Air Gun Technology Spring piston Guns Cylinder Guns

Modern air guns are typically low-powered, but high-powered designs have been used for hunting and military applications. They do benefit from very high accuracy, and are used in sharpshooting events in the Olympic Games.

1 Technology

There are many different types of air guns: spring-piston, multi-pump pneumatic, precharged pneumatic (PCP), and reservoir.

1.1 Spring-piston guns

Spring-piston air guns achieve muzzle velocities near the speed of sound from a single, not-too-difficult cock.

Spring-piston guns operate by means of a spring-loaded piston in a chamber separate from the barrel. Cocking the gun compresses the spring; pulling the trigger releases it and causes the piston to drive air into the barrel.

As the air compresses, it becomes very hot, often in excess of 1000°C. (Because of the rapidity of the firing process, very little of this heat is lost into the gun's metal parts. Consequently, spring-piston guns are more efficent than reservoir guns.) Lubricants (such as molybdenum disulfide) are generally designed so that they burn gently at this temperature; upwards of 30% of the energy of the shot may come from this effect. On the other hand, excessively flammable lubricants may detonate and damage the gun.

Spring-piston guns seem to have a practical upper limit of 1200 ft/s (370 m/s) for .177 cal (4.5 mm) pellets.

Most spring piston guns are single shot breech loaders by nature (somewhat like an old shotgun) but multiple-shot guns have been increasingly common in recent years. Spring guns are typically cocked by a mechanism is which the gun is hinged at the mid-point, with the barrel serving as a cocking lever. Other systems used include side levers, under-barrel levers and motorized cocking, powered by a rechargeable battery.

Unlike cartridge firearms, the spring is very powerful in these guns and is held back by a sear that has a very small engagement area. There have been cases of severe crushing and even amputation when the spring has been released unexpectedly. Always use one hand to restrain the cocking lever when loading these guns so that should the sear slip, you will not be injured.

Spring guns, especially the higher powered ones, have a tendency vibrate/recoil quite a bit. Although this recoil is not comparable in magnitude to that of a cartridge firearm, it can make the gun difficult to shoot accurately as the vibration is well under way while the pellet is still in the barrel. Most guns seem to respond well to a light repeatable hold that allows the gun to vibrate the same way from shot to shot. Spring gun recoil also has a sharp forward component that is well known for breaking telescopic sights. On any but the lowest power spring guns, any telescope should be airgun rated. Spring gun tuning can reduce vibration to very low levels. Airgunsmiths specialize in airgun modifications.

The better quality spring air guns can have long service lives, often exceeding thirty years. Because they deliver the same energy on each shot, the trajectory is extremely repeatable. This repeatability resulted in most Olympic air gun matches through the 1970s and into the 1980s being short with spring-piston guns. Beginning in the 1980s, guns powered by compressed, liquefied carbon dioxide began to dominate competition. Today, the guns used at the highest levels of competition are powered by compressed air stored at very high pressures of 2000 to 3000 lb/in² (14 to 21 MPa).

The Chinese army uses spring-piston small arms to train more economically. Surplus military-issue Chinese spring-piston air-guns are sometimes widely available by mail-order.

The typical projectile used in rifled airguns is the lead diablo pellet. This is a wasp-wasted projectile open at the base and having a variety of head styles. The diablo pellet is designed to be drag stabilized. This, in addition to the spin afforded by the rifling, makes the airgun one of the most accurate of all guns. Another advantage of the diablo pellet it that the high drag produces short maximum ranges which adds to safety. The diablo pellet is not a stable as some other shapes in the transonic region. While some high power spring guns can propel light pellets at or beyond the speed of sound, this results in decreased accuracy and often decreased life of the spring and seals (the low momentum of the light pellet causing it to start moving down the barrel before maximum pressure is reached resulting in loss of the air cushion and subsequent slamming of the piston/seal into the end of the chamber at high velocity.)

Most spring-piston air guns have a calibre of .177 (4.5 mm), and are designed for target practice. Cost per round is less than $0.02 (US) for Olympic-quality ammunition, and far less for cheaper grades. .20 .22 and .25 calibre (~5.1, ~5.6 and ~6.4 mm) guns exist, and are used mainly for hunting and field target shooting.

1.2 Cylinder guns

Cylinder guns shoot from a purchased cylinder, usually filled with liquefied carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. One of the best known of chemical compounds, it is frequently called by its formula: :CO (pronunciation: "see oh two") Carbon dioxide results from the combustion of organic. Most paintballPaintball sometimes called the national survival game is a sport that simulates combat situations. It grew out of games similar to capture the flag. Invented by Bob Gurnsey, Hayes Noel, and Charles Gaines, the first game of paintball was played in 1981 in guns are this type. There are also CO₂ charged airguns that are very popular for plinking. PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) airguns can be used for hunting and competition. These are usually filled from an air reservoir, such as a diving cylinderA diving cylinder or SCUBA tank is used to store and transport high pressure breathing gas as a component of an Aqua-Lung. It provides gas to the SCUBA diver through a diving regulator. Diving cylinders are typically filled in the range of 186 to 300 bar.

See also AirsoftAirsoft is a military simulation sport somewhat similar in nature to Paintball, in which players participate in mock combat with authentic military-style weapons and tactics. Unlike Paintball, which uses paint-balls as projectiles, Airsoft guns usually us.

1.3 Reservoir guns

Reservoir guns, sometimes called "multi-pump" guns, have a pump to compress air into a reservoir. The air cools, losing much of the energy. These are neither fun nor fast. If a single shot needs more than one pump, it's probably a reservoir gun.

Most reservoir guns use the same ammunition as spring-piston guns.

Most historical air-guns were reservoir guns. The air gun carried by Lewis and Clark was a reservoir gun.

Many reservoir guns have been used for hunting. One of the traditional weapons for hunting wolves in Russia was said to be a large-calibre reservoir air-rifle. It is said to have shot silently to avoid warning the pack. Modern reservoir guns in larger calibers (6 mm to 9 mm) are often used for hunting small game.

The multi-pump and CO₂ pneumatics have been popular in the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in, where they are known as "BB guns" or "pellet guns," depending upon the type of projectile used. These are typically viewed in other countries as children's toys. There are exceptions to this, as companies such as Benjamin Sheridan, Crosman, and Daisy market sophisticated systems (though Daisy and Crosman, also manufacture children's guns). Most airguns can be practiced in a backyard or garden, and even indoors with the proper backstop. Some of the stronger power "springers" can propel a pellet beyond 1100 ft/s (340 m/s) at approximately the speed of sound. It will produce a noise similar to a .22 cal (~5.6 mm) rimfire. These pneumatic rifles can be found in the following calibers, .177 (~4.5 mm) most common, .20 (~5.1 mm) Benjamin Sheridan, .22 (~5.6 mm) most common for hunting, .25 (~6.4 mm) and even 9 mm.

2 History

Reservoir guns represent the oldest pneumatic technology; they have existed since the 15th century14th century 15th century 16th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. Events Renaissance affects philosophy, science and art. The New Monarchs come to power i. They presented some compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. These airguns could be fired in wet weather (unlike flintlockA flintlock is a firearm that operates in the following manner: The operator loads the gun, usually from the barrel end, with black powder followed by shot or a bullet wrapped in a paper patch, all rammed down with a special rod; A hammer tightly holdings), and with greater rapidity than the muzzle-loading guns of the period. Moreover, they were nearly silent, had no muzzle flash, and did not produce telltale clouds of smoke. In this era, FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents., Austria and other nations had special detachments of snipers who carried air-rifles.

For general usage, though, airguns were no real challenge to the dominant position of powder weapons. They were expensive, delicate and not very powerful. The air reservoirs could burst explosively. The valves were not very tight and slowly leaked pressure.

The Austrian 1780 model was named "Windbüchse" (literally "wind rifle") in German. The guns were developed by the gunsmith Bartholomeo Girandoni ( 1744- 1799), and are occasionally called " Girandoni air gun s" in literature. The Windbüchse was about 4' long and weighted 10 pounds, which was about the same size and mass as a conventional musket of the time. The reservoir was a removable, club-shaped butt; the gun was recharged by replacing the exhausted reservoir with a new one. The Windbüchse carried twenty lead balls of caliber 13mm (.52 inch) in a tubular magazine, and could empty one magazine in about thirty seconds. The effect can be roughly compared to that of a modern 9mm or .45 inch pistol. A shot from this gun could penetrate a one-inch wooden board at a 100 paces.

The celebrated expedition headed by Lewis and Clark reportedly carried a large-caliber reservoir gun.

Some of the largest pneumatic guns in history were mounted on the USS Vesuvius. This naval vessel was armed with three 15-inch (381mm) reservoir-powered cannons that fired highly explosive projectiles. Unfortunately for the future of airguns, these suffered from poor range and, unlike conventional cannon, could not rotate relative to the rest of the ship.

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