Air Rifle Shot
Finds From Wirral – Air Rifle Shot
These are shot from a specific air weapon dating from the early 1800’s. They would have been shot from a very expensive rifled barrel air rifle. Each shot has 10 rifling grooves which fit in grooves in the barrel in order to make the bullet spin for accuracy.
There is a similar weapon in the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds but that weapon has only seven rifling grooves.
In order to charge the weapon it would have to be attached to a stirrup pump and pumped around 2000 times to give enough air for around 15 shots.
As the weapon was so expensive we imagine that a servant or employee may have had the job of charging it.