Air gun history is a fascinating topic, especially for enthusiastic airgunners who appreciate the deep heritage of their Benjamin air guns. The history of air guns can technically be traced back as far as 4,000 B.C. when Stone Age hunters used crude blowguns to fire darts dipped in poison at small game. In this post, however, we’ll be providing a brief overview of what most of us think of as air guns, which date back to the 1500s, and we’ll include Benjamin’s air rifle history.
1580: The Air Rifle is Born
The first version of what we recognize as a mechanical air rifle is the bellows air gun, which was made in Europe around 1580. This era of air gun history is especially noteworthy because, besides being the first known iteration of what we recognize as an air rifle today, it’s also the first known example of pressurized gas technology in general.
Lauded by marauders, soldiers, and hunters alike, the 1600s brought the invention of big-bore air rifles that shot pellets as large as 51-caliber, typically to hunt big game like deer and wild boar, but they were also used in military settings.
These early, high-caliber air guns were filled with air via a hand pump and were frequently preferred over the traditional firearms of the time for a number of reasons. If you look into air gun history, you’ll find that air guns filled a need—a weapon that could be used in the rain and other damp environments, unlike the matchlock muskets that were so common at the time.
Additionally, many hunters, soldiers, and marauders preferred air guns because they could fire more rapidly than the muzzle-loading firearms that were quite tedious to reload. The history of air guns also shows that air guns were an excellent choice for stealth and sniper missions, due to the relatively low volume of noise and lack of smoke and flash that would reveal the shooter’s location. Quite a few countries, including Austria and France, had entire air gun sniper divisions in their armies.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Perhaps the most well-known portion of air gun history is when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the lands to the west of the Mississippi River from 1803-1807, eventually leading to the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark famously relied on an air rifle on their journeys. Their air gun was capable of holding 22 .46-caliber balls, which could be all fired in rapid succession in under one minute.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was fraught with danger, and there’s little doubt that their trusty air gun was an irreplaceable tool that played a major role in their survival and success, sealing Lewis and Clark as folk heroes, not just in air gun history, but in American history.
1882: Walter R. Benjamin Revolutionizes the Air Gun
Throughout the 1800s, airgunning grew increasingly popular in England, and towards the end of the century, competitive target shooting matches were quite common. In 1882, Benjamin’s air rifle history began when Walter R. Benjamin revolutionized American air guns by designing, producing, and patenting a .22-caliber, pump-style air rifle—the beginning of the modern American air rifle.
At the time, the air guns in America were essentially toys, and Walter R. Benjamin’s provided serious hunters with a serious option. Over the course of a few decades, after the first “Benjamin Pumps” were made, Walter continued to work on his designs, and his air gun history included selling them through the St. Louis Air Rifle Company and Wissler Instrument Company. Finally, in 1902 in St. Louis, he started the Benjamin Air Rifle Company.
After founding his own company, Walter expanded his catalog, including offering the Super CO2 air pistol, which was powered by disposable cylinders that were made in the Benjamin factory, as opposed to the generic ones that were customary at the time.
The Benjamin Air Rifle Company continued to innovate and expand its offerings over the course of nearly a century until it purchased Sheridan Products in 1977, adding even more new designs to the company’s offerings. In 1992, Crosman acquired both companies and then joined the Velocity Outdoor family.
Own a Piece of Air Gun History
Now that you know about Benjamin’s air rifle history, it’s time to join our legacy and forge your own. With over 150 years of excellence behind us and many more to come, you can depend on Benjamin air guns to be part of your family for generations.
Check our Getting Started guide, FAQ, and videos for helpful information as you plan your purchase. You can also contact us for expert assistance selecting the Benjamin that’s right for you. Highly customizable and hand-assembled, every Benjamin is one-of-a-kind. Own a true original, join an enduring tradition, and be part of air gun history.