Editing Air gun (section)

===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>