An Air Gun: What Is It?

An air gun: what is it? Even though contemporary air weapons are very different from their historical counterparts, the fundamental ideas behind their design have been used for millennia. The gun’s ability to hold pressurized air until it’s time to fire is a crucial component. The bullet travels down the barrel when the trigger is pressed, releasing gas behind it.

Early Designs for Air Rifles

Not much has changed in terms of what an air rifle is. A reservoir was a feature of several early air rifles, where pressurized air was kept once it was compressed using an external pump. This was a hollow sphere beneath the action in some examples, and in the back half of the stock in others. A missile might be propelled ahead by partially releasing its tail.

A few of the first air guns used.30,.35, or even bigger caliber bullets. This kind of air rifle was employed in Europe in the late 1500s, and in 1804–1806, Lewis and Clark embarked on the famous Voyage of Discovery using one of them!

In the late 1800s, American BB gun production got underway. However, what made an air pistol from the 1800s unique? A lever of some kind was used to cock the majority of these low-powered devices, pulling back a piston against a spring. In many instances, the piston just consisted of a washer secured by a leather collar, creating an almost impenetrable seal within the barrel. When the gun fired, the spring forced the piston forward, compressing the air behind the bullet and projecting it out of the barrel. Pop can punching and leisure shooting were the main uses for these low-power weapons.

What an Air Gun Is in Reality

But what is an air gun, technically speaking? An “air” gun is defined as any weapon that fires projectiles using pressurized gas as opposed to releasing fumes from the burning of powdered propellant. Although the phrase “air gun” is still often used, in certain instances the propelling gas may be carbon dioxide, in which case the gun is truly a “gas” gun. The multi-pump air gun, often known as a “pump up” gun, is a legendary American air gun design that compresses air through a sequence of pump strokes.

Compressed air enters the breech behind the bullet when the gun is fired, propelling it forward. This kind of rifle has been manufactured for well over a century, and some of them have enough power to be effective hunting instruments given their maximum pump stroke count.

If you’re seeking for more information on what an air rifle is, you should be aware of the popular and potent break action air rifle, which is also referred to as a break barrel or spring piston. Using a linkage, the barrel of this kind of air rifle acts as a lever that is pulled downward to push a piston within the receiver rearward. This compresses a powerful spring or, in the case of the Nitro Piston®, a gas, moving the piston to the rear. When the gun fires, the spring propels the piston forward, compressing the air behind the pellet and forcing it down the barrel. Some variations of this design use a lever as the cocking lever that is located under the barrel or along the side of the weapon.

You might be curious in the power underneath these devices in addition to the simple question of what an air pistol is. The use of a tiny cylinder containing pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) as the power source in pellet guns was invented by Crosman Corporation around fifty years ago. By just cocking the rifle and loading a pellet, the Crosman Powerlet® can fire a significant number of rounds because each cylinder stores 12 grams of CO2. This feature is also present in PCP rifles, which include a reservoir that can retain enough compressed air to fire many rounds.