The San Francisco call., 1895-11-03
DUCK AND QUAIL.
Sportsmen Who Have Made Good
Bags During the Week.

Bags During the week.
Edgar Foster and Otto Feudner had ex-
cellent duck-shooting last Sunday morn
ing near Sears Point, a station on the
Sonoma marshes. Their bag consisted of
$50 ducks, which included mallard, sprig,
teal and widgeon.
Billy Williams and brother did fairly
well near Sears Point also, but their shoot
Ing was interrupted by heavy fog which
| nuns over the II arshes until O'Clock on
the morning of Sunday last
The right honorable "Doc" Watt was
hshing last Sunday on Paper-mill Creek,
and as he tramped along the stream he
picked up number of quail which, being
the vicinity, fell into the creek. Mr..
Watt says that he does not need gun to
secure mess of quail.
Mr.. Alden OF New Montgomery street
visited Suisun a few days ago and was
plloted to some good shooting grounds by
bagged thirty ducks and twenty geese,
which number of birds he says should sat
| isfy any sportsman unless he be game
| hog. Mr.. Bell will be only too pleased to
furnish good shooting to any sportsman
who may visit Suisun in quest OF good
game birds. He states, however, that after
the first storm duck-shooting will be ex-
cellent.
Messrs. Golcher Hall, Allen and Maskey
bagged 250 quail near Point Reyes last
Sunday. Sportsmen who shot over the
Noyato ranges also met with very good
success.
The latest intelligence from Pleasanton
is to the effect that snipe-shooting has
been very good recently. Colonel Cooper
and friend bagged fifteen birds at Good
years last Sunday.
The best duck-shooting to be had now
near this City is on the Sonoma marshes
| in the vicinity of Sears Point and Re-
clamatlon, but to catch the early feathers
and meat hunters must be stationed in
their blinds at daybreak.
The hunters who returned from Alvlso
and Alvarado last Sunday evening had good
| strings OF birds, principally wldgeon and
teal.
Charles Cate has been enjoying excellent
| mallard-duck shooting for some weeks past
at favOrlte location on the Alylso marshes.
AL Smith and Louis Rondeau-tne her
mltS OF the San Andreas Lake-have had
good quail shooting near Camp Taylor.
Smith says that his partner is off his oats
TINS year and can't shoot little bit.
Jack Lemmer made very excellent bag
of ducks last Tuesday near the Oakland
wharf. He refused 10 say how he bagged
his game.
Jim Chesley and party OF friends have
purchased hunting ark, which will be
located on the Ferris marsh, near Ignacio,
| in few weeks. During stormy weather
the Ferris marsh is good duck-shootlng
! locality.
Al Cumming and Billy Patched have
been pouring hot shot into the mallards that
feed in the tule ponds near Byron. AS
Patchell IS an excellent duck shot he inva-
rlably returns with good string Of green
heads.
The members of the Mallard Club were
by no means pleased on Thursday even
ing, when they received information from
Sulsun that the attorneys for the Cordelia
Club had asked for and were given post
ponement OF the long-pending trial which
was positively to have been decided last
Thursday at Fairfield, Solano County. 1t
is safe to say, however, that the attorneys
on both sides will be ready next Thursday
to argue the case, and it is hoped that
conclusion will be arrived at.
Complaints have arrived at this Office of
the disgraceful slaughter of rail by class
of Sunday hunters who shoot on the San
! Mateo County marshes. Last Sunday a
wagon, around which was hung at least
200 rail, was seen on the road leading to
this City from San Mateo. The occupants
| OF the wagon were six young men who
were beastly intoxicated, the result of
drinking beer from keg which had q
conspicuous place in the center of the
rough vehicle.
The Supervisors of San Mateo County
| should certainly put a stop to this indis-
criminate slaughter OF game by passing an
ordinance giving hunters the righ: to Kill
rail during one month of the year only.
/ At the present rate of slaughter there
will not be a rail left to breed on those
marshes when the shooting season closes.
Some of these Sunday pothunters, who
are not satisfied with a reasonable mess of
birds, scuu the sloughs at high tide and
slaughter the rail when they gather to-
e
left untouched by the tide. Frequently a
dozen birds are killed by the discharge OF
one or two guns. This is pothunting in
| the full sense of the word and should GER
tainly be stopped by the gentlemen who
are in authority and have the power to
shorten the season FOR the killing of game
birds.
Notwithstanding that there is law
which prevents the sale of game, wild
duck and quail can be had in large num-
Der of the restaurants of this City by ask
ing for them. How long will this state of
affairs continue?
There is vast variety of opinion as to
the proper method of setting decoys and
the kind of decoys to use for the different
kinds of ducks. 1t would be simple enough
were but one kind of duck flying, but one
may shoot mallard, widgeon and teal in
single flight. II mallard were plentiful we
would certainly anchor out few mallard
dI Olle emu Oh LDe SlTlHS. mere
are times that almost all the varieties will
decoy to anything in the shape of block
OF wood, but it IS the times that the ducks
are wary that the shooter must be prepared
for.
A well-known duck-shooter uses mixed
lot of teal, widgeon and mallards, anchor
ing at each end of the string few coots,
claiming that the coots know where the
good feed is, and that all varieties will
light TO them when looking for feeding
ground. The more decoys man puts out
the more likely he is to get good shooting.
Let one man put out fifty and another six
within 10U yards of him, and the man with
the large flock will get ten shots to the
other S one. Some hunters place their de-
coys Ill pairs, others in long line, others
throw them overheard as they come in
punches or struggled over quite a space of
water. The long line does not look
natural. Ducks seldom string out with
their heads all one way unless alarmed
and about to fly away, state of affairs
that surely would not tempt flock to
alightto them. If one can find an eddy in
which to place a part of the decoys so
much the better. as they will then head in
different directions and look much more
natural