[Red_Devil 232]

Here are a couple of videos:

Video - Girandoni air rifle as used by Lewis and Clark. A National Firearms Museum Treasure Gun.

Air Rifle Lewis Clark girandoni Part 1

Air Rifle Lewis Clark girandoni Part 2

The video below shows how the pump was used:

Lewis Clark Air Rifle

[mmercier]

I admire any man who can pump anything 1500 times to shoot a pellet.

[maine-iac7]

22 shots in less than 30 seconds!

but who got the task of pumping it up again!

[IamConservative]

800 PSI in the stock? Had to be steel lined. Still, I wouldn’t want to put it between my legs to pump it up!

[Freedom4US]

It’s my understanding that no one is quite sure what air rifle the expedition had, though this one is a good bet. Interestingly very few articles exist today that can conclusively be attributed to the journey, most everything was sold at auction.

Lewis wrote that the air gun caused “great astonishment” amongst the Indian, it was definitely high-tech for the time.

[GizmosAndGadgets]

Lots of effort to pump it up, but it’s good for 40 shots on a single charge, and can put a hole through a 1” pine board at 100 yards! That’s a pretty nifty alternative to “fire” arms - also seems like a pretty quiet option for neighborhood hunting of small game for food and protecting your food from varmints (both two and four-legged type...)

The “Part 2” video actually shows the replica rifle being fired - very cool stuff. My Daisy air rifle weeps with envy and shame ;-) Thanks for sharing!

[Tainan]

Fascinating thread . Thank You.

[Cacique]

Btt

[Still Thinking]

The air reservoiris in the stock and required hand pumping 1500 times to a working pressure of 800 psi.

So is this Lewis or Clark?

[Eye of Unk]

Pretty awesome indeed considering I don’t see anything like it being sold to consumers nowadays, of course technology can improve on having to re-pump it or to use an outside pressure tank. We have all seen high performane .177 and .22 airguns, but nothing like a 230gr. .452 lead bullet or a comparable black powder conical or such.

Would make for an interesting build, especially on a TV reality series. And not a potato gun, something that duplicates the velocity of a rifle fired 45auto.

[Drawsing]

According to one of the videos it was calibrated to take exactly 1500 full strokes of the pump. The gasket was made of bone.

[baddog 219]

I had no idea that there was a gun like this in the 1700’s.
Wow, I guess my public teacher union member didn't know either.....Or did they.... excellent post

[S.O.S121.500]

BOOKbump

[Verbosus]

I had no idea they had this kind of weapon.
Thanks.

[Yardstick]

I’m amazed they had seals and valves that could handle 800 psi. I’d like to see the fittings they used for connecting the pump to the air cylinder.