Lamping
Lamping is the name given to hunting at night with the aid of a powerful lamp and lurcher. The object is to get yourself and a lurcher dog downwind of feeding game, and in the correct position, between the game and cover, then to illuminate the game. Once game is in the spot, release the lurcher, which runs to the game, chases and catches. Lamping, for reasons that are obvious, is best conducted on dark, windy nights when there is little or no moon.

Catching game on the lamp is considerably easier than catching it during the day and for this reason any type of lurcher from bedlington whippet to deerhound greyhound can be worked on the lamp. Because game is easier to take on the lamp, lamping is a good way of introducing a young lurcher to its quarry.

Rabbits are the most popular game worked at night using a lamp. Hare and fox are also frequently taken on the lamp. Large numbers of rabbits can be taken by lamping and it is not uncommon for a lurcherman to take twenty or thirty rabbits during a night's lamping. Lamping is also an extremely useful pest control tool in areas where rabbit numbers are excessive.

Some lurchermen claim their dogs are capable of taking a hundred plus rabbits in a single night's lamping. This number has no doubt has been achieved by the very best lurchers on land that is infested by rabbits. However, I would argue that it doesn't happen quite as often as it is claimed. For a lurcher to catch a hundred rabbits, even with a strike rate of 75% which would be phenomenal, a lurcher would have to make 133 runs during the night. Only the fittest and most capable of lurchers would be able to achieve this number.

Hares are another quarry worked on the lamp. I am almost ashamed to say that in the past I have taken hares on the lamp. The brown hare is relatively easy to catch on the lamp. They become confused and often run straight at the lamp. It is true to say that many a lurcher capable of catching a hare on the lamp would find it extremely difficult to catch the same hare during the daytime. The steep decline in the number of hares in certain areas is without question due to the popularity of lamping.

Lurchermen also use the lamp to spot foxes at night. Once the fox is spotted, the lamp is switched off and the fox is called-in. Various methods can be employed to call fox within running range, anything from sucking the back of the hand, rubbing a piece of polystyrene on glass to hi-tech fox calls. The running range depends on the size of the field the fox is being called on. The smaller the field, the closer the fox has to be called to the lurcherman and dog. It is essential to gauge the distance correctly. Once a fox is judged to be in range, the lamp is again used to illuminate the fox. This on-off method of calling a fox can go on for quite some while. Once the fox is in range, a lurcher is slipped and the chase is on.

When lamping any type of game, care must be taken not to over lamp an area otherwise the wildlife becomes 'lamp-shy' and difficult to approach. Every rabbit, hare and fox in the parish runs for cover the moment a lamp is switched on.
Country Sports and Country Life is indebted to Gary Hosker , a long time contributor to IHS&F for permission to use material and photographs from his web site : http://www.lurcher.com