A bit of interesting history from the Lewis and Clark expedition. This rifle coupled with sheer determination may be two of the most important elements leading to their success.
Interesting facts about the Girandoni air rifle:
The rifle was designed by Bartholomaus Girandoni in approximately 1779. The weapon was also known as the "Windbüchse", which means "wind rifle" in German.
It took approximately 1500 strokes to fully charge the air resevoir. Not only was the rifle smokeless, but it presented a significant advantage as one of the earliest repeating rifles.
The rifle was 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weighed 10 pounds (4.5 kg), which made it the same basic size and weight as other muskets of the time. The lead balls varied from .46 to .51 caliber. It fired a .46 caliber ball at a velocity similar to that of a modern .45! The Girandoni had a tubular, gravity-fed magazine with a capacity of 20 balls. This gravity operated design was such that the rifle had to be pointed upwards in order to drop each ball into the breech-block. Unlike its contemporary, muzzle-loading muskets, which required the rifleman to be almost fully erect to reload with powder and ball, the shooter could reload a ball from the magazine by holding the rifle vertically while laying on his back and operating the ball delivery mechanism. The rifleman then could roll back into position to fire, allowing the rifleman to keep a "low profile". Contemporary regulations of 1788 required that each rifleman, in addition to the rifle itself, be equipped with three compressed air reservoirs (two spare and one attached to the rifle), cleaning stick, hand pump, lead ladle, and 100 lead balls, 20 in the magazine built into the rifle and the remaining 80 in four tin tubes. Equipment that was not attached to the rifle was held in a special leather knapsack It was also necessary to keep the leather gaskets of the reservoir moist in order to maintain a good seal and prevent leakage.
The air reservoir was in the club-shaped butt. With a full air reservoir, the Girandoni air rifle had the capacity to shoot 30 shots at useful pressure. These balls were effective to approximately 150 yards on a full load. The power declined as the air reservoir was emptied.
This rifle was one of the first repeating rifles, of any kind, to be formally used in military service. The Austrian army employed this rifle from 1780 to 1815.
If you would like substantial additional detail about the Girandoni air rifle, just follow this link: Beeman's Girandoni Profile