Black Brant Hunting on the Pacific Coast

[Dave Hughes]

Do want you want to do. I can shoot brant every time out. If you are near where they want to be at low tide you don't even need decoys. I consistently decoy brant to black duck decoys and a rig of bluebills, cans, and bufflehead. Flocks of up to 50 easily. Brant are not very bright. AT ALL. Ive shot birds out of a flock and have had the flock circle again and decoy to the dead brant on the water.

 

[Jay K]

Regarding brant calls, as Steve and others have said, a short-reed goose call works. Flutter your tongue as you apply pressure into the call and at the end give it a steady break. It's hard to explain. Also, just mouthing the call works too.

 

[Tony N.]

I brant hunt NW Washington every year. Unfortunately they usually only give us 2-3 days as the western high arctic brant winter in our area. Estimated population is at 10K. I used to use all canada floaters and I would shoot limits of brant over them. Over the years, I have been taking old canada floater that I can get for cheap and re-paint them into brant decoys. I also use V-boards, Y-boards and sleds for them. The calls I use are the Bill Saunders Brant call & Haydels reedy creek brant call. Both work great. You can also use a standard goose call with multiple murmurs followed by a single cluck. They are very vocal on the water while feeding.
I like to target big drops in outgooing tides as they fly into the bays to feed on the gravel beds feeding on exposed eel grass, seaweed and other items.