28o 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 1501b. 

 (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 

 Decoming general. What was used a hundred years ago, as 



