The Girandoni Rifle....

[Uncle Russ]

Imagine, if you can, the year is about 2005, and you're sitting around a campfire telling stories about that near miss you just experienced with your trusty Flinter....

You get all kinds of recommendation from your hunting buddies, everything from "what you really need is a semi-auto that will kick 'em out as fast as you can get a sight picture and pull the trigger, something between 45 and 50 caliber to reduce muzzle jump and recoil, something that is not so loud so that it would scare the animal less, something economical to shoot, and something you would be proud to shoot.

Well how about this!
Twenty shots in less 30 seconds!
A Magazine that holds 40 rounds.
A Break-Down for easy portability.
Deadly accurate.
Quite as a mouse in house slippers.
Chambered in .46 caliber.
Enough power to shoot through a 1" pine board at 100yds.
And, it has been around a long, long, time, since somewhere around 1790.
Also, it was mentioned no less than 39 times in the Journals and writings of Lewis & Clark!

It is the beautiful Girandoni Air Rifle!
(Make sure you have the sound on.)



Uncle Russ...

[Riley/MN]

Oh, I want!

[Captchee]

there were also  different air rifles  in the same period as the  Girandoni, Russ .
. though im not sure they carried the magazine capability of the Girandoni, which was actually designed  primarily as a  military rifle .
 I know its probably personal preference but myself  I prefer the earlier  ball cylinder types of air rifles . I just don’t like the   shape an line of the Girandoni.
 One of these days , if I ever can break free long enough , im going to build me one of those ball cylinder rifles

 Now all that being said , Air rifles are  growing in popularity . There are whole groups dedicated to  air rifle hunting  which includes north American big game as well as African big game

[fahnenschmied]

Not quite as quiet as a church mouse....    

[snake eyes]

Russ,
      Thanks for that link......I want one! [/color]

[Uncle Russ]

Russ,
      Thanks for that link......I want one! [/color]

You betcha Snake eyes!  
I find it tremendously interesting that such a rifle has been around for all these years, yet so little information is ever shown or even known about it.
This thread is 2 years old, and you can see from the number of posts that even though many of us would like nothing better than owning such a rifle, overall interest is extremely low.

Uncle Russ...

[Riley/MN]

[attachment=0:1kb4ab78][/attachment]Air rifle.jpg[/attachment:1kb4ab78]

Did I show you guys this one from the visitor center in Mandan, ND? I don't know if it is functional or not, but it sure looks the part....

[Uncle Russ]

You're right, it does "look" the part.

Uncle Russ...

[Riley/MN]

Obviously a repro, so if it is a shooter it is a shame that it is living in a box behind glass....

[Uncle Russ]

Obviously a repro, so if it is a shooter it is a shame that it is living in a box behind glass....

Yep, seems most of 'em nowadays are made more for lookin than actual shootin.
Still yet, make no mistake about the historical significance of such a rifle.

The fact that they just never caught on, even with the hunting / shooting community has always had me baffled.
I mean heck, a repeating rifle before repeating rifles were in vogue,  ...it was, IMHO, a doomsday rifle before its time. If both sides during the Civil War would have had such rifles there would have been NO ONE left to run the machines, or till the soil. Think about it!

Do you have any idea how old this reproduction might be?
Even better, do we know for sure that it is a modern day reproduction?
No matter what, it's still very interesting,

Uncle Russ...

[Riley/MN]

No, this is actually a museumm in a visitors center. I am sure someone must know, but that person wasn't around on the day I visited!

[hawkthrower]

serious about air ? check this out - Quackenbush Air Guns

[Captchee]

Russ
the Girandoni and more then a few rifles like it , were  designed and fielded  for the military.
For the most part  from what I have read ,they were found troublesome , unreliable  and logistically speaking  a nightmare in the making .
 The one thing all the air designs of the period had in common was a  intricate check valve system with a leather  diaphragm. It was not easy to  repair in the field and often leaked .  It also  could not be recharged in battle . As such a soldier would carry a replacement cylinder  which would bring  the  munitions issue capability up to  the given standard for line troops . But again  with un reliable  check valves a commander could find themselves  losing 1/3 of their capabilities  before ever reaching the main battle field .  
The other issue which was alluded to in the video was the air tanks and their ability at the time to fail  
  I have read reports that suggested L&C  may have had up to 6 of the   Girandoni . But only one was in working order .

 Another issue that I have read  concerning  the designs with loading tubes , is that the tube  was easily damaged  either by  being contaminated  or by being dented . IE the rifle became useless once used as a bayonet platform .  
 Lastly logistics.
 As most of us know , these rifles and those like them , have  air pumps . The Girandoni that L&C carried  had a  hand pump  which was screwed into a tree or log .  However the Girandoni was actually fielded with a  larger air  system  that was really a big compressor  and tank , mounted to a  horse or Ox drawn wagon . As the wagon moved it worked the pumps which stored the air in a large  tank . From these tanks  the rifles air cylinders were filled .
 This also somewhat restricted troop movements as they had to be within range of the wagons.
 
  The air wagons faced much the same issues as the rifles in that often times they leaked  or simply did not compress air . While these air wagons were held in the rear , they still had to be close enough to support the units .  As such a well placed rifle shot would take the whole  system out .
Or in the case of  running out of air , the wagon would then have to be driven  for some time in order to fill it to the point it could resupply  the troops .


So in the end , while these rifles were repeaters , they only were fielded in a few countries and only in limited numbers . Simply a technology  that was ahead of its time .
 This doesn’t change the fact that the Girandoni is only one design of  many different makers . Personally I like the Ball designs better . They look just like a flintlock , long rifle , but have a large ball type air cylinder that screws onto the bottom of the forearm . Somewhere around here I have a bunch of photos of  different period air rifles

[hawkthrower]

It would be fun to replicate the original with more reliable internals - just for fun and amusement.

[Two Steps]

Thanks Capt...I haven't thought about a lot of that...heck...a lot of it I never knew in the first place
Al