Friday, October 30, 2015

The Ahlmans Shooter Show Weekend: 9

The Gatling Gun!

The Gatling Gun changed the Civil War.   It enabled a small team to fire an incredible number of bullets downrange at charging troops.  It led to mass slaughter on the battlefield that continued into WWI. 

I was able to get in front of the the business end of one at the Show.   Yes, I asked for permission, first.  And, yes, it was safe.  They were prepping the gun for the next shooter.


It worked by loading in a magazine into the top and then turning a handle that would rotate the barrels around in a circle. 



This was the first machine gun used by the Union back in 1862.  By the way, a .58 cal bullet is big!


This was, for its day, terrifying.

No comments:

Post a Comment