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 
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 
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 
time 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 
