280 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
punt as she moves through the water will not alarm the quarry 
as much as one might expect, owing chiefly to the fact that 
when the punt makes most noise the weather is such that the 
sound is soon lost, or does not travel far, on account of sur- 
rounding noises made by the rippling water or the breakers 
rumbling on the shore. It is always wise to take a little 
sand ballast when shooting from a sea-punt. 
It is not advisable to carry a punt-gun of more than 150 lb. 
(lighter for preference) for use in a sea-punt, as dead weight 
makes the punt labour in a sea, where danger might come sud- 
denly upon you. The gun should be mounted so that her 
greater weight bears well into the cockpit. This will make 
the punt less liable to dive, and, therefore, ride clear of many 
a sea that might otherwise swamp her. 
Before going on to describe the general kinds of small 
craft used in wildfowl-shooting afloat, we should remark on 
the different types of ordinary duck-punts to be found along 
our coasts. We have referred in full detail to single and 
double-handed punts as used by amateurs, and the varieties 
designed for special purposes. It is more particularly with 
respect to the professional gunning-punts we wish to speak. 
Professional influence over amateurs of local practice has had 
something to do with the many adverse opinions of punters in 
general. No doubt the punts used at a certain quarter by 
professional gunners suit the locality ; but these craft seem 
to be built for these men more on the lines of ‘‘the good old 
has been,” rather than any points of personal originality, 
which we feel sure could be produced if these fellows, with 
their vast experience, were to try. 
Taking matters as a whole, originality in anything is lack- 
ing with most of our local coast fowlers. They seem to work 
more on the copy and pattern principle. This may be all in 
order, and not a bad way of working, but it keeps ideas from 
becoming general. What was used a hundred years ago, as 
