Just wanted to share a few Giffard rifle pics

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Jun 3, 2018
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California, United States
Never thought I would ever have the chance to own one of these, but lo and behold one turned up and the price was fair, so it now resides with me. Not terribly rare in Europe, but rather few and far between over here in the U.S. This one is in 4.5mm and once I get the seal replaced in the cartouche (air cylinder), I plan to get it out shooting.

1548701730_10417860385c4f5022a2e674.04254332_giffard left full.jpg




1548701731_16073947175c4f502357bb66.41863072_giffard rt side.jpg


1548701786_824011275c4f505a19f604.18962646_giffard lft sd.jpg


1548701813_2640321685c4f5075e44e77.21306138_giffard loading port.jpg


Other than the thread discussing the Pawn Stars episode with the Giffard pistol, I didn't find any other posts, so I figured It would be worth throwing this in as a talking point for other owners.



Mark
 
idoc,

Thanks for the compliment. It's from the 1890's and the cylinder under the barrel is the "cartouche", it unscrews and is filled with 100 grams of liquid Co2. The valve for firing is contained in the cartouche and keeps it charged until each shot, which allows you the ability to remove a charged cylinder off the gun at any time. Supposedly, the 4.5mm is capable of 800 shots per fill, but I won't hold my breath. Never having expected to find one, I wasn't disappointed that it was only a 4.5mm, but if the chance came along, I would like to add one in 8mm for a bit more thump. It was built in St'Etienne, France.



Mark
 
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Tweeter,

I found it listed on the Airgun Classified website. Not always the safest place to avoid scams, but some discussion with the seller and some specifically requested photos, gave me confidence the gun and seller were legit. I don't believe anything like this shows up on most postings or sites, unless they cater to antique air arms. I found one shop in the UK that has three or four of them, but they won't ship internationally due to potential legal issues. Like I said, they exist in some quantity overseas, but never got much traction over here, so examples are few and far between. I wasn't actively looking for one, but when I spotted the posting, I pursued it and here we are. There is a great following for the pre-war air rifles overseas, because ones made 1939 and prior are not as regulated as the later air rifles in the UK. The followers of the early stuff over here is limited to the small numbers that made it across the pond before imports started to pick up in the post-WWII era.



Mark
 
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TiredRooster,

No such thing as a collectors piece to me. If it can't be shot, I have no desire to own it. The design of the gas system and the firing mechanism is so simple, it lends itself to being kept functional without much fuss. 

bubblerboy64,

They figured out how to turn Co2 into dry ice in the 1830's and with the right pressure, it will form a liquid state. Co2 in that form is around 60 bar, (~900psi) and the technology of the day was easily able to produce pressure vessels that could store it. Don't get me wrong, you couldn't just swing by the rural hardware store, or an apothecary and fill up at your leisure, but in industrialized cities there would have been sources. It was common to post the cartouche back to the maker for filling, that's why there are more cartouches floating around than guns and the serial numbers will often not match the guns.



Mark
 
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Wadcutter,

Thanks for the compliments. Sorry I didn't reply sooner. for some reason the notification feature on this forum is inconsistent. I did wind up disassembling the cartouche thanks to a pair of 30mm rings. They clamped down and didn't mar anything in the process. I had to apply a pipe wrench (padded with leather) to spin it off, but no issues. The seal was a more modern material, but unsure of what it was. 

I disassembled the rifle down to its individual components and found an odd brass collar that was paper thin inside the bolt. It appeared to have been added later to improve sealing around the barrel, but it disintegrated when I brushed it with the rag I was wiping the parts with. So I'll have to see what I can do to replace it. 

As for shot count with the Co2, the claim the manufacturer made was that the 4.5mm could get 800 shots on a 100 gram fill. Not sure I would believe that, but who knows. The bore looks decent, not as smooth as today's rifling, but amazing for such a small bore way back then. Hopefully it will put a ball out with some consistency. Velocity????



Mark
 
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