Designed by Bartolomeo Girardoni the in the 1770s, the Girardoni is an air rifle that can fire 20 rounds as quickly as a modern bolt action rifle. It uses .46 caliber round lead balls, delivering 154 grains of lead per shot at about 1000 fps. This was a revolutionary weapon when it was created, and it was adopted by the Austrian army. However, its manufacturing was very difficult, and not enough were made before the inventor’s death to make a significant effect on and battles. Poor tactical use of the guns that did get into service didn’t help. It wasn’t until more than 60 years later that an equally effective military rifle was developed, that being the Spencer.
Semiauto pistol
6.5mm Mannlicher 1894 at James D Julia
The Mannlicher 1894 is one of a small number of firearms designed with a blow-forward action, and also the first of these guns. It was the creation of Ferdinand Mannlicher, a brilliant and prolific Austria […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Type 13 Manchurian Mauser – A WW1 Legacy in China
This rifle sold for $5,750 at Rock Island on December 2, 2018. The Liao Type 13 was produced at what would become known as the Mukden Arsenal in Manchuria starting in 1924, with production facilitated […]
Bolt Action Rifles
Steyr M30S Prototype: A Repurposed WW1 Improved Mauser
This rifle, as best I can tell, is a prototype model made by Steyr in Switzerland in the early 1930s for use in Hungarian military trials. The Hungarians were looking to replace their old 1895 […]
Pre-Charged Pneumatics (PCPs) are the most powerful air rifles in use even today. Most are between .30 and .45 caliber, although the Dragon Claw from China is a .50 caliber. Most of them are powerful enough for small game, some can take deer-sized game.
Generally, the .30 caliber class ones have the highest muzzle velocities, making them the most suitable for medium-sized game. The .45 to .50 caliber versions are roughly equivalent in velocity and etc. to a typical “”Kentucky” rifle, assuming an average load of 150 grain bullet and 60 grains of FFg black powder.
The Girardoni could easily have been redone for conical bullets, simply by making the “loading block” longer front-to-back and having a coil spring and a cylindrical follower in the magazine tube. This would have eliminated the need to elevate the muzzle to reload, as well.
In the first edition of Gun Collector’s Digest (DBI, 1977) an article about antique air rifles shows a centrifugal filler pump for the Girardoni air rifle. Mounted on a stand, it had a set of flywheel weights to keep it rotating, and the air tank “stock” was mounted valve-end-down on top inside a canister that was filled with water around it to keep it from overheating. Five minutes of cranking could pressurize the cylinder to roughly 1,200 PSI (82.73 bar). While probably handy for “military” operations, it was more likely intended for sporting users. Perhaps an “air gun club”?
cheers
eon
Definitely a gun for special forces. A concept not really developped at this time. And anyone who would have suggested such, would face push back from generals who only knew about putting soldiers in a line and slaughtering the enemy troops in their line. I can see cavalry with horses carrying a supply of pressurized air tanks. Also why did noone think about a larger airpump to fill tanks faster. Think about the fire engines of the day with seesaw pump handle. Overall, I get the impression that Girardoni had to pretty much hand inspect every rifle. When he died, there was noone smart enough to take up the work.