PUNT-GUNS 171 



where the fowler whose gun threw from i^lb. to 2 lb. of shot 

 would refrain from doing so. Thus we may imagine that the 

 small punt-gun fowler under such circumstances would be the 

 only one to obtain fowl, yet at the same time we must not 

 neglect to remember what the situation would be like if the 

 reverse was the case. No matter ; our remarks here are simply 

 given so as to illustrate how a fowler should arrange so as to 

 have a gun suitable for his intended fowling grounds, by first 

 ascertaining what quantities of fowl are likely to be met with. 

 In wildfowl life, however, we are subject to occasional altera- 

 tions from the ordinary run of things. This is so ; nevertheless, 

 it is always wiser to take as your example the general rule 

 than to keep plodding after the exceptions which so rarely 

 occur. It can be well advised that, if fowl are, generally speak- 

 ing, known to frequent your ground in small lots, a small 

 gun will return more satisfaction and better sport. Pleasure 

 will be found, only, in the use of a large gun when fowl are 

 numerous. We, of course, leave the novice fowler to strike his 

 own medium where thought necessary. 



We now come to the question of how a punt-gun is best 

 loaded in practice, at the muzzle or the breech ? Muzzle- 

 loading swivel guns, for a very long time after present-day 

 breech-loaders were invented, were considered by expert punters 

 to be by far the better weapons. The reasons for this were 

 that breech-loading guns seemed to fire too light a charge when 

 compared with muzzle-loading guns of similar weight ; and, 

 again, the advantages of more convenient loading claimed of 

 the breech-loading gun were not thought by experienced fowlers 

 to be of so much account, chiefly because quick loading is 

 not a sine qua non in a punt-gun ; it was also argued, that 

 change of shot size was never needed, as the fowler loaded his 

 gun, in nine cases out of ten, fully knowing what kind of fowl 

 he was likely to meet with. Then it was further advanced that 

 in a muzzle-loading punt-gun there was less chance of anything 



