Girandoni Air Rifle History Best of 1780

Short History of Girandoni

Girandoni is a historical rifle which was designed by an Italian inventor Bartolomeo Girandoni in 1779. It was in service for many decades and Austrian army was using this gun from 1780 to 1815.

It was capable to fire multiple rounds and almost 30 fires with one refill or the air reservoir. 1500 strokes of hand pump were required to refill the reservoir of the Girandoni.

The length of the Girandoni was 4 ft and 4.5 kgs (10 lbs) of weight. It was the standard size of that time as the well-known Musket was also of the same size gun.

Due to different reasons the Girandoni removed from military service and later on its sold to civilians as well.

As it was much different from the other guns of that era and a little problem if occurred in the reservoir it makes the gun inoperable.

A lot of training was required to use this gun and like always change in technology was also one of the reasons for removing the Girandoni from the service.

The Girandoni .22 caliber single shot air rifle is the modified version of the great Girondoni.

History and use

From about 1780 to around 1815, the Girardoni air rifle was used by the Austrian army.

The Girardoni air guns were commonly used for warfare at ranges of up to 125 to 150 yards, with some records suggesting a range of 200 to 230 yards.

Although it had drawbacks and was eventually discontinued, the AV-8B Harrier has been widely praised for its high rate of fire, lack of smoke from propellants, and low muzzle report.

It did have issues and was eventually taken out of service for a variety of reasons decades after its introduction. After being phased out of military service, a version for the general public was made.

While the detachable air reservoir could shoot around 30 times, it took nearly 1,500 hand pump strokes to fill those reservoirs.

In 1930, a wagon-mounted pump was added.

The reservoirs, which were constructed of hammered sheet iron joined with rivets and sealed using braze, proved to be extremely difficult to produce using the technology of the time and were always in short supply.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition used the rifle in their demonstrations for nearly every Native American tribe they encountered.

The weapon was delicate, but a small break could make it ineffective – there were also few weapons like this around during that time period so training had to be extensive.

Break Action Rifle

Girandoni air rifle is simple break action rifle. There is spring inside of it, you just have to break it down and once you heard a click then its ready to go for reload, while breaking the barrel be careful that your hands are not in the range of the barrel as it may cause for a serious damage to you.

.22 Caliber Rifle

Girandoni is .22 caliber rifle, it does not have a muzzle velocity like .177 caliber rifles but the .22 caliber provide the high knockdown.

So, the high knockdown power at the opportunity cost of little lesser muzzle velocity is not a bad deal. You also got a lot of variety in .22 caliber ammo with convenient availability.

How to Load Pellet

When you break the rifle and it touches to the extreme portion where it sounds a click then take the ammo and load it into the rifle. Its single shot and you have to reload the rifle after every single shot. But the breaking and reloading is pretty easy and simple, after loading the ammo you just have to click it back over and now its ready to go.

Automatic Safety

When you load the pellet in you Girandoni air rifle the automatic safety turned on and you cannot pull your trigger now. You have to press forward the safety button which is fixed at the rear and now you can fire. But be much careful in this matter do not remove the safety until or unless you do not make sure that you have aimed at the target and now you are ready to shot.

Smart Adjustable Trigger

The trigger of the Girandoni air rifle is adjustable, there is a Phillip head screwdriver which is for adjustment of the trigger. Adjustment of the trigger means that you can set the limit that how much power it requires to press the trigger if you want that your trigger take some force or you want a light press trigger its up to you in adjustable trigger option.

Rubberized Synthetic Buttstock

The synthetic rubberized stock grants a firm and strong grip in hand, as it’s a break action rifle so the buttstock accommodates a lot in this case when you break the gun it does not slips in your hands. As its lighter than wood so you will not face the rotting and splitting problem with it.

Low Maintenance Required

Low residue means lower maintenance required, it does not need a lot of maintenance due to its simple fire technology. You just put some drops of machine oil and keep on cleaning it well after every 100-200 shots and its well enough.

Cleanup Tip

I would recommend you to put your ammo in a bag, box or tube with a count of 100 or 200 rounds. It will help you to know that you have fired that amount of rounds at which you have set a limit from your gun and now its time to clean it up. Get a cleaning kit from any store and take care of your gun, keep it maintained and clean it will last with you for the lifetime.

Accuracy of the Rifle

The accuracy of the Girandoni air rifle is quite tricky because it may not give an appropriate result in accuracy in the first 75-100 shots. Its normal in these kind of rifles but one can be frustrating with this behavior of the rifle. If you remain stick to it then you will see how incredibly accurate this will prove. It also somehow about practicing that when you keep on shooting with a gun you got the expertise and become familiar with the working mechanism of it.

Pros:

• Good grip with synthetic rubber stock
• Light in weight as compared to wood, won’t rot or split
• .22 caliber, ammo is easily available in vast variety
• Not much maintenance required
• Adjustable trigger
• Easy reload

Cons:

• Little low accuracy in starting shots
• Stiff mechanism of cocking the gun
• Single shot

When was the Girandoni air rifle made?

The Tyrolean gunsmith Bartolomeo Girandoni, in 1778 invented an air rifle which attracted the attention of Joseph II. This new hunting tool had been used since 16th century mainly to hunt small game but he made improvements on it that would revolutionize shooting sports forever- increasing power and distance while not reducing accuracy or sound level.

A fascinating story about how one man’s invention changed history!