1 78 SHOOTING THE GOOSE 



Hitherto my remarks have been mainly directed 

 to the consideration of punting to geese in the open. 

 In some localities brent frequent feeding-grounds 

 where, from the nature of their environments, they 

 fall a more ready prey to the wiles of the punter. By 

 way of example, on the west coast of France there 

 are many small islands and patches of rugged rocks, 

 in some of the principal bays and estuaries, which are 

 partially surrounded by mudbanks and clad with a 

 green verdure of sea-grass at low water. As a back- 

 ground from which to approach the brent these 

 islands and rocks often served my purpose admirably, 

 and, when wind and tide were favourable, I must 

 have killed many hundreds of geese in these resorts 

 every winter. In most places a certain amount of 

 cover is also obtainable from the mudbanks at low 

 water, against the edges of which a punt will appear 

 an inconsiderable object if the sea is smooth, and 

 does not cause the craft to rock on the wavelets. 



Methods which succeed in one locality may, 

 nevertheless, be doomed to failure in others. Several 

 times I have obtained shots by concealing my punt 

 in a creek at low water near the mouth of some big 

 bay, and killed the geese as they crossed my bows 

 when flying low down against the wind on" their way 

 to the mudbanks inside. Occasionally the brent 



