I heard that when they brought out to show the natives. That they were really impressed by it. More so than by the standard black powdered rifles.
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Other Girardoni (wind rifle) circa 1779
- Thread starter rumaco19
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Probably for the same reasons we are still fascinated by it today. I imagine that people of that era were far more impressed by new technology than we are today. I’m sure the natives had seen the various flintlocks of the day and would have been familiar with them in the same way that country boys are familiar with the various pickup trucks of today, but a Girardoni would be like instead of someone driving an F250, they showed up with that Lamborghini version of a humvee or a cyber truck.
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Although the Girandoni didn't start it (airgunning) all, it could be construed to have stated it (the western expansion of the U.S.) all.
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The copy (not a reproduction) that sold was originally 25K and that kit was another 7K
Erine Cowen and Rick Keller made those guns using the old technology and techniques in building those guns. The only thing that was new was the barrel itself, but were the same caliber as the original and the muzzle ends were even copied so the rifling looks like the original gun.
Absolutely beautiful copies and done the way they should be. The copy from that auction was serial #1, made right from the original claimed L&C gun (they took the L&C gun apart and made the 4 guns from that) There is no other gun in existence today that is as close to the L&C Girandoni as the EC&RK #1 copy. There is a big difference between the few reproductions that are around and the actual copies that they produced.
The hammer price plus premiums was a steal for that gun
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Girardoni air rifle
Girardoni air rifle - Wikipedia
I recall reading somewhere that they were used by the Austrian army against Napoleon's troops. Napoleon feared the effectiveness..nearly silent operation and speed of reloading..that he placed a bounty on any soldier captured with one.
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They were used by the Austrian army, but only in low numbers. They were just too expensive to produce and maintain. There were only something like 2000 of them ever made and this was in an era of conscription and big armies.Girardoni air rifle
Girardoni air rifle - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I recall reading somewhere that they were used by the Austrian army against Napoleon's troops. Napoleon feared the effectiveness..nearly silent operation and speed of reloading..that he placed a bounty on any soldier captured with one.
It was a bit like the G11 or the AK94, in that it was a radically different design than anyone else was using at the time and arguably better than it’s contemporaries, but was simply too expensive and complicated to be successful.
The part about Napoleon is likely a myth. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence to support it.
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Just saw one in person at the National Firearms Museum. The gun is a monster. Not something I'm gonna be able to hold up for long. I thought it was Beeman's, but it's on loan from a Mike Carrick.
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it along with Winchester is probably the only reason we in Oregon still can have a magazine over 10 rounds.. read about it in the court case and Oregon didn't want to have to delete it's history of the Oregon trail and Lewis and Clark..
I don't know of any repeating big bore airguns with the magazine and air capacity of it.. although the Texan is a good rifle from what I have read, it's only single shot and I don't understand how it and the gondili rifle compare in reservoir size because all the long range shooters seem to always be tethered..
thank you all for this great thread.. I love seeing pictures of it every time I get
Mark
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I had years ago one of two brought into the USA Parco 22 caliber survival airguns it had a foot pump and air tube attached under the barrel.. single shot and I'm guessing around the 950+ fps and I think it was 120 pumps from low to full.. and you could get around 10+ shots between pumping.. they were made in the Philippines but the normal imported name was Farco.. same company made the 28 gauge shotgun, would also shoot 454 balls in a sabot.. I had one of those too.. I don't even remember what thread I saw one of the shotguns posted here but it was beautiful and brought back good memories.. ARS in Elmira NY is who I bought several different guns from.. including the Farco shotgun.. was a bulk fill CO2..
great pictures and I really appreciate seeing them
Mark
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as someone mentioned earlier how many bladders exploded.. I read that the Farco shotgun people got the bright idea of filling it with air instead of CO2 and they didn't have very many shots like CO2 so some went higher than the 800 PSI and on the Farco the reservoir was brass along with the barrel and they had explosions from too much pressure.. those gondili rifles although they might have been hard to make.. it was done, lots of craftsmanship..
Beeman did a lot to get the modern airguns going..
we have so much to be thankful for..
Mark
Beeman did a lot to get the modern airguns going..
we have so much to be thankful for..
Mark
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Like others have mentioned I’m blown away by the engineering behind the original air rifles in a time before electric tooling (which I believe became commercially available in 1911). And not by a little bit, but by +100 years. The technological prowess of Bartolomeo Girandoni is really stunning.
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More info.
www.defensemedianetwork.com -Interesting stuff in the archived comments, also.
warfarehistorynetwork.com -Another cool article, but also shows that there isn't any consistency in people's reports.
One claims 500fps, another 1000fps. Then there is the use in warfare as to whether it actually saw combat. Also the claims of construction, but I believe that can be attributed to the various other reservoir guns from the time; assumptions based on what could be physically checked at the time.
I've seen at least two different claims of people owning THE Lewis and Clark gun. Also saw statements where they took 3 cases (approx. 30 guns) with them on the expedition. That can stand up due to at least four people having one in their possession, all manufactured close to the same time frame.
The Girandoni Air Rifle | Defense Media Network
A history of the Girandoni Air Rifle and its use during the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
www.defensemedianetwork.com The Girandoni Air Rifle: The Lewis and Clark Expedition's Secret Weapon
Almost entirely phased out by 1810, it was during the Lewis and Clark expedition that the Girandoni air rifle fully came into its own.
warfarehistorynetwork.com One claims 500fps, another 1000fps. Then there is the use in warfare as to whether it actually saw combat. Also the claims of construction, but I believe that can be attributed to the various other reservoir guns from the time; assumptions based on what could be physically checked at the time.
I've seen at least two different claims of people owning THE Lewis and Clark gun. Also saw statements where they took 3 cases (approx. 30 guns) with them on the expedition. That can stand up due to at least four people having one in their possession, all manufactured close to the same time frame.
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Later Girandoni type guns were built differently.
The early "real" Girandoni uses a long flat spring.
Later Girandoni type guns generally use a heavy V-type spring.
I've shot my original .44 cal Girandoni type gun and it can do right around 630FPS (plus or minus a few FPS at the start each time) but that is a slightly smaller round ball, but it's also a shorter barrel, lighter cut rifling, and it uses a heavy V-Spring
The L&C gun, it'll hit the mid 500's. I think with a little experimentation with round balls, it too will get into or close to the 600fps range.
The nice thing with the RC&RK gun, it is an exact copy... so we can read what they got with their gun in velocities.
The early "real" Girandoni uses a long flat spring.
Later Girandoni type guns generally use a heavy V-type spring.
I've shot my original .44 cal Girandoni type gun and it can do right around 630FPS (plus or minus a few FPS at the start each time) but that is a slightly smaller round ball, but it's also a shorter barrel, lighter cut rifling, and it uses a heavy V-Spring
The L&C gun, it'll hit the mid 500's. I think with a little experimentation with round balls, it too will get into or close to the 600fps range.
The nice thing with the RC&RK gun, it is an exact copy... so we can read what they got with their gun in velocities.
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I'd like to see a totally modern repeater pcp with tube magazines for slugs in semi's, lever actions, and pump actions, themed to the rimfires and centerfires we grew up with.
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This is Probably the best write up of the L&C gun out there, and much better explains the evidence for the L&C gun than Beemans long winded writings. The tests of the EC&RK gun are in this article, which was written by Rick Keller.
greatwar.com
THE LEWIS AND CLARK “AIRGUN” – Great War Militaria
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