Black Brant Hunting on the Pacific Coast

J

Jim Cloninger

Active member
Question: would it help or hurt the Brant hunt if I also set out 4 or 5 cork Canada Geese decoys off to the side? I will put a few drake Widgeon and Pintail decoys off to the side to add visiability and they are common along the coast.
Jim
 
I have no experience with the pacific brant but here in Jersey I know guys running full spreads of Canada silos on the mud flats with great success. I can?t see a few goose floaters doing anything but helping
 
Good morning, Jim~


Like Will, I have no experience with Left Coast Brant gunning. However, here on the Atlantic Tidewater, I rigged for many seasons with 10 Black Ducks and 10 Canadas. I frequently came home with my one Black and 4 Brant. I once pulled about 3000 Atlantic Brant into (mostly over, actually) these decoys.


View attachment Sunrise Brant 5 x 7.jpg



Have a great adventure!


SJS






 
Jim Cloninger said:
Question: would it help or hurt the Brant hunt if I also set out 4 or 5 cork Canada Geese decoys off to the side? I will put a few drake Widgeon and Pintail decoys off to the side to add visiability and they are common along the coast.
Jim
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I wouldn't do it. The purist in me wants the brant to stool to brant, so that is what I do. If geese were a likely potential, I'd be happy to have them out, but not as brant decoys. I've never seen where brant and geese are freely mingling. Brant and ducks, especially on the grass beds out west.
 
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I was thinking the Canada decoys would improve visibility, but the main goal is Black Brant. There are Canadas, Aluetions and Cacklers in the area.
 
If it's a place you hunt more than once then try using them. If they don't work then try something different.
 
When we use to shoot Brant they consistently stooled to canada goose decoys. Several times after first volley survivors would come back around for a second pass. Stopped shooting them once we found out what they tasted like in my area.
 
Jim Cloninger said:
I was thinking the Canada decoys would improve visibility, but the main goal is Black Brant. There are Canadas, Aluetions and Cacklers in the area.
Click to expand...

I don't' think it makes any difference, just do what makes you happy. Brant show well from a distance in all kinds of light (both black and white).
 
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Growing up we killed many a brant over our massive brant rig... one e allen brant decoy. Being where they want to be is key... having a good brant call helps too.

I don't shoot them much these days, but I did call a nice group into my pintail decoys the other day. Just keeping an eye out for those tarsus bands...
 
About Brant callers: are there any commercial ones in the market place? Around 15 years ago I saw some Brant callers that resembled turkey box callers.
 
Jim Cloninger said:
About Brant callers: are there any commercial ones in the market place? Around 15 years ago I saw some Brant callers that resembled turkey box callers.
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There are several. Saunders and Haydel's Reedy Creek are 2 I know of. I have the Saunders and I have a Reedy Creek on order as we speak. The Saunders is fine, but I would not call it great.
 
We use sitting ducks Y boards and floaters combo out here in Puget Sound. The pride of the fleet is a hand carved block that Brad Forgey gifted me. Recently passed Brant guru Ben Welton always included a few wigeon in his set. He noted that they love to steal the eel grass after the Brant have done all the work bringing it back up to the surface.View attachment 20161108_092618.jpg
 
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Jim Cloninger said:
About Brant callers: are there any commercial ones in the market place? Around 15 years ago I saw some Brant callers that resembled turkey box callers.
Click to expand...

Search "Brant call" in Ebay and you will find the Brant box call. I bought one, very soft, more of a curiosity. I also use a Saunders call. I think it sounds good.
 
Jim~


Regarding a Brant call, we always just use our Goose calls, fluttering into it to get the soft, rolling call of Brant. My partner just hollers like a young Brant. And, a flag can be useful, too.


All the best,


SJS

 
When my son was about 11-12, we hunted out of a duck camp on Barnegat Bay. His voice hadn't changed yet and he could really call brant!
 
Good morning, Matt~


I will not cast any aspersions on the maturity - or lack thereof - of my various gunning partners....


All the best,


SJS

 


I don't think it'll hurt you. I have used some Canada decoys and some that were repaints. As has been said, just make sure there is lots of white on the aft end.
 
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