Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-15
Looking Over a Mornings Sport.

with YOU in a basket on your hunt To
both legs of each is fastened a leathe"
strap to which a string forming a loop
of about eight inches is attached. then
to that single string six feet lorg. and
a pound weight at the end of this com
plctes the job. Pick out a rainy or snowy
day for the sport. if possible. then get in
a skif and paddle to the feeding grounds.
taking some corn, which should be stcewn
In the water two or three feet from The
observation-disclosures always feed close to the
SnCre-SO that when the live decoys are
anchored they can play around and dive
Tor the grain. 1t is surprising how quick
" these tame ducks become thoroughly
trained Within a very short time they
become used To the shooting over them
and will 'quack" Justify to their wild
brothers when they hove in sight
For days sport of this kind fix up
grass blind about twenty yards from the
decoys and keep still. 1t is necessary also
to have a scant covering overhead, for IL
mallard always makes several circles
around the decoys before alighting and
if things do not look right to him you
viii not see him again in that vicinity
for long time. good gunner however.
never lets the ducks light, taking his
chances always on the wing and likewise
giving the bird his CHARACTERISTICS You
might Kill your decoys and spoil your
sport. But every mallard that you can
get your hands on you are entirely enti-
tied to. for he is watching you. He has
only two things to think about-getting
something to eat and keeping out of gun
range. at both Of which he is eminently
successful.
The first essential to good sport and a
good bag of redheads canvasbacks and
blackheads are good decoys-that is. de-
coys that look like ducks. Many sports
men who should know better think that
anything almost will do. If it is shaped
something like a duck and will float. In
some cases this might do: especially if
the weather is rough and snowy, because
at such times these ducks will decoy to
anything about their size that will bob up
and down on the rough water But if
the weather is gOod-which means very
bad from a duck hunters standpoint-tke
decoys should be fairly lfelike-that is
shaped and painted with some care. De-
coys bought from the factory as d rule
are painted too wildly. especially the red
heads and canvasbacks. In fixing up new
decoys always get a small can of white
and small can of black paint and put
them on alternately until they are toned
down to a good notified color. Then the
redheads are subdued with a little brown
paint. This all takes time, but it pays
when you have good bag of ducks and
the other fellow has none.
The Kind of Gun
Should this little story remind you to
take a few days off and chase the ducks,
don't forget your gun. This should be a
hard-shooting. double-barrel ten-gauge.
and the best load is four and a half
drains of smokeless powder and one and
one-half ounces of No. 4 shot. 1t is al
ways well, however. to take along a few
cartridges loaded with No. rs even sim
gle BIS, for a goose might happen along
and you would hardly be able to turn his
flight with smaller shot
The Guckng skiff is a type. and needs
no commenting upon. beyond the sugses-
ton that it should not be too heavy-not
over 10 pounds because you have to
paddle and push it. and sometimes carry
it through very rough places. To one UNI