Most of you have probably never heard of the “punt gun.” It was the world’s largest shotgun, and I do mean LARGE, placed in a “punt” or small flat-bottom boat. The purpose? It was used for “fowling” or basically shooting wild birds like ducks for resale as food. If your last name is Fowler, perhaps one of your ancestors did this for a living. A punt gun could kill up to 50 ducks in one shot. The crew of one or two would push their punt silently along to a group of fowl. They had to point the gun by lining up the punt to be pointed at their target. Then BOOM!
Enjoy these pictures of a gun used primarily in the 19th and 20th centuries before such use was consider unsporting.
-
- Two gents taking aim. No eye or ear protection?
-
- This is a scene from Tremors 4, where they use a punt gun to blast a worm.
-
- These are pretty heavy.
-
- Smaller replica, and yeah, still impressive
-
- This is a punt gun and punt.
-
- This is a muzzle loaded punt gun.
-
- Off hunting with the punt gun
-
- Size matters
-
- Duck overkill. Up to 350 ducks in one salvo.
-
- Compensating?
-
- I would not straddle that barrel when I fire it.
-
- One being fired. The barrel was demolished
-
- A punt gun and punt model
-
- Pistol version of the punt gun. Seriously? I guess Dirty Hairy was wrong about the .44 magnum being the baddest handgun.
-
- This man has come to exterminate all duck life.
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola, which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole.
Punts were originally built as cargo boats or platforms for fowling and angling, but in modern times their use is almost exclusively confined to pleasure trips.
Michael Bradley - Time Traveler 