484 DUCK SHOOTING. 



beautiful weapon, weighing 160 pounds, with a bore of 

 if inches, and a lock of the finest and most delicate 

 construction. Some of these guns are shown on an- 

 other page. 



Prior to 1880, Havre de Grace was the headquarters 

 of the sink-boat or battery shooters of Chesapeake Bay, 

 and it is still the point from which most of them start 

 out. At that time there were licensed, at a fee of $20 

 each, about forty professional battery outfits. These 

 consisted each of a small sailing craft from 25 to 50 feet 

 long, a small flat-bottomed rowboat or skiff, a sink-box 

 or battery, and from 300 to 500 decoys. To work these 

 outfits, three men are required. At that time, shooting 

 was allowed only on three days in the week after the 

 first of November — Mondays, Wednesdays and Fri- 

 days. The batteries were not allowed to go upon the 

 shooting ground before three o'clock in the morning. 

 No shooting could be done until one hour before sun- 

 rise, and it must cease one-half hour after sunset. Sink- 

 boxes were not allowed to be out within one-half mile 

 of the shore. 



There was great competition for the best positions, 

 and it was the practice of many of these craft to an- 

 chor near the line within one-half mile of the shore, and 

 immediately after three o'clock to proceed to the 

 ground and to put out their decoys as soon as they could 

 see to do so. This operation takes a full hour, and by 

 the time the outfit was in position it was late enough to 

 begin to shoot. Of course, the earlier hours of the day 

 are by far the best. 



