@Scott..
Rate of fire for that weapon was high. You could fire as fast as you pull the trigger. Effective rate of fire was between 240 and 300 rounds per minute.
Reload time was short also as the shooter carried extra air reservoirs. Bonus to the Girandoni for a much softer report when fired.
For the record, most fire arms have a rate of fire much higher than
60 round a minute Assault Rifle
. In the case of the Girandoni a skilled marksman could accurately fire about 30 shots per minute, comparable to a modern infantry man with their M-4.
If you really want to learn about fire arms, I'd suggest talking to members of a local shooting club. They can explain things like "Reload time" VS "how long it takes to load a magazine", rate of fire, effective rate of fire, lethal range VS effective range, and a host of other factors.
Truth be told there are still hunting air rifles that can be used. Most are comparable to combustion based hunting rifles and are used for the same reasons the Girandoni was.
Now if you compare the Girandoni to a Brown Bess (standard musket in use by the English army during the revolution) you will see how vastly superior it is to most comparable military arms. The signers of the declaration of independence knew that civilians could purchase far better weapons than the military. One sharp shooter with a Girandoni would be worth 10 armed with slow muskets.
Now if you do want to make a better comparison, I'd suggest getting a quill and writing your response. I'm sure the postal system can suit your needs well. No need to use an Assault Keyboard to spew hundreds of characters a minute.
