My "Bolt Shooter" or "Plate Gun" is not handy right now ( it is in another State ) but it was made I think in the 1950s, and in theory one was supposed to obtain a Licence to operate it, even though I doubt anything ever came of that.
It looks like a Pistol and breaks open with a twist, for chambering a Cartridge. One chambers the projectile first, from the breech as it were, then inserts a reducer which is in effect the Chamber as such then, and the reducer is what accepts the .22 Blank.
Mine is a Winchester Olin if memory serve and has two different Barrels, for use with two different diameter Bolts or Nails.
Nickle plated Long cases were in effect, the 'Magnum' Cartridges, and Brass, the low power range of color codes.
One used the Nickle Placed long Case Loads for the larger ( 3/8ths of in inch I think, ) diameter Bolts or larger diameter hardened Nails.
It will put a 3/8ths Hardened Steel Bolt through an I Beam flange or Wide Flane Beam Flange or Web, but I do not recall the limits, maybe 1/2 inch though.
These got going originaly in WWI for various War Production things, so there should be some interesting 'old' versions of them out there, but I think the oldest I ever came across were maybe from the late 1930s or WWII era and they were not much different than mine in design and size and operation.
Sadly now, it is very hard or about impossible to find the Nails and Bolts for the old style true direct "Gun" Type "Powder Actuated" Fastening Guns...it all went to 'piston driven' and the projectiles/Nails/Bolts are sized differently and do not fit the old Barrels, and or the fasteners have Washers on them, where, the old System, one stuck a Washer ( usualy with a dab of spit ) on to the Muzzle End, for the Nail to go through the Washer as the Nail or Bolt is exiting the Muzzle, as when attaching Wood to Conrete or Steel.
All the older ones I know of were .22 Calibre Chambers...newer ones are like 25 Calibre or something.
One never sees any Nickle Plated long .22 "Magnum" ( one might call them ) Blanks for these, or I have not seen any, anywhere in about thiry years now.
No idea if anyone even still makes them for the old style Plate Guns.
In my own experience, I never got beyond the mid power level of the short Brass Blank charges, since all I was ever using mine for was shooting Sill Plates on to Concrete Slabs, or, shooting Backing Studs on to Grouted Masonry Walls, so...I never fired any of the 'Magnum' Loads or the larger diameter Bolts/Nails.