What Is Lure Coursing?
Lure Coursing is a humane sport which attempts to imitate the coursing of the rabbit or hare by sighthounds but without the hare. The sighthounds chase an artificial lure, usually a white kitchen garbage bag, sometimes tanned rabbit skins, or fake fur strips. To set up the “lure” coursing course a line composed of braided fishing line (usually 100 pound test ‘trolling’ line) is passed around a series of pulleys staked to the ground within a large field (at least 5 acres). The lures (most clubs use at least two lures set 10 feet apart on the line – this reduces contention among the hounds at the end) are attached to the main line and the whole system is driven from a lure machine, a device constructed from a 1955 to 1962 Ford starter motor mounted in a frame. This particular type of starter motor has a long drive shaft upon which is mounted a drive wheel that rather resembles two very sturdy pie plates welded back to back — the line runs in the groove between the plates. Since the star
