The Puckle, the Girandoni rifle and Ferguson guns

[GomezMunoz1951]

When anti-gunner claim that our forefathers had no clue about anything more advanced than muskets bring up these...

I came across references to these guns and was wondering why some enterprising person didn't start making them just for kicks.

Back years ago in the NMLRA Muzzleblasts magazine a guy built a gatling gun that was .58 caliber. He made tubes that had a nipple on the back, BP was loaded and a .58 minie ball could be slid in and sealed the tube. It had a magazine that fit into a slot on the top of the gun just like the commercial Gatling guns. It had pictures of him firing it. Looked awesome.

The Puckle would be a blast (pun intended) to shoot.

Now as for the the Girandoni rifle. Just what would it be classified as. It looks like a musket but was a repeater but used air. Apparently it was quite deadly and had a fairly long range. Lewis and Clark had one on their trip. It seems like there would be a company that could produce something like that today.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Actually there are companies that make large caliber (0.357 and 0.500) air rifles, but these are modern guns and we shouldn't talk about them on this forum.

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

Actually there are companies that make large caliber (0.357 and 0.500) air rifles, but these are modern guns and we shouldn't talk about them on this forum.

Yeah those unmentionables... Those are also single shots...

 

[44Bro]

You haven't mentioned the Lorenzoni pattern rifles. They are magazine fed repeaters, designed in the late 1600's.

 

[Musketeer]

The Puckle remains one of my favorite early repeaters, at least in mechanical terms, as I've never seen and certainly never fired one in the "flesh." Just a fascinating machine on every level. People ignorant of the history of firearms would be quite shocked to learn that this gun predates the Declaration of Independence by nearly six decades, going back to the first quarter of the 18th century. It doesn't look too different from certain modern rotary magazine grenade launchers.

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

You haven't mentioned the Lorenzoni pattern rifles. They are magazine fed repeaters, designed in the late 1600's.

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

The Puckle remains one of my favorite early repeaters, at least in mechanical terms, as I've never seen and certainly never fired one in the "flesh." Just a fascinating machine on every level. People ignorant of the history of firearms would be quite shocked to learn that this gun predates the Declaration of Independence by nearly six decades, going back to the first quarter of the 18th century. It doesn't look too different from certain modern rotary magazine grenade launchers.

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

 

[GomezMunoz1951]

There is also Samuel Pauly's shotgun which was one of the first cartridge guns in 1812. He jumped from the flintlock to the cartridge gun. Now would this be legal to talk about on the forum?

 

[Larry Akers]

For amazing flintlock technology, ca 1630 search Kalthoff repeater. This was a lever action, self loading, self priming, self cocking, self frizzen closing flintlock repeater. All one had to do was rotate a lever (the triggerguard) forward and back and pull the trigger. Depending on the model up to 30 shots could be fired without reloading.

 

[Rudyard]

I can claim to have fired a Puckles 'Machine" It was made in Washington State I think it ended up in a museum in Idaho allong with other exotic guns he made .
Rudyard

 

[Loyalist Dave]

There is also Samuel Pauly's shotgun which was one of the first cartridge guns in 1812. He jumped from the flintlock to the cartridge gun. Now would this be legal to talk about on the forum?

Of Course..., in the Non-Muzzleloading section it would be fine.
We allow discussion of breech loaders with fixed metal bodies, made before 1865, BUT with an external ignition like a cap or a flintlock..., and adopted during the ACW or before, but the Pauli was five decades ahead of itself, and has a primer contained within the cartridge so it, as well as a "needle rifle" would need to be in the Non Muzzleloading section.

LD

 

[LeadShark]

If I remember correctly, you can buy a kit to build a Ferguson rifle online.