Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been really busy flying Bullet and training dogs.

Bullet has been a dream bird thus far. His hunting weight has leveled off at 260-274 grams. As long as he is in that range I can expect Harris Hawk like behaviour (nice, easy going, and easy to handle). I can fly him above 275 grams, but then the handling gets technical because he wants to be possessive and hop around with the kill. Bullet has only carried twice since I've been flying him and both of those times his weight was above 275 grams. In other words, as long as I don't fly him fat I can expect a great day. If I fly him fat, then I am asking for trouble. He is still feather perfect with his orginal tail. I am waiting for the day I'll have to imp, but it hasn't happened yet.

I have changed my trade off technique and I really like how it has worked out. Bullet always waits for me to get to him before he begins eating. I have begun showing him the lure as I approach and he drags his kill to the lure where he then eats off the lure as I put the catch in the bag. This has been really handy when he catches in heavy bushes or under a car. He pops out of the bush or from under the car looking for his reward. I was worried about losing game at first, but so far (30+ head of game) I haven't lost any due to this technique.

Most of the hawking we have been doing is urban hawking on private land. A lot of the slips are from the truck, but we also beat hedges for english sparrows. I've been running dogs in the fields and there are still no slips yet. The other guys tell me the birds will arrive in the fields about October or November. At that point I'll transition to field hawking and quail hawking over my pointing dogs.

I have some great picks of Bullet, but the photobucket option isn't showing up below. When I figure out how to post pics again I'll add them on...