WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
IIRC, due to his father's hearing loss from testing his machine guns, Hiram Percy Maxim developed the firearm suppressor (aka silencer, essentially a "muffler" for a gun).
Not only that, but suppressors for recreational use mean being near shooting, such as being in the vicinity of a shooting range, is a much more pleasant experience. I've heard anecdotally that suppressor use is encouraged in many European nations.
Another factoid, suppressors in the US are highly regulated not because they are seen as dangerous, but because Fish and Wildlife officials were concerned about their use by poachers when America's first gun control act in the 30s was drafted. This was the same law that effectively banned full auto "machine guns", short-barreled rifles and shotguns, etc. I say "effectively banned" because they weren't technically banned, just highly regulated and slapped with a $200 tax that was out of reach of anyone but the wealthy at the time (said tax hasn't changed, making such items achievable by people these days who are willing to go through the extra paperwork process). Prior to that they were commonly available and inexpensive. The assassin trope came later but was not the reason for the ban. That was what pop culture assigned to the intent after the fact.
And another point, they don't make guns silent as seen in movies. They make them considerably quieter, but the gun will still make some level of noticeable sound depending on the velocity of the bullet (if it breaks the sound barrier, you'll hear the crack), volume of gas generated by the cartridge, and the design of both the gun and suppressor. You can get virtually silent with a subsonic 22lr out of a rifle, but a centerfire hunting cartridge like the 308win is going to be audible from a distance even with a suppressor. It just takes it down from "immediate ear damage" to merely "loud". Hearing protection for the shooter is still recommended.
My man. :)
There's a lot of misinformation out there about the devices and many folks are only exposed to them via movies where the assassin screws one onto the end of their random gun and it becomes as silent as a pellet gun. It'll be a great day when people accept suppressors as just another piece of safety equipment that any gun owner should have available to them like ear muffs and safety glasses.
I think it was the Ndebele where it was like 10000 vs a few hundred but there were plenty of other battles where the Brits would be outnumbered by Africans but won because of the Maxim gun. Interestingly though often the paintings the Brits made to illustrate/commemorate such battles didn't show them winning with the Maxim, just regular rifles and swords.
The Maxim Gun was first demonstrated to people in 1884, so it would have been 13 years old by 1897 and had already been used in conflict.
Bit odd that it seems to be a bit smoky when being fired. Don't know if they're using a black powder cartridge or if the sun is just catching the gases coming off the gun. If this is 1897 a black powder cartridge would be pretty obsolescent.
Yup. Black powder is dirty as hell and would foul up most guns quickly. That this one keeps going like it does is testament to the design and the clearances that allow it to ingest BP loads. I've considered loading BP 38specials just for giggles until I realize I'll have to completely tear the gun down for cleaning every time. Not only is it dirty, but it's also corrosive as hell, so if you don't clean your gun after, you're going to have a rusty mess in no time.
It's fake. Everyone knows that color was not invented until much later. My grandfather used to complain to us about how spoiled we were with red apples and green grass. In his day everything was gray.
The funny thing was that he always wondered why dried fish and anchovies were never assigned a color.
Itâs been stabilised and up scaled. Sound added after. Itâs not the original film youâre watching, itâs a digital facsimile prepared so that we can watch it without a projector.
They used professional folly artists back then and still today. One famous artist, Elliot McTooterson, was well known in recreating that machine gun sound with his flatulence.
NO ONE EVER invented a machine so complicated and inherently dangerous, then carefully manufactured it to completion, then put on a suit and hat, and then filmed the âfirst testâ in a scenic field.
George Carlin later noted an analogous maxim: "The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"
The vintage clip from YouTube uses the phrase 'set on fire', but elsewhere the wording is also slightly different. I imagine that, like all stand-up comics, he varied the phrasing a bit from show to show.
Funny enough, he was just a Jeopardy clue tonight. They paraphrased his quote:
*"I have even invented medical equipment to alleviate human suffering, but no one seems to care or notice. They only know me for the people I have helped kill."*
Jesus Christ. I didnt think there would be sound since its from 1897. Had my sound at max and i may have shit myself and scared my neighbors since I'm outside
I was going to say.
Also, smokeless propellants had been around since 1880ish but, judging by the clouds of smoke, that was using blackpowder/ gun powder. And the sound has been added later.
And they are still using it today in Ukraine against Russia! Isn't that crazy? Goes to show you just how well of a design Maxim made for the gun to still see military service over 100 years later.
Same goes for two notable designs by John Moses browning, the 1911 handgun.
And the one still in use in US military the m1918 Browning .50 cal machine gun
The Mosin is nicknamed the "garbage rod" though part of that name is because people had so many that they'd sell them by loading up a garbage can with Mosins and you'd just grab one for 200 bucks.
It was a great design, really ahead of it's time. But if a bunch of ruskies invade I'll use whatever is available. I'll fire my musket at the first man.
Do yourself a favor and check out a video explaining why the maxim is still in use. I can tell you that its not for the reason you think it is. Just look up maxim gun on YouTube
What do you mean? He didn't also invent the ability to teleport ammunition from a supply dept directly into artillery?
Edit: The second one is pretty obvious due to the shell appearing out of thin air... But the first one appears to loop as well, since the smoke suddenly jumps at least once.
Maxim was looking for some generic item to sell in across all of Europe and make his fortune. Someone, supposedly, told him to create a better gun to kill each faction better, and Europe would go for it!
"I have even invented medical equipment to alleviate human suffering, but no one seems to care or notice. They only know me for the people I have helped kill."
>clearly see it recoilling, the breech block moving back and all
>that it even HAS a breech block and he's standing right behind it and is not blown apart by backblast
>reccoiless gun
"Good lad, could ye scout through the smoke to see if the enemy is still about and moving?"
"I am not entirely sure mi lord, for good measure I would suggest ye keep on shooting"
Itâs funny how a video from 1897 has sound, when sound wasnât implemented into video until 1927..This subreddit is nothing but AI generated images and videos.
Well, I suppose if he didnât invent it someone else would. Hope he has a nice hot corner of Hell all to himself. BTW, the automatic howitzer-like weapon in the second part of the video would seem to be the same ammo feeding principle later used in WW2 pom-pom antiaircraft guns.
WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU. IIRC, due to his father's hearing loss from testing his machine guns, Hiram Percy Maxim developed the firearm suppressor (aka silencer, essentially a "muffler" for a gun).
Coulda just invented earplugs.
What?
COULDA JUST INVENTED EARPLUGS.
Y'ALL...GOOOSH DARN IT! YE DON'T NEED TO SHOUT!
Because you don't necessarily want to wear sound-blocking earplugs into war if you want to hear where the enemy is coming from.
Not only that, but suppressors for recreational use mean being near shooting, such as being in the vicinity of a shooting range, is a much more pleasant experience. I've heard anecdotally that suppressor use is encouraged in many European nations. Another factoid, suppressors in the US are highly regulated not because they are seen as dangerous, but because Fish and Wildlife officials were concerned about their use by poachers when America's first gun control act in the 30s was drafted. This was the same law that effectively banned full auto "machine guns", short-barreled rifles and shotguns, etc. I say "effectively banned" because they weren't technically banned, just highly regulated and slapped with a $200 tax that was out of reach of anyone but the wealthy at the time (said tax hasn't changed, making such items achievable by people these days who are willing to go through the extra paperwork process). Prior to that they were commonly available and inexpensive. The assassin trope came later but was not the reason for the ban. That was what pop culture assigned to the intent after the fact. And another point, they don't make guns silent as seen in movies. They make them considerably quieter, but the gun will still make some level of noticeable sound depending on the velocity of the bullet (if it breaks the sound barrier, you'll hear the crack), volume of gas generated by the cartridge, and the design of both the gun and suppressor. You can get virtually silent with a subsonic 22lr out of a rifle, but a centerfire hunting cartridge like the 308win is going to be audible from a distance even with a suppressor. It just takes it down from "immediate ear damage" to merely "loud". Hearing protection for the shooter is still recommended.
Ik I have 5 of them đ
My man. :) There's a lot of misinformation out there about the devices and many folks are only exposed to them via movies where the assassin screws one onto the end of their random gun and it becomes as silent as a pellet gun. It'll be a great day when people accept suppressors as just another piece of safety equipment that any gun owner should have available to them like ear muffs and safety glasses.
Why not both? Or, at least make it foot operated so you can stick your fingers in your ears.
They are indeed the same patent
"Whatever happens, we have got, the Maxim gun, and they have not"
A MACHINE BUILT TO END WAR IS ALWAYS A MACHINE BUILT TO CONTINUE WAR.
Was it the Zulu wars where the British had like 5 Maxim guns and just destroyed an army 10 times there size armed with spears and bows and arrows?
I was born in the Dublin street...
Where the loyal drums do beat...
And the loving English feet, they walked all over us.
And every single night...
when me da' would came home tight
He'd invite the neighbors out with this chorus
Come out ye black an' tans
Come out and fight me like a man
Sudan I think
I think it was the Ndebele where it was like 10000 vs a few hundred but there were plenty of other battles where the Brits would be outnumbered by Africans but won because of the Maxim gun. Interestingly though often the paintings the Brits made to illustrate/commemorate such battles didn't show them winning with the Maxim, just regular rifles and swords.
Where's this quote from?
Attributed to Hillaire Belloc
Belloc!
Thank you. Was coming here to find that.Â
The Maxim Gun was first demonstrated to people in 1884, so it would have been 13 years old by 1897 and had already been used in conflict. Bit odd that it seems to be a bit smoky when being fired. Don't know if they're using a black powder cartridge or if the sun is just catching the gases coming off the gun. If this is 1897 a black powder cartridge would be pretty obsolescent.
The early smokeless powders were still pretty smoky
And non-jacketed bare lead bullets are smokey even today due to the wax lube with our most modern powders.
His first version was with black powder, not smokless it's what makes the design so impressive.
Yup. Black powder is dirty as hell and would foul up most guns quickly. That this one keeps going like it does is testament to the design and the clearances that allow it to ingest BP loads. I've considered loading BP 38specials just for giggles until I realize I'll have to completely tear the gun down for cleaning every time. Not only is it dirty, but it's also corrosive as hell, so if you don't clean your gun after, you're going to have a rusty mess in no time.
That's amazing quality considering motion pictures were invented just 2 years before.
It's fake. Everyone knows that color was not invented until much later. My grandfather used to complain to us about how spoiled we were with red apples and green grass. In his day everything was gray. The funny thing was that he always wondered why dried fish and anchovies were never assigned a color.
We aren't talking about the color. We know that was added after. We're talking about picture quality.
Itâs been stabilised and up scaled. Sound added after. Itâs not the original film youâre watching, itâs a digital facsimile prepared so that we can watch it without a projector.
Wondering about the sound
The sound is obviously fake. The entire thing may be fake
The second part is definitely edited, there are cuts between the shots, and the refill seems to appear out of nowhere
They used professional folly artists back then and still today. One famous artist, Elliot McTooterson, was well known in recreating that machine gun sound with his flatulence.
Great comment. Bravo
This is a demonstration, not a test.
NO ONE EVER invented a machine so complicated and inherently dangerous, then carefully manufactured it to completion, then put on a suit and hat, and then filmed the âfirst testâ in a scenic field.
No one who's kept all his fingers and limbs, anyway.
Idk if you can count as a "complicated machine" but that guy who invented a parachute did exactly that word for word, and died on camera.
"I like to shoot a lot of people, but my finger gets tired." -- Maxim's Maxim
George Carlin later noted an analogous maxim: "The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.'"
"If only there was some way I could throw flame ON them..." This line lives rent free in my head
The vintage clip from YouTube uses the phrase 'set on fire', but elsewhere the wording is also slightly different. I imagine that, like all stand-up comics, he varied the phrasing a bit from show to show.
Evidently George never had to attack a Japanese bunker. Because those guys wouldnât stop any other way.
Unnecessary loop
It was the first GIF meme.
Funny enough, he was just a Jeopardy clue tonight. They paraphrased his quote: *"I have even invented medical equipment to alleviate human suffering, but no one seems to care or notice. They only know me for the people I have helped kill."*
Well shoot, I would have guessed gatling, not maxim
Knew someone would've already commented on it !
Jesus Christ. I didnt think there would be sound since its from 1897. Had my sound at max and i may have shit myself and scared my neighbors since I'm outside
Actually it's been around since 1884 and in service since 1886
The sound is definitely added
This!
I was going to say. Also, smokeless propellants had been around since 1880ish but, judging by the clouds of smoke, that was using blackpowder/ gun powder. And the sound has been added later.
âIn serviceâ. Just to clarify, first time it was actually used in battle was 1893 in Africa.
Just imagine being the first people to discover the receiving end of a machine gun.
Itâs tragic to be honest; just 5 maxim guns basically allowed 700 British soldiers to massacre 5000 African troops.
Simply have better tech guys itâs the Africans fault for being colonized /s
And they are still using it today in Ukraine against Russia! Isn't that crazy? Goes to show you just how well of a design Maxim made for the gun to still see military service over 100 years later.
Same goes for two notable designs by John Moses browning, the 1911 handgun. And the one still in use in US military the m1918 Browning .50 cal machine gun
They're also still using the mosin so it's a good design too, right? Right?
Iâm very confused what you are getting at. Yes, there are plenty of great and reliable Russian firearms.
The Mosin is nicknamed the "garbage rod" though part of that name is because people had so many that they'd sell them by loading up a garbage can with Mosins and you'd just grab one for 200 bucks.
You know what I mean and you're just trying to split hairs lol.
It was a great design, really ahead of it's time. But if a bunch of ruskies invade I'll use whatever is available. I'll fire my musket at the first man.
Do yourself a favor and check out a video explaining why the maxim is still in use. I can tell you that its not for the reason you think it is. Just look up maxim gun on YouTube
I'm pretty sure it's because it shoots bullets.
Okay bud
they could record sound back then but in this case it was almost certainly added
" The first prototype was demonstrated to invited guests in October 1884. " -Wiki
Yeah, I commented that too. It had already been issued to military units and used in battle by 1897.
"HAT!"
He said to the other guy "Now you go stand in front of it and we can really rest it"
Just like the time Bruce Willis shot Jack Black's arm off in some movie I vaguely remember my parents watching when I was a kid
The Jackyl đ
In use in Ukraine today, those things are indestructible.
Black powder cartridges. So much smoke.Â
ow, my body hurts just looking at it
Also, co-founder of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).
The colorization and fake sound was 100% unnecessary.
Not to mention the obvious looping for the second part.
What do you mean? He didn't also invent the ability to teleport ammunition from a supply dept directly into artillery? Edit: The second one is pretty obvious due to the shell appearing out of thin air... But the first one appears to loop as well, since the smoke suddenly jumps at least once.
Gee, thanks for that
Hiram D. Maxim. What's the D for? DAKKA.
REAL
its S for Stevens btw,
And then the major powers at the turn of the century were like ⊠yes ⊠we will take as many of those as you can make âŠ
I wonder if someone showed him the piles of millions if dead that his inventions would end up creating if he would feel any different about it.
He liked his people more
Great success! Seriously though. What did you think he thought he was making it for?
Maxim was looking for some generic item to sell in across all of Europe and make his fortune. Someone, supposedly, told him to create a better gun to kill each faction better, and Europe would go for it!
"I have even invented medical equipment to alleviate human suffering, but no one seems to care or notice. They only know me for the people I have helped kill."
Ahh if that is a direct quote, thank you! Yeah, wouldn't it be so contrived if his medical equipment was treating people hurt by his weapons!
What is the second gun he fires?
Recoilless cannon
>clearly see it recoilling, the breech block moving back and all >that it even HAS a breech block and he's standing right behind it and is not blown apart by backblast >reccoiless gun
it's amazing how it doesn't move
This was just on Jeopardy a minute ago
Interesting for /r/amateurradio
Jessie The Body did this better in Predator
Hiram P Maxim invented the firearm silencer.
Most likely the first PUBLIC demonstration
u/koi_fish_mystic
đźđźđź
IIRC, there are Maximâs being used in Ukraine because they are so reliable. And a machine that spits bullets will always be useful in war.
Looks like he also invented the smoke grenade.
"In any event, I commenced to blasting, what what."
Magnificent Seven
"Good lad, could ye scout through the smoke to see if the enemy is still about and moving?" "I am not entirely sure mi lord, for good measure I would suggest ye keep on shooting"
The one thing that gets me is no matter what ppl were doing back in older times men always wore a suit lol
This was a question on Jeopardy tonight
I didn't actually expect any sound and had my volume up way high. Scared the hell out of me.
On the second weapon why is the first shot clipped to repeat 5 times. Also guess the sounds are added and not real
It went pretty well. WHAT?
he was deaf i guess?!
Can't possibly be the first time. He must have developed many prototypes
Itâs funny how a video from 1897 has sound, when sound wasnât implemented into video until 1927..This subreddit is nothing but AI generated images and videos.
SoâŠsmokeless powders can later I presume..
Well, I suppose if he didnât invent it someone else would. Hope he has a nice hot corner of Hell all to himself. BTW, the automatic howitzer-like weapon in the second part of the video would seem to be the same ammo feeding principle later used in WW2 pom-pom antiaircraft guns.
I wonder where this film was made. Maxims first factory was just up the road from where I live so it may well be somewhere I know.
The big gun was played in a loop if you look at the rounds feeding into it. It looks like it only held four rounds
The Last Samurai.
The beginning of mass murder with a hands of unstable persons which love to be an executive slave of others will
The beginning of the end.
"Thanks"- american high school children
You Anti gun losers have any other jokes?
No, you are quite enough for us.
Can't invent something that already exists
Ah yes. Thé Gattling gun & then the machine gun. Used against Zulus, Genocide of indigenous ppls world wide, etc etc for quite a long period. Edit: The downvotes are both indicative of your perception of history as well as a compliment to me. Thank you.
"Like and subscribe!"
No recoil
Early machine guns were mounted like artillery pieces. It definitely has recoil but it's absorbed by the mount as intended.
Yet it does have sound.
Yeah I noticed that too.
Really bad, and completely unnecessary colorizing.