436 
Forest and Stream 
principle as an aviator, and, as a rule, 
comes down upon his objective, circles 
around and darts down to the surface. 
If he flies over your blind on the direct 
flight when he is giving the whole pano- 
rama the once over, he is almost certain 
to see you, your dog, or your gun, and 
he continues at undiminished speed and 
you usually see him too late for a suc- 
cessful shot. 
On the other hand, if you are facing 
the wind, you will probably see him com- 
ing head on, and when he diminishes 
speed on his circle and drops lower you 
will have a chance for a more advan- 
tageous shot even if you are spotted. 
The best blinds are built of chicken 
wire with native reeds and hay woven 
between the meshes and a loose flap 
similarly covered to be closed after the 
occupants are inside. It is essential that 
the back of the blind be covered as thor- 
oughly as the sides and front, for ob- 
vious reasons. The blinds should be set 
up several weeks before the gunning 
season so that the ducks will become 
familiar with them and assume that they 
are a part of the natural landscape. 
When the ducks are using the creeks 
or coves, it is possible to drag a punt 
in a narrow gut among the reeds and 
have a natural blind, but, as a rule, the 
black-duck does his feeding w'ell off 
shore when on open water and uses the 
marsh ponds for an alternative during 
the night or high winds. 
A common mistake is made in building 
blinds too large. The closer the sides 
are to the occupant the better concealed 
he will be, and three feet square is ample 
room for a single blind, as all shooting 
will be done in a standing position over 
the top of it, so that the top should not 
be above the arm pits w'hcn standing. 
A cartridge bo.x is an ideal seat and a 
couple of planks should be on the bot- 
tom for a foot rest, as your feet get 
plenty cool enough without being im- 
mersed in cold water or muck, while you 
have nothing- to do but think about how 
cold you are. 
A FTER the blinds are settled, the next 
thing to get set is the decoys. There' 
is only one decoy for a black-duck and 
that is another black-duck, preferably 
hatched from real wild black-duck eggs 
collected from the marshes. Many of 
the baymen make quite a business of 
hatching these eggs under domestic 
ducks, or even hens, and spend hours 
teaching them to quack upon the slight- 
est provocation, or in answer to a signal 
from their master. A good pair of 
quackers bring from five to fifteen dol- 
lars and are worth all they cost. Some 
hunters use from ten to fifteen decoys, 
but I gradually cut my flock down to 
six and am satisfied that I get as good 
results with that number. Six ducks can 
be carried in an eel pot across the back 
instead of in a crate, necessary with a 
greater number, which has to be carried 
by two persons, and the saving of time 
and trouble in setting out and taking in 
one-half as many decoys is an item to be 
considered also. 
I have tried the foot and neck fasten- 
ing, but prefer the latter, on account of 
its leaving the feet free to work about, 
and it seems less likely to foul up than 
the foot line, which is in constant mo- 
tion. I keep a collar on each duck’s neck 
with a snap fastener attached which the 
ducks become accustomed to and can be 
snapped on or off a loop in the mooring 
cord very quickly. If the depth of the 
water and bottom permit wading out for 
any distance, I prefer to moor each duck 
to a separate stake stuck down into the 
mud below the surface. Of course, if 
this cannot be done they must be tossed 
out with an anchor and separate line 
running to the shore. I have known 
these anchors to get foul in such a way 
as to cause the shore lines to part when 
being dragged in and the decoy then 
becomes game and is added to the daily 
bag after being retrieved by the spaniel. 
It is advisable to set the decoys off 
to one side from the blind, rather than in 
front of it, so the ducks in darting over 
the decoys will not be over the blind. 
The decoys should be in easy gunshot 
as many times the quarry will come to 
the outside edge of them and wheel off. 
A good native decoy duck will enjoy 
the role of Judas he is called upon to 
perform and soon learns the procedure 
of the hunt. He will quack and splash 
with delight upon being put on his native 
heath, even if moored, and after a few 
flutters and struggles, more as a safety 
valve for his high spirits than in an ef- 
fort to escape, he will settle down to 
feeding and dipping quite contentedly. 
A healthy duck in good condition will sit 
upon the water with his tail at a rakish 
angle pointed skyward and the water 
will roll off his feathers like balls of 
mercury. If a decoy is sluggish with 
tail drooping, or shows signs of being 
wet, it should be removed from the water 
at once and placed into the crate inside 
the blind. A great many decoys are 
killed each year by too much exposure, | 
after a long period of loafing in a pen or | 
crate. Unless he is in good condition, 
his oil-producing organs do not function 
and this oil is as necessary to insulate 
his body from the water, as scales are to 
a fish. It is better not to feed the decoys ' 
the morning before using them, as they 
will not only be more active and sensi- ' 
tive but also will feed while in the pond, j 
giving a more natural aspect to the stool. 
The best type of gun to use is entirely ! 
a matter of individual preference, so j 
long as it is of the long barrel choke- 
bore type, built to stand heavy loads of 
smokeless powder. The most popular 
duck load is drams of smokeless 
powder or 28 grains of ballistite and 
ounces of Nos. 5 or 6 chilled shot, i 
which will make a light field gun sit up i 
and do the white mule act to perfection. 
T is surprising how easy it is to mis- 1 
judge the distance a black-duck is 
away, especially in the early morning 
haze or the twilight of evening. He is 
so big and his color is in such sharp 
contrast to the atmosphere and back- 
ground of sky that you would swear 
that you could see his eyes at sixty 
yards when, as a matter of fact, that i 
distance is about the limit for consistent I 
kills, although frequently a stray shot in t 
the head or wing joint will bring one ! 
down at seventy-five or eighty yards. 
A black-duck when darting out of the | 
air down to the decoys makes an easy i 
target if played correctly and the trick I 
of the game is to get him to make a ! 
perfect dart, and having accomplished I 
this, he should be yours. Many gunners I 
make the mistake of waiting until the 
quarry lights upon the water, in order 
to get an easy shot. This is quite the ! 
contrary, as a duck on the water is the ! 
easiest thing in the world to miss, espe- j 
daily when swimming, and his stream i 
line design is a “bear” for deflecting 
shot. A head hit is almost essential in 
this situation and a duck’s head will fit 
nicely in the holes of a pattern of shot 
at thirty yards. The best target is ob- 
tained by waiting until the duck has 
dropped within about twenty yards of 
the blind and then raise up. He will 
immediately be thrown into confusion 
Watching for the early afternoon flight 
