Lewis Clark Air Rifle

[RoscoesRiffs]

Just outstanding. Like, favorite, subscribe.

[aaokiwan]

purported? On the first page of The Journals Of The Lewis and Clark Expedition at The University Of Nebraska web site, on August 30, 1803 , the first entry is about the rifle in question. Shall I post said quote from the journals for you? Why would they lie about something like this if they didn't actually have it with them? Answer: They had this rifle with them on the trip.

[CanItAlready]

I find the gun fascinating but I just wonder if his lesson/demonstration would have carried less weight if he weren't in "period" dress. Never understood why some people are so eager to dress up in costume like that, especially when this one's comparing it to more modern guns. Kinda takes a little air out of the effect of the costume.

[Dylkc13]

Gamo Hunter

[pyrosimple]

Don't you think this 18th century air gun is superior to most modern ones?

[zacatetas]

Sacagawea had a much larger caliber queef.

[MUSICALGUNNUT45]

I'll trade you a red ryder.

[GroupKB]

and to think I wasted all that time with CO2 cartridges.

[SupremeAmerican]

I have never known about this. AMAZING

[LuvThoseLadies]

I wished they would have shown more demonstration and less talking!

[fortress1133]

I learned something new today.!

[Topthai23]

Haha the native just doing they business and here come a white man with a gun taking all they land i would like WTF WTF WTF

[jokojok54]

dude that is sick as hell

[LupuSabre]

Yeah but the gun's Italian, used by the Austrian military for a short time. So don't go all patriotic saying it's a national treasure and represents the glory of the USA. The Statue of Liberty is French too.

[candr]

@LupuSabre Yeah but we had to put it together :)

[amyhuk]

@LupuSabre oh shut up next you will be saying our national anthem is sung to the tune of ancreon in heaven

[EmperorOfMars]

This is better than steam punk, its real!

[chtruitt]

Be careful what you toss, I picked up an old ML rifle from a friends trash. Some years later I found it to be an original air rifles, of the type used on the L&C exp. A fellow in Texas bought it from me and restored it. I am sure glad I did not cut the BBL off to build a BP rifle.

Great history and looks to be making a come back. As laws hold us back, no law can stop the air for us.

[Madmachine73]

@chtruitt Lupusabre just pawned you on that fact.

[justaman6972]

as I recall someone on the Lewis n clark adventure shot a bear with the airgun and killed it. I do not recall number of shots,either one or 22 I dunno. I want one with spare ammo tube mags & cylinders. Head shots at man sized targets 60yds out. Penetraiting 1" inch thick pine boards @ 100yds. .31 calibre me thinks. 14 mos for 1st build! Sheesh!!

[BarneyFlart]

Pretty interesting item to have if you're travelling around the wilderness in those days. Powder can get wet, so if you have to shoot some rabbits or something the air would come in handy. I've heard of this gun but this is the first time i've seen it. Very good.

[ISRAMZ15]

AWSOME! Very good rifle, and very good demostration!!!

[samipso]

Do those kill or were they just a piece of unusable technology?

[WWIIOLgeorgh]

They reportedly had the power to punch though pine boards of the period.

[metroid2]

it was a bit of both TBH. it was a deadly rifle but it was also very fragile. Go look it up under wikipedia, but just to give you some short history. it was invented in the 1780s by an austrian and was from then on used in the austrian military. It was basically a silent, stealthy assasins gun.

Read up on the Girandoni Air Rifle on wikipedia.

[Gippetos]

A large bore airgun running on 800psi+ is not going to be quiet. Quieter maybe, but not quiet by any stretch. The lack of a smoke plume as you would get from a BP arm, and the rate of fire (even without spare reservoirs) were the primary advantages.

[perfectaimsports]

@Gippetos

800lbs of pressure not psi

[Gippetos]

@perfectaimsports

PSI = Pounds per Square Inch....Pretty common unit used to measure PRESSURE.

[warman1944]

@Gippetos No, it is about as quiet a regular BB gun. I was at this 4-H Gun Camp and two men came with a working replica and I even got to shoot it. It has no recoil or noise.

[draper73]

said to be lethal and accurate up to 100 yds... pretty amazing for the time.

[billeethesciencegeek]

1804 to 1806

[tunedin2]

800#'s of pressure may have been a lot back then but many higher end airguns will hold 2500-3500#'s. if you ever have time read up on the Lewis and Clark journey and gun, it's pretty interesting

[FIRELUIGI4]

That is pretty neat.