Posted on 04/25/2009 12:53:59 PM PDT by 7jason
Lewis and Clark brought an airgun on the Voyage of Discovery. When this fact became widely known after World War II, while air rifle manufacturers were mass producing and marketing inexpensive models for boys throughout America, the revelation seemed profound. A pellet rifle? A BB gun on that famous expedition by Thomas Jefferson's Corps of Discovery? Well, not exactly. The airgun Lewis and Clark brought along was a powerful weapon, hardly a Daisy Red Ryder.
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I'll stick to my SOCOM however...
Alas ... no SOCOMs in 1803.
Also worked great as a club!
I never knew.
Heh. It was the best gun they had on the voyage. This is the one Lewis grabbed when he thought they were under attack. It was used by the Austrian military, and was a repeater that could fire 20 rounds in a row, something no other gun of the time could do. Read the article. Very interesting stuff.
Repeating airguns were used by European armies centuries ago.
Beat me to it! L0L
Looks like something we will have to make when the government takes our guns
The speed one could fire is exactly as described. Not quite up to semi-auto, but close to bolt or lever action in repeat shots. Don't recall that loud a report; I remember hearing the sound of the ball impacting the target making nearly as much noise as the report of the gun, and saw it flatten a lead ball (50 yds.) when starting with a full charge of air.
You can bet there was an EXTENSIVE Q&A after the demo. I think they spent something like 20K reproducing the rifle. They found while trying a range of materials for the air seal, only horn would work properly.
Well dunno about the rest of Europe, but for sure by the Austrians around the time of Napoleon.
My first realization that an air-gun could do more than “put your eye out” was reading the collected Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
Someone took a pot shot at the great detective with an air-gun, a very powerful and deadly weapon evidently.
It’s sort of mind boggling to realize such weapons had been around for nearly 100 years, when Moriarty tasked his henchman to murder Holmes.
The Beeman disassembly article noted that the reproduction being made for the Beeman family was reproduction #4.
I would assume this means there are at least 4 working models out in the world.
Slick!
There’s a couple of custom big bore airgun makers out there, but I think their waiting lists are a year or more. The Dragon Slayer, from Korea, is a .50 caliber model available for well under $1,000.
http://www.pyramydair.com/p/career-dragon-slayer-50-caliber-air-rifle.shtml
I'm pretty certain the Swiss Army used them as well.
The advantage over the black powder muzzle loaders of the day was lack of smoke, and they were not as loud as a black powder gun, simply not as quiet as a silenced weapon would be.
Large caliber air rifles are for sale today and there are people who use them. They are a pain to charge however.
dewey lambdin’s character, british naval officer alan lewrie, has one.
Were the snipers in question Austrian mercenaries?
They may take yours, but they ain’t gettin mine....at least not without a fight.
Before the voyage of discovery they tried out the air gun and almost hit a woman in the head. the ball went through her hat. The Indians they met were very impressed with the air gun.
Apparently the Italians wouldn't respond to the request for the plans, until someone from that village, now in America, called up and said 'What's the trouble with this?'. They got the plans, and built the reproduction.
Quick question. What would an air gun need a hammer?
Fascinating! Thanks for the post.
Can't recall, if fact I am not sure I ever knew exactly what unit(s) were snipers. I do know that some armies used air rifles quite extensively for regular use, not just for snipers. They were repeaters, but took a long time to charge up, they had wagons loaded with extra, I want to say cylinders, magazines is as good a word as any, that would follow along behind the troops so they could reload quickly. Charging from dead empty took quite a long time.
I know the Lewis and Clark gun could fire about 20 rounds and I think the modern equivalent does also, but each shot has a slightly lower velocity than the previous round fired, a slight draw back when you consider the gain in fire power over a muzzle loader.
My first thought. I believe it functions as a back-up musket when the air pressure is gone.
cool!
Just as with a modern air rifle the trigger requires cocking.
Partisans used them against the Nazis, so you may be onto something!
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My first thought. I believe it functions as a back-up musket when the air pressure is gone.
No, there's no flintlock-type pan and frizzen, or anything resembling a nipple which could hold a percussion cap. The hammer is just used for cocking the valve mechanism:
Early 1800’s High Tech.
Good article, thanks. I have a few Beeman air rifles, and they’re great little guns. Interesting that Mr. Beeman unknowingly wound up with Lewis’ gun.
I found it interesting that for so many years the good doctor was convinced, as were others, that his rifle was not Lewis'. Then the evidence just kept coming in until it became irrefutable.
Interesting, thanks.
With to days technology we should be able to build a very powerful and effective weapon.
With to days technology we should be able to build a very powerful and effective weapon.
We have, I used one for a couple of days installing my new pre-finished hardwood flooring where I couldn’t swing the nailing hammer.
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