I am aware of several reproduction true Gatling gun manufacturers. The colt is mostly brass and iron. The gun and carriage supposedly weigh half a ton together. That isn't what I am talking about. A Dillon Aero gun is titanium and the crew served model weighs in at less than 75 pounds. That is without ammo and power source of course.
I was thinking more like a GE mini-gun operated with a crank. Something in 556, X39, 308, or even 50 BMG. The electric motor looks to be a 1/2 horepower at most generating 3-4,000 RPM. A handcrank should be ably to achieve 10000-1500 RPM for bursts without much strain on the operator.
I'm not interested in buying one, more looking at pictures or video of one.
I find it very surprising, given what some of the NFA items are selling for, there is no market for such a thing. I believe The Dillon Aero minigun runs in the $25K neighborhood new. I would expect a crank version to be similarly priced.
You know, just replace
this with a crank. I am sure there is a little more to it, but it can't be that difficult. Could someone with an SOT buy an out of commission minigun and work on a conversion? New "receiver" would be necessary of course.
I didn't realize there were kits to link multiple Minis together. The problem with the conversion kits, generally speaking, is they don't handle the heat well, especially since they are closed bolt. Even between bursts they cool much slower than an open bolt gun. Multiple barrels helps a lot.