Steve Sanford
Well-known member
All~
You may recall that I have been working with retired DU rep Craig Kessler and a bunch of other Long Island gunners on a project that will recount a certain type of gunning at the spring show of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association in early March (Saturday, March 7 in Hauppauge). We have been meeting with many veteran gunners, looking at photos, gear and boats, and preparing for a display called When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay – that era from 1935 – when batteries were finally banned and were replaced by open bay "scooter rigs" – until 1975 or so.
In addition to all the photos and gear, we are also putting together a "film" (not sure what to call digital motion pictures....) that will include a bunch of interviews and also a couple of hunts from existing big rigs. So, Tuesday morning, we met with guide Red Oster and a few others to record all the work involved in thisstyle of gunning. We had a fine day with all on board – and Craig and I learned lots from our vidoegrapher extraordinaire – Anthony Babich. Anthony is another of my many great "finds" on duckboats.net. I have known his uncle for many years but only through duckboats did I learn of the talented nephew.
Anthony was the official photographer/videographer during the hunt. I brought my camera along and tried to stay out of his way. These photos are mine. I look foreard to seeing all of Anthony's work – from his armada of video equipment.
We all assembled on the dock in the pre-dawn – and then sailed out onto Great South Bay to the melodies of the rumbling exhaust. Craig's and my "job" was to make sure that the operation was documented for posterity. Of course, Anthony did all of the real work. I guess Craig and I would be called "producers".....
The classic rig involves 3 vessels, each with its own role. The big tender gets everything and everybody out to the gunning grounds – and also serves as a nice home – warm, dry and well-fed – for the "spectators".
The decoys are stored in and handled from a stool boat. Compartments keep the trawls from tangling.
The actual gunning boat is a "scooter" – sort of what we call a layout boat hereabouts. (Neither Craig nor I had ever heard the term "layout boat" while growing up.) Red's rig uses a sweet little 2-man scooter. It is stored on the big flat afterdeck until ready for use.
That's a padded "safety stick" across the cockpit - to keep muzzles up out of harm's way. I will be sewing a nice grey lap canvas for Red before next season.
Red and his brother Steve set the rig. We hunted over about 80 Broadbill and 20 Brant stool. Most were trawls supplemented with a dozen or so singles.
A special aspect of this hunt was that the paying "sports" were both longtime friends and participants in the "Broadbill-King" project. Mike Marran and his son Michael were the guests – along with Mike's Chessie Daisy. Both have spent many years in pursuit of Broadbill on this bay, often from Mike's own scooter rig. Also, Mike is a Past President of the South Shore Waterfowlers Association.
It is not the "usual" practice to have a retriever in the scooter, but – Mike had some compelling reasons and we were all happy to see that everything worked out very well. Note that Daisy has donned the requisite Grey along with the rest of the crew.
Winds were "light and variable" - but we did get a bit of snow to help matters
Times change – and so the current limit on Broadbill is 2 per day. We shot our Broadbill limits and also took a few Brant.
No - this is not a Pete Revicki decoy - this is the real thing.
Anthony was sure to capture every aspect of the hunt in electrons....
Another good day at "work"....
All the best,
SJS
You may recall that I have been working with retired DU rep Craig Kessler and a bunch of other Long Island gunners on a project that will recount a certain type of gunning at the spring show of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association in early March (Saturday, March 7 in Hauppauge). We have been meeting with many veteran gunners, looking at photos, gear and boats, and preparing for a display called When the Broadbill was King on Great South Bay – that era from 1935 – when batteries were finally banned and were replaced by open bay "scooter rigs" – until 1975 or so.
In addition to all the photos and gear, we are also putting together a "film" (not sure what to call digital motion pictures....) that will include a bunch of interviews and also a couple of hunts from existing big rigs. So, Tuesday morning, we met with guide Red Oster and a few others to record all the work involved in thisstyle of gunning. We had a fine day with all on board – and Craig and I learned lots from our vidoegrapher extraordinaire – Anthony Babich. Anthony is another of my many great "finds" on duckboats.net. I have known his uncle for many years but only through duckboats did I learn of the talented nephew.
Anthony was the official photographer/videographer during the hunt. I brought my camera along and tried to stay out of his way. These photos are mine. I look foreard to seeing all of Anthony's work – from his armada of video equipment.
We all assembled on the dock in the pre-dawn – and then sailed out onto Great South Bay to the melodies of the rumbling exhaust. Craig's and my "job" was to make sure that the operation was documented for posterity. Of course, Anthony did all of the real work. I guess Craig and I would be called "producers".....
The classic rig involves 3 vessels, each with its own role. The big tender gets everything and everybody out to the gunning grounds – and also serves as a nice home – warm, dry and well-fed – for the "spectators".
The decoys are stored in and handled from a stool boat. Compartments keep the trawls from tangling.
The actual gunning boat is a "scooter" – sort of what we call a layout boat hereabouts. (Neither Craig nor I had ever heard the term "layout boat" while growing up.) Red's rig uses a sweet little 2-man scooter. It is stored on the big flat afterdeck until ready for use.
That's a padded "safety stick" across the cockpit - to keep muzzles up out of harm's way. I will be sewing a nice grey lap canvas for Red before next season.
Red and his brother Steve set the rig. We hunted over about 80 Broadbill and 20 Brant stool. Most were trawls supplemented with a dozen or so singles.
A special aspect of this hunt was that the paying "sports" were both longtime friends and participants in the "Broadbill-King" project. Mike Marran and his son Michael were the guests – along with Mike's Chessie Daisy. Both have spent many years in pursuit of Broadbill on this bay, often from Mike's own scooter rig. Also, Mike is a Past President of the South Shore Waterfowlers Association.
It is not the "usual" practice to have a retriever in the scooter, but – Mike had some compelling reasons and we were all happy to see that everything worked out very well. Note that Daisy has donned the requisite Grey along with the rest of the crew.
Winds were "light and variable" - but we did get a bit of snow to help matters
Times change – and so the current limit on Broadbill is 2 per day. We shot our Broadbill limits and also took a few Brant.
No - this is not a Pete Revicki decoy - this is the real thing.
Anthony was sure to capture every aspect of the hunt in electrons....
Another good day at "work"....
All the best,
SJS
