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Bloviating Zeppelin: Amazing History: Lewis & Clark Carried Air Rifles!

Bloviating Zeppelin

(in-ep-toc'-ra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Amazing History: Lewis & Clark Carried Air Rifles!

Check out the below video with regard to the amazing Girandoni air rifle (ca 1779), carried by Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery (1803 to 1806). This rifle could (with 1,500 pumps creating 800 psi) shoot up to forty consecutive .46 caliber round balls before loss of muzzle velocity and pressure. The tubular magazine held 22 balls.



Additionally, an excellent book on their journey is Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose.

BZ

posted by Bloviating Zeppelin @ Sunday, February 20, 2011 

10 Comments:

Blogger Old NFO said...

Irony of ironies, I was at the NRA museum and took a picture of that exact rifle today! I'm going to link to you for the excellent video :-) Thanks BZ!

Sun Feb 20, 12:19:00 PM PST  
Blogger Trekkie4Ever said...

Fascinating...truly it is.

Btw, I love you Avatar. The Day the Earth Stood Still, right?

Sun Feb 20, 03:14:00 PM PST  
Blogger Well Seasoned Fool said...

Saw this a couple of days ago at MadOgre.com. Lewis and Clark were smart people!

Sun Feb 20, 05:13:00 PM PST  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

NFO: toDAY?? How weird is that??

Leticia: yes indeed, I am Gort.

WSF: were they ever; I had no idea that rifle existed and/or was carried on their journey!

BZ

Sun Feb 20, 05:29:00 PM PST  
Blogger Greybeard said...

LOVED "Undaunted Courage".
Should be required reading.
Trivia question for those who have read the book...
By the end of the journey, the favorite meat of the team was... what?

Sun Feb 20, 05:55:00 PM PST  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Greybeard: elk, beaver, probably buffalo, maybe even some of their own dogs?

BZ

Sun Feb 20, 08:47:00 PM PST  
Blogger Greybeard said...

Dog, BZ.
Which was odd, because they took a Newfoundland along with them for the trip.
I wonder if they fed him his brothers/sisters?

Sun Feb 20, 09:12:00 PM PST  
Blogger Z said...

I haven't a CLUE about guns but that's a beautiful rifle, isn't it!?
I love the fact that they don't know how it got to America....

Sun Feb 20, 10:45:00 PM PST  
Blogger A Jacksonian said...

Well hauling gunpowder thousands of miles meant it would run out sooner or later. Lead can be recovered from game and recast in a hand mould over a fire... an air rifle like that actually is preferable as it only requires you and lead.

Thanks for the tip! Very impressive!

Mon Feb 21, 04:39:00 AM PST  
Blogger Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Thanks AJ, good insight about the gunpowder.

BZ

Mon Feb 21, 08:56:00 AM PST  

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