How do bb guns work?

Answer 1

BB Guns have four different basic designs that make them work. The first is a spring and piston. The gun or rifle is cocked and compresses the spring behind a piston in a tube. When the trigger is pulled it releases the spring and it shoves the piston forward compressing air ahead of it. At the end of the tube a BB or pellet has been loaded and the compressed air forces the projectile out and down the barrel. The second is a C02 version: A pellet or BB is loaded into the gun. A C02 cartage is also loaded into the gun. Through a series of valves and levers the trigger is connected to the C02 and BB. When the trigger is pulled it open a valve momentarily and releases some C02 into the chamber behind the BB. This forces the BB out of the loading area and down the barrel of the gun. The Third and most powerful is the PCP (Precharged Pneumatic Guns) they usually have a chamber built into the gun that holds air that is loaded by a tire pump or Scuba tank. These guns are designed for Pellets not BB's. Again the trigger is attached to a series of valves and when pulled it releases a burst of air behind the pellet and forces it down the barrel. Normally you can get several shots out of a single charge of air. The Forth (the Pump) works similar to the PCP except that you have to hand pump it several times in order to get off one shot. It is a single shot rifle. Again it works by building up air pressure in a reserve cylinder with each pump stroke. When the trigger is pulled it releases all the pressure in the cylinder and that fires the pellet. The Pump handle is usually the forearm on the stock of the rifle I've tried to simplify the answers. Because entire books have been written on Airguns and how they work.