What is an air gun (air pistol and air rifles)?
An airgun is a gun that launches (shoots) a projectile using the force of pressurized air or a similar gas like carbon dioxide, rather than by the pressure generated by gunpowder. A gun that uses burning gunpowder to generate force is called a firearm. There are three main types of airgun power plants: A pneumatic airgun holds a stored charge of compressed air for one or several shots. The air can be pressurized by a pump that is part of the gun or it can be introduced from a separate source like a hand pump or a scuba tank. A spring gun uses a powerful spring to push a piston that rapidly compresses air inside a chamber. Spring guns do not store air; they release it instantly – just after they compress it. A CO2 gun holds liquid carbon dioxide that evaporates to gas at very high pressure. Like the pneumatic, this gun has a valve that releases a portion of high-pressure gas with each shot.
