130 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
fowls in a farmyard with a walking-stick.”’ Who could imagine, 
in our enlightened age, that such rot could gain publicity? 
We are inclined to suggest that our worthy author of the 
paragraph previously cited on punt-gunning should have 
written more faithfully thus, did he wish to be truthfully 
correct: ‘‘ Punt-gunning is a sport I know nothing about. I 
do know it entails hardships and much skill to kill wild-fowl 
on open waters with a punt and swivel gun. As for shooting 
with a punt-gun, I cannot say what it is like, never having 
fired one; but I must state, from what I have seen, that the 
shooting seems easy ; but, furthermore, this always appears so 
with good performers.”’ Thus stated, his words would have 
been more healthy and of better value, as then they would 
not have led anyone into a misunderstanding. 
Some folks imagine they are wildfowlers simply because 
each year they manage to bag an odd snipe, curlew, teal, 
mallard, or widgeon. This would not matter if they kept their 
imagination to themselves; but, unfortunately, they don’t. 
Some even pose to know all and everything about wildfowling. 
Here, then, it is we are sorry. We do not wish to say there 
is no other form of wildfowling in which as much sport can be 
obtained as in punting. This we leave to individual choice. 
We would like to recall, however, some of the sayings we 
have heard expounded by shore-shooters who consider punt- 
shooting to be simple murder, etc. We do not wish to give 
any impression of egotism. At the same time, we cannot 
permit to pass unnoticed the thoughts of many shore-gunners 
concerning punting. Some of them say punt-shooting is 
slaughter, because a number of fowl are fired at together ; yet 
at the same moment they hold that it is legitimate wildfowling 
to fire at fowl ‘‘bunched”’ even with a shoulder gun. This, 
then, can be no argument. Of course, our remarks, it need 
hardly be said, do not refer to shore-shooters who are practical 
and worthy of their titlh—men who can call, stalk, hide, and, 
| 
