Steel BBs

BB guns are a type of air gun designed to fire usually spherical projectiles, called BBs after the Birdshot pellet of approximately the same size. They can also be pointed, but these are usually used for bird hunting. "BB" in this case stands for "Ball Baring". Modern day BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel, with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177 inches (4.5 mm). BBs for modern day bb guns are usually steel, plated either with zinc or copper to resist corrosion, and measure 0.171 to 0.173 inches (4.34 mm to 4.39 mm) in diameter. Some manufacturers also still make lead BBs of slightly larger diameter and which are generally intended for use in rifled bb gun barrels, as were formerly used in bb guns. Some Asian companies make plastic BBs for recreation. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (552x1000, 148 KB)Package of . ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (552x1000, 148 KB)Package of . ... Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... It has been suggested that Lead shot, Shotgun slug, Slug (projectile), Brenneke slug, Foster slug, specialty shotgun amunition, Flexible baton round, Breaching round, Bolo Shell, Dragons Breath, R.I.P. cartridge, Rat-shot be merged into this article or section. ... Smoothbore refers to a firearm which does not have a rifled barrel. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... For other uses, see Copper (disambiguation). ... For Pb as an abbreviation, see PB. General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... Rifling of a Canon de 75 modèle 1897 A 35 caliber Remington, with a microgroove rifled barrel with a right hand twist. ...

Airsoft guns are also commonly referred to as BB guns or pellet guns, as they also shoot spherical projectiles through a smoothbore barrel. However, airsoft "BBs" are 6 mm in diameter (0.24 inches), made of plastic or other non-metallic materials, and are designed specifically to be non-lethal. This article is about the sport. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Safety

BB guns should be handled with extreme caution and should never fired at other humans. Simple, cheap BB guns that one can purchase at Wal-Mart have the capacity to fire over 1000 fps. BB guns are not to be confused with airsoft guns, which are not very harmful to humans (BB guns are almost the same as air soft guns). Any steel .177 pellet fired at or above 600 fps most certainly has skin piercing abilities and possibility of fatality if fired used improperly, but much safer ball bearings can very easily purchased. Steel BBs are also very prone to ricochet, especially off hard surfaces such as brick or concrete. Eye protection is not essential when shooting BBs (but is a safety precaution that is recommended), more so than when shooting lead pellets, since a bouncing BB retains a very large portion of its initial energy, and could easily cause serious eye damage up to and including blindness. If a BB is directly shot into the "Hashia-brownus It will Cause severe brain damage. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...

History

While it is often stated that "BB" stands for "ball bearing", this is not the case. The original BB guns used the BB sized lead shotgun shot, midway between B and BBB size. BB shot was nominally 0.180 inches (4.57 mm), but tended to vary considerably in size due to the high allowable tolerances for shotgun shell use. Around 1900, Daisy, one of the earliest makers of BB guns, changed their BB gun bore diameter to .175 inches (4.45 mm), and began to market precision-made lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called this "air rifle shot", but the "BB" name was already well established, and everyone continued calling the guns "BB guns" and the shot "BB shot" or just "BBs". A 4 point angular contact ball bearing A ball bearing is a common type of rolling-element bearing, a kind of bearing. ... For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Lead shot, Shotgun slug, Slug (projectile), Brenneke slug, Foster slug, specialty shotgun amunition, Flexible baton round, Breaching round, Bolo Shell, Dragons Breath, R.I.P. cartridge, Rat-shot be merged into this article or section. ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... Skysmith 14:04, 4 April 2006 (UTC) Category: ...

In the 1920s, Daisy began to receive reports of BB gun users salvaging scrap steel ball bearings for use in their guns; a number of guns came in for repair with split barrels, from oversized steel balls being forced down the barrel. The bearing manufacturer, American Ball Company, quickly seized on this as a marketing opportunity, and started to market 0.171 to 0.173 inch diameter steel air rifle shot specifically for BB guns with a bore diameter and caliber of 0.177 inches. This quickly led to an exclusive marketing agreement with Daisy, as precision ground steel BBs were cheaper to make than precision lead BBs. The lighter steel BBs also provided higher velocities than lead BBs, which made new BB guns shoot flatter and more accurately at the short ranges where they were effective. By 1939, Daisy had acquired American Ball Company, which it used to produce its own steel BBs. Since Daisy was the dominant player in the BB gun market, other makers followed suit, matching Daisy's bore diameter and switching to steel BBs in 0.177 caliber (4.5 mm) measuring 0.171 to 0.173 inches in diameter. The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Operation

BB guns can use any of the operating mechanisms used for air guns; see the powerplant technology section of the air gun article. However, due to the limited accuracy and range inherent in the BB gun, only the simpler and less expensive mechanisms are generally used. Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ...

Since nearly all BBs used today are steel, it is common to find BB guns that use magnets in their loading mechanisms. Since the BB is too hard to be swaged to the bore size, magnets are often used to hold the BB at the rear of the barrel--otherwise, the BB would simply roll out of the barrel if it were held at a downward angle. For other uses, see Magnet (disambiguation). ... Swaging is a metal forming technique in which the metal is plastically deformed to its final shape using high pressures. ...

The traditional, and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring piston type, usually patterned after a lever action rifle or a pump action 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 BB gun, modeled after a pump action shotgun with a trombone pump action mechanism, dominated the low price, higher performance market for over 50 years. Lever action models generally have very low velocities, around 275 ft/s, a result of the weak springs used to keep cocking efforts low for use by youths. The Daisy Model 25 BB gun typically achieved the highest velocities of its day, ranging from 375 ft/s to 450 ft/s. Lever action guns often have huge ammunition capacities; one of Daisy's early lever action models held 1000 BBs, in contrast to the Daisy Model 25 which held only 50 BBs. The ammunition in the lever action BB guns is gravity fed, such that the gun must be held at the proper angle when cocked to load the ammunition. The ammunition in the Daisy Model 25, on the other hand, is spring loaded, and no shift in gun angle is required to reload another BB. A lever-action is a type of firearm which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area (often including the trigger guard itself) to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is cranked. The most famous of such lever-action firearms are the Martini... A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject and chamber a round of ammunition. ...

Multi-pump pneumatic guns are also common--many youth oriented pneumatic pellet guns provide the ability to use BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. These guns have rifled barrels, but the hard, slightly undersized BBs don't swage or obturate to fit the barrel, so the rifling may not impart a significant spin. These are the type of guns that will benefit most from using precision lead BB shot. The pneumatic BB gun attains much higher velocities than the traditional spring piston types. One interesting use of a pneumatic BB gun is in the calibration of ballistic gelatin, which is done by measuring the penetration of a steel BB at a velocity of about 600 ft/s (180 m/s). Swaging is a metal forming technique in which the metal is plastically deformed to its final shape using high pressures. ... Obturate means to block or obstruct. ... Calibration refers to the process of determining the relation between the output (or response) of a measuring instrument and the value of the input quantity or attribute, a measurement standard. ... Ballistic gelatin is a solution of gelatin powder in water. ...

The last common type of power for BB guns is pre-compressed gas, most commonly the 12 gram CO₂ powerlet. The powerlet, invented by Crosman, is a disposable bottle containing 12 grams of liquid carbon dioxide, which evaporates to form a gas to propel the BB. These are primarily used in pistol BB guns, and unlike spring-piston or pneumatic types, these are capable of rapid fire. 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. The hammer strikes a valve hooked to the CO₂ source, which releases a measured amount of CO₂ gas to fire the BB. Velocities of CO₂ powered BB pistols are moderate, and drop off as the temperature in the CO₂ source drops, due to changes in the vapor pressure. Many CO₂ BB guns are patterned after popular firearms, and can be used for training as well as recreation. A powerlet is a small disposable metal container holding 12 grams of liquid CO2 and often a small quantity of oil, used as a power source for certain air guns, paintball markers, and a few airsoft guns. ... The Crosman Corporation is one of the major manufacturers of airguns and BB guns in the United States. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... The term double action was originally applied to revolvers. ... Vapor pressure is the pressure of a vapor in equilibrium with its non-vapor phases. ...

Some gas-powered BB guns use a larger source of gas, and provide machine gun-like fire. These types are commonly found at carnivals, and have also been used to train antiaircraft gunners. A popular commercial model was the Larc M-19, which ran off 1 pound (454 g) canisters of Freon-12 refrigerant. These types have very simple operating mechanisms, based on a venturi pump. The gas is released in a constant stream, and this is used to suck the BBs up into the barrel at a very high rate--advertisements for the Larc M-19 claimed a rate of fire of 3000 rounds per minute. A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... This article describes the festival season. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... R-phrases S-phrases , Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Dichlorodifluoromethane (R-12), usually sold under the brand name Freon-12, is a chlorofluorocarbon halomethane, commonly known as CFC, used as a refrigerant and... A copper aspirator. ...

Ammunition

In addition to the traditional steel or lead balls, there are a number of types of specialty ammunition that can be used. In appropriate types of BB guns, general breech loading models with tip-up barrels.

Air gun pellets of the correct diameter, .177 caliber, (4.5 mm), can be loaded into many BB guns. Since air gun pellets are often made in a fairly stable, front-heavy design, even a smoothbore barrel can fire them with a reasonable degree of accuracy for short distances.

Another type of ammunition used in smooth bore air guns is the dart, which consists of a small, pointed metal body with a string tassel on the end. Darts are used only in low-powered guns for indoor target practice, and can be used in place of hand-thrown darts in a game of darts. The original air gun darts were used in very accurate, handmade, target guns used in formal competition in late 19th and early 20th Century Germany. Modern darts come in an additional form, the bolt (after crossbow bolts), which uses plastic fins in place of the tassels. 15th century French soldier wearing a helmet and a hauberk, carrying a crossbow/arbalest and a pavise. ...

A standard copper coated steel .177 caliber BB usually usually weighs about 5.3gr (about 1/3 of a gram.) A lead air gun pellet weighs about 7.9 gr (about 1/2 of a gram.)

Competition use

While most BB guns are used only for informal plinking, it is possible to shoot competitively with a BB gun. The National Rifle Association youth shooting program has classifications for smoothbore BB guns, open from ages 8 to 15, and these classes are popular with youth groups such as Boy Scouts of America and 4H. BB guns are generally shot at a distance of 5 meters (5 yards 1 foot 8 inches). To hit the tiny 10 ring on the standard 5 m BB gun target, which is about the size of a BB, requires a very accurate BB gun and very consistent BBs. This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit group for the promotion of marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and personal protection firearm rights... For the Boy Scouting program within the BSA, see Boy Scouting (Boy Scouts of America). ... The 4-H youth organization, now administered by the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension System, was founded in 1904 by G.C. Adams in Newton CountyGeorgia and now serves over 1. ...

Legal issues

BB guns are regulated in the same manner as air guns. In countries where there is a maximum velocity or muzzle energy at which point an air gun is treated like a firearm (such as in Canada or the United Kingdom), BB guns are often not powerful enough to be considered firearms. See the legal issues section of the air gun article for more information. Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ...

See also

• Air gun
• Airsoft gun
• Red Ryder BB Gun

Air guns are weapons that propel a bullet using compressed air or another gas, possibly liquefied. ... Airsoft guns fire 6mm plastic pellets and are generally immitation copies of a real model, such as the M16 or MP5. ... The Red Ryder BB Gun, is a BB gun made by Daisy Outdoor Products and introduced in 1938. ...

External links

• The Daisy Museum, with an in-depth history of the Daisy BB gun
• History of BB guns
• How do BB guns work
• US Patent 4,083,349 Rapid-fire, fluid actuated B.B. gun, the patent for the Larc M-19 BB machine gun
• How to Get Started, Airgun Competition page from NRA site, covering air gun and BB gun competitions
• BB Gun Safety Tips Some basic tips for parents and new BB gun shooters
• BB Gun Caliber Pellet Selection, Thorough explanation of caliber and pellets for basic types of air guns.

BB guns are legal in the UK and Irland