[lit-ideas] Re: Foote, Re-enactors, Duck Punt Gun

on 6/29/05 10:29 PM, Andreas Ramos at andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>> What's a duck punt gun?  A nine foot long cannon-like barrel that you attach
>> to a punt--flat-bottomed boat.  You fill the barrel with metal detrius and a
>> charge.  You then paddle up to ducks and let fly.  Boom!  You go scooting
>> backwards, somewhat deaf.  There is a chance that the released mayhem could
>> have hit a duck in such a way that one could take it home and eat it.
> 
> this could be extremely funny to watch with a beer in hand, esp. when ducks
> fly one way and 
> the boat flies the other way.

Maybe I should have said that this is a nineteenth century device and that
setting it off now might cause considerable injury to
he-who-owns-the-thing-and-runs-with-whomsoever-has beer.

> 
>> I should have mentioned that the American sailors in the Royal Navy, like
>> many sailors in the Royal Navy, were probably not there by choice; they were
>> likely pressed men.  Pressing American sailors was one of the practices that
>> led to the war of 1812.
> 
> oh, dang, i was going to point that out.
> 
Sorry.

David Ritchie
Portland, Oregon

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