STANCHION, OR PUNT-GUN. 34,1 



to the double discharge, but also to either barrel 

 when you fire them separately, which, of course, you 

 have the option of doing ; and therefore you are never 

 obliged to discharge an extra pound of shot in waste, 

 as with the huge single guns before alluded to. 

 Moreover, the gun, oil my plan, cuts two united 

 lanes through the birds, instead of wasting half the 

 shot in the water, and in the air, which is the case 

 when the charge is contained in one large circle. In 

 short, this plan forms, as it were, a kind of oval to 

 suit the shape of the object : and thus, at the mo- 

 ment that one part of the birds are being killed by 

 the detoriater, the others are just conveniently open- 

 ing their wings for the flint barrel, though they have 

 riot time to rise ; because I have here eased the recoil, 

 and got the barrels together so as to do the business 

 point blank. 



The mode of easing the recoil is by means of a 

 long loop, worked on, between, and under, the bar- 

 rels ; and the swivel-pin going through a slider, on 

 which re fits the whole weight of the gun. The space 

 within this loop (about eight inches) with the ex- 

 ception of an inch and five-eighths that is taken up 

 by the slider, is filled with a spiral spring, which 

 has a play of rather more than two inches ; (and if 

 it had even four or five inches of play, I should think 

 it would be all the better.) Consequently, before 

 any jar can take place to interrupt the point blank 

 delivery of the charge, the shot has left the gun, 

 which is, afterwards, brought forward again by the 



