One of the first firearms called a 'machine gun' – a primitive tripod-mounted revolver that fired square bullets at Muslims and round bullets at Christians.
Long before the advent of modern automatic weapons, an English inventor patented a primitive, tripod-mounted revolver that was one of the first firearms ever to be referred to as a “machine gun,” a term used for it in a 1722 shipping manifest. Patented in 1718, the Puckle gun stands as one of history’s most fascinating and bizarre firearm inventions. It was a weapon caught between centuries—embodying a forward-thinking mechanical concept while being shackled by the religious prejudices and technological limitations of its time.
Designed with ‘Holy War’ in Mind
Religious Weapon Design:
James Puckle's 1718 patent demonstrated two distinct configurations for his invention, with the key difference being the ammunition. The first version was intended for use against Christian enemies and was designed to fire conventional round bullets. The second version was specifically intended for use against Muslim Turks. This model fired unconventional square bullets, which were considered more painful and capable of causing greater, more severe wounding. The shocking rationale behind this design was laid bare in the patent itself, which stated the square bullets would '...convince the Turks of the benefits of Christian civilization.'
This design choice offers a stark window into the era’s mindset, where military technology was explicitly intertwined with religious and cultural ideology.
Impressive Fire Rate, Total Commercial Flop
Performance vs. Reality:
During a public trial in 1722, the Puckle gun demonstrated remarkable performance, firing 63 shots in seven minutes—roughly nine rounds per minute—even in the middle of a driving rainstorm. This rate of fire compared favorably to that of a typical musketeer, who could be expected to manage only two to five rounds per minute under ideal conditions. However, while innovative, the Puckle gun wasn't the peak of repeating firepower for its era; it was inferior in fire rate to earlier weapons like the Kalthoff repeater, which could fire up to six times faster.
Despite its advantages over a standard musket, the Puckle gun drew few investors and was never mass-produced or sold to the British armed forces. Production may have been as low as two guns, and the weapon was never used in any combat operation. A leaflet from the period, commenting on the failed business venture, sarcastically captured the sentiment of its financial backers: “…they’re only wounded who hold shares therein.”
Clever Reloading System Ahead of Its Time
Innovative Mechanism:
One of the Puckle gun's most innovative features was its reloading mechanism. The design featured a detachable, pre-loaded cylinder—referred to in contemporary documents as a 'charger'—that held between 6 and 11 shots depending on the configuration. An operator could simply unscrew a crank to remove the spent cylinder and replace it with a fresh one. This brilliant concept of a swappable charger was bottlenecked by the ignition system; each of the chambers in the cylinder required its own flintlock pan to be manually primed, a slow and unreliable process that negated much of the speed gained by swapping the cylinder itself.
This concept of swapping an entire pre-loaded cylinder would not become common practice until the 19th century, when users of Remington-pattern revolvers frequently carried spare cylinders to reload quickly in the field.
Surprisingly Well-Traveled for a Failed Invention
Global Legacy:
Though it was a commercial failure, the few original Puckle guns have a surprising global footprint. The primary surviving examples are located in the United Kingdom at the former Montagu family homes: Boughton House and Beaulieu Palace House. Beyond these, the gun's legacy spread even further. One brass example was purchased by Tsar Peter the Great and delivered to Russia in 1718; it currently resides in the collection of the Military and Logistics Museum in Saint Petersburg. Another surviving Puckle gun can be found in China's Palace Museum in Beijing.
Curiously, curators there had misunderstood the weapon’s design for years, mistaking the flintlock mechanism for a sight and believing the gun was fired with a lit match.
A Brilliant, Bizarre Footnote in History
Ultimately, the Puckle gun is more than a historical curiosity; it is a case study in how a brilliant mechanical solution can fail when its purpose is convoluted and its underlying technology is not yet mature enough to support its ambition. It represents a unique intersection of technological ambition and cultural prejudice, leaving us with a compelling question: how often in the history of technology has true innovation been driven, or derailed, by the ideologies of its inventors?