Other Girardoni (wind rifle) circa 1779

Jump to latest Follow Reply
HeyU said:
I heard that when they brought out to show the natives. That they were really impressed by it. More so than by the standard black powdered rifles.
Click to expand...
Probably for the same reasons we are still fascinated by it today. I imagine that people of that era were far more impressed by new technology than we are today. I’m sure the natives had seen the various flintlocks of the day and would have been familiar with them in the same way that country boys are familiar with the various pickup trucks of today, but a Girardoni would be like instead of someone driving an F250, they showed up with that Lamborghini version of a humvee or a cyber truck.
 
Upvote 0
Billinoregon said:
I wonder where the four copies of the Beeman Girandoni ended up, and if they have ever seen serious use.
Click to expand...
The copy (not a reproduction) that sold was originally 25K and that kit was another 7K

Erine Cowen and Rick Keller made those guns using the old technology and techniques in building those guns. The only thing that was new was the barrel itself, but were the same caliber as the original and the muzzle ends were even copied so the rifling looks like the original gun.

Absolutely beautiful copies and done the way they should be. The copy from that auction was serial #1, made right from the original claimed L&C gun (they took the L&C gun apart and made the 4 guns from that) There is no other gun in existence today that is as close to the L&C Girandoni as the EC&RK #1 copy. There is a big difference between the few reproductions that are around and the actual copies that they produced.

The hammer price plus premiums was a steal for that gun :)
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: markhooper and Ievgen721
Upvote 0
rumaco19 said:
The air rifle that started it all, carried by Lewis and Clark during thier adventures. Came in .46 and .51 cal, 4 ft long and capable of shooting at 1000 FPS and putting a ball through 1 inch pine at 100 yards. Loaded with 20 balls and hand pumped could shoot 80 times on one bladder which was also the butt stock. 1500 pumps were required to fill each bladder.


View attachment 423739View attachment 423738
Click to expand...
Beautiful! A rare piece. Hate to pump it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markhooper
Upvote 0
Asher said:
I could swear the originals filled to around 800 psi and made around 100 FPE.

950 fps with a .46 round ball is around 280 FPE. How many of the 20 could do this speed? If it was a significant amount of them...

Well what did they know that modern big bore makers don't is all I'm saying. To me, 20 shots at anywhere near 100 FPE is hard enough to believe.
Click to expand...
Enough to spook Native Americans.
 
Upvote 0
lbc_PSI said:

Girardoni air rifle​

en.wikipedia.org

Girardoni air rifle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I recall reading somewhere that they were used by the Austrian army against Napoleon's troops. Napoleon feared the effectiveness..nearly silent operation and speed of reloading..that he placed a bounty on any soldier captured with one.
Click to expand...
They were used by the Austrian army, but only in low numbers. They were just too expensive to produce and maintain. There were only something like 2000 of them ever made and this was in an era of conscription and big armies.

It was a bit like the G11 or the AK94, in that it was a radically different design than anyone else was using at the time and arguably better than it’s contemporaries, but was simply too expensive and complicated to be successful.

The part about Napoleon is likely a myth. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence to support it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markhooper
Upvote 0
Just saw one in person at the National Firearms Museum. The gun is a monster. Not something I'm gonna be able to hold up for long. I thought it was Beeman's, but it's on loan from a Mike Carrick.

IMG_20240121_121904957.jpg
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: 1900colt, markhooper and SteveP-52
Upvote 0
AirNGasman said:
Although the Girandoni didn't start it (airgunning) all, it could be construed to have stated it (the western expansion of the U.S.) all.
Click to expand...
it along with Winchester is probably the only reason we in Oregon still can have a magazine over 10 rounds.. read about it in the court case and Oregon didn't want to have to delete it's history of the Oregon trail and Lewis and Clark..
I don't know of any repeating big bore airguns with the magazine and air capacity of it.. although the Texan is a good rifle from what I have read, it's only single shot and I don't understand how it and the gondili rifle compare in reservoir size because all the long range shooters seem to always be tethered..
thank you all for this great thread.. I love seeing pictures of it every time I get 😊
Mark
 
Upvote 0
MEC17670 said:
Beautiful! A rare piece. Hate to pump it.
Click to expand...
I had years ago one of two brought into the USA Parco 22 caliber survival airguns it had a foot pump and air tube attached under the barrel.. single shot and I'm guessing around the 950+ fps and I think it was 120 pumps from low to full.. and you could get around 10+ shots between pumping.. they were made in the Philippines but the normal imported name was Farco.. same company made the 28 gauge shotgun, would also shoot 454 balls in a sabot.. I had one of those too.. I don't even remember what thread I saw one of the shotguns posted here but it was beautiful and brought back good memories.. ARS in Elmira NY is who I bought several different guns from.. including the Farco shotgun.. was a bulk fill CO2..
great pictures and I really appreciate seeing them 😊
Mark
 
Upvote 0
as someone mentioned earlier how many bladders exploded.. I read that the Farco shotgun people got the bright idea of filling it with air instead of CO2 and they didn't have very many shots like CO2 so some went higher than the 800 PSI and on the Farco the reservoir was brass along with the barrel and they had explosions from too much pressure.. those gondili rifles although they might have been hard to make.. it was done, lots of craftsmanship..
Beeman did a lot to get the modern airguns going..
we have so much to be thankful for..
Mark
 
  • Like
Reactions: FelixS
Upvote 0
More info.

www.defensemedianetwork.com

The Girandoni Air Rifle | Defense Media Network

A history of the Girandoni Air Rifle and its use during the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
www.defensemedianetwork.com www.defensemedianetwork.com
-Interesting stuff in the archived comments, also.

warfarehistorynetwork.com

The Girandoni Air Rifle: The Lewis and Clark Expedition's Secret Weapon

Almost entirely phased out by 1810, it was during the Lewis and Clark expedition that the Girandoni air rifle fully came into its own.
warfarehistorynetwork.com warfarehistorynetwork.com
-Another cool article, but also shows that there isn't any consistency in people's reports.

One claims 500fps, another 1000fps. Then there is the use in warfare as to whether it actually saw combat. Also the claims of construction, but I believe that can be attributed to the various other reservoir guns from the time; assumptions based on what could be physically checked at the time.

I've seen at least two different claims of people owning THE Lewis and Clark gun. Also saw statements where they took 3 cases (approx. 30 guns) with them on the expedition. That can stand up due to at least four people having one in their possession, all manufactured close to the same time frame.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markhooper and Bernie7
Upvote 0
Later Girandoni type guns were built differently.
The early "real" Girandoni uses a long flat spring.

Later Girandoni type guns generally use a heavy V-type spring.

I've shot my original .44 cal Girandoni type gun and it can do right around 630FPS (plus or minus a few FPS at the start each time) but that is a slightly smaller round ball, but it's also a shorter barrel, lighter cut rifling, and it uses a heavy V-Spring

The L&C gun, it'll hit the mid 500's. I think with a little experimentation with round balls, it too will get into or close to the 600fps range.

The nice thing with the RC&RK gun, it is an exact copy... so we can read what they got with their gun in velocities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: markhooper
Upvote 0
Here is a video I watched a couple years back. Turns out the rifle in the video is the one on display at the museum.

Girardoni Air Rifle - Forgotten Weapons

The Girardoni (also spelled Girandoni) air rifle was a very advanced design adopted in 1780 by the Austrian Army. While the standard arm of the day was a single-shot flintlock, the Girardoni offered a massive firepower advantage to the men who carried it. The guns (designed by Bartholomäus...
www.forgottenweapons.com www.forgottenweapons.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadeye Dick and markhooper
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu