THE OFTEN UNDERRATED AIR GUN

For the readers who've requested more information on practical firearms, here's . . .

May/June 1981
Excerpt by Jim Carmichel 
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Excerpted from Outdoor Life magazine (copyright© 1980), annual subscriptions (12 issues) are available for $10 online or from Outdoor Life Customer Service, PO Box 60001, Tampa, FL 33660-0001.

RELATED CONTENT

All the folks here at Mother Earth News were pleased with the response generated by Gary Kent's article, "The Homestead Firearm," that appeared in issue 67. (For information on ordering back issues, check out the Mother Earth News Archive on CD-ROM from Mother Earth Shopping.) Many readers are interested in having a practical gun on hand to protect their livestock and homes, and occasionally put food on the table, and those readers who aren't interested in owning such weapons don't begrudge others the right to do so.

Furthermore, a good number of the letters received here asked for more information on firearm alternatives. Well, it would be hard to imagine a more practical tool—for such tasks as controlling pests, repelling small predators and putting meat in the homestead freezer—than the air rifle. Such firearms are often surprisingly powerful (and, therefore, must be handled with the same respect as "real" guns), quite accurate, easy to maintain and extremely inexpensive to shoot. For a total spare-parts-and-ammunition investment of well under $200, you'll be able to add a rabbit to the pot, as times demand, for years to come!

SPRING-PISTON GUNS

 

The most common air gun mechanism is the so-called spring-piston type used in millions of American BB guns. Since this basic mechanism is the power source of our simplest, least expensive air guns, one might conclude that it is relatively inefficient. Such is not the case. Essentially the same mechanism is used in the most expensive, most accurate and most powerful airguns.

In simplest terms, a spring-piston gun is powered by a spring-powered piston that's contained in a closely fitted, tubelike chamber. This chamber serves as the gun's receiver, which is mounted in the stock with the barrel attached to one end and the firing mechanism attached to the other. When the gun is cocked, the piston is forced to the rear of the chamber, where it is held in place by a catch, or sear, linked to the trigger. At this point the mainspring is compressed to full tension.

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