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I am amazed by two things. First, how is it that I never heard of this? It ain't no Red Rider gun. Put a 44 caliber round through a 1" board at 100 yards! Two, why doesn't someone make them now? Would be great not to have to buy ammo.
Yeah, arguably the most important single gun in the history of the US. I have a paperback copy of the book he mentions at the beginning: Undaunted Courage, the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Excellent reading if you enjoy history.
Air guns are awesome, way more powerful than most people think. I've used .177 and .22 caliber break action air rifles to hunt small game sometimes, and I know a couple guys who have larger calibers and hunt larger critters with them. I have no doubt that a .46 cal lead roundball would go through a 1" pine board.
I am also totally blown away by this "news"! I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in my surprise to hear about the amazing "waaaay back" history of air guns. The idea that a couple centuries ago they could build, contain and direct that sustained level of PSI without the benefit of neoprene or high tensile rubber seals is incredible!
BTW, my brother is the "Nimrod" of our family --- the "great hunter of the Lord" as revealed in the Old Testament. The guy is an awesome marksman and archer. It's a religious experience for him. He also takes after the DeNiro character in the "Deer Hunter". He loves to challenge himself and give the game a chance. Anyway, he has a scoped, .22 cal "pellet gun" with which he takes down deer --- just one very precisely placed head shot.
Since our Bismarck-Mandan community is on the direct route of the Lewis & Clark trail there were a lot of presentations & exhibits in this area during its 200th anniversary. I don't believe light was shed on the Italian Air Rifle like shown on the video --- so it is good to have videos like this to help understand the history even better!
You can buy a good air rifle that will shoot a 22 caliber pellet at 2000 feet per second for under a $200. When I was 8 years old my dad got me a ben franklin 22 cal air rifle for christmas. I still have it anfter 40 years and it works like it was new. Ben Franklin actually designed this gun over 200 years ago. It is pretty easy to build a air cannon for under $50.