Organized air gun competition in the U.S. has gained in popularity in recent years and now involves a multitude of shooting opportunities, from informal local club events to international tournaments. These events may include matches in BB gun, air rifle and air pistol. In addition to basic target shooting, silhouette and running game target competitions are held, with shooters divided according to skill from marksman, to sharpshooter, to expert, to master, based on scores fired in previous sanctioned events.
The most common event in both air rifle and air pistol is the standard 10-meter (33 feet) bullseye which consists of a 60-shot round for both men and juniors and 40 shots for women and junior women. Unlike most firearms shooting events, an unlimited number of sight-in shots may be fired prior to an air gun match.
Traditional bullseye target shooting isn't all that's available for air gunners. Air gun silhouette shooting is basically a scaled down version of the original metallic silhouette game, with competitors attempting to topple metallic targets of chickens, pigs, turkeys and rams that are 1/10th the size of full-size templates. A match consists of 40 rounds divided as follows for air rifle:
10 chicken targets at 15 meters (16.4 yards).
10 pig targets at 20 meters (21.9 yards).
10 turkey targets at 35 meters (38.2 yards).
10 ram targets at 40 meters (43.7 yards).
For air pistol matches, banks of targets are set at 10, 15, 20 and 25 meters, respectively. Events are divided for precision match-type air guns and those for sporter-type air guns
EQUIPMENT
Air guns can be divided into three basic groups, distinguished by the means by which the propellant is charged or stored: pneumatic, CO2 and spring-piston.
Pneumatic: This type of air gun is arguably the most widely-recognized in the U.S. It can be divided into three basic categories, according to the means by which they achieve air pressure: single pump, multiple pump and pre-charged. The multiple pump variety has been the dominant version for decades in this country and a stalwart for youth instruction and introduction to the shooting sports. Single pump varieties are just what the name implies. Pre-charged pneumatics, popular among Europeans, draw their power source from compressed air tanks, with each "charging" of the gun's built-in reservoir sufficient to supply50-80 shots.
CO2: While the first air guns designed for carbon dioxide propellant rather than compressed air were designed over 100 years ago, their popularity in the U.S. didn't take hold until the last few decades. The advantages of the CO2 air guns include the ability to fire up to several hundred rounds from a single CO2 cartridge, which because of its compact size, also enables manufacturers to incorporate popular firearm designs into an air gun, thus making these arms ideal for practice and training. These design opportunities also paved the way for precision match-type air rifles and air pistols powered by CO2.
Spring-piston: This type of system has traditionally been associated with youth BB guns, using a simple, but potentially powerful system of a helical spring that pushes a massive piston through a compression chamber located directly behind the breech, where the projectile is seated. As the piston surges forward, air in its path is compressed rapidly, propelling the projectile up the bore. Although the format is used extensively in youth BB guns, advances in design and components have created highly accurate competition models.
Most air guns are chambered for BB (.175 inch diameter), 177, 20 or 22 caliber pellets. Still the most widely used form of ammunition today, the BB is swaged from steel wire, polished, washed and copper plated. It is not designed for use in precision rifled barrel air guns, but rather smoothbore air guns of the proper caliber. The most common pellet design is called the "diabolo" or wasted pellet characterized by a narrowing of the pellet somewhere between the head and skirt of the projectile. The skirt of the pellet not only grips the rifling of the barrel but also acts to seal the barrel behind the pellet to ensure maximum efficiency of the propulsion system.
Safety First
The practice of gun safety is vital for any owner or user of a BB gun or pellet gun. A knowledgeable adult must supervise Young shooters whenever using the gun. Adults and children should carefully read and understand all instructions that come with their air gun, and understand the proper safe use of such guns.
AIR GUNS ARE NOT TOYS! Improper handling due to carelessness or ignorance can cause injury or even death. Young gun owners can have years of enjoyment with air guns if they are used properly and safely.
The NRA gun safety rules must be read and understood by all children and adults who will be using or supervising the use of BB guns and pellet guns. Although all the NRA safety rules are important, the most important are the first three rules. If these three rules are applied in every situation, there would be no more accidental injuries involving air guns, or any guns for that matter.
HISTORY
No one knows for certain when the first air gun was invented or by whom. However, historic reference places the creation of the air gun somewhere between the 15th and 16th Centuries. By the late 1500s, air guns were becoming known throughout Europe. The first air guns utilized a leather bellows attached to a hollow butt stock as a power source. A detachable hand crank "charged" the apparatus that powered tufted darts at modest velocities using a trigger-activated spring mechanism to release a burst of compressed air. The ornate design and craftsmanship exhibited by these early air guns suggested their use was limited to the wealthy and mainly for indoor recreational target shooting.
By the mid-1800s, spring-piston and pneumatic type air guns had replaced the expensive, less efficient bellows designs. Pneumatic air guns provided sufficient velocities for use as legitimate hunting arms, while the spring- piston variety found their way to America by way of immigrant German air gun craftsmen and became common in many northeastern cities as the forerunners of today's "gallery air guns".
In the early 1870s, those air guns became obsolete with Henry Marcus Quackenbush's invention of a simpler, mass-produced air gun. His design replaced the cumbersome crank-ratchet device used to cock the spring- piston, with a push-barrel method that paved the way for European development of the adult spring-piston gun, as well as the American BB gun.
While Americans considered these inexpensive "BB guns" as nothing more than toys due to their lack of power and questionable accuracy. European advances in spring-piston and pneumatic air guns around the turn of the century created a market for serious target shooters. The carbon dioxide (CO2) powered air gun was invented in 1889 by Frenchman Paul Giffard and came in either 6mm or 8mm caliber with rifled barrels.
Despite European advances, the consensus in the U.S. maintained that air guns were nothing more than training devices to be used primarily for introducing newcomers to shooting, especially youngsters. Not until the mid-'60s, when quality spring-piston air guns capable of extreme accuracy began surfacing did the concept of an "adult air gun" take hold.
These advances in air gun technology led to a berth as an official event in the 1984 Olympic Games, further attesting to air gunning's acceptance as a bona fide shooting sport. For example, in the 1988 Olympic Games, American air rifle champion Robert J. Foth scored a 591 out of a possible 600 points—placing all but nine of his 60 shots at a distance of 10 meters from the off hand position in a bullseye circle the relative size of a dime. While that type accuracy comes from extensive training and a precision air gun that may cost several thousands of dollars, the average shooter can expect surprising results from models starting at around $30. That adult air gun competition is growing in popularity is evident in the fact that the National Rifle Association sponsors some 2,000 air gun tournaments annually and promotes air gun proficiency through organizations such as the Jaycees, 4-H and Boy Scouts of America.
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