places are tHe best during certain winds. 
It can generally be stated that ducks 
do not frequent a windward shore. To 
place the blind and decoys so that the 
ducks must pass over the blind before 
leaching the dcoys is a poor way, as the 
hunter risks a very likely chance of being 
discovered. Ducks coming down wind 
(flying with the wind) will always pass 
the decoys, make a circle and come into 
the decoys against the wind. They do 
this because they need the resistance of 
the wind to check the tremendous speed 
of their flight and enable them to alight 
on the ivater. A duck about to alight 
during a strong wind will lower and 
spread his tail, drop his feet and “lean 
back” in the air, in order to offer the 
greatest surface of resistance. Again, 
in leaving the water, a duck jumps 
against the wind; thus the wind tends 
to lift him up as he starts to fly instead 
of holding him down. On the water in 
a heavy wind a duck will always float 
head to the wind. 
All this is taken into consideration. 
The blind and decoys are placed so that 
the ducks can come into the decoys 
against the wind without first passing 
over the blind. 
Tide, too, must be considered. Ducks 
will frequent certain points at low tide, 
others at high tide, depending on feeding 
conditions. 
The wooden decoys are painted to rep- 
resent the more common varieties of 
ducks which frequent the locality. Each 
is attached by a long cord to a weight 
which serves as an anchor. The string 
is fastened to the fore-part of the bottom 
of the decoy so that it will float head to 
the wind. 
The decoys are placed on the water 
just off the point within easy gun range 
of the blind. They should be well scat- 
tered, and considerable skill may be used 
in setting them out so that they resemble 
a flock of live birds feeding or resting. 
The decoys should always be placed in 
a conspicuous position, where they can 
be seen for a long distance by the ducks 
flying about. The whole scheme is to 
conceal the blind and to display the de- 
coys as much as possible. 
I The duck decoys are often supple- 
mented by a few geese and brant decoys 
to allure the passing geese or brant. A 
large flock of decoys are the most ef- 
fective since they make a better appear- 
ance and can be seen for a long distance. 
I have shot over a flock of one hundred 
and fifty or more decoys when in com- 
pany with other hunters. Of course 
when gunning from sneak-boats and 
when the decoys must be carried to the 
shooting ground each moming, so great 
a number of decoys can only be handled 
by a party of sportsmen, or a visiting 
sportsman with two baymen or guides. 
A man going out alone with one boat 
can take about fifty duck decoys with him 
provided they are well packed on the 
stem deck, with a few perhaps stowed 
away under the deck. This number makes 
a good showing if properly put out. The 
lone sportsman can tow another boat 
loaded with decoys, but this entails hard, 
slow rowing, especially in rough, windy 
_;weather. Many of the good gunning is- 
^ % 
lands in the bay are owned by private 
shooting clubs, in which cases the boats 
and decoys are kept on or very near 
the shooting points. 
Live' decoys are, of course, the best. 
These are birds either hatched and raised 
from wild duck eggs or wild birds which 
have been wounded and which have re- 
covered. They are wing clipped and 
when being used as decoys are anchored 
out on the water by a weight and a 
cord fastened to the leg. Some of the 
baymen whose homes are close to the 
water keep large flocks of live decoys, 
and the birds are generally kept by the 
shooting clubs. 
The birds soon become very tame and 
seem to know just what is expected of 
them. They will notice a flock of wild 
ducks at a great distance, often long 
before the hunter sees them, and will 
lure the flock within range of the waiting 
guns by calling to them. 
Often the wooden decoys are supple- 
mented by only two or three live decoys, 
callers they are termed, but even this 
number generally proves well worth the 
care of the birds. Their occasional flap- 
Duck shooting requires warm clothing 
ping or tipping up while feeding lends 
life to the wooden flock. 
There are duck calls on the market 
with which, after practice, the sportsman 
can often call the wild birds to the de- 
coys. Some of the old baymen are won- 
derfully pi'oficient in imitating the differ- 
ent calls of the wild ducks, even without 
the use of any artificial device. 
W HEN a flock of ducks notice the 
decoys they will sometimes turn 
and fly straight toward them but 
usually circle about once or twice before 
coming in. As the fowl are nearing it is 
of the utmost importance for the sports- 
man to remain absolutely motionless. 
Should his coiKiealment be only partial 
when he first sees the approaching ducks, 
he .should under no condition attempt to 
better it. Instead, he should remain ab- 
solutely still. The fact that the ducks 
have headed toward the decoys indicates 
that they have not seen the hunter, but 
if he lowers his head or in any way 
moves to better his concealment, he will 
certainly be discovered. 
When the. ducks are well in over the 
decoys, and not before, it is time to use 
the gun and use it quickly. Ducks flying 
towards you over the water often appear 
much nearer than they really are. So 
the hunter should wait until the fowl 
have checked their flight and are hover- 
ing over the decoys, preparatory to 
alighting. Then is the time for the 
sportsman to drop his birds. Ducks 
have heavy coats of feathers which repel 
shot to a surprising degree, and they 
must be within easy range to insure a 
“clean kill,” as the gunners say, and to 
prevent merely wounding the birds. 
The first shot is often an easy one 
since the ducks are flying slowly and 
have spread their tails and lowered their 
legs in the act of alighting. The second 
shot, however, is far different. At the 
report of the guns the ducks spring high 
into the air and in a few brief seconds 
are under full headway and out of range. 
The gun must be aimed far in advance 
of the birds going off to the right or 
left, or well over those flying straight 
up. 
Ducks will often alight on the water 
among the decoys if permitted to do so, 
where, of course, many birds may be 
killed with a shot when they are floating 
close together. There may have been 
some excuse for the market hunter for 
shooting his ducks on the water, since 
his aim was to kill the greatest number 
with the least expenditure of amunition, 
but there is no such excuse for the sports- 
man, who presumably shoots for sport 
alone. No true sportsman would shoot 
a duck on the water, unless it was a 
wounded 'bird, nor shoot in company 
with anyone else doing so. 
The sea-ducks are wonderful divers 
and can remain under the surface for a 
considerable length of time. A wounded 
bird upon striking the water will usually 
dive at once and come to the surface 
far out of range. Wounded ducks have 
been known to dive and take hold with 
their bill on plants growing near the bot- 
tom, where they remained until drowned, 
preferring to meet their fate in this man- 
ner rather than fall into the hands of the 
hunter. 
When a duck falls from a good height 
with his head held or turned up it is an 
indication he is only wounded, and it is 
both wise and humane to shoot him again 
before he strikes the water. 
On wild, rough, windy days the shoot- 
ing is often good all day, for then the 
water is too rough to permit the ducks 
to remain for long on the surface, and 
they are mostly on the wing where, while 
flying about, they notice the decoys and 
readily come to them. On such days the 
shooting is often very rapid. 
The sportsman must be a real lover 
of duck shooting to remain throughout 
the flight in his blind on the bleak 
stretches of the bay or marsh, facing the 
icy wind or perhaps the driving rain or 
snow. But when the fowl are plentiful 
and decoying fast it is a splendid sport, 
one which thrills and keeps the red blood 
rushing and coursing through your veiti 
