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A BB gun is a type of
air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...
designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls), which are approximately the same size as BB-size
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
birdshot used in
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
s ( in diameter). Modern BB guns usually have a smoothbore
barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...
with a
caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...
, and use
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
balls that measure in diameter and in weight, usually
zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
- or
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
- plated for corrosion resistance. Some manufacturers still make the slightly larger traditional
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
balls that weigh around , which are generally intended for use in rifled barrels (because lead is more
malleable Ductility refers to the ability of a material to sustain significant plastic deformation before fracture. Plastic deformation is the permanent distortion of a material under applied stress, as opposed to elastic deformation, which is reversi ...
and exerts less
wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...
on riflings). The term "BB gun" is frequently used colloquially to describe
airsoft gun Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot Airsoft pellets, plastic pellets often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BB (ammunition), BBs", which are typ ...
s, which shoot plastic pellets (also often referred to as "BBs") that are larger (usually in diameter) but much less dense than metal BBs, and have significantly lower ballistic performance. The term is also sometimes used to describe a pellet gun, which shoots
diabolo The diabolo ( ; commonly misspelled ''diablo'') is a juggling or circus skills, circus juggling prop, prop consisting of an axle () and two cone, cups (hourglass/egg timer shaped) or cylinder, discs derived from the Chinese yo-yo. This object i ...
-shaped (not spherical) lead projectiles at higher power and velocity. Although some BB guns can also shoot pellets, the reverse situation is not true: steel BB balls have greater
stiffness Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force. The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is. Calculations The stiffness, k, of a ...
and are not meant to be shot from pellet guns, whose barrels are typically rifled and thus can get stuck (similar to a squib load in
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
s) and lead to a damage or mechanical failure within the pellet gun. 'The size of a BB' is an expression about an object, meaning 'very small'.


History

The term ''BB'' originated from the nomenclature of the size of lead shots used in a smoothbore
shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
. Size "BB" shots were nominally , but tended to vary considerably in size because of the loose tolerances in shotshells. The largest shotgun pellet commonly used was named ''00'' or ''double ought'' and was used for hunting deer and thus called ''buckshot'', while the smaller BB-sized shot was typically used to shoot small/medium-sized game birds and called ''birdshot''. In 1886, the Markham Air Rifle Company in
Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Plymouth is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and northeast of Ann Arbor. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,370. ...
produced the first wooden-construct spring-piston air rifle design as a youth training gun, and used the BB-size birdshot as the chosen ammunition. Two years later, the neighbouring Plymouth Air Rifle Company (later renamed Daisy Manufacturing Company in 1895) introduced the first full-metal airgun that also fired BB shots – the Daisy BB Gun, which became a very popular household name because of successful marketing. Around 1900, Daisy changed their BB-size bore diameter to , and began to market precision-made lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called these "
round shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...
s", but the ''BB'' name was already well established, and consequently most users continued calling their guns ''BB guns'', and the projectiles as ''BB shots'' or just ''BBs''. Subsequently, the term ''BB'' became generic, and is used loosely referring to any small spherical
projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...
s of various calibers and materials. This includes bearing balls often utilized by anti-personnel mines, .177 caliber lead/steel shots used by
air gun An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contr ...
s, plastic round balls (such as the pellets used by
airsoft gun Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot Airsoft pellets, plastic pellets often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BB (ammunition), BBs", which are typ ...
s), small
marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are ofte ...
and many others. It has become ubiquitous to refer to any steel ball, such as a BB, as a "''ball bearing''". However, BBs should not be confused with a
ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...
, which is a mechanical component using small internal rolling balls to reduce
friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...
between
moving part Machines include both fixed and moving parts. The moving parts have controlled and constrained motions. Moving parts are machine components excluding any moving fluids, such as fuel, coolant or hydraulic fluid. Moving parts also do not include ...
s of
machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
s.


Operation

BB guns can use any of the operating mechanisms used for air guns. However, because the projectile inherently has limited accuracy and short effective range, only the simpler and less expensive mechanisms are generally used for guns designed to fire only BBs. Because the strength of the steel BB does not allow it to be
swage Swaging () is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using dies into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process, but also may be hot worked. The term swage may apply to the process (verb) o ...
d with the low propelling force used to accelerate it through the barrel, BBs are slightly smaller () than the internal diameter of the barrel (). This limits accuracy because little spin is imparted on the BB. It also limits range, because some of the pressurized gas used to accelerate the BB leaks around it and reduces the overall
efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid making mistakes or wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time while performing a task. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. ...
. Since a BB will easily roll unhindered down the barrel, it is common to find guns that use a
magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...
in the loading mechanism to hold the BB at the rear of the barrel until it is fired. The traditional and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring-piston pump, usually patterned after a lever-action rifle or a
pump-action Pump action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge (firearms), cartridge and typically to co ...
shotgun. The lever-action rifle was the first type of BB gun, and still dominates the inexpensive youth BB gun market. The Daisy Model 25, modeled after a pump-action shotgun with a trombone pump-action mechanism, dominated the low-price, higher-performance market for over 60 years (19141978). Lever-action models generally have very low velocities, around , a result of the weak springs used to keep cocking efforts low for use by youths. The Daisy Model 25 typically achieved the highest velocities of its day, ranging from . Multiple-pump pneumatic guns are also common. Many pneumatic pellet guns provide the ability to use BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. Some of these guns have rifled barrels, but the slightly undersized BBs do not
swage Swaging () is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using dies into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process, but also may be hot worked. The term swage may apply to the process (verb) o ...
in the barrel, so the rifling does not impart a significant spin. These are the types of guns that will benefit most from using precision lead BB shot. Pneumatic BB guns can also attain higher velocities than traditional spring-piston types. The last common type of power for BB guns is
compressed gas Bottled gas is a term used for substances which are gaseous at standard temperature and pressure (STP) and have been compressed and stored in carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or composite containers known as gas cylinders. Gas sta ...
, most commonly the Powerlet cartridges. The powerlet is a disposable metal
gas cylinder A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. Gas storage cylinders may also be called ''bottles''. Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapor ov ...
containing of compressed
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
, with a self-contained valve to release the CO2 which expands to propel the BB. These are primarily used in BB
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
s, and are capable of rapid firing unlike spring-piston or pneumatic types. A typical CO2 BB pistol uses a spring-loaded magazine to feed BBs, and a double-action trigger mechanism to chamber a BB and cock the
hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...
. However some guns (either to stay true to the original gun or to make the trigger pull easier) do have a single-action trigger. Either type of gun may also have blowback action, where CO2 will push the slide back in addition to firing a BB. When firing, the hammer strikes an internal valve linked to the CO2 source, which releases a measured amount of CO2 gas to fire the BB; this also gives it realistic recoil and muzzle report features. Many CO2 BB guns are patterned after popular
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
s such as the Colt M1911, and can be used for training as well as recreation. Some gas-powered BB guns use a larger source of gas, and provide machine gun-like fire. These types, most notably the Shooting Star Tommy Gun (originally known as the Feltman) are commonly found at
carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...
s. The MacGlashan BB Gun was used to train
antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
gunners in the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
and
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. A popular commercial model was the Larc M-19, which used 1 pound (454 g) canisters of Freon-12 refrigerant. These types have very simple operating mechanisms, based on a
venturi pump A vacuum ejector, or simply ejector, or aspirator, is a type of vacuum pump, which produces vacuum by means of the Venturi effect. In an ejector, a working fluid (liquid or gaseous) flows through a jet nozzle into a tube that first narrows a ...
. The gas is released in a constant stream, and this is used to suck the BBs up into the barrel at rates as high as 3600 rounds per minute.


Safety

BB guns can shoot faster than , but are often less powerful than a conventional pellet airgun. Pellet airguns have the ability to fire considerably faster, even beyond . Although claims are often exaggerated, a few airguns can actually fire a standard 0.177 caliber lead pellet faster than , but these are generally not BB-firing guns. A BB with a velocity of only has skin-piercing capability, and a velocity reaching can fracture bone. This is potentially lethal, and this potential increases with velocity, but also rapidly decreases with distance. The effective penetrating range of a BB gun with a muzzle velocity of is approximately . A person wearing jeans at this distance would not sustain serious injury. However, even at this distance a BB still might penetrate bare skin, and even if not, could leave a severe and painful bruise. The maximum range of a BB gun in the range is 100–200 metres approximately, provided the muzzle is elevated to the optimum angle. Steel BBs are prone to ricochet off hard surfaces such as brick, concrete, metal, or wood
end grain End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) *End (topology) *End (graph theory) *End (graph_theory)#Cayley_graphs, End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) *End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridir ...
. Unlike lead pellets which usually flatten and absorb energy upon impact, a BB bouncing off a hard surface can retain a large portion of its initial energy, and could easily cause serious eye damage. Wearing eye protection is essential when shooting BBs at these materials, more so than when shooting lead pellets.


Quick Kill training

The U.S. Army trained recruits in Quick Kill techniques using Daisy Model 99 BB guns to improve soldiers using their weapons in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
from 1967 to 1973. The technique was developed for the Army by Bobby Lamar "Lucky" McDaniel and Mike Jennings.


Legal status

BB guns are often regulated as a typical air gun. Air gun laws vary widely by local jurisdiction.


See also

*
Airsoft gun Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot Airsoft pellets, plastic pellets often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BB (ammunition), BBs", which are typ ...
*
Paintball marker A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, paint gun, or simply marker, is an air gun used in the shooting sport of paintball, and the main piece of paintball equipment. Paintball markers use compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) ...
* List of air guns *
Pellet (air gun) A pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be shot from an air gun, and an airgun that shoots such pellets is commonly known as a pellet gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets and shot (pellet), shot used in firearms in terms of the pre ...


References


External links


US Patent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bb Gun Ammunition Pneumatic weapons Hunting equipment Japanese inventions Rifles