GUN - Free Shop Manual

as obvious as the blind itself. Furthermore, aside from its
being entirely too conspicuous, it has another fault; that
of being fixed on one particular site. Irrespective of the
direction of the wind or the height or flow of the tides,
you have no choice but to set out the decoys in the water
before it and hope for a lucky day.
In days gone by when unlimited baiting was permitted,
this manner of hunting worked out more or less success·
fully. No matter how blatantly your cover advertised
itself or the state of wind or tide, those yellow kernels from
some farmer's cornfield were an irresistible drawing card,
and many a duck paid for his folly when he forgot all
caution in the desire to fill his belly.
But today, with baiting prohibited, the setup has changed
and now you should look for ducks and rig your stool
where they show an inclination to go. This is "here" today,
and very probably "there" tomorrow, and hence the
permanent blind has become of but little value, unless you
consider comfort of more importance than the filling of
your bag. If such is the case, you may erect as elaborate
a cover as your needs require, and loll there at ease while
envying some'other fellow a quarter of a mile or so away
who was smart enough to take advantage of the day's
flight and in consequence is enjoying good shooting from
a temporary but on.the.spot rig.
While it may be as unfortunate for the wildfowl as it is
fortunate for the hunter, there is hardly a bit of shoreline
Day's bag of ducks took gun to kill, dog to retrieve, but
proper blind to hide hunter was most important for success.
that does n"ot provide adequate material with which to
construct a blind. With the natural growth of rushes,
grass, or low bushes, a pocket knife and possibly a few
feet of fairly stout cord may be needed as an aid to this
construction; and an upturned nail keg, shell box, or five
gallon tin will provide a seat. .
In building this blind there are a few things to reo
member. First, is to keep it as low as possible. Don't pile
up something that looks like an overgrown haystack and
towers over the surrounding growth. When seated, it should
be no higher in back than the top of your head, and low
enough in front so that you will (Continued on page 41)
GUNS NOVEMBER 1959 27