BLUEBILLS AND DECOYS 



showing only its head to the pursuing hunter. 

 It can safely be assumed that every time you 

 get out of the " blind " to chase a cripple 

 you will lose a couple of shots at other birds 

 which will meantime come in to your decoys. 

 Bluebills are so stupid sometimes that they 

 will fly in over the decoys while the hunter 

 is standing up in his boat throwing out the 

 wooden lures. When they make up their 

 minds to come in, they do not seem to mind 

 the presence of a man, but set their wings 

 and sail right in. The bigger bunch of de- 

 coys a hunter has, the better sport he is likely 

 to have. Bluebill decoys are the best to use, 

 and a flock of one hundred will be found not 

 too many, especially where the birds have 

 been shot at to any considerable extent. They 

 should be well weighted, and have sufficient 

 string, and heavy enough anchoring lead to 

 keep them from dragging in a stiff wind. In 

 both spring and fall the days are often very 

 windy, and the direction of the wind is likely 

 to shift, so that decoys should be properly 

 equipped to stand rough water without drift- 

 ing. The throwing out of decoys is easy 

 enough, but the arrangement of them into 

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