I’m going to counter that with rate-of-fire and nominate a Winchester Lever Action...maybe model 1873 or so as the first true “assault rifle.”
The Spencer repeating rifle was a decade earlier and the Confederates swore that the Yankees "loaded it on Sunday and fired it all week."
“I’m going to counter that with rate-of-fire and nominate a Winchester Lever Action...maybe model 1873 or so as the first true “assault rifle.””
It was long preceded with a greater rate of fire by the 22 shot rapid fire Girandoni System Austrian Repeating Air Rifle, Circa 1795. Used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition to overawe the Amerinidan nations with its rapid and noiseless fire, no other firearm of the time could even approach its firing capacity. The Austrian Army found it necessary to abandon the firearm after Austria’s enemies threatened to execute Austrian soldiers captured with the weapon. The weapon was considered by them to be a violation of the laws of war due to its unfair advantage in noiseless rapid rate of fire.
Ironically, a weapon that was deemed to be too lethal for military use in the 18th Century is now an antique which may be exempt from the latest so-called firearm and assault weapon banning laws.
I’ll see your Model 1873, and raise you a “horizontal shot tower”, a Spencer repeater.
Interesting side note - some Spencers made in 1865 included a magazine cut-off to prevent using the repeating mechanism.
The cut-off was designed by a Quaker, Edward Stabler, to prevent the gun from “spraying bullets”, and therefore making it less violent.
***Winchester Lever Action***
Henry rifle carried more .44 rimfire rounds.
Did you know that the state of California originally wanted to ban Winchester lever action rifles in their assault rifle ban? Neal Knox spilled the beans on that one and so Cali removed the rifle on the “to be banned list”.
Now they will just ban the lead ammo.