19th century assault rifle?

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There I was, camped at the edge of the big meadow, watching the sun come up. I'd been alert for Indians and grizzlies as both were known to frequent the area. I hadn't found any gold yet, plus I had to eat my horse, but my mule was grazing when I saw his ears pick up something. I don't know what he heard, but just then it got quiet, too quiet. What was coming? A bear, needing to bulk back up after a long winter? A pack of howling savages out for my hair? I got behind a log and got ready for a battle.
Suddenly they came with a rush, coming over a little rise and straight down to my camp. 80 quail on a hunger forced rampage! Luckily, I had this baby! If I'd had to take the time to reload, they'd have had me. Yessir, this here rifle gun saved my bacon out there.:D:D:D
 
I wonder if John Browning ever saw one of these actions. Maybe the reciprocating barrel morphed into the M2 in his mind.
 
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Recognize that nearly every form of full and semiauto firearm mechanism had been invented or at least conceived of well before 1900. The main problem was that they were impractical until smokeless powder appeared as they quickly gummed up when using black powder ammunition. Revolvers were well known before Sam Colt was born. He just improved their design.

Somewhere I have packed away a book titled "Firearms Curiosa" by Arcadi Gluckman. It shows hundreds of very early firearms oddball designs, most of which were unsuccessful. Like that multi-cylinder revolver pictured above.
 
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Sam Colt's major handgun design improvement was connecting the hammer to the cylinder revolution. When he hammer was being cocked, it turned the cylinder. With earlier revolvers, the cylinder had to be moved to the next chamber by hand, then the hammer was cocked. Or maybe vice-versa. I am not sure.
 
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Golddollar said:
The ammunition sounds similar. Is this a first cousin to the Volcanic pistol?
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They were essentially identical to Walter Hunt's Rocket Balls, as used in the early Volcanic rifles and pistols. I owned one of the latter for a short time before I stupidly sold it. I had no ammo and never fired it. But I was young and stupid. However the guycot used a very small version, about .25 caliber. It held very little powder and the Guycot probably had the knockdown power of a .22 pellet rifle, if that. The same general design could probably have been adapted to use some more powerful small and short rimfire or centerfire cartridge, maybe a .32 or .38, but I don't think it ever got that far. I knew they existed but I have not seen one of them anywhere.
 
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The Evans rifle held up to 34 rounds of a proprietary cartridge fed through a helix magazine. Circa 1873-1879.
 
Inusuit said:
The Evans rifle held up to 34 rounds of a proprietary cartridge fed through a helix magazine. Circa 1873-1879.
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The Evans rifle was a truly unusual design. The magazine was an Archimedes Screw in the buttstock. Unfamiliar to most, but common enough that I have seen several at gun shows. I even bought one many years ago at a small gun shop in Columbus Ohio. This is an NRA article about the Evans.
All About The Evans Repeating Rifle | An NRA Shooting Sports Journal
 
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