BRANT SHOOTING. l6l 



box, seeing this happy state of things, shove out their 

 double-barrelled shot-guns carefully, and shoot simul- 

 taneously by the given word, and each one toward the 

 part of the bar agreed upon. 



In this way they make sure destruction of their 

 game, often killing from thirty to forty brant at one 

 concerted shot. 



Brant closely resemble the wild goose in color, hab- 

 its, and general appearance ; though they are much 

 smaller, and might with some propriety be called the 

 young wild goose. Indeed, Wilson classifies the brant 

 as belonging to the goose species, and sportsmen often 

 call it the brant goose. Brant make a hoarse, discor- 

 dant sound, which once heard will be remembered. 

 Their average weight is about four pounds. In my 

 own mind they are as much associated with the wild 

 goose as the quail is with the northern partridge. They 

 are uncommonly wary. A piece of board or paper the 

 size of a man's hand, a footprint on the sand, or the 

 least unnatural appearance in the ground around them, 

 will be seen by their eagle eyes, and will keep them 

 from coming to the decoys. 



There is work in this kind of sea shooting. The 

 sand-bars usually have to be made over every day or 

 two, and the shooting-boxes cleaned from the water 

 that usually comes in at high tide. But with all these 

 drawbacks, the hardy sportsman enjoys this hunting 

 very much and is glad when the annual season for 

 brant shooting returns. 



