Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-19
THE GAME SEASON HERE.

THE DUCKING sPORTsMEN IN LucK-THE "BIG
GUN" OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES DECoY
DEvICES-SOMETHING ABOUT DUCKS, THEIR
HAUNTS, HABITS, DC.
The game season in the Washington markets.
especially for ducks, is now fairly open. and
great activity, both among the gunners and
dealers in wild game, is apparent. Large num-
bers Of ducks are being brought up the river
on steamboats, daily, and those not consumed
here are shipped by the dealers to other markets
north and west. Most of the ducks, quail,
woodcock and plover come from the Potomac
river and Chesapeake bay, the venison from the
mountains of Virginia and the grouse and
peasants from the western states. although
mach Of the small game is brought in by local
gunners and countrymen.
FLUSH TINES FOR sPoRTsMEN.
Thus far this year ducks and other river birds
have been unusually plentiful, and the sports
men have held high carnival The shooting sea-
son, under the present game laws of Virginia,
Maryland, and the District of Columbia. COM
menees the LIST day of September and runs to the
LIST Gay of April. and the laws are quite strin-
gent. One of the radical changes made is the
adjustment Of the "big " or lOng-range guns,
used on this river for more than half century
by the old gunners. who made permanent bus
mess of this and fishing sports.
This has had the effect of creating considerable
ill-feeing between the old sports and the "new
trash." as the old ones call them the moderns
all using the double-barrel breech-loading shot
gum and shooting from the shoulder entirely.
DECOY DEVICES.
To great extent, decoy ducks and other de-
vices. such as "boxes," ''sneak boats" and
'bushwhackers' have been dispensed with. such
as were considered Indispensable in the olden
time. The 'box'' is a sort of raft. with
sunken coffin-shaped box in the center, in which
the gunner lies at full length and out of view
picking off the birds as they come in range.
Near these boxes from 100 to 500 decoy ducks
float on the water some being on the raft itself.
The sneak boat or bushwhacker is q batteau in
which the gunner conceals himself from the
ducks by bushes and approaches them by eau
tiOusly sculling. These also use the decoys.
which are placed at convenient distance from
the boat.
A VETERAN SPORTSMAN
The Oldest and probably the most successful
river sportsman is Mr.. David Davis, No. 525 NJ
street southwest. who is past seventy-fve years
Old, and until the recent game laws went into
effect had followed game shooting all his life.
The old gentleman is as hardy and gamey az
ever, ana can wing his bird now at every shot
and can tell fat from lean duck when within
range by his flight and never miss it, Mr.. Davis
says when he was q boy he used to
SHOOT CANVAS BACKS Up TIBER CREEK
where the Botanical gardens now are and all
the way down to 17th-street wharf, where he
has seen the air 30 full of them as to hide the
sun and make complete shadow. He says this
continual Changing away" with small shot-guns
by these latter-day Runne8 IL what is driving
the ducks away.
The game dealers In the market here do not
care much for the squAbbling so that the gsme
b caught and they can al the orders.
oUFTLIKS AND rn1CEs.
Washlngton = good market far ducka, N