Shotgun or Flak Gun? — The Punt GunIn my life so far I have only seen one of these guns once,
Shotgun or Flak Gun? — The Punt GunIn my life so far I have only seen one of these guns once, at a gunshow several years ago. I just thought, wow what a big ass shotgun, not understanding why they were significant.A punt gun is a type of large oversized shotgun that was used in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. They were usually individually made and customized and could be muzzleloading or cartridge firing, depending on the era they come from. Also called company guns, they were usually mounted on boats and used by commercial hunters to shoot down entire flocks of birds with one shot. Another tactic was to sneak up on birds resting in the water and blast them before they took flight. The birds would then be sold for their meat or down. While Punt guns differed wildly, they usually had a two inch bore and could fire over a pound of shot. In the later half of the 1800’s states began banning punt hunting due to depleted waterfowl stocks. In 1918 market hunting was banned entirely. -- source link
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