The San Francisco call., 1910-10-30
SEASON TOO EARLY,
SAY DUCK HUNTERS
November Opening Would Not
Be Too Late, Many of
Them Believe
By FRANK O'DONNELL

1t is now one month since the duck
hunting season opened and it seems to
be the concensus of opinion among
sportsmen that the laws protection of
the web footed wild fowls was with
drawn just about 80 days too early.
Hundreds of hunters may be found
who have no hesitancy in declaring
that the season should open November
/, instead of a month earlier.
Their argument is that there Is too
much warm weather and not enough
of fresh water ponds to make duck
shooting in the interior profitable
pastime in October and that the sport
does not really commence at the re-
sorts on the bay shores until canvas
backs and other birds commence to
arrive from the north.
Perhaps the long period of dry
weather and the generally slim re-
suits obtained thus far this year may
have influenced hunters in arriving at
this conclusion. Northern birds, of
course, do not commence to arrive
early in the season, but home bred
birds are generally plentiful on open
ing day, although they may not be
evenly distributed over the shooting
grounds. Anyhow, shooting has not
been uniformly good during the last
80 days and except in a few favored
sections limit and even near limit bags
have been rather scarce.
sUISUN IS POPULAR
The Suisun marsh was a popular
shooting ground when the season
opened and the sport showed consider
able Improvement there last week,
while on the marsh areas on the east
side of the lower bay sport was good
at the start, but it did not last.
Up to week ago there was very
little doing on the San Pablo shores
and the lack of fresh water in parts of
the Los Banos region checked the
exodus of hunters to that country.
While the weather remained warm and
ducks continued to spoil while in tran
sit to the city dissatisfaction was gen.
era1 among sportsmen and market
hunters.
Commission merchants, who handle
game and VINO were obliged to send
many consignments to the crematory
because the birds came to hand sour,
expressed themselves in favor of a
later opening. but they would perhaps
have had different ideas had the
weather been moist instead of dry.
vOLANTES GET LIMIT
Mallard and sprig ducks furnished
good sport on the Suisun marsh last
week and few canvasbacks fell to
the guns of hunters in that region.
Volante club members bagged several
limits on their Joyce island preserve
Sunday and Wednesday, Jim Maynard,
Doctor Ayres, Nat Boas and George
Uhl were up to the lodge Wednesday.
II. Klevesahl, H. Luchsinger and j.
Herring shot over the Seymour club
ponds with satisfactory results and
canvasbacks figured in the bags OBJ
tanned at w. w. Richards Green Leaf
lodge and on Frank Maskey's place.
E. Cuthhert, Hall McAllister and Will
liam Tubbs were among the shooters
on the Cordelia club preserve in the
middle of the week. Visitors to the
Suisun marsh area reported that Eng
lish snfpe were In evidence, but that
they were not very plentiful as yet.
Seven members of the Empire club
accounted for limit kills before s
o'clock Wednesday morning Doctor
Alden was one Of the first to quit after
baggfng all that the law allowed.
CUISINES HEAR GOOD NEWS
On Friday members of the Bill Price
social club were notified by wire that
ducks were plentiful at Gustine, as the
country was being flooded with water
from the irrigation bitches and new
ponds were forming everywhere Bert
Patrick, Laurie Adams, Louis Rink and
w. w. Terrill started for the Gustine
club lodge Immediately upon receipt of
the news.
George Gall, E. Wolf and ]. Forman
were at the West Side gun club late in
the week and had little trouble in get
ting good bags. Walter Wood. Jack
Buck and Messrs. Willis and Sherwood
did very well on the Ingomar ponds
near Los Banos early in the week.
there being more water on that pre-
serve than on the others before irri-
eating commenced.
- = a rlx
arrive on the upper reaches Of San