56 SHOOTING THE DUCK 



CHAPTER II 



SHOOTING THE DUCK INLAND AND ON THE SHORE 



LET us begin by noticing the different devices 

 employed by the duck shooter as means to enable 

 him to outwit his quarry. Of these the most com- 

 mon and the most effective is the pit or gun-hole. 



The object of the gunner in sinking a pit is to 

 be able to hide the whole of his body below the 

 level of the surface of the ground. The area of 

 the pit should be about 4 feet by 3 feet. After exca- 

 vating to a depth at which the eyes of the occupant, 

 when he is sitting, will be just above the surface, 

 continue to take out earth from about two-thirds of 

 the oblong only, the further excavation being made 

 to accommodate the legs and feet of the gunner. 

 In the extreme forepart of the pit there should be 

 a yet deeper cavity a well into which water may 

 drain, and from which it may be baled when neces- 

 sary ; a piece of board put over this well is a 



