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Von Clausewitz rule # 2 from ON WAR:" Whenever possible , increase fi...AIR power!"...and conquer the known...and the unknown world. http://firearmshistory.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-girandoni-repeating-air-rifle.html paint ball before there was paint ball-spare air tanks! How the West was 'really won' :"However, this type of rifle has a very important place in American history. A version of the Girandoni air rifle was made in Philadelphia by one Isiah Lukens, who was also a watchmaker and gunsmith like Bartholomaus Girandoni. The Lukens version of the rifle had a capacity of 23 bullets, instead of 20 bullets that the original rifle had. One of these rifles was custom-made by Isiah Lukens for Meriweather Lewis, who carried it with him on the famous Lewis and Clark expedition from 1804 to 1806 (for non-American readers, the Lewis and Clark expedition was a famous scientific and exploration expedition that discovered a land route from the city of St. Louis, Missouri to the west coast of the United States.) Meriweather Lewis is recorded to have used this rifle to impress several Native American tribes, who were all amazed by its repeating capability and the fact that it made less noise than a conventional firearm." Essentially: A repeating rifle with the same punch as 1911 colt .45! and able to penetrate a 1 inch plank.
The very instrument of diplomacy carried by Meriwether Lewis! Fired to good effect, as a demonstration, to all tribes encountered...Air power in 1804; clearly the assault rifle of the day BBY! With the added advantage: your powder definitely stays dry on a two-three year trek!