HARNESSING WIND POWER
It’s easy for rimfire and centerfire aficionados to scoff at airguns while picturing a childhood Daisy Red Ryder or a break-action rifle that lines the shelves of the local big-box stores. They’re toys—right?
Modern airguns are marvels of precision, engineering and power. Can you shoot them accurately at distances in the three-digit yardage range? Yes. Can you hunt small game with them? Again, yes. Can you hunt large game with them? Why, yes, you can. Are there airguns that cost thousands of dollars that are worth that hefty price tag? Yup.
When you boil it all down, airguns and rimfires (or centerfires) are more alike than they are different. Both use high-pressure air (or gas, if you will) to drive a projectile through a barrel with enough velocity to perforate targets, knock down steel or take game. How they differ is in the method by which they supply and deliver that air to the hind side of the projectile.