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What Are Airguns?

An air gun (or airgun) is a type of gun that fires projectiles using either compressed air or another gas. Air guns can come in the form of either pistols, shotguns or rifles.

The majority of air guns utilize metallic projectiles for their ammunition. There is a special type of air guns called airsoft guns. Airsoft guns use only plastic projectiles as ammunition.

Air Guns and Their Background

Airguns have been around since the 15th century! They had many distinct advantages over the other types of weapons from that time period.

For starters, unlike muskets, air guns could be fired in both wet weather and rain. They could also be fired much faster than muzzle loading guns. They were quieter than most other weapons, and they were also smokeless which was great as smoke would have shown their enemies where they were located.

Air guns were considerably more expensive than powder weapons. However, air guns were also much more effective. Around the 18th century, other nations such as France and Austria used air rifles that had special sniper detachments. The 1780 model from Austria was called Windbuchse which means wind rifle in German.

Bartholomaus Girandoni, a Tyrolese mechanic, watchmaker and gunsmith was the one that created it. It was at times referred to as the Girandoni air rifle.

At approximately 4 feet long and with a weight of 10 pounds, the Windbuche was very similar in weight and size to a regular musket. Inside a tubular magazine, The Windbuchse held twenty, 13-mm lead balls. One magazine could be fired off completely within about 30 seconds which was much faster than a muzzle loading gun.

In 1804, Lewis and Clark were said to have carried an air gun with them on their expedition.

In Birmingham, England, air guns were used for target shooting competitions during the 1890's. During these competitions, the losing team often paid for the winning teams prizes.

Due to the sports increase in popularity, a National Air Rifle Association was established just after the very beginning of the 19th century. Around this time, there was over 4,000 air rifle clubs and groups in existence all throughout Britain.

Airguns and Their Usages Today

Nowadays, air guns are well liked and used for a wide variety of reasons. Because you can obtain a highly accurate shot with them, air guns are commonly used at the Olympics in target shooting games.

Also, airguns are often used for hunting, as well as for recreational shooting which is also known as plinking. For those of you who may not be familiar with plinking, it's a type of informal target shooting, where just for fun people will shoot at objects such as glass bottles, tin cans and balloons filled with water.

Additionally, air guns are sometimes used for pest control in areas where firearms wouldn't be safe or are not allowed to be used. If you use a high powered air gun, this can be a way to quickly and humanely, get rid of pests such as raccoons, possums, and woodchucks if you have crops or a garden that they're ruining. One quality about air guns that many people appreciate is how quiet they are.

Pros and Cons of the Airgun

Now, I'd like to share with you some of the possible pros and cons of the different types of air guns.

For starters, a multi pump rifle can provide amazing precision. Another benefit to them is that they are usually more light-weight than certain other air gun models. They are often pretty inexpensive too.

However, compared to spring guns, multi pump rifles tend to be a lot harder to use. Also, you are usually not able to get a quick second shot with them. Precharged air rifles are wonderful for many different reasons. For one thing, they have no recoil to them and are more than not quite affordable.

One downside to the precharged air rifles is that you will need to make frequent trips to your local diving equipment store or other similar facility to refill your airgun. Alternatively, you could just buy Logan stirrup pump instead and use that to refill your air gun.

Purchasing an Air Gun? Things to Check For

Are you thinking about maybe getting an airgun? If so, there are also different pros and cons you'll want to take into consideration before purchasing one of these. Spring guns cost less which is always nice! However, one downside is that they do need to be cocked before each shot. The spring guns are often considered to be good for beginners.

Most people though will eventually move on to the gas blowback variety of air guns. One reason for this is that the way they are designed allows for fast magazine changes which is always a plus.

As far as where to get air guns go, there are many places where you can purchase one. You can find them at one of your local stores such as Wal-Mart in their sporting good's department or at Dick's Sporting Goods.

If you prefer the convenience of buying an air gun online, you're in luck as there are quite a few different websites that offer them. Crosman is a well-known name. A quick Google search on air guns will bring up a whole list of online retailers.

As you can see, there are lots of things to take into consideration when deciding what type of air gun would be best for you. A lot of it depends on your budget, skills, and personal preference. Best of luck to you, and I hope that you've find this article to be very informative and helpful!