satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 New Friends, I'm a new member from TEXAS and have gotten interested in puntgunning, since: 1. I read CHESAPEAKE by James A. Michener, which has many pages on commercial waterfowl hunting in Maryland, USA "in the olden days" & was "entranced". 2. Found out by accident that the country to which I am retiring allows, muzzle-loading ONLY, puntguns for waterfowl hunting, with the bore size restricted to 40MM (internal measurement) or less. and 3. Discovered this website purely by accident, while researching puntguns & gunning boats. (EXCELLENT site, by the way.) Should anyone reading this comment have plans for constructing a percussion muzzle-loading puntgun with hammer(s) and/or a suitable gun-punt, I would be interested in hearing from you. (Hunting with "the big guns" has been unlawful since 1918 in the USA & little actual specific information seems to be available on their construction & use. -The Chesapeake Bay Museum of St Michael, MD had plans for the guns and the boats at one time but has none anymore.) Sincerely Yours, satx78247 San Antonio, Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dannyboy220 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Posted in your other one too http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/217901-making-a-gunning-punt-and-punt-gun/?hl=punt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Dannyboy220, Thanks for your input. Nonetheless, as much as I admire Wildfowler's beautiful work in designing & building his gunning punt and his breechloader, that discussion does NOT directly bear on my problem. = No actual plans are available to me for either the boat nor a suitable muzzleloading gun. What I'm hoping is that someone here knows where I can procure such a set of actual plans, which a "regular fellow" like me can build a suitable gunning punt from & a set of directions that I can give to a skilled metalworker to build a muzzleloading punt-gun in 40MM bore, given that I have neither the artistry nor knowledge that Wildfowler so obviously has in surplus. (I would like the lock/trigger mechanism to be something like the Brown Bess conversions to percussion ignition, as I'm familiar with the Brown Bess and those locks are quite strong & unlikely to break in service. - Our fledgling CSA army and marines converted many hundreds of Brown Bess muskets to percussion in the 1861-63 period & those conversions were "well liked" & considered to be "quite robust" by the CSA's forces, in actual daily close combat use) Sincerely yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highbird70 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) http://www.puntgunner.co.uk/puntbuilding.htm http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?115571-Hints-on-making-canibalising-sails-please http://www.homegunsmith.com/Archive/T21319.html Start from here Edited July 30, 2013 by Highbird70 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Highbird70, THANKS. yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highbird70 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Highbird70, THANKS. yours, satx You very welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 To All, I find it rather "peculiar" that the UK, which prohibits private citizens/subjects of the Crown from owning/carrying concealed handguns (for HOME/SELF defense) & most rifles, allows punt-guns, which have been outlawed for hunting in the USA since 1918. (Punt guns seemingly HAD to be outlawed to save our waterfowl from extinction, as the commercial hunters and some "private hunters" were killing literally MILLIONS of ducks/geese each year. - One "big gun", which was seized in 1925 by the MDFP&W was said to have killed over 300,000 waterfowl during the years that 4 men had owned it. "The Walker", which had a 6.5 inch bore, had been fired at least 5x a week for 60+ years & according to a Maryland Ranger in 1924 had killed up to 150, with an average of over 70, waterfowl per shot.) NOTE: My maternal grandfather donated his large personal collection of firearms (and "gathered up" & exported, at his expense, many other firearms from friends/neighbors/business contacts) to the British Home Guard in WWII, because of the INCREDIBLY FOOLISH public policy of the pre-WWII UK's government that essentially outlawed the civilian ownership/use of most modern firearms. Then after the war that same STUPID policy was reinstated, which continues to this day. = Ninnies, morons & "wannabe" tyrants "in positions of public trust" (& the FOOLS that tolerate those tyrants) never learn! (Was it not for our Bill of Rights to the US & Texas Constitutions, our "leftist lunatics", "statist, wannabe, nannies" and "public busybodies" would strip US citizens of our Natural Rights, too, even though armed civilians prevent felony crimes & bloodshed about 300 times per day in the USA, according to the US Marshal's Service.) To quote "our sage of Montecello", Thomas Jefferson, "When the people fears the government there is TYRANNY but when the government fears the people, there is LIBERTY." my opinion, satx MAJ, USAMPR, Retired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) Satx , we have no need for hand guns for self defence in the UK as gun crime is rare over here.The main reason for that is because such guns have been banned from public ownership and thus hard for a crimnal to get hold of. On the other hand we are allowed to shoot with punt guns , but the bags are very much smaller than what you seemed to have experianced. 15 - 20 if a big shot over here and most punt gunners probably bag far less than a shoulder gunner during the course of the season. Edited July 30, 2013 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl206 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 To All, I find it rather "peculiar" that the UK, which prohibits private citizens/subjects of the Crown from owning/carrying concealed handguns (for HOME/SELF defense) & most rifles, allows punt-guns, which have been outlawed for hunting in the USA since 1918. A point of pedantry but your statement is not entirely true. FACs that allow concealed handguns for personal protection are issued in Northern Ireland when: there is a specific and verifiable risk to the individual; and a handgun is proportionate and necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) anser2, Pardon me but the UK is, according to INTERPOL (and a lot of my old comrades of Her Majesty's RED CAPS - I was once, long ago, an "exchange officer" to the BAOR.), in 2013, the 2nd most violent nation in Europe. = Only Russia has more violent crimes committed per day, according to INTERPOL's stats. Also, I'd bet that I can buy an illegal handgun within 2-3 hours in London, if I was there. - The "criminal underclass" is always armed & quite willing to provide arms, if you have "the brass". (I was an MP officer for well over 2 decades & served in a nation where POSSESSION of a handgun is a HANGING offense. Nonetheless, we confiscated numerous handguns, every year that I was there.) yours, satx Edited July 30, 2013 by satx78247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 fl206, And WHY will Brits allow 'the government" to decide what is "proportionate and necessary" to protect their own "home & hearth"? (We "wild & rebellious Texicans" trust NOTHING that any "government" says, especially our current "obamanation".) yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl206 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 (edited) If we had to have a referendum on everything that went through Parliament, we'd never get anywhere! We delegate decisions to Government because we expect them to make the right choices for us. We vote them in at elections and we get rid of them if/when they fail to deliver (usually when). It's not a perfect system but it works most of the time Edited July 30, 2013 by fl206 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 fl206, Understood. BUT to quote an "old comrade in arms" of The Princess Patricias, "Politicians should, like nappies, be changed often & for the selfsame reason." (Sean frequently made me LOL.) Fwiw, IF "arms in private hands" made a society violent, the Swiss republic would be the most blood-spattered place on Planet Earth, rather than one of the safest. - Only a raving lunatic would "cause trouble" in a place where a majority of householders are armed with machine-rifles and the officers & much of the "other ranks" routinely carry handguns! (I worked several cases with Swiss police over my years that I was stationed in Europe & often entertained Swiss officers in my quarters.) yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl206 Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Hi, I think I'm dragging this thread away from the topic. Happy to continue the discussion via private message I'll send something in a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 fl206, That's OK, as it's my thread. yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ghost Posted July 30, 2013 Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 Great Fighters the Swiss Army, not sure on what battles they won but they make good knives...unlike the Russians or French Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2013 The Ghost, CHUCKLE. yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Good luck in your search for a 'Twombly'. New Friends, I'm a new member from TEXAS and have gotten interested in puntgunning, since: 1. I read CHESAPEAKE by James A. Michener, which has many pages on commercial waterfowl hunting in Maryland, USA "in the olden days" & was "entranced". 2. Found out by accident that the country to which I am retiring allows, muzzle-loading ONLY, puntguns for waterfowl hunting, with the bore size restricted to 40MM (internal measurement) or less. and 3. Discovered this website purely by accident, while researching puntguns & gunning boats. (EXCELLENT site, by the way.) Should anyone reading this comment have plans for constructing a percussion muzzle-loading puntgun with hammer(s) and/or a suitable gun-punt, I would be interested in hearing from you. (Hunting with "the big guns" has been unlawful since 1918 in the USA & little actual specific information seems to be available on their construction & use. -The Chesapeake Bay Museum of St Michael, MD had plans for the guns and the boats at one time but has none anymore.) Sincerely Yours, satx78247 San Antonio, Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 Penelope, THANKS. IF I get a "big gun", I'll have to build one or have it built, as the few originals here in the USA, that are NOT already in a museum, are $$$$$$$$$$$. (I know of an 1880s punt-gun that recently sold to a museum collection for in excess of 15,000USD.) yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 such guns have been banned from public ownership and thus hard for a crimnal to get hold of. With an estimated 2,400 illegal handguns per month being imported soon after the ban, i would question that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjimmer Posted July 31, 2013 Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 New Friends, I'm a new member from TEXAS and have gotten interested in puntgunning, Should anyone reading this comment have plans for constructing a percussion muzzle-loading puntgun with hammer(s) and/or a suitable gun-punt, I would be interested in hearing from you. Sincerely Yours, satx78247 San Antonio, Texas Get hold of a book called The Gun Punt Adventure. There might be some plans in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted July 31, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2013 rjimmer, THANKS. - Haven't heard of that book. yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satx78247 Posted August 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2013 rjimmer; All, Perhaps someone here (besides me!) did NOT know that The University of California has put its ENTIRE LIBRARY on-line. - A virtual "library card" is FREE for the asking. (UCA has at least one rather rare book on punt-gunning, that I plan to down-load. - I'll post what, if anything, I find out reference: punt plans.) yours, satx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 Colin Willock is the Author, and I believe that there are some rudimentary plans for a punt of sorts. A single man, beamy punt. Get hold of a book called The Gun Punt Adventure. There might be some plans in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudpatten Posted August 5, 2013 Report Share Posted August 5, 2013 Respectfully, this "punt" was based on a design from Hawkers book and was based upon his "light boat." The boat itself was intened to be used by a third man who, in those muzzle loading days, would assist with shooting the cripples and would carry the shot birds ashore to leave some space in the punt itself. This craft was never intended to carry a punt gun and does not have the same handling characteristics as a proper punt, despite being pointed at both ends. Willock and Hargreaves cheerfully conceded that they erred on the side of caution when building their "punt" and subsequently admitted that it`s handling, by comparison to a proper punt, was utterly dire. You would`nt want to spend a lot of time and money on building a boat of this style for use with a big gun. It simple does not work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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