Editing Air gun (section)

==History==
[[Image:KunitomoAirGun.jpg|thumb|[[Kunitomo air gun]] developed by the Japanese inventor [[Kunitomo Ikkansai]], {{c.|1820–1830}}]]
Air guns represent the oldest [[pneumatics|pneumatic]] technology. The oldest existing mechanical air gun dates back to about 1580, and is in the [[Livrustkammaren]] Museum in [[Stockholm]]. This is approximately what most historians recognize as the beginning of the modern air gun.

Throughout 17th to 19th century, air guns in .30 to .51 [[caliber]]s were used to [[big-game hunting|hunt big game]], [[deer]] and wild [[boar]]. These air rifles were charged using a pump to fill an air reservoir and gave velocities from {{cvt|650|to|1000|ft/s}}. They were also used in warfare, the most recognized example being the [[Girandoni air rifle]], a [[repeating rifle]] used by Austria in the 1788 war against Turkey.

At that time, they had compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. For example, air guns could be discharged in wet weather and rain (unlike both [[matchlock]] and [[flintlock]] [[musket]]s), and discharged much faster than [[Muzzleloader|muzzle-loading guns]].<ref name="Philip 2006">{{cite journal|last=Schreier|first=Philip|title=The Airgun of Meriwether Lewis|journal=American Rifleman|date=October 2006|url=http://www.americanrifleman.org/article.php?id=14049&cat=3&sub=0|access-date=23 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205182127/http://www.americanrifleman.org/article.php?id=14049&cat=3&sub=0|archive-date=5 December 2013}}</ref> Moreover, they were quieter than a firearm of a similar caliber, had no muzzle flash, and were smokeless. Thus, they did not disclose the shooter's position or obscure the shooter's view, unlike the black powder muskets of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the hands of skilled soldiers, they gave the military a distinct advantage. France, Austria and other nations had special [[sniper]] detachments using air rifles, mostly [[Jäger (infantry)]]. The Austrian 1779 model was named ''Windbüchse'' (literally "wind rifle" in German). The gun was developed in 1768 or 1769<ref>Arne Hoff, ''Airguns and Other Pneumatic Arms'', Arms & Armour Series, London, 1972</ref> by the [[German Tyrol|Tyrolean]] [[Ladins]] watchmaker, mechanic and gunsmith Bartholomäus Girardoni (1744–1799) and is sometimes referred to as the [[Girandoni air rifle]] or Girardoni air gun in literature (the name is also spelled "Girandony", "Giradoni"<ref>L.Wesley, ''Air Guns and Air Pistols'', London 1955</ref> or "Girardoni".<ref>H.L.Blackmore, ''Hunting Weapons'', London 1971</ref>). Adopted by the Austrian leadership in 1779, the ''Windbüchse'' was about {{cvt|4|ft|m|1}} long and weighed {{convert|10|lb}}, about the same size and mass as a conventional [[musket]]. The air reservoir was a removable, club-shaped, [[stock (firearm)|butt]]. The ''Windbüchse'' carried twenty-two .51 [[caliber]] (13&nbsp;mm) lead balls in a tubular [[magazine (firearms)|magazine]]. A skilled shooter could fire off one magazine in about thirty seconds. A shot from this air gun could penetrate a {{convert|1|in|cm|spell=in|adj=mid|-thick}} wooden board at a hundred paces, an effect roughly equal to that of a modern [[9×19mm]] or [[.45 ACP]] caliber pistol.

Circa 1820, the Japanese inventor [[Kunitomo Ikkansai]] developed various manufacturing methods for guns, and also created an air gun based on the study of Western knowledge ("[[rangaku]]") acquired from the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] in [[Dejima]].
[[Image:KunitomoAirGunMechanism.jpg|thumb|Kunitomo air gun trigger mechanism]]

The [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1804) carried a reservoir air gun, very likely the Girardoni, as it held 22 .46 caliber round balls in a tubular magazine mounted on the side of the [[gun barrel|barrel]]. The butt served as the air reservoir and had a working pressure of {{convert|800|psi|bar|abbr=on}}. The rifle was said to be capable of 22 aimed shots per minute and had a rifled bore of {{convert|0.452|in|abbr=on}} and a groove diameter {{convert|0.462|in|abbr=on}}.

One of the first commercially successful and mass-produced air guns was manufactured by the William F. Markham's Markham Air Rifle Company in [[Plymouth, Michigan]], US. Their first model air gun was the wooden ''Challenger'', marketed in 1886. In response, Clarence Hamilton from the neighboring Plymouth Air Rifle Company (later renamed to [[Daisy Outdoor Products|Daisy Manufacturing Company]] in 1895) marketed their all-metal Daisy BB Gun in early 1888, which prompted Markham to respond with their ''Chicago'' model in 1888 followed by the ''King'' model in 1890. The ''Chicago'' model was sold by [[Sears, Roebuck]] for 73 cents in its catalog. In 1928, the name of the Markham company was changed to King Air Rifle Company after the company was purchased by Daisy in 1916 after decades of intense competition,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Laidlaw|first=Angus|title=Chicago Air Rifle Markham's Patent|journal=American Rifleman|date=January 2014|volume=162|issue=1|page=48}}</ref> and continued to manufacture the "King" model air rifle until 1935 before ceasing operation altogether in the 1940s.

From the 1890s onwards, air rifles were used in [[Birmingham, England]] for competitive [[shooting sports|target shooting]].<ref name="Spittle">{{cite web |author1=Frank Spittle |title=Bell Target Story |url=http://www.belltarget.com/resources/Bell_Target_Story.pdf |website=Bell Target Shooting |access-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419154427/http://www.belltarget.com/resources/Bell_Target_Story.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2022 |pages=2–9 |language=English |date=23 July 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Matches were held in [[public house]]s and [[working men's club]]s, which sponsored shooting teams. This often took the form of Bell Target shooting, where the competitor aims to ring a bell by shooting through a small hole in a steel plate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bell Target Shooting |url=http://www.belltarget.com/ |website=Bell Target Shooting |access-date=28 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311083833/http://www.belltarget.com/ |archive-date=11 March 2023 |language=English |url-status=live}}</ref> Prizes, such as a leg of [[Lamb and mutton|mutton]] for the winning team, were paid for by the losing team. During this time, over 4,000 air rifle clubs and associations existed across [[Great Britain]], with as many as 1,600 in Birmingham alone.<ref name="Spittle"/> During this time, the air gun was associated with [[poaching]] because it could deliver a shot without a significant [[muzzle blast|muzzle report]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}