Richard Gatling: Shooting Star
Richard Gatling and the invention of the Machine Gun.
Written by Filed under History, Science & Technology
Is there any place where you can fire one?
I fired one a couple different times. At gun shows there are collectors that have working Gatling guns. There are also machine gun shoots—one in Maine, and one twice a year [at the Knob Creek Gun Range] in Westpoint, Kentucky.
What is it like to fire a Gatling gun?
It’s quite thrilling. But it takes a lot of physical strength. So for me it was very labored. But you get this feeling of tremendous power.
Do you believe your book has the potential to rehabilitate Gatling’s reputation?
If only. I think he deserves far better. History, of course, is full of people who haven’t gotten their just due. But if the ultimate result of this is that Richard Jordan Gatling is restored to the history books as the great mechanical genius he was, then I’ll be very happy.
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