An air gun or airgun is a gun that fires projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized without involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which pressurizes gases chemically via oxidation of combustible propellants that generates propulsive energy by breaking molecular bonds.
Airsoft is a team game in which participants eliminate opposing players by tagging them out of play with spherical plastic projectiles shot with mock air weapons called airsoft guns.
A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs, which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used on shotguns. Modern BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel with a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) caliber, and use steel balls that measure 4.3–4.4 mm (0.171–0.173 in) in diameter and 0.33–0.35 g (5.1–5.4 gr) in weight, usually zinc- or copper-plated for corrosion resistance. Some manufacturers still make the slightly larger traditional lead balls that weigh around 0.48–0.50 g (7.4–7.7 gr), which are generally intended for use in rifled barrels.
Muzzle velocity is the speed of a projectile with respect to the muzzle at the moment it leaves the end of a gun's barrel. Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately 120 m/s (390 ft/s) to 370 m/s (1,200 ft/s) in black powder muskets, to more than 1,200 m/s (3,900 ft/s) in modern rifles with high-velocity cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to 1,700 m/s (5,600 ft/s) for tank guns firing kinetic energy penetrator ammunition. To simulate orbital debris impacts on spacecraft, NASA launches projectiles through light-gas guns at speeds up to 8,500 m/s (28,000 ft/s).
Internal ballistics, a subfield of ballistics, is the study of the propulsion of a projectile.
Lieutenant Colonel Abhinav Apjit Bindra is an Indian Olympic gold medallist, retired sport shooter, and businessman. He is the first and one of only 2 Indians to win an Individual Olympic Gold Medal. He is the first Indian to have held concurrently the world and Olympic titles for the men's 10-meter air rifle event, having earned those honors at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2006 ISSF World Shooting Championships. Bindra has also won seven medals at the Commonwealth Games and three medals at the Asian Games.
The Steyr LP 10 is a single shot 4.5 mm (0.177 in) calibre pre-charged pneumatic air pistol designed for the 10 metre air pistol ISSF shooting events. It is manufactured by Steyr Sportwaffen GmbH of Austria.
The 4.5mm MKR was a Swedish prototype rimfire cartridge developed for the prototype Interdynamics MKR bullpup assault rifle and carbine.
The Men's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on August 11 at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall. Abhinav Bindra became the first ever individual Olympic champion of India.
Henri Häkkinen is a Finnish sport shooter. He won the bronze medal in Men's 10m air rifle at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He was leading with Abhinav Bindra of India until the final shot. Bindra won gold with a last shot of 10.8, whereas Häkkinen could score only 9.7, thereby settling for a bronze. China's Zhu Qinan got the silver with a final shot of 10.5. Henri Häkkinen's manager is Finnish Sports Management Agency, SportElite.
The Benelli Kite is a single shot .177 inch calibre pre-charged pneumatic air pistol designed for the 10 m Air Pistol ISSF shooting event. It is manufactured by Benelli Armi SpA of Italy.
The Walther LGR air rifle was developed by the German arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen as a high end match rifle for 10 metre air rifle competition shooting. The LGR was the first match air rifle that employed the then futuristic single-stroke pneumatic method as power source. This use of pre compressed air introduced the advantages of recoilless and vibration free shooting in combination with a well-made air rifle into the sport. It took other manufacturers a decade before they also introduced single-stroke pneumatic match air rifles.
This is a list of laws concerning air guns by country.
The 4.6×30mm cartridge is a small-caliber, high-velocity, smokeless powder, rebated rim, bottlenecked centerfire cartridge designed for personal defense weapons (PDW) developed by German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in 1999. It was designed primarily for the MP7 personal defense weapon (PDW) to minimize weight and recoil while increasing penetration of body armor. It features a bottlenecked case and a pointed, steel-core, brass-jacketed bullet.
The .950 JDJ (24.1x70mm) is a powerful large caliber rifle cartridge developed by American gunsmith and weapon designer J. D. Jones of SSK Industries.
Shooting is an important Olympic sport in India. Of India's 35 Olympic medals, four have come from shooting, including a gold by Abhinav Bindra in the 2008 Olympics. Indian shooters who have excelled at international events include Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana, Jitu Rai, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Kumar, Gagan Narang, Apurvi Chandela, Ronjan Sodhi, Anjali Bhagwat, Heena Sidhu, Shreyasi Singh, Manu Bhaker, Anisa Sayyed, Rahi Sarnobat and Saurabh Chaudhary.
Jonathan Hammond is a British sport shooter, who has competed for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the Olympics. He is currently the head coach of the rifle team at the West Virginia University.
The Men's 10 metre air rifle event at the 2012 Olympic Games took place on 30 July 2012 at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
The Walther LG400 is an air rifle first introduced in 2010 as the successor to the Walther LG300. It is a PCP powered by compressed air from a removable air cylinder. It was designed as a 10 metre air rifle for indoor competition use. It has been successfully modified to 16 Joule of kinetic energy for Field Target (FT) and Hunter Field Target (HFT) outdoor use.
The Walther CP 88 is a sport and training pistol that shoots pellets using compressed CO2 according to the principle of an air gun. The design of the gun is borrowed from the widely used pistol Walther P88. It is manufactured by Umarex.
