![]() Though particularly popular in Europe, air guns were also seen in the New World. Introduced by 1850, air canes were still popular into the 20th century as witnessed by this 1910 listing from a W. This remarkable gun, invented by Italian Bartolomeo Girardoni, was reported to be able to fire a remarkable (at the time) 20 shots per minute. ![]() One of the most notable early martial-rifled air guns was a repeater fielded by the Austrians in the latter 1700s when it was used by specialized troops for sharpshooting. Spring-operated bellow mechanisms as well as pneumatic (pump-up) types both came on the scene early.įor the next couple of centuries, air-gun development proceeded apace, to the point they were not only used for amusement but as serious hunting tools and weapons of war. It appears what we now recognize as an air gun, per se, likely emerged from Germany or France in the early- to mid-16th century. ![]() As seen on this circa-1860 trade label by famed London gunmaker John Blissett, mainstream dealers were commonly offering air canes. Still, there is no specific evidence to positively prove air-powered devices - other than blowguns, perhaps - were used to shoot projectiles. ![]() describing bellows and compression devices being used to power primitive engines. References have come down from circa 200 B.C. Though records are sketchy, and often contradictory, it appears the basics of air guns precede those of firearms by a millennium or so. ![]()
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