Am I the last one to know what a 'punt' gun is?

rwsmith · Apr 22, 2015

I just came across this. In the late 1800s/early 1900s, commercial waterfowl hunters had to make production. None of that 2 barrel shotgun stuff. The answer, a 2 gauge 'punt' gun to clear out a large portion of a flock of birds. I believe I've heard these mentioned on this board but if I ever saw one, I'd forgotten about it.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzwbcVbE9rw[/ame]

sigp220.45 · Apr 22, 2015

Great video! I knew what a punt gun is - it reminds me of a battleship firing off its big guns when that 2 gauge goes off in a little boat.

Drm50 · Apr 23, 2015

Punt guns

The Carnegie museum in Pittsburg, Pa has a nice display of them.
Muzzle loaders and some with reload able copper shells.

bigride · Apr 23, 2015

Do they make these with a tactical rail? Install a flashlight/laser combo and you have the perfect home defense firearm.

Just pretend this is witty.

twobit601 · Apr 23, 2015

The Texas Ranger Museum (the lawmen, not the baseball team) in Waco TX has some on display.

Gaffer · Apr 23, 2015

Being brought up in Maine and hearing the old timers talk about duck hunting on Merrymeeting Bay I have see punt guns and the boats they were used in .

JSR III · Apr 23, 2015

OK, but do you know what a punt is on a champagne bottle??????

msinc · Apr 23, 2015

I saw several at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mi. I live right between the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac and Patuxent Rivers so market hunting went on a lot around here back in the day. A lot of old timers, most of which are gone now, used to talk about those days when their dads hunted for money. Many punt guns were nothing more than a large steel or iron pipe strapped to the front of a "sneak" boat. They would load them with roofing nails and gravel {dravel if you are a local hillbilly.}
Wipe out an entire flock of ducks with one shot. When it was finally stopped it took a long time for the eastern flyway to recover from the damage. I remember them telling about how you had to leave the feet on the birds. The rest of it had to be gutted and plucked but the feet had to be there.

Alpo · Apr 23, 2015

JSR III said:
OK, but do you know what a punt is on a champagne bottle??????

The indented bottom.

Bill Bates · Apr 23, 2015

Pretty cool and massive.

A couple of weeks ago I photographed a buddies 4 Gauge double. It was to be shot from the shoulder firing a 4 inch shell with 3 or so once of shot. I think I'll watch. It fit me well but at near 20 lbs. I sure would have to shoot it quick because it was to heavy to for me to hold or swing.

To give you feel bore size here is photo of the breech with a 12 gauge snap cap sitting in the chamber.

and the 4 Bore next to a 12 gauge double.

italiansport · Apr 23, 2015

Don't feel too bad. One showed up at the Antiques Roadshow here a couple of years ago and the gun appraisers didn't know what it was. I was in line and ended up appraising it for them.
Jim

jinx · Apr 23, 2015

I am a big fan of James Michener's books. His book "Chesapeake" gave a good rundown of punt guns. Especially liked a part about putting them in boat and then aiming the "boat' and not the gun. One fellow had to devise a pad of sorts to put behind the butt so he didn't knock the transom out of the boat.

Bugkiller99 · Apr 23, 2015

Couldn't have that in the house. My cat would try and curl up in it like he does a box.

Upon further inspection, he probably could.

boatme99 · Apr 23, 2015

I'm kind of surprised that you didn't know about punt guns, as you live on the Eastern flyway.

Growing up in New England and the Chesapeake Bay area, there were always punt guns hanging on walls in homes and restaurants.
I'd be willing to bet that a few of them were never checked, and hung up loaded.

All those restaurants are long gone, now. I wonder what happened to all that wonderful stuff that used to hang in them.

CAJUNLAWYER · Apr 23, 2015

JSR III said:
OK, but do you know what a punt is on a champagne bottle??????

Yes....I do. Totally wasted space if you ask me-kinda like having those beer glasses with 2" of glass on the bottom. But I know why it is there.

walkin jack · Apr 23, 2015

Well that is a new one on me. Never been into duck hunting or shotguns except for a brief period when I was into skeet shooting.

I wouldn't mind hiding behind a tree and seeing a game wardens face as he came upon an erstwhile hunter sporting one of those babies.

jdlii · Apr 23, 2015

Interesting firearms, as pointed out by all. My exbrother-in-law lives on Reelfoot Lake and guides during duck season. He found one in an antique shop in New Orleans and has it on display with all of his other duck hunting memorabila.

I grew up hunting with a gentlemen who worked for the old Tennessee Game and Fish Commission. He showed me photographs of them and my dad remembered market hunters in West Tennessee using them with great success.

There are a few on display around our state and one located at an event venue in Nashville that is a 1 gauge. The owner of the venue didn't have a place for it at home so, it hangs out there.

rwsmith · Apr 23, 2015

Will it....

bigride said:
Do they make these with a tactical rail? Install a flashlight/laser combo and you have the perfect home defense firearm.

Just pretend this is witty.

Will it handle +P??

rwsmith · Apr 23, 2015

Yes, also called a kick......

JSR III said:
OK, but do you know what a punt is on a champagne bottle??????

But they say the punt is to make the bottle stronger, but I know it's just a way to gyp people out of wine they paid for.

Iggy · Apr 23, 2015

Wyoming state museum had one and the associated punt it was mounted in.

The thing disappeared when the museum removed all of the old artifacts and went to interpretive displays.

Old punt guns were reputed to kill hundreds of birds with one shot.

Am I the last one to know what a 'punt' gun is?

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