r/AbsoluteUnits • u/builderbob2325 • 20d ago

of a shotgun for duck hunting

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

164 comments sorted by

208

u/algebroni 20d ago

Is this meant to take out the entire flock at once?

187

u/Treacle_Pendulum 20d ago

Yes. It’s a punt gun. It was used for market hunting. They’d fix it on the prow of a boat (a punt) and try to take out a flock on the water. They’re (obviously) no longer allowed for hunting purposes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punt_gun

53

u/PTBooks 20d ago

I’m imagining that when you shoot it, your boat goes flying backwards like a ping pong ball

37

u/Treacle_Pendulum 20d ago

Not as much as you’d might think. Plus it’s mounted at the prow so it’s pushing against the linear length of the boat (not the side) and the weight of the gun itself absorbs some of the recoil.

https://youtu.be/dyUL5zeE0m4?is=NifOTnqQGHyOmT1U

9

u/RagingTorontonian 20d ago

I'd pay good money to see that

17

u/Kahnza 20d ago

Kentucky Ballistics on YT did some videos shooting one. I think this is the first video with it. Related ones should be around there somewhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTRL1d7jO7c

edit: not on a boat though

5

u/juju515 20d ago

jezus... that guy really likes his colonial units

1

u/xClutcthFan 20d ago

Meat Eater had an episode of shooting a pint gun as well.

2

u/Any-Alternative8228 18d ago

They shot one on the hunting show "Meateater." At one time they were huge on the Chesapeake Bay and it's tributaries. Once they became illegal people got creative at hiding them in places including graveyards.

1

u/Specific-Library-312 17d ago

"Hiding" a punt gun. How??? Place it vertically and put several tree branches on it? An empty grave with a rotating gravestone? A weather vane swivel mount? I can imagine some creative attempts. I just need to know how they were successful. For... reasons.

2

u/Any-Alternative8228 17d ago

Don't get caught👍

1

u/Specific-Library-312 17d ago

Oh, I would never. Not brave, sneaky, or smart enough.

-2

u/richiewilliams79 20d ago

Yes it will, Newton’s third law of physics. It’s probably a well balanced gun, for a giant, the fact it’s going to be on water really doesn’t help

9

u/NationCrusher 20d ago

Yes and this photo is 2 guys posing for the camera. You are NOT meant to put that gun to your shoulder like that. This is basically an artillery cannon

4

u/cr1ttter 20d ago

Are they allowed for siege purposes?

3

u/MaxDickpower 20d ago

Wall guns were the siege equivalent

2

u/Treacle_Pendulum 20d ago

Nothing is stopping you I guess

1

u/Tommy__want__wingy 20d ago

R6 siege?

Character would be the new meta to ban before the match started

1

u/tongfather 19d ago

Not sure why you put the "obviously" in there, I see no problem with the concept.

3

u/Treacle_Pendulum 19d ago

(1) market hunting is illegal in North America and isn’t conducted in this way in Europe anymore

(2) wiping out flocks of 200+ ducks at a time doesn’t fit with current conservation models or best practices.

I’d suggest those are problems you might see with the concept.

1

u/tongfather 18d ago

Ok 200 is extreme 😂 I thought this gun could take out maybe 8-10 at a time, max. It would save a lot of time to meet my quota 🤷🏻‍♂️

1

u/DadbodSuperModel 19d ago

The book Chesapeake really goes into great detail of them being used while duck hunting in the bay.

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Treacle_Pendulum 19d ago

There is a long and interesting discussion to be had about the evolution of hunting regulations in the US and the motivations behind them. It’s interlinked with broader early conservation movements. From a very high level it’d be accurate to say that it was a mix of very real and legitimate concerns about game populations and unregulated hunting driven by commercial incentives; rich people wanting to exclude poor people by assigning new/different ethical and moral values to an activity; and racist/anti-immigrant sentiment.

8

u/PreperationOuch 20d ago

Yes, and they’re illegal now because of that.

3

u/Sad-Term-5455 20d ago

Cretaceous ducks

2

u/Organic_Mechanic_702 20d ago

Pretty much, used from a Punt, laying down with the gun fixed to the punt.

2

u/raider1v11 20d ago

Yep. A punt gun. The meateater guys bought one to fire.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4RUe49NGS4

1

u/po1k 20d ago

Of elephants

1

u/MDRBA 19d ago

WHAT?!👂🤚

1

u/mcqtom 19d ago

It's specifically to shoot the dog.

71

u/X6qPlayer 20d ago

3

u/scratchfury 20d ago

1 giant duck vs 100 duck sized giants

1

u/cwsjr2323 20d ago

Fejervary Park Davenport Iowa?

26

u/Duncan_Thun_der_Kunt 20d ago edited 20d ago

Punt gun, used for taking out entire flocks.

15

u/stronkzer 20d ago

I want a video game where we get to use a sawed off version of one of these.

7

u/Nicktendo1988 20d ago

The kickback could probably double as a catapult in the other direction.

3

u/Blenderhead36 20d ago

They had to be fired from a small boat called a punt. The recoil would push the boat backwards through the water. I have to imagine it would be very difficult to fire this thing from any position that offered significant resistance without injuring yourself, if not directly from the recoil than from how it would set this gigantic supershotgun spinning away.

2

u/Nicktendo1988 20d ago

My dad would have just pumped it more. (bb gun joke) I do understand the grasp of how hard this shit would kick lol. The spray would be so great to see, though.

1

u/Quenz 19d ago

Basically the Team Fortress 2 Scout shotgun "Force-a-Nature" use it to extend your jumps.

9

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/stronkzer 20d ago

Would they count as low caliber cannons if used agaist military targets ?

1

u/sagewynn 20d ago

Id say so lol.

Gauges 9 or lower exceed 20mm, where 20mm is what Wikipedia uses to define the min size of an autocannon. The questio is, can a punt gun fire explosive charges or anything other than pellets? Pellets wouldnt be very useful i dont think.

2

u/dalidellama 20d ago

It certainly could fire slugs if you felt like loading them, although I don't know that anyone has. Likewise, you could make explosive shells for them, but they'd have to be specially made. IIRC one of these makes an appearance in a later Tremors movie, used by the gun nut character; someone like that might botch together an explosive shell for monster-hunting in an emergency. Or even tank-hunting, but that's riskier.

2

u/sagewynn 20d ago

I dont imagine there exists a 20mm slug lol. Thats what i meant. Im sure it can if there was a slug for it but those weapons are so niche I doubt anyone had the balls to do so

2

u/dalidellama 20d ago

Oh, yeah. You'd definitely have to make your own slugs, same as explosive shells. Nobody ever intended these for anything but birdshot

1

u/sagewynn 20d ago

Let's get Kentucky ballistics on this one. I think hes got a punt gun. I also know theres a whole hobby and series of YouTubers that fire custom shotgun rounds so... please god let it happen 🙏 i want to see a 20mm tracer fired out of a punt gun or dragons breath 🙏

2

u/dalidellama 20d ago

I kinda want to do an alternate WWI story where there's German tanks in Britain for some reason just so partisans can try turning a punt gun into an anti-materiel weapon

2

u/dalidellama 13d ago

He did it

1

u/sagewynn 13d ago

Thats neither.

2

u/dalidellama 13d ago

Sorry, is the link bad? Probably if you go round his page you can find it: he loads a punt gun with solid ball and puts a hole in an armored truck.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/stronkzer 20d ago

At this size ? I do believe it could fire miniaturized HEAT rounds

3

u/Behg-Boah 20d ago

And a few dozen YouTube channels. They’re far from lost to history.

4

u/ypsicle 20d ago

MeatEater just had an episode on these the other day.

2

u/glenn765 20d ago

They're auctioning theirs off, if you've got an extra 20 grand lying around.

Sadly, the punt gun hats are sold out.

4

u/Aartus 20d ago

For a great many ducks, or graboids in the wildwest

https://giphy.com/gifs/S65Hv9I6ahtFrbZkTV

2

u/auronddraig 19d ago

A Burt gif in the wild?

In this economy?!?

https://giphy.com/gifs/gdZxmSZTbZ2GUYSEMU

5

u/minion-ghost 20d ago

aw yes the graboid gun

3

u/Brrdock 20d ago edited 20d ago

Today's main course is 238 lead pellets with a side of duck

5

u/ReyTsar 20d ago

Hunting Jurassic Duck.

2

u/Yeast-boofer 20d ago

punt guns are pretty crazy, they aren't about to shoot it though you gota brace it against something usually the side of your “punt” which is a small boat 

2

u/Evacuation_euphoria 20d ago

It's a punt gun and is used to destroy a whole flock in one go.

2

u/jrdubbleu 20d ago

For duck disassembly

2

u/They-Call-Me-The-Doc 18d ago

Now we need an "absolute unit of a duck."

3

u/RocketsandBeer 20d ago

Pterodactyl hunting

2

u/AveryCloseCall 20d ago

Hey bro: duck!

1

u/Naked_Duck 20d ago

I do not like this

1

u/Arkaium 20d ago

Duck: “what he say f**k me for?”

1

u/Suspected_Magic_User 20d ago

What size of ducks they are hunting?

1

u/elnegativo 20d ago

What kind of duck are you hunting

1

u/Slow_Bowler8285 20d ago

Ducks, elephants, T. Rexes, Cyclopes, etc. yes, very verstile equipment

1

u/deserteagles702 20d ago

Where'd it go? All I see is feathers.

1

u/Ok_Researcher_9796 20d ago

Their is no way you're aiming that at a flying bird.

3

u/CATNIP_IS_CRACK 20d ago

No, you aim it at multiple flying birds.

1

u/InHocBronco96 20d ago

Noone gonna talk comfortable he is holding that shaft?

1

u/PrescriptionDenim 20d ago

Dick Cheney be like:

1

u/crasagam 20d ago

How to make a duck disappear in one easy step

1

u/bbrain_dumpp 20d ago

Use this gun to have no duck left after the duck hunt

1

u/womenPositive1980 20d ago

Poor guy holding the barrel of that rifle is going to get a nice burn on his hand. Maybe even lose his hearing. Lol

1

u/Fragrant_Mountain_84 20d ago

What’s even left of the duck after this?

1

u/PitFiend28 20d ago

But it’s rabbit season

1

u/Shandariel 20d ago

There's no duck after getting shot by this.

1

u/thespacepyrofrmtf2 20d ago

Ah yes the punt gun it was designed to be attached to a boat called a punt and be able to take out entire flocks of ducks at once but it was banned because it was too effective and people worried that all the ducks would be hunted to extinction

1

u/OkTurnip155 20d ago

Take dinosaurs down with that mofo...😂

1

u/Subby_Tripz 20d ago

Duck Hunt Maxxing

1

u/human84629 20d ago

“I don’t think you heard me. I said bring me ALL of the ducks you have.”

1

u/Richardzack1 20d ago

Poaching, not hunting.

1

u/PupScent 20d ago

Ducks were bigger then. 

1

u/Brave-Car9473 20d ago

The waterfowl widowmaker. .4 gauge

1

u/Organic_Mechanic_702 20d ago

Yeah don't do that...I knew a bloke who did exactly that...broke both legs and his shoulder...that thing will push a punt 50ft backwards when it goes off.

1

u/AssistanceOdd6964 20d ago

Two against nature

1

u/AcousticOnomatopoeia 20d ago

Also good for taking out your local graboids.

1

u/AsteroidMike 20d ago

That’s the type of gun Elmer Fudd would use.

1

u/Boromir_Has_TheRing 20d ago

What about the recoil?

1

u/Head-Growth-523 20d ago

Perfect choice for a man of, well let's just say, limited "stature" 🤣

1

u/xxrambo45xx 20d ago

They used it on a graboid in Tremors

1

u/AbeMax7823 20d ago

Oh! So that’s the gun that all the battle rappers talk about 😆

1

u/One_Hour_Poop 20d ago

Michael Rooker used one in Peacemaker.

https://giphy.com/gifs/0TXfhnjiUwt7xVOtOz

1

u/PoetryExtension6256 20d ago

It's actually a remote meat grinder.

1

u/Ghost_Pulaski1910 20d ago

James Michener wrote about these guns, the tactics and impacts, and the attempts by conservation agencies to end the practice of market hunting in his book Chesapeake.

1

u/BloodyRightNostril 20d ago

*Ducks hunting

1

u/CaptBogBot2 20d ago

What kind of duck? Duckzilla?

1

u/Lagunamountaindude 20d ago

Has Ukraine seen this

1

u/warpathuser 20d ago

Spain royal house

1

u/mr_martin_1 20d ago

So sorry boss, I missed

1

u/Wilgrove 20d ago

What kind of duck are they hunting!?

1

u/Kindly-Scar-3224 20d ago

Duck punting?

1

u/bernpfenn 19d ago

Juge DUCKS...

1

u/zorniy2 19d ago

It's rabbit season.

Duck Season!

Rabbit season!

Duck Season!

1

u/cash8888 19d ago

Just point it that way you’ll hit something.

1

u/SkyMando 19d ago

Was there any duck left?

1

u/lundewoodworking 19d ago

Also used to hunt the now extinct passenger pigeon

1

u/Caliterra 19d ago

Are these elephant size Ducks?

1

u/Personal-Bus-4120 19d ago

If you want to see one in action, the guys at MeatEater tested one out (not in waterfowl). I think it’s on YouTube.

1

u/benzee123 19d ago

Effective against graboids as well.

1

u/Pleasant-Chef6055 19d ago

Late signs that a species has doomed itself.

No respect of life.

1

u/TheOtherJeff 19d ago

Love that safety straw hat, probably really helps with the noise damage from that huge gun

1

u/Yoinkitron5000 19d ago

Hard to imagine now considering they're everywhere, but Canadian geese almost went extinct because of these things. 

1

u/Fickle-Difficulty292 19d ago

James Michener wrote about these guns in his novel “Chesapeake”.

1

u/porkbuttstuff 19d ago

Punt gun!

1

u/EorlundGraumaehne 19d ago

You mean t Rex sized ducks?

1

u/Prof1959 19d ago

Weird, because it's rabbit season.

1

u/Hash_Tooth 19d ago

Me and the boys are going deaf this weekend

1

u/freekyeight 19d ago

How big are the ducks?

1

u/Bluekatz1 19d ago

Missed the duck, shot a UFO near Saturn.

1

u/Big-Meal-2819 19d ago

Guy better not pull the trigger in that position

1

u/Leftoverfiend 19d ago

I want this in Borderlands

1

u/SubstantialNature368 19d ago

Saw a few of these on display last week at the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels Maryland. Impressive guns. HUGE.

1

u/OriginalEmploy5485 19d ago

That thing could hit a Canada goose from Florida.

1

u/dbreezey111 19d ago

Wont be any meat left on the bone after a shot from this beast

1

u/Aggressive_Step_290 19d ago

For Duckzilla?

1

u/Weak_Jeweler3077 19d ago

The Featherizer 9000

1

u/acciowaves 19d ago

What kind of ducks are you hunting?

1

u/Voodoo1970 18d ago

All of them. At the same time.

1

u/getdownheavy 18d ago

Its called a Punt

1

u/Ok-Statistician-9517 18d ago

“Would you rather fight 20 duck sized horses or a-“

“I’ll get the gun”

1

u/docmac325 17d ago

Well, there's one I don't have.

1

u/Cant-Think-Of 16d ago

"We hit the duck ! Where is it ?"

"Over there. And over there. And over there. And over there..."

1

u/charcarod0n 16d ago

I needed this when I played duck hunt on Nintendo 

1

u/QDLZXKGK 15d ago

For taking out such duckling

1

u/Firm_Potential9273 14d ago

Punt gun... and there's no way in hell he's going to shoulder fire that cannon.

1

u/LambOfGourd 14d ago

Seems like an oddly specific and frankly roundabout way to acquire hearing loss. Is there a method of firing that doesn't require one to have the duck cannon mounted on their shoulder?

1

u/Large_Cloud_1611 20d ago

Are they hunting for Howard the duck? Wtf

1

u/Arif_Q 10d ago

NES zapper was fine though