Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

Great subscription deals at http://www.sportinggunsubs.co.uk may 2019Sporting gun 89

I

learntsomethingbyjustreadingthe

titleofthisbook.Apparently,it ’san

oldwildfowlers’toasttocelebratea

successfulday.I don’trecollectever

hearingit inTheBull’sHeadatFishbourne,

butthatmaybebecauseasa shore popper

I’venevershotverymuch.

Itisdifficulttothinkofa betterduoto

writea definitivehistoryofwildfowlingafloat

fromyachtsandpunts;bothauthorshave

decadesofexperience,coupledwitha keen

eyeforthehistoryofthismagicalsport.

ReadersmayknowJohnfromhistime as

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Asuccessfulcoastalwildfowlerwitha punt

couldearnmorethanthreetimes the wage

ofanagriculturallabourer.

Puntgunningasa sportfortheleisured

classescametoprominencewiththe

writingsofColonelPeterHawkerbutit was

notuntiltheadventoftherailwaysthatit

becamea practicalproposition.Itsgreatest

exponentwasSirRalphPayne-Gallwey

(RPG),whospentmosthislifeshooting

ashoreorafloat.RPGwasa prolificauthorof

shootingbooksandthefirstpresidentofthe

Wildfowlers’AssociationofGreatBritain and

Ireland,theforerunnerofBASC.

MuchofthebookcentresonRPG’s

WildfowlingDiarythatcametolightonly

recently,butit goesmuchwiderthanthat.

GeorgeGouldandWilliamAbdyBeauclerk

wereamongthosewhouseda yachtas

a wildfowlingbase.Beauclerkevenhad

a steam-drivenpuntandthere’sa lovely

photoofmygreatgrandfatheron her helm,

completewithyachtingcap.

Oneofthemarvelsofthesportwasthe

puntgun.Thebestwerebuiltbygunmakers

suchasHolland&Holland,whowenow

associatewithbestshotguns.Thefascinating

storyofhowRPG’sfavouritedoublegun

became two singles and was then restored

By John Richards and Julian NovorolReviewedbyDavidFrost

Saltwater, Webbed

Feet and Blackpowder

gear

Book review

toa doubleiscarefullyrecorded.Nobody

withaninterestinwildfowling can fail to be

fascinated by this book.

developmentdirectoratBASCandthensales

managerforHolland&Holland.Julianpaints

evocativepicturesofwildfowlandseveralof

hispaintingsgracethewallsofFrostTowers.

Thestorystartsintheearly19thcentury,

whenwildfowlingwasanimportant

economicactivityratherthana leisure

sport.Coastalwildfowlerscompetedwith

inlandduckdecoystoprovidebirdsforthe

marketsofLondonandelsewhere.Huge

numbersofbirdsweretakenandthequarry

list was much more extensive than it is now.

Punt shed, Holy Island

SirRalph’sdoublepuntgunbeingtested

by Holland & Holland in March 1885

SirRalphPayne-Gallwey

withhispuntsman,

Joss Fletcher

PictuRes fRom PuBlicatioN

“oneofthe

marvelsofthe

sportwasthe

punt gun”