Harmonica gun

A ten-shot harmonica pistol at the National Firearms Museum

A harmonica gun or slide gun is a form of firearm which was breech loaded with a steel slide, containing a number of chambers bored in it and which were filled with projectiles. Most harmonica guns are percussion cap guns, although some designs exist for compressed air guns.[1][2] In percussion cap guns, each chamber contains a separate primer, powder charge, and projectile. The slide was inserted in an opening in the breech action and could be advanced by releasing the camlock, moving the slide by hand.

The most famous maker of harmonica guns was Jonathan Browning, father of John Moses Browning. Commencing in 1834 in Quincy, Illinois, he began to make harmonica guns and more conventional revolving rifles. He continued to improve on the principle after he became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and emigration to Nauvoo, Illinois, and finally Ogden, Utah.

See also

References

  1. "Al stone's 2240 auto-loader". Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  2. "Airgun hobby magazine, july 2011". Retrieved 26 October 2014.

External links

Media related to Harmonica guns at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.