146 THE WILD-FOWLER. 



to go in company ; for two important reasons : First, that there is 

 less danger of accidentally shooting- each other ; and, secondly, the 

 noise arising- from the report of two or three guns discharged at one 

 and the same instant disturbs the surrounding waters no more than 

 one gun ; but if the punters are scattered in various directions about 

 the waters, the danger of their shooting each other is much greater, 

 the banging more frequent, and the birds more restless j consequently 

 they spoil each other's sport. 



The punter is equally liable to disappointment by day as by 

 night, especially when the water is rough, so as to cause the boat to 

 float unsteadily. It is then very difficult to shoot with certainty 

 from the punt, because the muzzle of the gun must rise and fall with 

 the waves ; and, as the slightest deviation from the regulated level 

 position of the gun will entirely alter the range of the shot, it would 

 seem the height of indiscretion to fire the punt-gun under such cir- 

 cumstances at birds sitting upon the water ; the chances being that 

 the shot will either strike the water before reaching the birds, which 

 would be the case if the fore-part of the punt fell into a w r ave, and 

 vice versa as regards the aft -part, in which case the shot would 

 fly over the heads of the birds. I have heard of puntsmen approach- 

 ing within forty or fifty yards' range of large flights of wild-fowl in 

 rough water, and firing their guns "point-blank at them, without kill- 

 ing a bird ; all which is very easy to be understood, and is explicable 

 by the reasoning offered above. 



The only method whereby success can be expected at such times is 

 to get as close to the birds as possible, but to reserve the charge until 

 they are fairly on the wing; w r hen a well-directed shot will often do 

 splendid execution, and kill even more than a discharge at the same 

 number sitting in smooth water. 



The punter should be cautious never to allow an over-eagerness to 

 lead him into danger, but at all times to regard personal safety as the 

 first consideration ; and this is a trial which will frequently be put to 

 the test in those who pursue the sport energetically. The punter 

 should never leave his boat a moment without making it fast or cast- 

 ing out the anchor. Many a young sportsman has lost his life in this 

 way : eager to get possession of a wounded bird, which may happen 

 to be within a few inches of his grasp, he steps out of the punt on to 

 a sand or mud-bank by the water side, and in his anxiety to secure 

 the prize, neglects to carry out the anchor ; in the next moment the 

 punt is adrift, and he is left a hapless mortal on a barren ooze or 



