CARE OF GUNS AND GEAR 229 



easily rubbed off, and withstands the action of salt water better 

 than anything we have tried. It is a kind of vaseline, sold by 

 dealers in motor and engine stores. Two waterproof covers 

 tacked to the inside of the cockpit coaming of the punt, so as 

 to fall over the cripplers when resting in their hangers, keep 

 off a lot of spray, etc., when afloat. 



Punt-guns, if old ones, are best painted on the outside of 

 the barrel. Before doing this they should be thoroughly 

 cleaned free of rust, and then treated with a strong solution 



I of lime to remove any grease. The best paint, we think, is 

 the metal paint, aluminium, but the gun may be painted with 

 ordinary white-lead paint, if desired. The portion of the 

 barrel where the gun rests in its crutch, after painting, should 

 have sewn or laced tightly round it a piece of canvas (this 

 afterwards also painted), to prevent friction rubbing the paint 



5 off, and rust eating into the gun barrel. Really up-to-date 

 punt-guns are generally plated with nickel, which, if well 



|done, will last and preserve the gun for a long time. The 



Itime this plating will stand, however, entirely depends upon 

 the quality of the work, and the manner in which the gun is 

 used. If one does not care to go to the expense of having a 

 gun replated after the plating has given out, the gun may then 

 be rubbed bright with emery and oil. Before setting out on 

 each occasion, the gun must be well and thickly greased on 

 the outside of the barrel. On returning, the grease can be 

 removed if water stands on the barrel, and a fresh coating 

 supplied. This method is a very safe one regarding a punt- 

 gun, for pits cannot occur unobserved, as might be possible 

 with a gun painted. A hundred years of rubbing will not thin 

 the barrel to any appreciable extent. The barrel, when 

 shining bright, can be dulled with tallow or some other fat, 

 and in this way rendered in harmony with the colour of the 

 punt, as well as impervious to the action of salt water, at least 

 for one day. All punt-guns should be fitted with a breech-cap 



