![]() With the introduction of the 1871 Gatling, the tin cartridge boxes were replaced by a true early box magazine. Gatling Gun tin cartridge box Early 1862 Gatling with prominent hopper (gun at West Point Military Museum photo by William Maloney) These boxes were not magazines in the modern sense, as they had no springs or followers, and were used simply to pour cartridges into the gun’s hopper. To assist in loading, cartridges could be fed into the hopper from very simple purpose-made tin boxes, which held 40 rounds each. It was cast into the action cover, and could be continuously topped off by the assistant gunner while the gunner aimed and fired the gun. ![]() The first Gatling guns used a very simple hopper to feed ammunition. The Gatling was one of the very first high rate of fire guns, though, and it inspired an impressive number of inventors to develop feed systems. Most firearms are designed around a single specific feeding mechanism, sometimes with variants made for two types (like mag-fed and strip-fed Hotchkiss LMGs). The Gatling Gun is interested for many reasons, and one of them is the variety of feeding mechanisms that were developed and used with it.
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