my pleasure my Liege... check out the link to Beemans as it gives all the blueprints and some excellent pictures. BETTER than what's in this months American Rifleman.
Posted on 09/24/2006 8:15:58 AM PDT by tomzz
When Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark out on their famous journey, he took extraordinary steps to provide for their safety. He provided them with a blank check backed by the United States government to purchase any ship they might figure they needed on the west coast, assuming they felt such a need, and he provided them with the ultimate small arm of the time. It appears as if this ultimate small arm might have been a major factor in the expedition not having been annihilated by Indians. Not that tribes were wiped out with the weapon, nonetheless it was demonstrated to them and they were given to understand that there was no limit to the number of shots the thing could fire and that all of the expedition people had them.
Air rifles are normally thought of as single shot, very small caliber weapons to shoot starlings and rats with; if that's your whole exposure to air rifles, this one might shock you:
The Lewis and Clark air-powered assault rifle.
I recall reading that the only proven artifact remaining from the Lewis and Clark expedition is a stuffed beaver in a college museum. Now, it would appear, there are two.
It's staggering to think what this gun must be worth. Just as a wild guess, I would say ten million dollars if sold at auction.
Three cheers for Dr. Beeman for his intention to donate it to a museum. The Army War College may deserve a copy, but this gun really belongs in a place of honor in the Smithsonian.
-ccm
When I was young, before sabots, and hunting with black powder I used lighter weight bullets and found that I was wounding animals at ranges from 100 to 130 yards and had to track them for long distances. Going to a heavier bullet solved that problem. Without high velocity to impart shock you need a large caliber heavy bullet to put the animal down.
Air guns over .22 caliber are illegal in most states I believe. I may be wrong, feel free to check it out. It has to do with the silence factor.
ping
I learn something new every day on Free Republic! The use of replaceable air cartridges for the gun is an amazingly advanced idea for that time. Fascinating article!
Interesting design and great article.
As I recall from Unduanted Courage, Captain Clark also carved his name on a rock somewhere out west. I believe it still exists as well
That would be "Pompey's Pillar", I think! It was named after their Indian guide's baby. It seems they gave him an affectionate nickname, and it stuck. They stopped at where there was a large boulder, and carved their name(s), and it was referred to by the nickname of Sacagaweya's(sp?)baby.
Yep, it's in Montana. As far as artifacts from the expedition, there are a few Indian "peace" medals, an equipment brand dug out of a river in Oregon around the turn of the last century, and interestingly an ancient blacksmith anvil w/ eagle that was used as a doorstop in Montana for many years. One statement - about Lewis' suicide - is problematic in that a lot of the surviving accounts trends that Lewis was killed and robbed in Tennesee at a place called Griners Tavern. I sort of half-wish Mark Fuhrman would take up the case and tell us what he thinks.
What a wonderful article on a forgotten piece of American history and, even more dazzling, a brilliant piece of historical detective work.
A long read but even the technical parts are absolutely fascinating.
AS I mentioned above, this thing is probably the single most valuable small arm in the world.
Thanks for posting - a long read for a slow Sunday AM.
Lots of clever figures and other graphics, well worth the time. The fonts are a bit of a pain tho....
as some posts really begged for refutation and dragged me out of weekend hiatus, I may as well take the time to thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I was already well aware of single-shot rifled airguns being used as effective tools of battle, but had not heard of this repeater. fascinating. thanks.
**at would be "Pompey's Pillar", I think! It was named after their Indian guide's baby. It seems they gave him an affectionate nickname, and it stuck.***
Actually, his name was "Pomp".
my pleasure my Liege... check out the link to Beemans as it gives all the blueprints and some excellent pictures. BETTER than what's in this months American Rifleman.
i would guess an order of magnitude less noisey than a .308 no supersonic bullet crack to start with and the air blast is more of a loud puloop/thump...
I'm a bit on the skeptical side about this story, but here it is, could be pingworthy. :')
Camping and Lewis and Clark
Miami Herald | Dave Barry
Posted on 08/20/2006 12:07:27 PM EDT by nuconvert
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1686921/posts
Ping, good read here.
OT - that would take care of your 'bushy-tailed varmints'.
Heh...the nayber lady would probably like one too.
One poster above said about like a 45 ACP. I was guessing just based on air rifles I've shot in the past.
Could any firearm produced within 50 years of that thing produced anything near the rate of fire? Was it just because of expense that airguns such as those didn't see wider use?
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