of use, but again can occur at any time including the first time the spring is compressed.
These systems also work very well for glove leashes as a backup restraint for when the jesses slip through the fingers during an unexpected bate.
Reply With Quote