Lewis And Clark Girandoni Air Rifle

Lewis and clark journey timeline 1804 1806 by randy king.
Lewis and clark girandoni air rifle. The air rifle carried by lewis and clark during their corps of discovery expedition of 1803 is shown here in a demonstrationn of the girandoni air rifle. Nfm treasure gun girandoni air rifle as used by lewis and clark by nra national firearms museum. Meriwether lewis purchased an air gun with his own money at harpers ferry while purchasing supplies for the expedition. The girandoni air rifle was an airgun designed by tyrolian inventor bartholomäus girandoni circa 1779.
The air gun was utilized to impress the indians that the corps would encounter. In many ways it helped secure a peaceful exploration. Their model used smaller caliber bullets. The air rifle of captain meriwether lewis.
Something from the gods by 1810 the girandoni had been entirely phased out. Team wild tv 3 369 187 views. Meriwether lewis girandoni air rifle so it seems a repeating austrian air rifle with an italian sounding name allowed lewis clark and the corps of discovery to explore the american west. The natives were left to wonder if every man in the expedition had such a miraculous fighting tool at the ready they didn t in fact.
The austrian military collected some weapons for its museums while others were acquired by private individuals or simply lost. The weapon was also known as the windbüchse wind rifle in german one of the rifle s more famous associations is its use on the lewis and clark expedition to explore and map the western part of north america in the early 1800s. The magazine on the side of the barrel can hold 22 46 caliber balls. Members of lewis and clark s party on the oregon trail carried air rifles in 1804.
The girandoni was approximately the same length and weight of a conventional musket and was loaded with 22 lead rifle balls that were propelled out of the weapon individually by controlled bursts. The air gun was probably manufactured by isiah lukens horologist and gunsmith of philadelphia.