BRANT SHOOTING. 295 



with live decoys. For many years, however, this has 

 been the only successful method of securing these birds 

 at Cape Cod, where three clubs, known as the Mono- 

 moy. Providence and Manchester, have long existed, 

 and have occupied the branting ground on terms of en- 

 tire harmony. 



For more than forty years, Mr. Warren Hapgood 

 was a prominent member of the Monomoy Club and 

 an enthusiastic brant shooter, and many years ago he 

 contributed to the columns of Forest and Stream an 

 extended and admirable account of this shooting, which 

 is in part given below. It will be observed that in its 

 essentials bar shooting for brant does not very mark- 

 edly differ from goose shooting from boxes, but the 

 conditions which prevail at Cape Cod are so very dif- 

 ferent from those existing where geese are shot, and 

 the brant themselves have so many peculiarities not 

 shared by the geese, that brant shooting, as practiced 

 here, requires a description by itself. In the article 

 above referred to Mr. Hapgood says : 



Brant shooting is a peculiar kind of sport that but 

 few have indulged in. There are many obstacles in the 

 way. The haunts of the birds are few and isolated, 

 their feeding grounds limited, their sojourn brief ; nor 

 can any degree of success be achieved without the 

 proper appliances, such as a house to live in, boats, 

 boxes, bars, live decoys and a skillful hand to manipu- 

 late them. When, however, all these are obtained, no 

 spring shooting on the coast of New England gives 



