Sinkbox

Last updated February 22, 2019

A sinkbox is a specialized hunting blind used by waterfowl hunters. It consists of a weighted, partially submerged enclosure large enough to hold one or more hunters and suspended from a floating platform. It is placed into calm water so that the hunter may wait with the waterline at approximately shoulder height.

A hunting blind (US), hide or machan is a cover device for hunters or gamekeepers, designed to reduce the chance of detection. There are different types of blinds for different situations, such as deer blinds and duck blinds. Some are exceedingly simple, while others are complex. The legality of various kinds of blinds may vary according to season, state and location.

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the waterfowl family Anatidae which also includes swans and geese. Ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the family Anatidae; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Current use

In 1918 below-waterline hunting was banned in the United States by authority of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior with the passage of the Migratory Bird Act of 1918.^[1] Sinkbox hunting is still practiced in Canada, but is largely a relic of the past.

As antiques

Cast-iron sinkbox decoys — often painted — were used as ballast, to disguise the sinkbox, and to attract game close to the hunters. The cast-iron decoys are popular among antique collectors.

Decoy person, device, or event meant as a distraction

A decoy is usually a person, device, or event meant as a distraction, to hide what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.

Related Research Articles

The wood duck or Carolina duck is a species of perching duck found in North America. It is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.

The Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,022 acres (60.79 km²) (2014) wildlife refuge located in White County, Arkansas about two miles south of the town of Bald Knob. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge features large numbers of migratory waterfowl and bald eagles during the winter months.

The Federal Duck Stamp, formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, is an adhesive stamp issued by the United States federal government that must be purchased prior to hunting for migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese. It is also used to gain entrance to National Wildlife Refuges that normally charge for admission. It is widely seen as a collectable and a means to raise funds for wetland conservation, with 98% of the proceeds of each sale going to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920), was a United States Supreme Court case that centered on the constitutionality of implementing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. In a 7–2 decision authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Court upheld the federal government's exercise of the treaty power and found no violation of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703–712, is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1916 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Great Britain. The statute makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell birds listed therein as migratory birds. The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs, and nests. Over 800 species are currently on the list.

Shot is a collective term for small balls or pellets, often made of lead. These were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and less commonly from riot guns and grenade launchers, although shot shells are available in many pistol calibers in a configuration called "bird shot", "rat-shot", or "snake shot". Lead shot is also used for a variety of other purposes such as filling cavities with dense material for weight/balance. Some versions may be plated with other metals. Lead shot was originally made by pouring molten lead through screens into water, forming what was known as "swan shot", and, later, more economically mass-produced at higher quality using a shot tower. The Bliemeister method has supplanted the shot tower method since the early 1960s.

Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,551-acre (6,293 ha) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Montana. The refuge is 7 mi (11 km) northeast of Malta, Montana in the Milk River Valley and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting ducks, geese, or other waterfowl for food and sport. In many western countries, commercial waterfowl hunting is prohibited, and duck hunting is primarily an outdoor sporting activity.

The Erie National Wildlife Refuge is an 8,777-acre (3,552 ha) National Wildlife Refuge located in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Named after the Erie tribe, it was established to provide waterfowl and other migratory birds with nesting, feeding, brooding, and resting habitat.

History of the National Wildlife Refuge System

The National Wildlife Refuge System in the United States has a long and distinguished history.

Upper Harker Lake is a shallow glacial lake located in Kidder County, North Dakota, United States. It is 4.6 km (2.9 mi) south-southeast of the town of Dawson, North Dakota, and 81.2 km (50.5 mi) east of the state capital, Bismarck. The lake is entirely surrounded by the wetlands and marshes of the Slade National Wildlife Refuge, and public access is limited.

The Call Duck is a bantam breed of domesticated duck raised primarily for decoration or as pets. Call ducks look similar to some other duck breeds, but are smaller in size. Call ducks were initially used in hunting, where their own calls and quacks would attract wild ducks towards the hunter's guns. This practice has almost entirely been replaced with artificial Duck calls, with Call ducks now being kept primarily as pets.

The Migratory Birds Convention Act is a Canadian law established in 1917 and significantly updated in June 1994 which contains regulations to protect migratory birds, their eggs, and their nests from hunting, trafficking and commercialization. A permit is required to engage in any of these activities.

A hunting season is the time when it is legal to hunt and kill a particular species of animal.

Bird trapping techniques to capture wild birds include a wide range of techniques that have their origins in the hunting of birds for food. While hunting for food does not require birds to be caught alive, some trapping techniques capture birds without harming them and are of use in ornithology research. Wild birds may also be trapped for their display in captivity in zoological gardens or for keeping as a pet. Bird trapping was formerly unregulated, but to protect bird populations most countries have specific laws and regulations.

A professional hunter, less frequently referred to as market or commercialhunter and regionally, especially in Britain and Ireland, as professional stalker or gamekeeper, is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional hunters work in the private sector or for government agencies and manage species that are considered overabundant, others are self-employed and make a living by selling hides and meat, while still others are guiding big-game hunters.

Layout boat hunting is a sub specialty of traditional waterfowl hunting which is done in a low-profile un-motorized boat made of a unique design to allow hunter to maintain a close position to the water in order to conceal them in open water. This is a sport with a long history going back to market hunters and punt boats mounted with small cannons. The main focus of the layout boat is to put the hunter very close to the decoys if not in them for additional concealment. This makes for very dramatic hunting scenarios where a decoying bird comes extremely close to the hunter and boat.

Frederick Charles Lincoln was an American ornithologist.

Homer Fulcher is a duck decoy carver from the Core Banks community of Stacy, North Carolina.

References

↑ "16 U.S. Code § 704 - Determination as to when and how migratory birds may be taken, killed, or possessed". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2018-09-08.

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[bird_act-1] "16 U.S. Code § 704 - Determination as to when and how migratory birds may be taken, killed, or possessed". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2018-09-08.

Sinkbox

Contents

Current use

As antiques

Related Research Articles

References