274 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



shoot nine geese that I could see, than twenty, or even 

 twice twenty with the punt-gun that I could not see at 

 the moment of firing. That shooting by guesswork in 

 the dark is a phase of wild-fowling that I could never 

 rightly appreciate. 



Dummy decoys, although used by sportsmen a good 

 deal on the big wheat-stubble fields of Dakota, Minne- 

 sota, and the Canadian North-West, seldom answer well 

 for our grey geese. The large Canada geese more 

 readily respond to the allurements of counterfeit pre- 

 sentments of the kind which, be it remarked in passing, 

 sometimes libel nature most atrociously better than 

 do our grey geese, for I have never found our birds 

 take kindly to decoys, live or dead, in the full light of 

 day. Decoys may, however, be of some service by 

 occasionally causing passing geese to alter their line of 

 flight, so as to get a closer inspection of these dummies, 

 and this may, of course, sometimes give the carefully 

 concealed gunner his opportunity. 



In many inland situations I have found driving to be 

 the best possible means for obtaining a shot at the grey 

 geese. Before attempting this the gunner should make 

 himself thoroughly acquainted with the daily habits and 

 movements of the geese in his particular district. If 

 the drive takes place in the morning the geese, likelier 

 than not, will fly farther inland and away from their 

 night haunts ; whereas, if the afternoon is wearing away, 

 the geese will surely make for their sleeping-grounds. 

 Of course, strong wind is a factor that will determine 

 the direction of their flight on first rising from their 

 feeding-ground, but no effort on the part of the driver 

 can long induce these birds to fly against wind when 

 their inclinations impel them in some other direction. 



