An illustrated history of military, sporting, and antique firearms mcnab, chris on. Henry nock was a firearms maker to the king of england, and founded the henry nock gun in. Lastly, the recoil was a lot worse than first thought by the inventor, and many a sailor sported a broken shoulder after serious use of the nock gun. She lives in boulder city, and the gun range is right in the middle, so i figured thats where wed meet. Richard widmarks jim bowie did use one, but that was pure hollywood. A book for aspiring firearms designers forgotten weapons. Most every mention of the nock in the history books emphasizes the gun s fearful discharge, but on camera widmark is able to pull the trigger with barely a flinch. You can buy a reproduction of the nock gun from a couple of places, one being the rifle shoppe. The nock volley gun first appeared around 1780 and fired seven. It also had a tendency to set ships rigging on fire from the muzzle blast. The nock gun was a flintlock operated seven barrelled musket designed by james wilson and used by the royal navy. The pistols are now displayed at fort ligonier in pennsylvania. It was a volley gun, designed for shiptoship fighting, as well as to be fired from the rigging onto the deck if enemy sailors boarded the ship. Family tree of the gunsmith, henry nock history of the.
Gift yourself or a loved one a nook book to download today. Arms and armour, the victorian soldier, and so much more. The first mitrailleuse, developed by the belgians in 1851, was a 50barrel, rapidfire weapon was capable of shooting up to 100 rounds a minute. Below is a photo of the grandson of henry nock, the london gun maker. Nock gun before gatling who was the first to invent a rapidfire gun. It was actually invented by a british engineer named james wilson in 1779, but since james wilson could not himself manufacture the firearm, he came to nock s company to manufacture the prototypes for him. Oct 24, 2012 the company was founded by henry nock in the year 1772. Historical firearms the nock volley gun in 1779, james. Best books to learn firearms history i have been impressed with some of the knowledge that folks here have of of the history of firearms sprecifically of wwi and wwii era guns.
Most every mention of the nock in the history books emphasizes the guns fearful discharge, but on camera widmark is able to pull the. The great book of guns features photos of the older flintlock pistols, pepperbox revolvers, and guns of the oldwest. In bernard cornwells series of historical novels featuring richard sharpe and, more recently, in the sharpe tv series, nock guns are used by the character patrick harper. October 25, 2019 chumlee and rick head to the range to fire off a deal for a seven barrel nock volley flintlock gun in this clip from season, seven barreled pawn. Aug 19, 2015 in the past, ive posted information about the english gunsmith, henry nock. What we know as the nock gun was not invented by henry nock. Jan 12, 2020 henry nocks workshops produced approximately 655 volley guns between 1780 and 1788. Wilkinson swords origins lay in the late 18th century, when henry nock founded a gun manufacturing company in london, in 1772. A succinct and thoughtprovoking, neutrally written introduction to the legal and historical issues at the heart of the gun debate. Full text of illustrated catalogue of rare guns and sporting books.
Patrick harper makes good use of the nock gun on many an instance. Our community welcomes everyone from around the world to discuss world history, historical periods, and themes in history military history, archaeology, arts and culture, and history in books and movies. The history of the firearms industryspecimens of early workgunmaking in bygone. Nock was the manufacturer, but not the inventor, of this weapon. Henry nock 17411804 was a british inventor and engineer of the napoleonic period, best. In may 2003, wilkinson sword debuted its newest razor innovation, the fourbladed quattro. Page of norwich, nock, joe manton, ezekiel baker, w, greener. An american epic of war, survival, and the destiny of john f. In april 1775 he formed a partnership with fellow gunmakers, william jover and john green, to sell firearms made under english patent no. It was actually invented by a british engineer named james wilson in 1779, but since james wilson could not himself manufacture the firearm, he came to nocks company to manufacture the prototypes for him.
Henry nock s sevenbarreled smoothbore was specifically intended to be fired from the rigging down onto the deck against boarders. I thought it was cool that the kid who was getting picked on by tyray, the main character, in the cafeteria stood up for himself even though he was way smaller. A gun crew would load each barrel with a single rifle round. Finding the blue book value of your new and used firearms, including pistols, rifles, shotguns, airguns, and blackpowder guns is easy with the number one source of gun pricing. We offer you a very rare firearm for the collectors out there. In the past, ive posted information about the english gunsmith, henry nock. The nock gun was a sevenbarrelled flintlock smoothbore firearm used by the royal navy during the early stages of the napoleonic wars. William doyle has written or cowritten seven books, including pt 109. The gun was made as a flintlock, fairly late in the flintlock era, and converted to percussion using a threaded barrel and nipple in place of the touchhole. To give you a flavour of the history involved i have kept several extracts from six books in my local library and one entry reads. Original british royal navy nock volley gun circa 1780. Before the gatling gun, there was the mitrailleuse or grapeshot shooter. The barrels were in an octagon pattern about 30 inches long. A handdriven machine gun, the gatling gun was the first firearm to solve the problems of loading, reliability, and the firing of sustained bursts.
By 1779 he had moved to the whitechapel district and appears at castle alley in whitechapel the following. An illustrated history of military, sporting, and antique firearms by mcnab, chris isbn. The nock gun was invented by james wilson, a british engineer, in 1779. Before gatling who was the first to invent a rapidfire gun. The sevenbarrel nock volley gun was designed by the british navy to repel boarders during battles between ships, but it didnt quite live up to its potential with ship captains. Business sport, sporting goods and toys industry gatling guns. Such volley guns were initially designed to be fixed to the ships railing. The design was contracted out to henry nock an arms manufacturer in london, hence the name the nock gun, although it was commonly named the volley gun. The nock gun was a sevenbarrelled flintlock smoothbore firearm used by the royal navy. The nock gun was not in use for very long however, due to the high amount of recoil produced when shot. If you have neither read or seen the series, i can also recommend the books on tape edition. I seen one at a florida gun show and the individual with the. Jun 14, 2017 here are 10 truly crazy weapons of war. He had a plethora of information and facts about his ancestor.
Nock was hired to produce two sample guns for evaluation by the board of ordnance and as such was in a prime position to receive the contracts to manufacture these arms, which he did. I recently spoke to michael danks, a direct descendant of henry nock. The nock volley gun saw service with the royal navy for around 20 years, with over 600 produced, although just how effective they were is a matter of some debate. Nock produced many innovative weapons including the screwless lock and the sevenbarrelled volley gun, although he did not invent the latter despite it commonly being known as the nock gun.
Full text of illustrated catalogue of rare guns and. The nock gun is a 7barrel fiream using a flintlock firing mechanism. Jun 10, 2019 the gatling gun is a machine gun that consists of multiple barrels revolving around a central axis and is capable of being fired at a rapid rate. A customer called the shop and she has a nock volley gun. Although accounts of his background are sketchy, it is thought that henry nock learnt his craft as a gun maker in birmingham and came to london to seek his fortune. The best gun books for any gun owner gun digest store is where youll find a fantastic selection of books about concealed carry, gun values, gunsmithing, gun laws, selfdefense, gun history and more from the worlds best gun writers and leading gun experts. Immortalised in books, tv and film most famously as sergeant harpers weapon of choice in the sharpe series, the nock gun is formidable weapon with an interesting history.
Rick takes a risk on a gun from the 1800s, then calls sean in to take a look and teach him out to shoot it in this scene from best of pawn stars. The nock gun is a weapon that would greatly benefit from some indepth contemporary research as the current best source is over 50 years old and relatively little is known about the guns service history. This site provides values and information on firearms in a convenient online pricing guide format, and allows you to find out what your used guns are worth. The barrel is by nock and is stamped h n patent for his patent breeching. The nock volley gun was actually invented by an englishman named. Original british royal navy nock volley gun circa 1780 princeton. Dec 17, 2014 the equations are truthfully dry reading unless you really like math, but findlays comments and conclusions about the analysis are interesting and worth reading if you are truly a technical gun guy or are an engineer in the gun industry. A history of gun control from premodern times to tomorrow gun control on state and federal levels modern american gun laws gun control in great britain, germany, russia and china. The book of the pistol and revolver is also available to purchase in print. Gun digest 20, page 17, gun digest books, 2012 isbn 1440229260. Our site makes history a click away with free articles and research. Nock gun, more commonly known as the volley gun, was a sevenbarrelled flintlock rifle designed by james wilson and made by henry nock of london in 1779.
It was originally intended for repelling boarding parties from royal navy ships. History of the wilkinson sword company antique swords for sale. Antique firearms restoration blog and c19 gun engraving. In 1779, james wilson invented a sevenbarreled volley gun that would become known universally as the nock volley gun, even though nock did not invent it. Things like being able to identify different variants of the mauser or comprehensive understanding of the history of the house of kalashnikov. A visual history is a fully loaded guide to over 300 of the most important guns from the last 700 years. The nock gun was made popular by the british tv drama about the napoleonic wars called sharpes rifles, making its appearance in this episode of sharpes company. The nock gun was a sevenbarrel flintlock smoothbore firearm used by the royal navy during the early stages of the napoleonic wars.
The term musket is applied to a variety of weapons, including the long, heavy guns with matchlock or wheel lock and loose powder fired with the gun barrel resting on a stand, and also lighter weapons with snaphance, flintlock or caplock and bullets using a stabilizing spin mini ball, affixed with a bayonet. In the video game gun, the main antagonist, thomas magruder, uses a nock gun during the final boss battle of the game. I have never seen one of these in person, and ive been buying and selling guns for over 30 years. From rifles to sniper guns, machine guns to grenade launchers, gun.
Henry nock 17411804 was a british inventor and engineer of the napoleonic period, best known as a gunsmith. It is a type of volley gun adapted for shiptoship fighting, but was limited in its use because of the powerful recoil and eventually discontinued. List of london gunmakers in 1825 books about hunting. The best of pawn stars crazy expensive 7barrel gun. Get the best archery and bowhunting gear to make you a. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The alamo 1960 richard widmark as jim bowie nock volley gun. List of london gunmakers in 1825 this is from lieut. Nock on archery leads the archery education revolution with world class archery information for bowhunters, target archers and 3d archers. The central barrel has small vents that link to the other six barrels.
I bought this henry nock single barrel half stocked 16 bore gun from holts to restore to shootable condition. The nock gun was invented by british engineer james wilson in 1779, with the. In october 2015, am americanmade flintlock pistol and leather holster dating to the late 18th century sold for a steal at skinner. It later becomes unlocked for the players use after finishing the game. He made his name quickly, with a series of brilliant innovations that transformed the design and performance of sporting and. Henry nock was originally a british locksmith, but in 1775, he invented a firearm lock and received a patent for it. That is why we put the glory of the past in your hands by offering you museumquality military heritage products.
It even includes the oddities including the japanese swordgun not a bayonet, but a fullsize sword with a handle that was a gun. The weapon was invented by british engineer james wilson in 1779, and named after henry nock, the londonbased gun maker contracted. Get the best archery and bowhunting gear to make you a better archer. With this type of seven barrelled gun, the seamen of hms pandora, searching for bounty mutineers, fought off an attack by natives. Gatling during the american civil war, and later used in the spanishamerican war, but was supplanted by advanced weaponry soon after. Birth, marriage and death certificates, history books with. The nock gun was designed entirely around the concept of being fired from the rigging of the ship, hence having a relatively short length overall. Six of the barrels are arranged in a hexagonal arrangement around the seventh central barrel. Original british royal navy nock volley gun circa 1785. Antique nock guns are sevenbarrelled flintlock smoothbore firearms used by the royal navy during the early stages of the napoleonic wars.
We did our best to bring you only the best jokes about history. Great books made into a tv movie series by the bbc. Founded in 2006, historum is a history forum dedicated to history discussions and historical events. Henry nock opened business in london in 1772, appearing in the rate books for 1772 as a gunlock smith at mount pleasant, london. He was the son of james wilkinson of wilkinson sword, and margaret nock. Hawkers book instructions to young sportsmen, fourth edition, which deals largely with the question of flintlock as against the new detonator or percussion system.
There are lots of history books out there which is probably what more people will relate to, but if you. The weapon was invented by british engineer james wilson in 1779, and named after henry. An illustrated history of military, sporting, and antique firearms. It was named after the londonbased armaments manufacturer who built it, henry nock, gun maker to his majesty. The finest examples, mounted in platinum, gold and silver, of the development of the gunlock. From what i have heard, it was made for the french navy in the late 1700s. It was good in repelling boarders in navel combat but its recoil could break the firers shoulder.
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