Re: [DL] Law Dogs, Bullards etc. (Steve Long)

[SteveL1979@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/2/00 1:04:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
coburn@sympatico.ca writes:

<< Steve, could you cite me your sources for said Bullard please?  I'd like to
 either find it, or toss it from my saga as not being historical (and pretty
 unbalancing). >>

    I took it straight from the DL main book, AFAIK. However, I have found 
the following references:
    -- FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS, 7th Ed., has a 
Bullard Lever Action Sporting Rifle with a magazine of unspecified size, but 
not in .50 caliber, but not made until 1886; it also has a Bullard Single 
Shot Rifle in .50, but not made until 1883.
    -- ANTIQUE GUNS, by John Traister, lists a bunch of Bullard rifles, 
including one specifically identified as the Bullard Express Rifle, in 
.50-95-300 caliber.  Sadly, it does not list a magazine size or date of 
manufacture, but it does indicate that some other Bullard rifles had an 
"11-shot full magazine," and seems to indicate the company didn't get started 
until the mid to late 1880s.  It also indicates that some Bullard rifles were 
chambered for the unique .50-115 Bullard caliber.

    While I agree that the Bullard Express is somewhat game unbalancing, 
based on the above I don't think you could strike it on the grounds it never 
existed.  You could strike it on the grounds it hasn't been manufactured yet; 
OTOH, one could argue that "mad science" would accelerate the gun development 
curve enough to make it available in the DL timeframe.

Steve Long