Editing Air gun (section)

==Ammunition==
===Pellet===

{{Main|Pellet (air gun)}}
[[File:Diabolo prof.jpg|thumb|Wadcutter or Flathead pellets]]
The most popular ammunition used in rifled air guns is made of lead, a [[Heavy metals|heavy metal]]. Lead is [[Lead poisoning|highly poisonous]] (whether inhaled or swallowed), affecting almost every organ and system in the human body. For this reason, lead-free pellets are becoming increasingly popular, and are available in all major shapes and styles, just like traditional lead pellets.

By far the most popular shape is the [[wasp-waist]]ed '''[[diabolo]] pellet''', which has two sections – a solid front portion called the "head", which contains the [[center of mass]] and is available in a variety of shapes and styles such as flat ([[wadcutter]]), round (domed), cone-shaped (pointed) and pitted ([[hollow point]]); and a hollowed, thin-walled [[conical]] rear portion called the "skirt", which expands and fully engages the bore to provide a good [[seal (mechanical)|seal]] and thus allows maximal efficiency in pellet propulsion during shooting.  In flight, the skirt has greater [[air drag|drag]]-to-weight ratio than the head and exerts a rearward pull behind the center of mass, similar to that of a [[shuttlecock]].  This produces a phenomenon known as ''drag stabilization'', which helps to counteract [[yaw (rotation)|yaw]]ing and maintain a consistent [[flight path]].  However, the diabolo shape also means that the overall pellet will have poor [[ballistic coefficient]] and tends to lose energy quickly and be more unstable especially in the [[External ballistics#Transonic problem|transonic region]] (272–408&nbsp;m/s ~ 893–1340&nbsp;ft/s).

[[Image:177cal.jpg|thumb|250px|A .177 (4.5mm) caliber "Wadcutter" pellet next to a stick of chewing gum]]
Diabolo pellets are conventionally made from [[lead]], but are widely available in non-lead alternatives, such as [[tin]], or a combination of materials such as [[steel]] or [[gold]] alloys with [[polymer]] tips. A variety of lead-free pellets are offered by all major pellet manufacturers, including H&N Sport, RWS, JSB, Gamo, and others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - Lead Free Pellets |url=https://www.leadfreepellets.org/ |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=www.leadfreepellets.org}}</ref> Since lead is very dense, it has a higher ballistic coefficient than lightweight alternatives such as tin, copper, or plastic. At the present time, the airgun industry does not mass-produce dense alternatives to lead with a high ballistic coefficient for long-range shooting.

==== Slug ====
Some manufacturers also have recently introduced the more [[cylindro-conoidal bullet|cylindro-conoidal]]-shaped "[[slug (projectile)|slug]]" pellets for the more powerful modern PCP air rifles. Compared to the commonly used diabolo pellets, these slug pellets resemble [[cast bullet]]s and have more contact surface with the bore and hence need greater propelling force to overcome friction, but have better [[aerodynamics]], [[ballistic coefficient]], and longer effective ranges due to the more aerodynamic shape, however they also require a fully [[rifling|rifled]] barrel for spin stabilization in flight. Appropriately sized bullets cast from firearm bullet molds can be used in big bore air rifles.
Caution should be used when handling lead projectiles or preparing animals for food, as lead fragments can be easily missed inside the meat. Lead-free slugs in airgun calibers are gradually being developed and becoming available for purchase from manufacturers such as Zan Projectiles, due in part to regulations on hunting with lead projectiles in many areas.

===BB===
[[Image:BB copper and nickel plated.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Steel BBs coated with copper and nickel]]
{{Main|BB gun}}
The BB [[shot (pellet)|shot]] was once the most common airgun ammunition in the US, thanks to the popularity of [[Daisy Outdoor Products|Daisy]]'s line of BB airguns. A BB is a small metallic ball in 4.5&nbsp;mm/[[.177 caliber|.177" diameter]], typically made of steel (with a copper or zinc coating) or lead. Originally called the "[[round shot]]", the contemporary name came from the [[shot (pellet)#Lead shot comparison chart|"BB"- size]] lead [[birdshot]] used in [[shotgun shell]]s, which the first BB gun invented in 1886 was designed to shoot. Steel BBs can be acceptably accurate at short distances when fired from properly designed [[BB gun]]s with [[smoothbore]] barrels. Lead #3 buckshot pellets can be used in .25" caliber airguns as if they were large BBs.

Due to the hardness of the steel, steel BBs cannot "take" to rifled barrels, which is why they are undersized (4.4&nbsp;mm ball against 4.5&nbsp;mm bore) to allow them to be used in .177" rifled barrels, which when used in this configuration can in effect be considered [[smoothbore]], but with a poorer gas-seal, and if 4.5&nbsp;mm diameter BBs are used, they would jam in the bore. Therefore, steel BBs lack the spin stabilization required for long-range accuracy, and usage in any but the cheapest rifled guns is discouraged. The softer lead BBs, however, can be used in rifled barrels.

Typically BBs are used for indoor practice, casual outdoor plinking, training children, or to save money, as they are significantly cheaper than pellets. Replica {{CO2}} pistols allow people to train with a BB gun, saving a lot of money to centerfire firearm cartridges. Care should be exercised to avoid [[ricochet]], and safety glasses are recommended. Recently, manufacturers have created [[Frangibility|frangible]] BBs,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Air Venturi Dust Devil Mk2 Frangible BBs, 1,500 ct. {{!}} Pyramyd Air |url=https://www.pyramydair.com/product/air-venturi-dust-devil-frangible-bbs-1-500-ct?p=1477 |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=www.pyramydair.com |language=en}}</ref> which break apart and do not ricochet, reducing the hazards associated with BB guns.

Some shotgunners use sightless BB rifles to train in [[instinctive shooting]]. Similar guns were also used briefly by the United States Army in a Vietnam-era instinctive shooting program called "[[Point shooting#Rifle Quick Kill|Quick Kill]]".<ref>''Time'' magazine, Friday, 14 July 1967</ref>

===Darts and arrows===
[[File:LG Bolzen.jpg|thumb|Darts for an air gun]]
In the 18th and 19th centuries, air gun darts were popular, largely because they could be reused. Although less popular now, several different types of darts are made to be used in air guns, but it is not recommended that darts be used in air guns with [[rifling|rifled]] bores or in spring-powered air guns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beemans.net/airgun_projectiles.htm|title= Airgun projectiles|access-date=1 June 2017}}</ref> Air guns that shoot darts are sometimes called ''dart guns'', and ''[[tranquilizer gun]]s'' if the darts used are loaded with [[anesthetic]] ([[tranquilizer]]) compounds.

Some modern air guns are designed to discharge arrows and are called ''arrow guns'' or sometimes ''airbows''. These arrows are designed with a hollow shaft that is open in the rear where the [[nock (arrow)|nock]] would normally be. When loaded, the hollow arrow shaft is slid rearwards over a barrel whose external diameter is only fractionally smaller than the shaft's interior diameter, providing a close-enough fitting that minimizes rattling and gives a reasonable enveloping [[seal (mechanical)|seal]] without causing too much [[friction]]. During shooting, the trigger releases high-pressure air from the barrel to the front portion of the hollow arrow shaft, pushing the arrow forward. Such air guns can shoot arrows at launch velocities rivalling or even exceeding high-end [[crossbow]]s, while retaining consistency of precision unaffected by [[archer's paradox]], but they are also more expensive to set up and maintain.

=== Laser beam ===
The [[modern pentathlon]] has since 2009 included a [[laser-run]] event that replaced the traditional cross country run of 3,200 metres and timed air-pistol shoot.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Pesca|first1=Mike|date=11 August 2012|title=Modern Pentathlon Hot-Shots: These Ladies Have Laser Pistols|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2012/08/11/158634634/modern-pentathlon-hot-shots-these-ladies-have-laser-pistols|access-date=4 August 2021|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref> The competitors run 4 laps of 800 m combined with 4 rounds of firing.  The pistols used are modified air pistols that fire an eye-safe laser beam towards a target at the same time as a discharge of air. This has made the organisation of the events easier from a safety point of view and allows competitors to travel more easily with their weapons.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Lasers Make Modern Pentathlon More Modern|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/08/modern-pentathlon-laser-pistols/|access-date=4 August 2021|issn=1059-1028|date=11 August 2012}}</ref>

===Airsoft pellets===
[[Airsoft pellets]] are plastic BBs shot from [[airsoft guns]].