Lewis and Clark's Air Rifle ~~ When Lewis and Clark headed up the Missouri River with the Corp of Discovery in 1803, they became the best armed war party in the American West. One gun they took with them was an air gun. This airgun had an air tank in its stock, which would be pressurized for a number of shots. The rifle shot a lead ball just like the flintlock rifles the party carried, of .463 caliber, according to Dr. Beeman.
