Howard's Thunderbolt: A Remarkably Compact Carbine

[@zvenafnazbalji7539]

It's basically the gun I'd imagine would look like when I see a gun-shaped stick as a kid.

[@beefcurtains6691]

Lol thats the most accurate description of this thing🤟🤘🤙👍

[@Freyja666]

Man were those the days lol

[@saskafrass1985]

Looks like Lego frontier town come to life. Can anybody point out the portal they came out of? I think I will go through.

[@ultranitro437]

That's a weird sentence.

[@scrubsrc4084]

The most gun like gun in history

[@glonk9947]

Looks like something you would find in star wars with 15 different scopes on it

[@Sickofsociety1]

Picturing the sand people here....

[@onsesejoo2605]

Or in Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom - series of novels.

[@korbetthein3072]

@@onsesejoo2605 Ah! Truly a man of culture!

[@onsesejoo2605]

@Roderick storey At the same time, this would not look too weird in the 17th century.

[@dabigork]

Deep breathing in tusken raider

[@HeavyTanker-vx4oq]

This is the equivalent of a Sten in lever action. A tube with a gun in it.

[@steirqwe7956]

"Lever action sten" sounds astonishingly cursed.

[@davidbenner2289]

Tuche!

[@workingjoe5599]

@@steirqwe7956 I have a feeling someone is going to bubba a sten now

[@elmerjfapp5730]

I have a h&r 20ga topper and they really are simple guns, sometimes a tube is all you need

[@davidbenner2289]

@@elmerjfapp5730 I used to hunt with a borrowed 20gauge double barreled shotgun made by H&R. Circa 1976. That's all that was needed. H&R made many simple, very affordable firearms, from revolvers to shotguns to rifles. My grampa, born and raised on an Indian reservation in northern Idaho, back about 1912 onward, starting when he was six, would go out hunting black tailed (jack) rabbits with a single shot .22 rifle and .22 Short ammunition. I'm sure back then law enforcement didn't care since his dad was the deputy sheriff and Indian agent on the reservation, lol! Final conversation I had with my grandfather was how to hunt and aim when hunting black tailed rabbits! Some of his last memories in an exciting and productive life (I was his favorite grandson, no hiding it). Shoot on the downward arch, BTW. A gun matters less the more courage in a man.

[@d3faulted2]

It's crazy when you think about the fact that this gun would have probably been a huge success if it'd have been made 5 years earlier.

[@DeeDee-bm9hr]

Slap a sub 150$ price tag on in and offer it in multiple calibers and I’m sure it would do well today

[@Imagoofygoober69420]

@@DeeDee-bm9hr if it was below 150$ I would hope there’s no laws against amassing weapons

[@corrinestenman5683]

@@DeeDee-bm9hr agreed; it'd need a lighter barrel and some fixes to the locking mechanism, but there's a helluva market for something like this, especially if marketed with newer and/or younger shooters in mind.

[@rippervtol9516]

@@DeeDee-bm9hr looks like a great candidate for 3D printing ;)

[@ManOnTheRange]

@@DeeDee-bm9hr so basically something like Baikal MP-18 :-)

[@haramanggapuja]

My grandfather had one of those. He took me out in the yard of the farm one afternoon to shoot it at a dead possum (yeah, I know . . . ) . . . I remember distinctly the lever snapping open when it went off and my getting fingers pinched in the subsequent mechanics. Earliest memory of shooting a gun. It was a decade some before I got near a trigger again. . . . Thanks for reviving that memory. Grandpa was a fine old son of a German immigrant farmer, a decent man. He just picked the wrong piece to show his grandson the joys of shooting at dead possums. . . . Stay safe & healthy, amigo.

[@bluffkirschman599]

Does he still have it

[@haramanggapuja]

@@bluffkirschman599 Grandpa Schreiber passed away back 1957. His house is gone, the barn is gone & the foundation filled in. Almost everything he had at his passing is gone. And then my sister stole my collection of Morgan silver dollars that I got from him decades ago. So no, that piece ain't around any more.

[@antthomas7916]

I'm sorry to hear that. I also got my grandfather's gun collection stolen out from under me. My uncle took them and sold them all. He had some pretty neat pieces in his collection too.

[@bluffkirschman599]

@@haramanggapuja sorry to hear that.

[@Zeppflyer]

Nothing inspires confidence like an action that you have to hold shut with your fingers. The swoopiness reminds me a Jezail.

[@communistdoggo7419]

I wonder if it can fire out of battery if you close it too forcefully, considering how the firing pin is exposed and pressed against the cartridge as you're closing it.

[@jalpat2272]

or 16th-17th century arquebus.

[@octopussmasher2694]

I trust my fingersm nevermind

[@sharonrigs7999]

Im pretty sure my 90yo granny could hold that closed if it was only .44 Henry

[@sxmxxx]

It reminded me of a Jezail too

[@matthayward7889]

That stock is *gorgeous*

[@keksimus__maximus]

That's what she said

[@HD-ph1dc]

yes it is, It has a beautiful line to it.

[@kennetth1389]

Absolutely love the minimalist internal design. That rifle had all of five parts.

[@machintelligence]

Surplus firearms were also sold to veterans upon discharge from the army. My uncle still has a Smith's carbine that my great grandfather bought for eight and a half dollars prior to his travel to the Dakota territory to homestead.

[@stuartwhelan233]

wow

[@Iceman-kr6df]

“Just a tube with a gun in it” is one sentence that describes most of the sub machine guns developed during and immediately after ww1

[@ventedbus4917]

This is what people draw if you throw water in their faces at 3am and shout at them to draw a cowboy gun

[@henryrodgers7386]

I tried that once... I wound up with a 1911A1 shoved up my nose. 10/10 would recommend to a friend (then post the resulting video on YT)

[@chadgeary2653]

@@henryrodgers7386 honestly, fair reaction..

[@keepermovin5906]

@@henryrodgers7386 bit to young (don’t say that about a 1911 to often) to be a cowboy gun but he did draw it pretty quick

[@brentgraham2642]

I acquired one of these a year ago , and after some study of the parts, made up some new internals in centerfire and have been shooting it . It actually shoots quite accurately, low recoil, (it's basically a pistol round) and no problem with it kicking open.

[@beaudaniel1370]

"I don't know where thunder bolt came from' Me looking at my phone and therefore the gun sideways....um its literally bolt shaped 🤣😂

[@Stevarooni]

It looks like ⚡ yes.

[@cooliobob1274]

No it doesn't...

[@tjthompson3270]

IKR, its literely the first thing that comes to mind when you see it sitting on the table lol. Especially with that stock also having sharp edges just like a bolt really fitting name indeed!

[@DavidSonofDavrek]

As Ian was saying he has no idea where the name came from, I was thinking, the shape of the gun is perfect.

[@michaelkartman3543]

@@cooliobob1274 I noticed it before reading the comment, so I’d say it does ;)

[@ShootingHobby]

A couple of years ago I saw a shotgun version of this. It was about 20 gauge but sadly had been damaged at some point in the past. The opening lever was broken off with just enough left you could make it open. Otherwise it was identical except it did not have sights.

[@johnburnett5377]

Sleek and sexy. Someone needs to remake these.

[@thejohn6912]

I’d like to see a modernized version of this thats takedown with a fluted or light barrel Ultra tiny survival rifle

[@timbaskett6299]

Yeah, but, centerfire with an improved locking system. Bet it would be fun in a 9mm.

[@TheSchmed]

Yeah, it’s a zip gun.

[@somebody4877]

@@TheSchmed go google zip gun

[@logantc.1353]

@@timbaskett6299 if the barrel was kept the same thickness on a reproduction you could probably chamber it for some rifle cartridges too!

[@Die-CastMetal]

Wow, never seen a lever action like that. Great video!

[@keksimus__maximus]

7:49 gotem

[@scrubsrc4084]

Deeeeeez

[@mjwlol]

Deeeeeez

[@expneperien]

Ian truly sparked my interest in this kind of weapon, I find the mechanisms of the early breech loaders so damn interesting and imaginative ! and this tubular one is a beautiful one, in part beacause of its simplicity

[@Taeerom]

I've been looking into picking up hunting recently, and by far the coolest gun I can think of going hunting would be a modern take on the single shot breech loader. The simplicity, the absolute demand of good accuracy, the lightness of the gun, it really appeals to me. It helps that the laws where I'm at limits hunting rifles to be 4+1 capacity, so having to fill the gun with a magazine and bolt or automatic action is mostly excessive weight and engineering. Give me an elegant single shot gun.

[@d1j16]

I think you need to really dig into that indie-gun manufacturer. A place like that must be an absolute treasure trove.

[@SomeGuy-cp1km]

Just a thought but an easy way to make the locking system stronger would be to extend the hand guard and have the little locking lug present in it already be a larger spring loaded catch that holds the lever in place whenever you close it. That way you would just have to use your fingers already in the lever to press back on it whenever you want to unlock the gun then cycle it like normal.

[@alwaystinkering7710]

That's the most graceful gun I've seen since the Whitney Wolverine.

[@mazkact]

When Ian says it's FUNKY you know it is going to be good.

[@nicholaschriss1706]

That Ian, is one of the prettiest guns I have ever seen!

[@stefanmolnapor910]

It is pretty neat!

[@Kingsquad2011]

"So, what should we send to military trials?" "Haha Tööb"

[@guysview]

Three years from now Ian is still sitting here trying to get the thing back together 😂

[@blakee2525]

This is the most satisfying action reveal I think I've ever seen.

[@donjones4719]

A true bit of design elegance - the barrel morphs seamlessly (literally!) into being the receiver.

[@christophergkassel6611]

The Lighting shows the Name..looks like Lightning in the right light. The shine on the Profile Barrel to Buttstock.

[@maxkronader5225]

You know it's gonna be a good one when Ian starts off with "we've got a funky one for you today."😁👍

[@jeffturnbull9661]

Wonderful, relatively simple design, when I began randomly buying firearms several decades ago (I never really gave a thought to being a collector)I was utterly uninterested in anything not cutting edge, semi auto, state of the art, etc, then purchased my first non automatic handgun and that kind of opened a door for me to other possibilities, today I'm completely enamored of single shot firearms, Thompson Center so far, and am looking at falling block and rolling block rifles and I find this to be a beautiful handy little experiment, I imagine the issue with pressure forcing it to open could be addressed, seems ke it would be a fun plinker

[@zakkarystewart7083]

I've been watching your videos for quite some time now. Very informative and extremely interesting. All quality no filler style of video.

[@scrubsrc4084]

Pretty in its simplicity of shape.

[@marktroiani5401]

Thanks Ian for teaching me something I didn’t know I wanted to know

[@alexanderboldt5937]

Absolutely beautiful minimalistic design. Love it! Wonder, if the Howard brother's did some sidearms too?

[@Longshot88]

Ian, have you heard of the MK-74? It was an experimental Mosin-Nagant chambered in 7.62x39 developed in the mid-40's. It even had a 10-round double-stack magazine. It would be awesome to see a video covering such an interesting arm!

[@kurukuru4120]

Can you imagine how cool hip firing a shotgun version of this though.

[@troyandskyelar9588]

I like the little notch in the barrel/action for the screw head on the lever.

[@lairdcummings9092]

With a bit of refinement on the lock-up, a perfectly useful plinker today.

[@jmjedi923]

A really well designed pipe gun

[@alias1719]

Thanks very much for this video! This is the first time I've seen one of these being handled, and I've been fascinated with them for some years. The few pics of them online and in the books just aren't the same.

[@jerryhammack1318]

Beautiful little rifle. Thank you Ian!

[@tobiashagstrom4168]

From the image and title, I was actually kind of expecting it to be some sort of crazy bullpup where the chamber in the stock and a corved barrel, like that one weird shotgun he showed once.

[@JeSsSe66]

Any manual machinists here that see these goofy designs and just become overwhelmed on a mental level?

[@jamestarbet9608]

I'm certain a great many of us amateur and professional machinists are looking at a lot of the stuff here and going "hmmm... how do I set up my machines to make one of those?" I know I do.

[@aniquinstark4347]

That's incredibly slick and classy looking. I really like it.

[@nasaboy87]

That system with a better lock up in .22 that can be stored in the stock would be a good survival rifle.

[@emel60]

This is such a beautiful design. Naturally steam punk!

[@donnkelley6823]

Absolutely Steam Punk........ I'm fairly certain I saw this in a Wild Wild West show in the 60s....

[@charlesmartel9502]

Wow, that rifle could've been the design inspiration behind Numrich's "Hopkins & Allen" underhammer muzzle-loaders of the '50s and '60s. I remember being intrigued by the pictures in the Shooter's Bible.

[@TeamZcan]

I have one of those and was struck by the similarity. I love how it handles and think it would be fun to recreate this design with a bit of improvement on the breech-lock. Maybe in .45 Colt.

[@LaterMeansBrick]

Got to love that streamlined design. Looks great for such an old design.

[@demandred1957]

That's a good looking rifle. I like it.

[@gleamnite]

Someone else probably mentioned it already, but if you look at it with the muzzle on the bottom and the stock on the top, you get a lightning bolt shape across the barrel and stock of the gun.

[@RAkers-tu1ey]

Very nice. I agree its commercial failure was due to competition with all of those mil surp rifles. Kind of like what happened in the 1950's to 1960's when all of those old Springfields and Mausers came onto the market. I bought my first '03 for $30 in 1965.

[@geiroveeilertsen7112]

If you look at where the buttstock ends at for example 1:05, that _might_ be a reason for the name? You wouldn't see it when close up, but there's definitely a zig-zag in the reflection when you're a bit further away

[@bulukacarlos3571]

Very good video, I did not know it, when I saw the silhouette I thought of some kind of underhammer muzzleloader

[@wilhufftarkin8543]

2:44 I thought this was an internet address at first, lol.

[@Kr0noZ]

I think, at least it looks that way, if you took that second internal nut out with a long tool that can get a hold of the two grooves in the nut, you might be able to take that striker sleeve off the back end of the bolt stem, which at this point is narrow enough to just lift out the bottom of the gun with the lever handle attached. That would also explain how the connecting screw for those pieces is somehow inside the tube and completely inaccessible.

[@briancorr3668]

It’s kind of like a “Liberator” rifle.

[@blank557]

Such a minimalist design. I've seen BB guns with more bulk to them. Must have been a nice to carry while hunting, compared to heavier guns of its day.

[@tigdogsbody]

The thing has beautiful shapes, lovely.

[@gresvig2507]

That is super cool. In .22 or .17 it would be an awesome pack and plinking rifle. I love the tiny elegant rifles of long ago.

[@KrugerrandFarms]

Reminds me of the Green carbine with different fire control of course. The 73 Winchester also locks with a toggle. I think this could be made to work but I worry about the possibility of fire out of battery.

[@billhatcher2984]

It's butiful and I wish there were more available

[@mattandrews8528]

Last time I was this early General Custer and his men were making their last stand with some of these rifles.

[@itsmannertime]

I know it's a joke, but I will never miss an opportunity to blab about something I've really studied. There was a wide variety of guns at the Battle of Greasy Grass. The soldiers mostly had 1873 springfield carbines and revolvers, but some of them (esp officers) had some personal rifles (Sharps, custom built officer's Springfields). Scouts working for the US Army had a variety of guns including some lever actions. The Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho had everything from hammers, axes, lances, muzzleloaders, lever actions, and some well-earned 1873 Springfields. You've got everything from cutting edge lever action tech to bows and muzzleloaders, but the really wild thing is that they all have some big advantages in different ways. Springfields and sharps had great range and stopping power, lever actions brought an incredible rate of fire, bows and muzzleloaders were easier to resupply when you were far from any traders (some said they'd just use less gunpowder per shot if they were running low on powder). As for lances and hammers and such, they work pretty well from horseback when the soldiers fled the field.

[@myparceltape1169]

@@itsmannertime Muzzleloaders are capable of knockdown without ball or powder. That heavy barrel could do it too.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

I love it! So sleek and unadorned. At first sight I was really wondering how it functioned. Never seen anything like it. Say Ian, have you ever taken something apart and then realized you didnt know how to put it back together? Do you take notes when opening something new to you? I've taken pix to make sure I can reverse the process. You too?

[@kevanhubbard9673]

It reminds me of on of those 1920/30s BSA air rifles that don't have much woodwork on them except for the very thick barrel.

[@fourgedmushrooms5958]

So slim, I love it

[@ultranitro437]

That bore looked hexagonal. Im surprised Ian didnt mention this. 2:30

[@ComradeBenedict]

That trigger is absolutely adorable

[@bdekw]

I want this so irrationally much. It has that Afghan Jezail vibe, but in a decidedly Eli Whitney kind of way. Also my mother grew up a stone’s throw from where the Whitneyville Armory was. The Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop is there now

[@peerpede-p.]

Besides the simplicity, it's a very beautiful designed gun.

[@DruCart]

That... is quite the tube!

[@tannerwolf1267]

Ian, thank you for the video. Great, as always!

[@king_ofdogeii268]

I really enjoy sport shooting. I would love to try this out.

[@DavidHarris-qn7em]

When Ian says it's funky..it's real funky🤣😂😁

[@mattdirks7896]

you know, something like this could be a fun little single shot PCC today for something different. If you could solve the "pop open" problem.

[@petebeatminister]

Perhaps not very impressive in its function (for the time), but certainly a remarkable piece of design art. The form seems like a design by Colani, 100 years ahead of his time. Thanks for showing that!

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Ian .

[@gustajuy5983]

The truest definition of “an angry tube”.

[@stephhaug3316]

Nice looking piece! Thank you!

[@Spork888]

This gun is absolutely adorable!!!

[@jackkain7141]

Wish you had shouldered it so we could see how crazy that looked.

[@FiveStringCommando]

This would be a cool one for a short production run in .22LR with a 16.5” barrel.

[@GunnerAsch1]

I think Im going to build one of these, (but improve the lockup). That would be just fun as hell in 357 or 44 mag or even 22lr

[@HansKlopek]

It's an elegant weapon...for a more civilized age.

[@patrickshannon4854]

Looks like this design would make a lovely, slender .22 rf

[@josh3866]

I wish I loved anything as much as Ian loves weird guns

[@604116]

I'm gonna conjecture that the lever's pivot is a removable lug held in by something removable in disassembly.

[@pbr-streetgang]

Cool looking gun. Thanks for the vid sir.

[@panfriedmarmot]

Super clever design, and I actually like how sleek it is. I wonder if a bit more revision would have made it more successful at least as a civilian sporting gun.

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Looks a proper "Bang stick" Ian.

[@ton1911]

Nice design idea for the time. Maybe somebody will get inspired and build an interesting new rifle concept based on it.

[@workingguy-OU812]

Forgotten Weapons: showing us all how to make pipe-rifles for the apocalyptic Fallout future.

[@enricopaolocoronado2511]

Straight up thought that was a walking stick of sorts.

[@heroicdog2824]

Imagine an elderly 80 year old man walking on the street with his cane, only to be surprised by a thug, and he pulls out this thing...

[@diptastik5651]

It is beautifully made .

[@LostShipMate]

When a break action is just too simple and easy.

[@tomyorke3412]

it needs some wood around the barrel for a hand guard then it would look look like a slick rifle but with just bear barrel it just looks off

[@Siskiyous6]

The toggle lock design had a decent run.

[@alm5992]

This design would make a perfect single fire paintball, BB, airsoft, nerf gun.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

I always enjoy your videos Ian. A thought passed through my head about the computer games I play, eg DayZ, SCUM EXILE, where the firearms technology is basically current/futuristic. Would the period 1850 - 1870 make for a much better game as firearms technology made such big leaps?

[@lairdsteele2817]

Snake light was cool definitely want more snake light

[@krissteel4074]

Aesthetically from a design perspective its a very beautiful piece of hand made gunsmithing. Think its the less is more factor with that elegant simplicity