The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-12-18
Fine Wild Goose Shooting in
Oklahoma.
LIVE DEC0YS AID GUNNeRS


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Performer as weiI as . Decsy-The
way The, HINT Wild Geese in Hyde
County, n. C.-Antr,epe Increasing In
|, Texas Under Protection or the Law
Beaver and otter Returning to Their
= Old Raunts-- Delights % Catching Bix
EIsh with ILxht Tackle I'm Florida.
Hunting we,v~s AMI wild Turkey, on
HsrsebarIc IN Early Nays % niinets.
OKLAHOMA CITY, okla. Dec. IL
Twenty miles south OF this place the
south Canadian River. with it's wastes Of
sand. sweeps in long bends toward the
Arkansas. into which 10 empties near
tho eastern boundary OF the State. Along
the Canadian are big cattle ranches and
plantations. each with it's hundreds Of
acres Of corn and wheat. The wheat is
planted IN the fall and throughout ths
winter il green and succilent. making
fine pasturage The corn fields after
the sarn IL gathered ara given over to
cattle. Often the corn in lsfr on the
stalks and the cattle turned inn q the fields
Ia fatten.
Thess conditions Lave made the South
Canadian River country one 81 the finest
regions for hunting wild geese Ia be found
i'm Oklahoma. by day the fields afford
the geese eNcsllent feeding grounds. and
at night the sandhsrs in IN. wids river
make saf. roasting places for these wary
birds
For fifteen years the most invsterate
and siIcc..--fui hunter of Wild geess on the
South Canadian has been Coley Moulton
nf Oklahoma tity No sooner dogs "a
blizzard begin whi-tling IN the north and
u singing -l--t come from the driving
clouds than It ~ up and away to ths
South Canadian for Moulton and jackson
hlr hunting partner. They hunt methodi-
csllly Tn. habits of wild geese are con-
STAN. and one. understood nv the hunter
the bagging ~ game II certain.
Moulron hunts invariably with wild
gou-.. profile d.cnys unless hs can get
u live Wild goose as a caller. He owned
"n" II IN. most noted liv. decoys in the
Southwest. "A hig fellow from Canada
brought down Will. on HIS way south
e. N. piashy reeds of the Gulf Of Mexico.
Half All hour after sunrise. "a regularly
a. tho return az day. the Wild geese begin
fying from IN. South Canadian sandbars
to the wheat fields. where they remain
feeding until about II o'clock. They re-
turn 10 th. sandbars and sit doing and
sleeping ~ ia. sun until about p VI
Then they spread their broad pinions
and go hack Ia IN. fields. and do not
return To the hairs for their night roasting
until about dusk. their flight continuing
often until half an hour after the sun has
sunk below the horizon.
Moulton first searches the river bars to
find where there ~ a roost "a Wild geese
will roost AT the same place indefinitely
unless driven away Ivy a hroadside from
shotguns III ambush. Then they will
move Immediately to a new place They
have favorite feeding grounds in the
wheat and corn fields. which rarely are
changed
The only blind used by Moulton is a Dit
sunk IN the ground with all eXcavatAd dirt
or sand carefully removed as a goose
quickly detects a change IN the lay Of the
land. and once his suspicion il reused IL is
good-by To Mr.. Goose in that particularly
locality. The gees. are never permitted
Ia see the building Of these pit blinds and
for that reason the blinds on the sand bars
are built between sunrise and 10 A. NJ,
and those in the fields between II A. NJ
and p. VI.
number Of profile decoys are set
round the pit IN such positions that the
hunter. crouched ia his pit may peep
cautiously between them and watch an
approaching flight OF geese He should
not make the slightest movem. nt, even
with his head. after the first faint far OF
honking reaches his ears. Nor should he
expose his eyes when the geese ara close
To him. The wis. old birds from Canada
seem able 10 detect the human eve at
n great distance
Once tn. geese are IN range Moulton and
jackson stand quickly erect and then
begins "A bang. click. bang. click bang,
click az the aItOmatICs are pumped into
the discordant cangor 81 Tapping win ~
and struggling bodies. Thud ihud thud,
come the big birds humping on the
ground. full grown goose measures
five feet from tip TO tip and sometimes
weighs az much a. fifteen pounds; twelve
pounds - "a fair average
Tn" Canada COOS. has almost prefer
natural SagarIty ~ detecting danger
But once deceived into believing there il
no danger h" will come whole hearteily
t0 III" trap lAld for him. At twenty yards
m early twilig ht the. leader Of the flock will
detect the hunter Crouched IN his nj, and
Immediately CIV" his danger signal aud
HIS followers viii begin s"ramhlinR sky
ward In stormy weather late IN the
afternoon oven IN" WISE old gender that
riarshal- In, f"ath"r'd most will fly some
times within twenty feet Of the guns
Often = Thousand ~ NOR" Canada geese
are seen IN Il -,ngl" HooH m a South Cana
dian wheat field DO they fly m "a single
mas when moving from ri'lc" 10 place.
MnuliDn r"t'--- his custom uf he. gs"-.
Which h" ha- frequently Ob-"rye,i
When a hIg flight p"gIn- moving II viii
dlvm" INTO four ~ hy" diyisIun- In
front al ar nIr,rid" ~ gUo feet will ~" "a
hp"k With m" cho-"n leader linen lower
down ".ll com" another flock. and ,filI
aver Suwn An her hnck unit tn" l.,i
i."cE TEay T." barely tNcnty- ave fs-L
,.,r'" ground IN" iIr-t hock - high
enough O." y."W iu" surroundings II
dang appear, ~ DANCE signal l.
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