Air Rifle

Yep, really happened. Well documented. Austrian manufacture, though.

Girandoni Air Rifle.

If an off the shelf bicycle pump, no, unless you were really strong.

Let's say for a 50lb_f push, the piston diameter would have to be 0.28in to get 800psi.

For a 25lbf push, the diameter would have to be 0.2in.

I can't tell the scale from Doorman's link, but I'll bet the hand pump has a bore close to that scale.

The Wikipedia article talks about a hand pump, but doesn't say exactly what kind. Could be a lever action (like single-shot air rifles), or a small bore "bicycle pump" type.

Another site with some interesting stuff about this largely unknown rifle:

http://www.topairgun.com/girandoni

At the bottom of the webpage are some videos of reproductions being fired.

Yes. They were also used as sniper rifles in Europe and later banned because they were too quite.

Hand pump,yes. Bicycle pump, no, since the pneumatic tire wasn't invented until 1846.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tire#History

I have a modern air rifle (Falcon 19MS.22cal) that works in the same way, the hand pump has a bottom plate that you stand on, and you pump it up and down just like a larger bicycle pump but more refined. I pump the air reciever up to 200 bar, and this will give me about 70 shots, there are 8 air bullets in the magazine, and it is a powerful gun!

The one that is being talked about was of 50cal, and there is one on exhibit in the Birmingham science museum, they were made in Austria, and were used often by their army.

Xanasax

I agree, that is a VERY good info site.

GA for a good find.

GA for great link.

Long read, but full of fascinating info, so well worth it.

_{(and bonus humorous metric )}

An amazing grasp of the principle of admitting the maximum volume of highly compressed air in the shortest amount of time, fundamental to achieve maximum velocity.

There's another neat way to build high pressure in an air rifle. Just Google "diesel air rifle" for a happy afternoon's reading and video viewing. Bwahaha.

Mark Bingham
Relativity PL

There is a copious amount of information about the air gun in the book, "Firearms, Traps, and Tools of the Mountain Men" by Carl P. Russell.

It has been some years since I read it, but I remember them taking elk and bison with the air gun. Quite impressive.

Shot placement must have been more important than with modern cartridges.

If my history is correct ( and that I could be wrong). Bicycles were not around at the time of Lewis & Clark. Also I think rubber tired wheels with air inflation came along a bit after the 1 st bicycle as well.

Just my guess then that the air rife was not there as well.

See #7

"Just my guess then that the air rife was not there as well ..." - have you followed any of the links? Girandoni Air Rifle for instance?