Well, heck...the picture here is not all that grim and the responses are not that acrimonious, compared to some former flare-ups on assorted subjects.
To my perspective, there is the historical market hunting, which due to a variety of socio-economic changes and the efforts of the Conservation movement, eventually became obsolete. Indeed, the greater slaughter of ducks was made easy by the advent of the repeater and then the semi-auto shotgun. The poachers and wholesale killing of that era, right thru WW2, are well recorded - many times in their own autobiographies.
Historically, the many, many accounts of Sporting waterfowling thru the centuries and geographies has been very interesting reading. And part of it was about puntguns, their owners and the context of the use; the same as any other firearm used on game, edible or non-. There were some absolutely fascinating historical sporting [mostly not commercial] figures who worked as hard as any modern professional athlete,day after day in the worst conditions, by our standards.
The actual timing of the waves and firing of the gun, as best I can gather, was in some ways it the least of the efforts. Considering the very low freeboard of the punt, the position from which one used the hand paddles, the icy and/or rough water, the inadequate clothing [by modern standards], and the general hedging about of difficulties -- it was not an easy way to supplement a waterman's living nor was it a sport for wusses.
True enough, there were kills -- sometimes - of a hundred fowl. We are rightly repelled by that idea today. Those days are long gone, as are sadly most of the real Baymen of the Chesapeake and Coastal Water folks of Britain. Tt's true, they have descendants, and cultural memories and tales and some still build wooden boats on the Chesapeake. But those big guns here are long time gone into museums and the modern limits straightly over-watched.
As well, there are the English 19th Century sportsman's diaries that take you out in a cockleshell for your shot of the day, or as was much more likely - your daily paddle and stalk to try and get the rare combination of circumstances that will allow a good shot. These circumstances, as were mentioned in above posts, were likely to bag not more than ten or dozen birds. Yes, there were greater kills. But they were rare enough, especially among the sporting set, that they received considerable billing by the doer.
As always, when it comes to hunting and guns, it is not so much the MEANS - whether it's the personal self-imposition of handmade stick-bow and flint arrow archery. or muzzleloading flintlock shotgun, or open sight stalking to a sure distance with a cartridge gun, or 'name the handicap'.
The modern context of the punt gun, to me, is it's careful following of the advantages and limitations of the mechanism within the legalities of the game laws in order to hunt in a satisfying and archaic method, that damn few people would willingly try more than once.
I say this as a fall & winter canoe and kayak drift hunter on rivers - with binoculars & a shotgun mellowed by rocks, mud, sandy grit, limestone ledges, and the stray Chessie dog paw. Hunting from a blind bores me, no insult to the wonderful perfectionists who do so. Other forms of fowling? Fine by me, as long you don't endanger anyone, violate the limits and laws, or otherwise cast a bad public light upon gun ownership and hunting.
Balloon Videos -- thanks for the links. Apparently there are more than one, and were interesting to watch. The one which I have still not found is twenty of so minutes, but the balloon effect is much the same. It's as tho' a massive instant lawnmower went thru the center section. Given the complexities and difficulties of just setting up and shooting such inflated game, I'm pretty sure balloons will never be an endangered game in the future. Tho', I am relatively sure that sport and hunting shooters are most definitely becoming an endangered species, all together.
I always enjoy this forum and I usually enjoy Homeless Joes´ missives but I think the above quote fairly well sums it up. I have only been wild fowling twice in the UK but my hat is off to the hardy bas*ards that do it. I have never punt gunned and probably never will but that must be even more of an endurance test, each to their own, best
