I wouldn't say they are illegal, just a large shotgun, but what do you plan on telling your FO?:D

Well definitly don't tell him sailors used to call it a "murderer". Apparently these things used to be lethal at short range loaded with grapeshot... .

Sorry lads, my mistake. I think I was mixing it up with what was called a falconet

How would they compare to a 10 or 8 gauge shotgun ?

"Irish Tom" historic punt gun to be put on permanent display

09/10/01 > Immediate release

Irish Tom - an awesome piece of shooting history is to be put on permanent display at the headquarters of the British Association of Shooting and Conservation in Rossett.

Irish Tom is 14 feet 1 3/4 inches (4.31m) of punt gun, weighing 300lbs (136kg) and once firing 3lb 2oz (1.4kg) of shot, propelled by 10 ounces (283g) of black powder.

In the 1930s the gun was bought from a professional wildfowler in Ireland by Stanley Duncan, founder of BASC's predecessor WAGBI (The Wildfowlers' Association of Great Britain and Ireland). It was regularly used by by Stanley Duncan from 1936 until the second world war. After that it was acquired and used by actor James Robertson Justice during his many wildfowling exploits on the Wash. It even spent a night at the bottom of the river Welland, to be retrieved at low tide the next day. For a number of years the gun was lost, but is believed to have had a brief incarnation as a builder's scaffolding pole. Now of too large a bore to shoot waterfowl legally, it was rediscovered in an Inverness boatyard in 1981 and restored before being presented to BASC.

Keen southcoast wildfowler Lee Freeston has raised funds from fellow wildfowlers across the country to put Irish Tom on permanent display, with the final amount needed coming from the recent East Coast Wildfowlers' Conference. The conference also donated £100 to the Wildlife Habitat Trust, the conservation fund for sporting shooting in the U.K., which has so far made possible the investment of over £1m in land and habitat conservation.

Tony Laws, Director of Conservation at BASC said "We are delighted that the East Coast Wildfowling Conference has made these two important contributions. One will allow the final preservation of part of our sporting heritage, the second will contribute to the future of our sport and our countryside"

ENDS.

Note to editors: Pictures available. Irish Tom has a diameter of 2 1/32 inches at the muzzle and 2 1/16 inches at the breech. It was originally muzzle-loaded before restoration.

For more details contact Simon Clarke BASC Press office 01244 573026

http://www.basc.org.uk/content/34irishtom34

I may be greatly incorrect but I believe there is a couple of them on the walls in Durty Nellys in Bunratty, I could be wrong though, I have not been there in years.
They were probably used on the Shannon estuary.

Colin Willock wrote this book back in the 60's about building, equipping and operating a punt gun.

If you want to know about Punt Gunning it's a great read as indeed are all his books - especially the shooting ones. He died a couple of years ago and the prices of his first editions have sky rocketed:eek:

If you are a child of the 60's or 70's you will remember the "Survival" wildlife programmes which were produced and sometimes written by him:cool:

He contributed to to Shooting Times for many years as "Town Gun"

Incidentially, ahem, if anyone has "Death at the Strike" by him gathering dust on their bookshelves I would be prepared to offer it a good home and ongoing companionship with the rest of my collection of his books

my grandfather used to shoot with one going back 50 years ago. he would tell tales of going out on the bog and firing onto the water and wathching the dogs retreiving bird upon bird just after one shot.

Get another few lads with you John and you could start the Galway Light Artillery..

Durty Nellys, Chesapeake Bay, "Death at the Strike", Folkard, H&H, Irish Tom, Ralph Payne Galwey, Shannon Estuary, pounds of shot and black powder. Eclectic. :cool:

Very Interesting Old Gun Room don't ya think.