| Gun Punts and Sneak Boats are well established vessels for improving access to quarry for wildfowlers. These vessels need to be manoeuvrable, shallow drafted, stable and have a low, discreet profile for reducing visibility. They are usually painted to help them blend into their environment.
The gun punt has a very large gun detachably fixed to the boat. The whole boat is manoeuvred into position to aim at a flock before firing the gun. The punt guns produce large recoils and have been made with diameters exceeding 2 inches and firing over a pound of shot at a time. These guns are obviously too large to be held for firing and when fixed securely to the punt, the recoil shock is transmitted to the punt and will propel the boat backwards at discharge.
Gun punts were first developed as a means of providing food for families some 200 years ago. Any extra quarry was sold for an income.
Fewer than 50 active punt guns were still in use in the United Kingdom, a 1995 survey revealed. UK law limits punt guns to a bore diameter of 1.75 inches (44 mm) (1 1/8 pounder).When a Punt Gun has been built it must be proof tested before receiving approval for use. There are just a few Proof Testers in the Country.
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