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A punt gun is a type of extremely large shotgun used in the 19th and early 20th centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl for commercial harvesting operations. These weapons are characteristically too large for an individual to fire from the shoulder or often carry alone, but unlike artillery pieces, punt guns are able to be aimed and fired by a single person from a mount.
The bores marked * are found in punt guns, obsolete, or rare weapons only. However, 4 gauge was sometimes found used in blunderbuss guns made for coach defense and protection against piracy. The .410 and 23 mm are exceptions; they are actual bore sizes, not gauges.
As breech loaders and cartridge rifles came into vogue, the 6 bore's popularity faded in favour of the larger 4 bore or 2 bore, which became something of an industry standard, as it was a very popular choice of caliber for punt guns. [1] By the 1880s, the 8 bore was a more practical caliber for elephant hunting, as rifles could be produced with ...
Despite the popularity of the calibre in modern gun lore there is no evidence the 2 bore as named was actually used as a terrestrial and shoulder fired firearm. The equivalent calibre size equates to various punt guns used for harvesting large number of waterfowls usually mounted in 'punts' or flat bottomed boats for commercial purposes.
Larger gauges, up to 4 bore, too powerful to shoulder, have been built, but were generally affixed to small boats and referred to as punt guns. These were used for commercial waterfowl hunting, to kill large numbers of birds resting on the water. Bond Arms Cowboy Defender .45 Colt/.410 Shotshell Derringer
e) Vintage (pre 1939) rifles, shotguns and punt guns chambered for the following cartridges expressed in imperial measurements: 32 bore, 24 bore, 14 bore, 10 bore (5 ⁄ 8" and 2 + 7 ⁄ 8" only), 8 bore, 4 bore, 3 bore, 2 bore, 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 bore, 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 bore and 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 bore, and vintage punt guns and shotguns with bores of 10 or greater.
The difference between a 1 and 2 gauge bore, however, is 25%. This is a significant amount, so it makes sense to have a division in between. This source lists loading data for punt guns of 1 to 1 1/4 inch (4 5/8 to 2 3/8 gauge), 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 inch (1 3/4 to 1 3/8 gauge), and 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 inch bore (1 gauge to 1 1/8 pounder). If there were no ...
When the Dutch established the Dutch Cape Colony in the 17th century, they soon discovered their muskets were hopelessly inadequate against local game. Within a century the most popular Boer firearm was a flintlock smoothbore musket of about 8 bore with a 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) barrel. [3]