MUZZLE-LOADING PUNT-GUNS 201 
designed as a 1} in. bore. The charge for such a converted 
weapon, if stout enough at the breech, should be about 4 oz. of 
powder and 21 oz. of lead. On the screw-block end is cut a 
female dovetail, which takes in a corresponding male dovetail 
on the base of the cartridge case. This dovetail secures the 
cartridge for insertion and extraction. The details of the cart- 
ridge case we refer to later. The striker works through the 
screw-block, which is made of wrought steel. The gun is 
hammerless, with a cocking lever on the outside. The 
lock should be rebounding. The steel breech-block is 
fitted into a brass face-piece and held with three iron set- 
screws (about 2in.), as shown in the cross-section view. This 
brass face-piece contains the lock, the chamber for this latter 
having been milled out of the brass. The kind of brass we 
should recommend for this purpose is that which is soft and 
tough. A lever with a handle to it is fitted with a double-eye 
hinge and pin to the bottom of the brass part of the stock. 
This lever is brought at a right angle to the gun-barrel, and 
used to give better purchase when screwing in and out the 
breech. It is of further assistance when required to help 
in drawing out a tight shell. The trunnions of the gun answer 
as a leverage whereby to hold the gun. With recoil spring 
gear a similar purchase is secured, but when a gun has only a 
loop under the barrel to take its recoil rope, then a chain-pipe 
wrench will be found useful to prevent the gun turning when 
a ‘‘stuck’”’ case has to be drawn. 
When the gun is loaded, this lever lies along and under- 
neath the gun-barrel. A wood hand-stock is attached to the 
brass by means of a long set bolt. There are many items to 
which we do not refer; but, as our subject is one merely 
giving an outline of the conversion of punt-guns, and a design 
whereby the scheme can be carried out, we hope that our 
readers do not expect details of how the lock and each little 
part is to be constructed. Moreover, we cannot describe the 
