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Punt gunning


Dave at kelton
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Thought I would just let you all see a pals post from FB today. Just about sums up how I feel about wildfowling. Not right in the head really but what the hell.

“Sitting in the middle of Wigtown Bay in what feels like a minus 20 windchill waiting for the tide to flood is a good time for pondering. Sometimes I do wonder if I was dropped on my head as a child. To get such a thrill and enjoyment from somthing as stupid as puntgunning. launching the punt at 1am, having 3 hours kip then floating out here in such a tiny craft in the moonlight to wait for daybreak. Only for the birds you persue to lift just out of range, when you do get in range of a pack the winds holding the bow out and with all your strength, as the sea is splashing over the deck and into your face you just manage to turn the bow just enough to put a shot up the edge of the pack as they jump. My hands look like I've been bare knuckle boxing a block of ice and the rain now running down my neck is cold enough to make me question my gender. Yet I love every minute of it..... I'm Extremely privaledged and fortunate to be able to practice this most misunderstood sport.... But if you think its about killing duck, your most definitly mistaken. My wife thinks I'm mad, my mother thinks I'm mad, and I don't even bother trying to explain it to my kids.... I'm not even very good at swimming, but I hope that skillset is never required 😂😂😂

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49 minutes ago, Dave at kelton said:

Thought I would just let you all see a pals post from FB today. Just about sums up how I feel about wildfowling. Not right in the head really but what the hell.

“Sitting in the middle of Wigtown Bay in what feels like a minus 20 windchill waiting for the tide to flood is a good time for pondering. Sometimes I do wonder if I was dropped on my head as a child. To get such a thrill and enjoyment from somthing as stupid as puntgunning. launching the punt at 1am, having 3 hours kip then floating out here in such a tiny craft in the moonlight to wait for daybreak. Only for the birds you persue to lift just out of range, when you do get in range of a pack the winds holding the bow out and with all your strength, as the sea is splashing over the deck and into your face you just manage to turn the bow just enough to put a shot up the edge of the pack as they jump. My hands look like I've been bare knuckle boxing a block of ice and the rain now running down my neck is cold enough to make me question my gender. Yet I love every minute of it..... I'm Extremely privaledged and fortunate to be able to practice this most misunderstood sport.... But if you think its about killing duck, your most definitly mistaken. My wife thinks I'm mad, my mother thinks I'm mad, and I don't even bother trying to explain it to my kids.... I'm not even very good at swimming, but I hope that skillset is never required 😂😂😂

Well Dave, I applaud your application to the task.

 

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20 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

Thought I would just let you all see a pals post from FB today. Just about sums up how I feel about wildfowling. Not right in the head really but what the hell.

“Sitting in the middle of Wigtown Bay in what feels like a minus 20 windchill waiting for the tide to flood is a good time for pondering. Sometimes I do wonder if I was dropped on my head as a child. To get such a thrill and enjoyment from somthing as stupid as puntgunning. launching the punt at 1am, having 3 hours kip then floating out here in such a tiny craft in the moonlight to wait for daybreak. Only for the birds you persue to lift just out of range, when you do get in range of a pack the winds holding the bow out and with all your strength, as the sea is splashing over the deck and into your face you just manage to turn the bow just enough to put a shot up the edge of the pack as they jump. My hands look like I've been bare knuckle boxing a block of ice and the rain now running down my neck is cold enough to make me question my gender. Yet I love every minute of it..... I'm Extremely privaledged and fortunate to be able to practice this most misunderstood sport.... But if you think its about killing duck, your most definitly mistaken. My wife thinks I'm mad, my mother thinks I'm mad, and I don't even bother trying to explain it to my kids.... I'm not even very good at swimming, but I hope that skillset is never required 😂😂😂

Brilliant post , wildfowling is a bit like Marmite , you either like it or you don't , a lot of people try it and for some they soon find that after a year or two the novelty start wearing a bit thin , while for others they can't get enough .

Very few get the chance to do punt gunning and I dare say it is one of the toughest forms of fowling , on our estuary it was made into a reserve in 1968 and punt gunning came to a close as part of the agreement , this is not to say that shooting from a gun punt was also finished , you could carry on but the biggest gun you could use was a 8 bore , at that time I had two gun punts , a single (18 ft ) and a double ( 21 ft ) and we spent many days in all conditions trying to push on to fowl with whatever gun we were using , when the weather was cold you were freezing , both hands and body , sometimes we used a pushing pole if the water wasn't that deep , or a pair of paddles if we were in deep water , the bags were often small but each duck or goose you got was well deserved for the amount of work that went in to put it in the bag , looking back it was easily some of the best days I have spent chasing duck and geese about , if anyone get a chance to try it then go ahead , you will not regret it .

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23 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

Thought I would just let you all see a pals post from FB today. Just about sums up how I feel about wildfowling. Not right in the head really but what the hell.

“Sitting in the middle of Wigtown Bay in what feels like a minus 20 windchill waiting for the tide to flood is a good time for pondering. Sometimes I do wonder if I was dropped on my head as a child. To get such a thrill and enjoyment from somthing as stupid as puntgunning. launching the punt at 1am, having 3 hours kip then floating out here in such a tiny craft in the moonlight to wait for daybreak. Only for the birds you persue to lift just out of range, when you do get in range of a pack the winds holding the bow out and with all your strength, as the sea is splashing over the deck and into your face you just manage to turn the bow just enough to put a shot up the edge of the pack as they jump. My hands look like I've been bare knuckle boxing a block of ice and the rain now running down my neck is cold enough to make me question my gender. Yet I love every minute of it..... I'm Extremely privaledged and fortunate to be able to practice this most misunderstood sport.... But if you think its about killing duck, your most definitly mistaken. My wife thinks I'm mad, my mother thinks I'm mad, and I don't even bother trying to explain it to my kids.... I'm not even very good at swimming, but I hope that skillset is never required 😂😂😂

Would gladly be called mad to have a chance at punting before I expire!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 14/12/2021 at 19:52, Wildfowler said:

We had our first trip afloat at the weekend.

A few about but either not sitting well for a shot or full of waders…

nice to get afloat though

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXakwRDMiyO/?utm_medium=copy_link

Nice one , In our changing world the art of punt gunning is a form of shooting we can no longer take for granted and if it wasn't for young men like yourselves to carry on with the tradition, it would now be firmly in the history books .

Glad you managed to at least get out and gave it a go , so many things can and do go wrong when punting for fowl and getting a shot is more or less a Red letter day and securing a few fowl is an added bonus .

GOOD LUCK with the rest of the season .

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