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Revolver chain fires

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I'm not old; haven't hit 80 yet.

I suspect that most of the Centaures will still be with us in another fifty years.
That’s true. The knowledge, what is it’s history etc... that’s what I’m thinking of. The guns themselves should be here about as long as men are free to own them.
 
Wait?!?! What!?
Would that work??


wat.jpg
 
There's nothing new under the sun, they say.
A musket made in Nuremberg, Germany in the 1600's was loaded with 16 superimposed charges. It had two locks, a wheel lock and a match lock but only one trigger. In use, the first pull of the trigger operated the wheel lock which fired the 9 charges closest to the muzzle. A second pull on the trigger also operated the wheel lock and fired the next six, leaving the musketeer with a weapon still loaded with a single charge. To fire that, he had to either re-span the wheel lock or light the match lock and again pull the trigger. I'm guessing reloading took a while.
In 1856, a gentleman named George Kesling of Lebanon, Ohio, patented a superposed-load gun that was designed to load 12 rounds, one on top of the other. It had 2 percussion locks. The first (closest to the muzzle) load was fired using the front lock. The next 10 rounds were loaded with "perforated bullets" to allow the front load to ignite the next one back, etc. The last load - closest to the breech - was protected from firing when the rest went down-range so the shooter would retain a loaded weapon. THAT ball was not perforated. That last load had to be fired with the rear lock.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain's Henry Nock made a rifle called the Volley Gun, which was a 7-barreled .50 caliber flintlock with all 7 barrels firing at the same time with a single trigger pull. It was intended for the British Navy, to be used against enemy deck crews trying to board a sailing ship.
One of my source books has a photo of a 24-barrel pepperbox revolver. It's not clear whether the barrels are fired individually or all at once. The single hammer-multiple nipple construction suggests one at a time was the intended result, but we all know how well that works!
I'm guessing a holster for one of these would look a lot like a back pack, but I have a clear vision in my mind of some gentleman of the era pulling this thing out when he was confronted by a thug in some alley, yanking the trigger, and getting a chain fire. It would certainly discourage the thug --- probably permanently --- and also set fire to surrounding buildings. Mercy!
And of course, there was the 12-shot .36 caliber Walch percussion revolver with two concentric rings of 6 chambers each in the single cylinder and two hammers, two triggers, one set for each ring. Interestingly enough, the weapon was not significantly larger than an 1851 Colt Navy.
 
The search for more shots started the day after the first Hand Gonne was made I'm sure.

Like the story of the "first semi auto" at a French and Indian war era Fort? I forget , where there were 3 or 4 Riflemen on a wall and guys down below loading numerous Kentucky rifles and passing them up so the Riflemen were continuously shooting.

Or the Flintlock Revolver/Sword I saw in a museum in NYC, I forget which one. I'm sure that was nice and reliable. Likely primarily a sword with a "backup" gun.
 
Like the story of the "first semi auto" at a French and Indian war era Fort? I forget , where there were 3 or 4 Riflemen on a wall and guys down below loading numerous Kentucky rifles and passing them up so the Riflemen were continuously shooting.
You're thinking of the riflemen at the Battle of New Orleans. Teams of four or more riflemen supplied loaded rifles to the best shots, who used the cotton bales as rests, in their unit.

There was a French shooting drill where a team of infantry would pass their musket forward to the first in line trying to keep up a high rate of fire. Works okay for a few shots. Not much more effective than firing by files. Front file fires, steps to the rear to reload while the second file steps forward to fire. A practiced unit can fire a volley about every 8 to 10 seconds.
 
Or Blackbeard carrying 12 pistols on him during a boarding raid.

Honestly having other soldiers pass loaded rifles up to crack shots seems like a useful idea but I'd rather have 50 men on the line shooting their own rifles than 10 guys with 40 loading rifles down below
 
Just so's you know, nkbj --- Those superimposed load guns are called "Roman candle guns" by collectors and by the gent who wrote that book I mentioned earlier.
Stantheman --- It was common practice during our own Civil War especially amongst the Border Raiders and other Irregular troops to carry several loaded revolvers. An account I read referred to one pair in saddle holsters, one pair in saddle bags, one pair in hip holsters, one pair in shoulder holsters, and at least one other pair of "pocket" revolvers in --- you guessed it --- the man's coat pockets!
It seems reloading percussion revolvers while on horseback during a firefight is difficult especially with people shooting at you and spooking your horse. I haven't had that experience and don't want it, but anybody who has ever loaded a cap-n-ball revolver can understand the challenges. The Eastwood movie "The Outlaw Josie Wales" is the most realistic Hollywood epic I've seen on this subject.
 
Or Blackbeard carrying 12 pistols on him during a boarding raid.

Honestly having other soldiers pass loaded rifles up to crack shots seems like a useful idea but I'd rather have 50 men on the line shooting their own rifles than 10 guys with 40 loading rifles down below

I would think that if it were determined those 10 were the crack shots and the other 40 were not, then a line of 50 would produce 10 direct hits with 40 flyers. Not a very effective use of manpower and powder. I could imagine a battery of 50 cannon knocking branches out of trees verses 10 cannon that blasted holes in the approaching enemy with every shot.
Like gopher bopping game.
 
Es gibt eine Centaure-Seite, die Gast der Santa Barbara Revolver ist, nur in deutscher Sprache.
Centaure
Es Gibt Handlungen, sterben die Übersetzung machen heißt. Für viele Menschen sind Sie dort ein einsamer Krieger,
Gloyer MacGloy FROCS # 158 und Botschafter
 
Wright, or wrong, here is the translation from my Google Translator:

There is a Centaure page that is the guest of the Santa Barbara Revolver, only in German.
Centaurs
There are actions that mean doing translation. For many people you are a lonely warrior there,
Gloyer MacGloy FROCS # 158 and Ambassador


That said, Forum rule # 3 says, "3: Posts must be in English. "
 
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