The record-union., 1896-10-15
THE GUNNERS ARE ABROAD.
To-Day Marks the Opening Of the Shoot
Ing Season.
Game Reported to be Quite Plentiful
The Rifle Tournament
Saturday.

Saturday.
Now the gunner's in the forest with his
And not a soul begrudges him his fun,
II he'll kindly have care
NOT to shoot the Sorrel mare
Which always is around when bullets
When the sportsman is afield after deer
SO call your heifers in.
49, Or he'll perforate their SKIN
lis frisky and risky time o year.
Now the quail and ducks are swarming all
A around, eoo,u :. .
But it makes the people laugh
When he bags a brindle calf
And pays for it at fifty cents pound.
Everybody who cares to shoot and
can get away from his business or oc-
cupation will be out to-day after the
wild ducks.
The open season began at midnight
last night, and by daylight this morning
scores Of Sacramentans were hiding
along the margins of lakes and ponds
and in the tules, lying in wait for the
wary wildfowl. Many left for the
shooting grounds yesterday SO as to
select their stands and be on the ground
TOR in the water) when the early morn
ing flight of the birds should begin.
From all accounts the ducks are quite
plentiful this SeaSon-thanks to the
excellent game laws in force the last
two years-and no doubt some of the
sportsmen who are out to-day will be
fairly well rewarded for their efforts.
For several days past the dealers in
guns and ammunition have been doing
a rushing business. Many sportsmen
have purchased new guns and outfits,
and the season will find them abroad
whenever they can get away from the
city to enjoy days sport with gun
and dog.
There is no good quail shooting nearer
than the foothills, and the time and
expense required to get there prevents
most of the local sportsmen from en-
joying that delightful, exciting and
health h-giving pastime. The result is
that more attention is given to duck
shooting, as the marshes and sloughs
are more accessible
There are several local clubs that
have lakes and ponds leased, and the
past of the delightful outings they were
to have when the season opened Up at
the Pritchard lake there have been a
great many birds. and it's shores and
tule blinds will fairly bristle with gun
barrels to-day. Since DOC" Tebbets'
painful experience in shooting the
chutes recently in a narrow gauge skiff
he has had a good broad gauge one
constructed for use in shooting ducks
on the Pritchard Lake. The club has a
very comfortable house and stable near
the lake. and the members pass many a
delightful day and night there during
the shooting seasons Some say they
pass the buck also, but this is doubt
less a campaign lie.
Down the river there are club lakes
all the way south from Freeport, with
cosy quarters for spending the night
and excellent facilities for shooting
But there are many miles of unin-
closed tule swamps over in Yolo County
where anyone may go in quest Of ducks
and geese, as we'll as several small
slOughs near the city. Down the
Stockton road the Triple Alliance Club,
composed of residents about the Union
House. has several lakes preserved
where the game is protected at all sea-
sons, with the result that the members
always have good shooting during the
open season. On certain days in the
week no shooting at all is permitted.
ror after sundown on any day.
VANDALS AT WORK.
There seems to be settled determina-
ton on the part of some market hunters
and dealers in game to defy the law
For several weeks past ducks have
been shot in Yolo County and SNUG
gled into San Francisco, where they
have been sold.
Whatever consideration might be Civ
en- the demands of market hunters to sell
game throughout the entire open sea
son, there can be no excuse offered for
men who openly and willfully violate the
law during the closed season. These
acts of lawlessness show that the men
engaged therein have no sense of JUS
tice or fairness, and that they would de-
prive all aw-abiding citizens Of their
rights.
To enact laws for the benefit of such
creatures would be to place a premium
on hoggishness and make vandalism re-
spectacle. There are market hunters
however, who obey the law and are not
to be classed with those referred TO-
They respect the opening and closing
dates OF the shooting season, but hold
that the market season is too short
The claim that game should be al
lowed to be sold in market on the 18th
of October simply because on that date
any one may shoot ducks and quail has
no merit whatever. There is nothing in
common between shooting game and
making a commodity of it. Shooting a.
few deer for sport, or for meat as the
case might be, and Staying deer by the
thousands for their pelts, and leaving
the carcasSes to rot on the hillsides are
two different things. A few years would
very soon settle any question as to
which would be right.
The only question is, to what extent
can market shooting for any kind of
game, especially ducks and quail, be
permitted without danger of destroying
the game? Some say it should not be
permitted at all; others that two months
Gas at present) is sufficient. while others
chiefly dealers and professional hunt
ers-claim that marketing should be al
lowed as long as a duck or quail can
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