Airguns
Please note:
I am not employed in the airgun industry. I do not sell or repair airguns. This Web Site is offered for information and enjoyment of the airgunning sport.This site contains information that has been gathered from over 40 years of shooting and tinkering with airguns of various types.
Whatever your level and points of interest in airgunning as a recreational sport, I hope that you find something of interest on this web site.
Airguns are fascinating devices with a longer history than most of us imagine. The earliest examples date from the late 15th Century when experiments were made with compressed air and spring driven pistons to propel lead balls down smooth bored barrels. Compared to the black powder guns of the day, early airguns were very advanced weapons requiring the utmost smithing skills to manufacture valves and mechanisms capable of managing compressed air. Springs of the period were weak and fragile compared to those we enjoy today..
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) airguns were developed in the late 19th Century when the gas became available as a by-product of the introduction of "dry ice". Gun makers of that period adapted compressed air gun designs to use the new gas. The working pressures in compressed air powered guns were very similar to CO2 - about 700 to 1000 psi.
The 20th Century saw the development of the spring powered airgun which rose to dominance in the sport for many decades. In the 1980's a new interest in the use of compressed arose as SCUBA diving became a common sport and dive shops around the world could provide an inexpensive source of clean, highly compressed (3000 psi) air. The Pre-Charged Pneumatic airgun has seen amazing developments in the last two decades and may now rival the spring powered gun in overall sales. For many of us "oldies", the spring powered airgun is still favoured for it's simplicity, reliabilty and the experience of shooting a gun that has character. And a rifle without woodwork just doesn't feel the same.
Modern Olympic Competition airguns are amongst the most accurate guns ever made. They are highly specialised examples of the gunmakers art which are now being rivalled by "Field Target" airguns - a very demanding sport where technology is pushed to the limit as each year goes by.
Email: ispellan@HiWaay.net
Last Revised: January 2003