mallard will also fall to his lot. If he can persuade an 

 experienced man to give him some practical lessons 

 in handling the punt it will be considerably to his 

 advantage. 



I will conclude this chapter with a briefly de- 

 scriptive survey of the ordinary outfit of a gunner 

 in his punt. 



Cripple-stopper. This should be a full choke 

 i2-bore, preferably with double-grip action. Let it 

 not be a gun the appearance of which is valued. It 

 is a good plan to have two brass hooks under the 

 side deck, to hold the cripple- stopper and keep it out 

 of harm's way. Cripple-stopper cartridges should be 

 waterproof, and should be loaded with No. 4 or 

 No. 5 shot. Let the cartridge-bag have a strap to 

 buckle round the waist ; if carried by means of a 

 strap passing over the shoulder, it will prove a 

 constant nuisance when birds are being gathered 

 on the ooze. There should be a cleaning rod for the 

 cripple-stopper. 



Mud- boards. Boards to strap or lash to the feet, 

 enabling the wearer to walk over ooze which would 

 not otherwise bear his weight. They should be 

 made of wood f-in. thick. Length 14 inches, width 

 1 1 inches is a convenient size. To the under-surface 

 of each mud-board should be firmly fixed by rivets a 



