Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark.

[jgreiner]

Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark

I found this incredibly fascinating.

 

[Montgomery Hicks]

Nice find and interesting it is something I didn't know and it helps me with my genealogy study since I am related to Willam Clark

 

[tactical1224]

Very cool! Amazing how powerful it is and how many shots you can take. Undaunted Courage was an awesome read and I recommend it!

 

[DemolitionMan]

Thank you for posting this. I knew they had an air rifle with them and that they had shown it to the tribes, but never made the connection that it was a tool to help them get through safely. Very clever of them.

 

[jgreiner]

Thank you for posting this. I knew they had an air rifle with them and that they had shown it to the tribes, but never made the connection that it was a tool to help them get through safely. Very clever of them.

you are most welcome. I found it incredibly interesting. But heck, I find most things firearm related to be interesting.

 

[netsecurity]

Wow, I had no idea they had air rifles that long ago, let alone one that could be used in war, and was practically semi auto. I wonder how they pumped it up?

 

[jgreiner]

Wow, I had no idea they had air rifles that long ago, let alone one that could be used in war, and was practically semi auto. I wonder how they pumped it up?

video says they had a device like a foot pump, took 1500 pumps...tank held over 800 PSI.

 

[TopDog]

That was really interesting. I had no clue that air rifles even existed back then.

 

[jgreiner]

That was really interesting. I had no clue that air rifles even existed back then.

You aren't alone, neither did I.

 

[netsecurity]

video says they had a device like a foot pump, took 1500 pumps...tank held over 800 PSI.

Found a vid of a reproduction showing the pumping and firing. It doesn't show the accuracy or power much though.

http://youtu.be/Z9WEsILY92o

 

[AK471025]

That gun scared allot of indians

 

[csmith]

Awesome thanks for posting.

 

[jgreiner]

Awesome thanks for posting.

You are most welcome.

 

[femurphy77]

I had heard of this before but didn't realize what a BAD Mofo it was!

 

[jgreiner]

I had heard of this before but didn't realize what a BAD Mofo it was!

Yep, the first suppressed assault rifle

 

[netsecurity]

Yep, the first suppressed assault rifle

Yea, i just thought of that. This is back in the musket days during the time the constitution was written, and they had 22 round semi auto (or as close as you can get to semi auto).

Liberals say the constitution is outdated, because they could only fire one shot. Nonsense. If they pass a 10 round magazine limit now, then we we could be outgunned by a 17th century technology!

 

[Enkrypter]

Precisely why I own one of these...

Air Rifles: Benjamin Marauder

.25 cal hit pretty dang hard. blows holes in 1/2" plywood all day long and is dead silent. All you hear is the pellet hitting the target. GREAT hunting rifle for rabbit, squirrel, coon, or yote.

This is next on my list:

http://www.pyramydair.com/s/m/Dragon_Claw_Dual_Tank_Air_Rifle/2500

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t-7lEPKeWY

 

[Enkrypter]

video says they had a device like a foot pump, took 1500 pumps...tank held over 800 PSI.

I'd imagine similarly to the ones we use today...

Benjamin Hand Pump, Fits Crosman & Benjamin PCP Guns. Hand pumps.


It looks like a bicycle pump, but it has a 3-stage mechanism inside that moves air through it on the up and down stroke. I'm sure their pumps were not as good as ours and I could not imagine the workout it would take to charge a rifle to 800psi.

My rifle charges to 3000psi and it takes about 10-15 minutes of slow VERY hard pumping to get it up there from 0psi. It's a workout. That said, I never shoot mine lower than 2000psi. Pumping from 2k to 3k takes about 50 pumps in 4 minutes. Nto terrible, but way better than pumping from 0psi.

Definitely not children's toys.

I might add that air rifels may not be very effective past 100 yards, but up to 100 yards, they can be extremely lethal. They are also not considered firearms and therefore would never be banned.

I have two really nice air guns in my collection and I'd HIGHLY recommend getting one to add to yours. They would be invaluable for any prepper or survivalist and Uncle Sam will never try to take them from you.

You want semi-auto high-power? No problem!
Evanix Giant X2 Semiauto PCP Air Rifle. Air rifles - PyramydAir.com

.357/9mm semi-auto