"Does my aigun qualify, Friend-o?"
Posted on 02/13/2008 9:54:05 PM PST by george76
Last summer the six-person regulatory committee of the Missouri Department of Conservation voted unanimously to approve the use of high-caliber air rifles for deer hunting. The weapons, which must be a minimum of .40 caliber, are powered by an external hand pump, or a tank of compressed air.
"It was a request from a small group of folks who used these large-caliber air guns," ... "These firearms are not Daisy air rifles. They are high-powered, large-caliber, generally very expensive firearms that carry the foot-pounds of energy necessary to take down large game."
air rifles differ from standard gunpowder-propelled weaponry. For one, the bullet is loaded directly into the chamber, generally through the breach, where the barrel meets the butt of the gun.
After pressurizing the chamber of the rifle with air from an external tank, the hunter has only one chance to shoot his prey before having to reload and recharge.
The range of the air guns is also significantly reduced; a shotfrom a standard .40 caliber rifle can carry more than a mile, while a round from an air rifle is only lethal within a few hundred yards.
(Excerpt) Read more at riverfronttimes.com ...
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Lewis and Clark carried a hand pump-powered model ...
jeez
semi- breach ?
but...jeez.
You are correct. One cock against any hard surface ie: Tree.
There are pics on the net. Must have been quite a weapon.
They would dazzle the Indians with it — “Big Medicine”!
Can't speak for the .40 cal air rifle, but there ain't much standard about a .40 cal rifle. 416 Rigby, 458 Lott, etc....
"Does my aigun qualify, Friend-o?"
I don’t like to think about how many shots it would take with my old pump-BB gun to bring down a deer. It would have to be caged, and then the stress more than anything else would probably be the final factor.
This is interesting. I didn’t know such high-caliber high-pressure air guns existed outside of Mythbusters.
It would have the advantage of silence; you only have one shot (per member of your party), but you wouldn’t make enough noise to scare off other game in the vicinity.
I’m surprised they approved it for deer first. I’d think it would be more useful for boar, which are usually engaged at shorter range.
Once more into the breech, dear friends ...
I’d imagine such a high pressured gun, unlike a beebee gun, would actually be quite loud. Not quite the crack of a regular rifle, but loud enough to scare game anyway.
Actually they are very quiet. Air rifles were used for sniping back in Napoleon’s day. They were considered inhumane due to the fact that they were silent and could not be detected other than by the fact that somebody fell dead.
Q: "Ever hit a deer with a pumpkin fired from a 40' air powered gun from half a mile away?"
A: "No, but I am willing to try!" :D
The Lewis and Clark
Air Rifle
...we showed them many curiosities and the air gun which they were much astonished at.
William Clark, August, 1804
Clock and gun maker Isaiah Lukens of Philadelphia, PA, provided Meriwether Lewis and William Clark one of his air rifles for their 1803-1806 expedition to explore the northwest. Unlike most rifles which used black powder, the air rifle used compressed air to shoot its .31 cal. bullet.
Unlike black powder rifles, an air rifle made little noise when fired. It did not make smoke and had very slight “kick.” And, you didn’t have to “keep your powder dry!”
The butt of the rifle is actually a metal canister designed with a needle valve to hold compressed air. The air was stored under pressure —between700 and 900 pounds per square inch! (A modern car tire carries a pressure of 35 pounds per square inch.) When the trigger is pulled, just the right amount of air is carried from the butt to the bullet chamber and the round leaves the barrel with a whish.
A few hundred strokes on the pump and you were ready to go hunting.
Although the rifle was used in hunting, its main purpose was to impress the Native Americans Lewis and Clark would meet. Upon returning home Lewis and Clark presented the history making air rifle back to Isaiah Lukens.
This is the air rifle carried by Capt. Meriwether Lewis on the famous Lewis & Clark expedition. It is one of only a few artifacts remaining from the expedition, and was only recently discovered to be the actual rifle owned by Lewis. This is the most important and valuable antique gun in the world, and must rank among the greatest of our national treasures. Why it was donated to the Army War College rather than a place of honor at the Smithsonian is a mystery to me.
Those pumpkin/chunkin airguns can throw a standard pumpkin about a mile. Though they might be a little-bit hard to carry in the woods.
Thanks for the pfft!
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