Air Bottle Refill Near Me? The 49 Latest Answer

Diving Air Fills – Specialists in Nitrox and Trimix diving air

diving air fillings

Scuba tank air fills, nitrox fills, trimix fills and airgun fills are available 6 days a week here at 2DiVE4. Call 2DiVE4 on 01279 815559 to make an appointment for your airfills.

Please note that we have had to increase our air inflation prices to reflect direct and indirect energy costs.

Our L&W 320 Silent compressor is fitted with a Puracon sensor to measure the dryness of the air we produce and can deliver air charges up to 300 bar. This is essential to provide you, the customer, with pure, clean and dry air. We have our air tested every 3 months to ensure the highest quality possible.

In addition to our L&W 320 Silent Compressor we also have 3 x 50L accumulator banks capable of delivering clean, double filtered air up to 300 bar. Along with our nitrox blending board we have 5 qualified nitrox gas blenders on our team who can blend nitrox blends up to 99% accurately under partial pressure. We also have a DTB10C gas booster pump available that can supply air, nitrox and trimix.

We can pump air while you wait and our nitrox and trimix tank refill service has a fast 24 hour turnaround time ensuring an accurate mix. We will also ask you to present your diving certification card. Call 01279 815559 for more information.

Our dive center is based in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire on the Essex border. We supply air inflation to our customers across Herts, Essex and Cambridgeshire. If you live in one of the following areas, please consider 2DiVE4 when it comes to maintaining your air inflation and diving gear. Cambridge, Sawston, Saffron Walden, Dunmow, Braintree, Stansted, Sawbridgeworth, Harlow, Stevenage, Letchworth, Hertford and Bishop’s Stortford.

Diving air fillings – prices

air fillings:

3L – 15L scuba fills = £7

18L+ (twin sets) scuba fills = £14

3L – 7L 300bar dive fills = £11

10L – 12L 300 bar scuba fills = £13.00

232/300 bar air gun / commercial or non-submersible fills = £12.00

Nitrox Fillings:

3ltr 7ltr 10ltr 12ltr 15ltr Air £5.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 £7.00 Up to 32% £12.00 £16.00 £18.00 £19.00 £22.00 Up to 36% £14.00 £18.00 £19.00 £22.00 £27.00 Up to 40.0% £19.00 £22.00 £27.00 £32.00 £ Up to 50% £19.00 £22.00 £29.00 £34.00 Up to 80% £28.00 £39.00 £46.00 Up to 100% £30.00 £49.00

Trimix fills:

Oxygen = 5p per bar per litre

Helium = 8p per bar per liter

Air top offs = £7

O2 fillings:

Oxygen = 5p per bar per litre

Handling Fee = *£10+ – *depending on time and mix

PLEASE CALL BEFORE BRINGING BOTTLES FOR NITROX AND TRIMIX FILLING

Are air guns a viable option for self defense or home protection? The short and sweet answer is no. I’ve decided to address this issue because it’s one of the most frequently asked questions I’ve been asked over the years. Now some might want to discuss the point on a philosophical level, which I’ll be happy to do over a few cups of coffee at some point, but I’m more interested in the logical and practical arguments as to why airguns are NOT suitable for self-defense.

I’ll try to draw a picture here. From my experience, people consider using airguns for self-defense for a variety of reasons. The first reason I hear most often is that they are afraid of “real” guns. Next thing would be that they don’t want to use deadly force on another human being. Another reason is the cost of a “real” firearm and trying to save money by buying an airgun.

Let’s go ahead and address the first two reasons from a logical perspective. Attempting to use an airgun in self-defense is essentially a bluff, but a bluff your life may depend on. The underlying cause behind the first two reasons is fear. When you’re bluffing, the mindset you probably NEVER want to express is fear. Your only hope of success is the possibility that the attacker isn’t really committed, since you really don’t have an effective means of deterring someone who really intends to go ahead with their plans.

During my concealed weapons training course, the instructor went through various situations that can arise during a home invasion. In one scenario, the homeowner had caught the intruder and held him at gunpoint until police arrived. Meanwhile, the intruder thought he had nothing to lose and began getting off the ground to challenge the homeowner. Our instructor’s recommendation in this situation was to shoot the intruder as soon as he started getting off the ground and do anything but flee. Essentially, in this case, the intruder wanted to call the homeowner’s bluff. If you were in this situation with only an airgun as your weapon, you would be in real danger.

Now let’s look at a practical side of this question. Firearms generate an enormous amount of energy at a given target. While there are some exotic airguns that can put 200, 300, and even 400 foot-pounds of energy down, no one has ever asked me if any of them would be handy for self-defense. The airguns people are most curious about are the $100 +/- CO2 pellet guns or BB guns. Now these products certainly have their place, but not in the role of personal defense.

Here are some basic numbers that can help demonstrate the practical differences between a standard firearm and your standard BB pistol. We’ll start with the energy generated by a powerful BB pistol firing at 500 feet per second. I say strong because most CO2 BB guns shoot well below that speed, so we’ll give this one the benefit of the doubt. If you take the weight of a typical BB at 5.1 grains and add a speed of 500 feet per second, you get a whopping 2.83 foot-pounds. Now let’s put that into even more perspective. The generally agreed minimum human energy required for small game like squirrels and rabbits is about 8 foot pounds. So if a BB gun only has 1/3 the energy needed to knock down a squirrel, could it ever come in handy to deter someone intent on criminal activity? The answer is a very simple “no”.

“But what about those powerful PCP airguns I keep hearing about?” Well, here we go straight to the final reason, cost. Any airgun that could produce sufficient energy, at least on paper, would cost well over $1000. While the airgun alone can cost $700 or $800, with the funds to fill it you would certainly be well over the $1000 mark and the usability of such an airgun for a home defense or self-defense situation would be entirely impractical. What’s the answer?

The best solution is really an inner soul search. If you’re concerned about needing a weapon to defend your home or person, you really need to decide if you’re going to be able to use lethal force against someone if you were put in that situation. It’s not an easy question. If you feel that you will not be able to do this, then your best bet would be not to own a gun at all.

On the other hand, if after careful consideration you believe that you would be willing to do whatever is necessary to protect yourself, your family and/or your property, then there are several things you can do to prepare yourself. The first steps I would recommend would be finding someone who can help you understand the nuances of the laws in your area regarding the use of a firearm for self defense. Next, don’t be in a hurry to make a purchase. Rather spend some time at your local gun shop and/or range and really do some research on what you think suits you best. Finally, get training on the product you choose. the more training the better.

And this is where airguns can really help. Most likely there will be several different airguns similar to the ones you choose for your personal defense weapon. Umarex makes many different replica airguns that have the same weight, feel and function as their “real” firearm counterparts. The more trigger time you can gain, the more proficient you become. Proper use of airguns can really help in this area. In our next article, we’ll talk more about how airguns can help with training and mastery.

Not many people go diving. It’s quite a niche activity, and yet every year 100 people die scuba diving in North America. It is a high risk activity. A lot can go wrong when diving.

To ensure your safety, you need to make sure all your gear is secure before you even fall in the water. The first step is often to fill up the scuba tank.

In this article, we’ll show you how to safely use an air compressor in 7 easy steps to do just that.

1. Check tank compliance

Scuba tanks or other pressure tanks must be checked regularly. If the tank is too old or has not been tested recently, do not use it. It could be defective, which could cause disaster when refilling or diving.

2. Release extra air

If there is extra air in the tank, let it out. You don’t want to add more air to a tank unless it has less than 10 pounds of air pressure in the tank.

3. Check for damage or loose items

A tank is worthless unless it is completely sealed. Give the tank a quick spin and check for cracks or holes. Also shake the tank and check for water or dirt in the tank. If you hear water rattling or sloshing, discard the tank immediately.

You should be extra careful with this step, because by the time the diver realizes that air is escaping from the cylinder, it may be too late.

4. Give the tank a cold bath

Placing the tank in a cold bath will prevent it or the air placed in it from heating up and expanding. Thus, this reduces the chances of the tank exploding in your face.

You can also spot holes and cracks in the tank more easily if you notice air bubbles squirting out the sides of the tank.

5. Set up the compressor

Your compressor will need to be configured specifically for the tank being filled, so check all the necessary gauges and gauges and make sure everything looks correct.

Make sure the auto shut off works too.

6. Attach the yoke to the scuba tank

Here only the yoke of the compressor has to be attached to the valve of the tank. Make sure the connection points of both components are free of dirt and debris. You don’t want to suck in bad air when the tank is done.

7. Fill the tank

Turn on the compressor and let it fill the tank. Monitor the gauges and make sure the compressor’s automatic shut-off mechanism is still working. In the event of a malfunction, you need to turn off the compressor yourself.

Do you need an air compressor?

Filling up scuba tanks is a breeze with an air compressor. Of course, if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to get one.

If you run a dive business you should check out our air compressor deals. Owning your own compressor can help you avoid third-party refueling fees and save you a ton of money in the long run.

Do they REALLY work?

By Tom Gaylord

exclusively for PyramydAir.com. Copyright 2006 All rights reserved

The most popular high pressure hand pumps are (left to right) the Swedish Axsor, British Hill and the Swedish FX.

Do you know everything you need to know about the pump?

During my tenure as Technical Director at AirForce Airguns, I repaired all hand pumps that came back and I worked on a small batch of returns before I got there. There weren’t many, so I’ve probably repaired anywhere from a dozen to 20 hand pumps in three years. In the process, I learned a few things about the hand pump that not many people know. For example, I learned that the number one cause of pump failure was not letting it cool down after a five minute session. The only other cause of a pump failure was disassembly by the owner. I have never seen a pump fail for any other reason, nor have I ever seen a bad pump come out of the factory that way.

We sold those

In this article I aim to give you enough information to decide if a hand pump is right for you. I will do that by describing the operation in detail. Hand pumps, which sell for more than $200, are almost as expensive as an airgun, but you can’t shoot them. It’s more like a water heater. When it works, you don’t think about it at all; but when it breaks, everything in your life grinds to a halt. Homeowners or tenants – it doesn’t matter – we all need hot water. And owners of preloaded airguns need high-pressure air.

A scuba tank can do the job very well, and you’re about to take the plunge and buy your first pre-loaded pneumatic (PCP) airgun or pistol. Big! Well – how do you want to fill it? Scuba or hand pump? The choice is yours, but while I was the Technical Director at AirForce Airguns I repaired all the hand pumps that came back and I worked on a small batch of returns before I got there. There weren’t many, so I’ve probably repaired anywhere from a dozen to 20 hand pumps in three years. In the process, I learned a few things about the hand pump that not many people know. For example, I learned that the number one cause of pump failure was not letting it cool down after a five minute session. The only other cause of a pump failure was disassembly by the owner. We sold the former FX pump from Sweden with a filling adapter for all AirForce airguns. In this article I aim to give you enough information to decide if a hand pump is right for you. I will do that by describing the operation in detail. Hand pumps, which sell for more than $200, are almost as expensive as an airgun, but you can’t shoot them. It’s more like a water heater. When it works, you don’t think about it at all; but when it breaks, everything in your life grinds to a halt. Homeowners or tenants – it doesn’t matter – we all need hot water. And owners of preloaded airguns need high-pressure air. A scuba tank can do the job very well, and a carbon fiber tank can do it even better, but there will always be a day when you’re down to 2,200psi and the dive shop is closed. The hand pump never runs out of air. As long as you’re breathing, your pump has everything it needs to fill your airgun.

CAN you really pump to 3,000psi?

But if you don’t mind exercising for five minutes or less, the hand pump may be the best way to fill a PCP. You probably already know what it’s like to pump a pneumatic multi-pump like one

The hand pump is a sturdier version of what’s built into the Blue Streak and goes much higher – 3,000 psi. What makes it more difficult is that the pistols you’ll be filling often don’t drop below around 2,000psi, which is higher than the highest pressure the Blue Streak will produce. They will inflate to around 3,000psi on many PCPs, although not all go that high. So – you start pumping at the point where the air is already at a very high level and you will take it even higher. Because of this, the hand pump requires more power than the pump built into a Blue Streak. Yes you can. But it’s not easy; a certain amount of effort is involved. If you generally avoid physical activity, the hand pump may not be for you. You probably already know what it’s like to pump a pneumatic multiple pump like a Sheridan Blue Streak. Well, they go up to about 1,000 psi, so you’re no stranger to compressed air. The hand pump is a sturdier version of what’s built into the Blue Streak, and it goes much higher – 3,000psi. What makes it more difficult is that the pistols you’ll be filling often don’t drop below around 2,000psi, which is higher than the highest pressure the Blue Streak will produce. They will inflate to around 3,000psi on many PCPs, although not all go that high. So – you start pumping at the point where the air is already at a very high level and you will take it even higher. Because of this, the hand pump requires more power than the pump built into a Blue Streak.

Sheridan Blue Streak Pneumatic Rifle pumps up to 1,000 to 1,200 psi with its built in pump.

Hand pump is a big help

The hand pump is better suited for the task of pumping than the pump built into a multi-pump rifle. It’s made much stronger, and the way it works allows you to use the full weight of your body. This will become more apparent if you can watch the video, but basically it’s because you can rest your full body weight on the pump handle, which greatly increases the amount of force you can muster.

Why is the hand pump the BEST way to fill a PCP?

In a word – control! You can stop at exactly the point in the pressure curve that your airgun likes. With a scuba tank, it’s difficult to stop at exactly the right spot because the pressure builds up so quickly. Once a scuba tank or carbon tank depressurizes, you cannot put more into a gun than is available in the tank. With an 80 cu ft tank at 3000 psi, a fairly standard size for a scuba tank, that’s pretty quick. If this is the case, if you have a large number of fills, you will need to type less than a full fill. Towards the end you only fill in enough air for a handful of shots before it’s time to refill. Not so with the pump, because you can drive to the correct stopping pressure every time.

Connect your gun to the pump

Some pumps have large DIN (a German standard for scuba cylinder valve) threaded holes in their base, while others have smaller holes. How you attach a gun to the pump depends on what type of outlet hole the pump has, as it needs to match the inlet side of your fill adapter.

These hand pumps have various connection holes in their base. The pump on the right has two identical 1/8″ BSPP holes – one for the air hose and the other for a gauge, which has been removed for this photo. The pump on the left has a DIN hole for 10 meters -Air gun adapter.

Ten meter target airguns have detachable pods that attach to a pump like this one. They come with a DIN adapter and require a pump with a DIN hole in the base.

fill adapter

Each airgun brand uses a different type and size of filling adapter. This is where a good dealer like Pyramyd Air will be of great help as they know what kind of adapters their guns need and they can make sure you get what you need. Other airgun dealers may not know or care about this problem and leave it up to the customer to solve it. This is one of the biggest problems with PCP weapons. So make sure you always get the dealer’s guarantee that you’re buying everything you need to stuff your gun. When you buy from Pyramyd Air, you can be sure of that.

Each PCP brand comes with its own proprietary fill adapter. As a buyer, you must ensure that the adapter fits your pump.

Connecting the filling adapter to the gun

Problems with leaks at this point will almost always be the o-rings that are supposed to make that connection airtight. Quick-disconnect type adapters, e.g. Those used by Daystate pistols, for example, have a rubber seal inside the female adapter that replaces an O-ring. Use diver’s silicone grease or another pure silicone grease on these seals to help them make the seal. DO NOT use petroleum products here, as petroleum becomes violently explosive when exposed to high pressure air.

If you are a DIYer, Pyramyd Air sells the Each gun has a different method of connecting to the fill adapter. Quick disconnect adapters used by Daystate pistols have a rubber seal inside the female adapter that takes the place of an O-ring. Use diver’s silicone grease or other pure silicone grease on these gaskets to help seal. If you are a DIYer, Pyramyd Air sells the male and female quick disconnect adapters to convert some guns from one filler type to another. These only work on certain airguns, so contact Pyramyd Air for details.

Pump slowly!

Pump with slow, deliberate movements. Pause at the top and bottom of each stroke to allow air to flow through the tiny holes in the pump. The video shows the correct pumping speed, but if you pause a full second at the top and bottom of each stroke, you’ll do a good job. The pump works both ways, although it feels hardest on the downstroke, so make the upstroke count too. Don’t forget to walk to the end of each stroke, as most of the work is done in the last few inches of the pump rod’s stroke.

The larger the reservoir, the slower it fills up

It can be shocking to see the needle on the pump gauge rise and then fall right back to the same spot. It takes several pump strokes to raise the needle 100 psi. The reason the needle rises and falls is because the air is going from the base of the pump into the reservoir being filled. The larger the reservoir, the more pump strokes it takes for the needle to rise and stay there. A larger reservoir delivers more shots per fill, so it evens out at the end of the shot.

About five minutes per pumping session

Do not pump for more than about five minutes and allow the pump to cool down for about 15 minutes between sessions. I like to bleed the pump (release the pressure with the brass bleed screw in the base of the pump) after each session to dissipate more heat. This will also remove the moisture that collects in the bottom of the pump. Most airguns can be refilled in five minutes or less, so a single session is usually enough.

If the pumping becomes difficult, use your body weight

Up to about 1,500 psi, the pump is so easy you can do it with one hand. After 2,000 psi you will begin to notice increased drag. After about 2,500 psi, the resistance builds up enough that you could use some help. When this happens, simply straighten your arms, straighten your elbows and wrists, and bend your knees, allowing your body weight to carry you through the pump stroke. That’s the secret of using the hand pump. If you weigh less than 140 pounds this may be too difficult, so you might want to consider buying a hand pump.

When the work is done

Do not use the bleed screws on the filling adapters

Although each fill adapter has its own bleed screw, only use this brass screw at the base of the pump. It ensures that the moisture is blown out of the pump when it is vented. The used air and water come out of the small hole on the left side of the base.

special problems

pump maintenance

How long does a hand pump last?

Welcome to a brand new article on airguns. At the end of this article is a short video that shows the main points of the article. Everything you need to know is in the text of the article; The video is a bonus. When your gun is primed to the desired pressure, it is time to prime the pump and disconnect the gun. This will drain the moisture that has accumulated in the bottom of the pump. Most inflation adapters have a loosening screw (Release the high pressure air when inflation is complete. Pumping at altitude is a problem as the air gets thinner the higher you go. This starts to be noticeable above 4,000 feet , and beyond 8,000 feet it is very noticeable. For the same reason, you also have trouble shooting spring-piston rifles at altitude. Another “problem” is the owner, who considers manuals and instructions to be a waste of time. He connects to his airgun and starts pumping like it’s inflating a bike tire. When I was in AirForce, I used to get breathless calls from these guys whenever their pressure went above about 2,300psi. The pump was too hard to operate! Something was definitely wrong! I would then run them through the instructions you have just read.There are over 20 different O-rings inside and most are lubricated with a special grease rt that is not readily available. Dismantling the hand pump almost always leads to irreparable damage. Do not remove any lubricant from the pump shaft. This lube is dark and stains clothes, but it’s not moly-grease as many people have assumed. If you remove it, your pump will soon fail. The only real maintenance you can do to the pump is to prime it properly. As long as you bleed at the base of the pump and not at a refill device, the pump will take care of itself. You can also lubricate the o-rings of your refill devices regularly, but remember that grease attracts and holds dirt, so they need to be protected when lubricated. I own three hand pumps and none of them have ever given me any problems. The eldest is about 11 years old and the youngest is five years old. I use a pump more often than many airgun shooters because of my writing. The modern hand pump is a marvel of technology. It works well when used as intended, but it won’t tolerate a lot of abuse.

United States light machine gun family

This article is about the light machine gun and automatic rifle. For the semi-automatic hunting rifle, see Browning BAR

The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of US automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries in the 20th century. The main variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and developed in 1917 by John Browning for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe to replace the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benét-Mercié Machine was designed weapons that US forces had previously issued.

The BAR was designed to be carried by infantrymen during an attack[1] while supported by the sling over their shoulder, or to be fired from the hip. This is a concept called “walking fire” – believed to be necessary for the individual soldier during trench warfare.[2] The BAR never quite lived up to the War Department’s original hopes, either as a rifle or a machine gun.[3]

The US Army used the BAR in practice as a light machine gun, often fired from a bipod (introduced on models after 1938).[4] A variant of the original M1918 BAR, the Colt Monitor Machine Rifle remains the lightest production automatic firearm chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, although the limited capacity of its standard 20-round magazine tended to hamper its usefulness in this role . [4]

Although the weapon saw some action during World War I, the BAR did not become standard issue in the US Army until 1938, when it was issued to squads as a handheld light machine gun. The BAR saw extensive service in both World War II and the Korean War, and saw limited service in the Vietnam War. The US Army began phasing out the BAR in the 1950s when it was due to be replaced by a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) variant of the M14, and as a result the US Army was without a portable light machine gun until the introduction of the machine gun M60 in 1957.

history [edit]

John M. Browning, the inventor of the rifle, and Frank F. Burton, the Winchester rifle expert, discuss the intricacies of the BAR at the Winchester plant

The US entered World War I with an inadequate, small and outdated range of domestic and foreign machine gun designs, largely due to bureaucratic indecisiveness and the lack of an established military doctrine for their use. When the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, the high command was made aware that it had only 670 M1909 Benét-Merciés and 282 M1904 Maxims and 158 Colt-Browning M1895s available for this machine gun-dominated trench warfare .[5] After much debate, it was finally agreed that a rapid rearmament with native weapons would be required, but until then US troops would be seconded to what the French and British had to offer. The weapons donated by the French were often second-rate or surplus and chambered in 8mm Lebel, further complicating logistics as machine gunners and infantrymen were issued different types of ammunition.

Development [edit]

In 1917, prior to America’s entry into the war, John Browning personally brought two types of automatic weapons to Washington, D.C. for demonstration purposes: a water-cooled machine gun (later adopted as the M1917 Browning machine gun) and a fired automatic rifle, then known as the Browning Machine Rifle, or BMR and both were chambered for the standard US .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm) cartridge. Colt and the Ordnance Department arranged for a public demonstration of both weapons at a location in southern Washington, D.C. known as Congress Heights.[6] There, on February 27, 1917, before a crowd of 300 people (including senior military officials, congressmen, senators, foreign dignitaries and the press) the Army staged a live-fire demonstration that so impressed the assembled crowd that Browning was immediately given an order for the weapon and it was rushed into service (the water-cooled machine gun underwent further testing).[6]

A live fire demonstration by the BAR in front of military and government officials

In May 1917, additional testing for US Army Ordnance officers was conducted at Springfield Armory, and both weapons were unanimously recommended for immediate adoption. To avoid confusion with the M1917 belt-fed machine gun, the BAR became known as the M1918, or Rifle, .30 Caliber, Automatic, Browning, M1918, according to official nomenclature. On July 16, 1917, 12,000 BARs were ordered from Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company, which had secured an exclusive concession to manufacture the BAR under Browning’s patents (Browning’s U.S. Patent 1,293,022 belonged to Colt).[7] However, Colt was already producing at maximum capacity (commissioned to manufacture the Vickers machine gun for the British Army) and requested a delay in production while they expanded their manufacturing capabilities with a new facility in Meriden, Connecticut. Due to the urgent need for the weapon, the application was denied and Winchester Repeating Arms Company (WRAC) was chosen as the prime contractor. Winchester provided valuable assistance in refining the BAR’s final design and correcting the drawings in preparation for mass production. Among the changes made, the ejection pattern was modified (spent cases were pointed to the right side of the weapon instead of straight up).

First M1918 production [ edit ]

2nd Lt. Val Browning with the Browning Automatic Rifle in France

With work on the gun not beginning until February 1918, the schedule at Winchester to get the BAR into full production was so rushed that the first production batch of 1,800 out-of-specification rifles was delivered; [8] many components were found to have no interchangeability between rifles, and production was temporarily halted pending improvements in manufacturing processes to bring the weapon to specifications. The original contract with Winchester was for 25,000 BAR. They were in full production by June 1918, delivering 4,000 units and as of July were making 9,000 units per month.

Colt and Marlin-Rockwell Corp. also began production shortly after Winchester began full production. Marlin-Rockwell, charged with a contract to manufacture rifles for the Belgian government, acquired the Mayo Radiator Co. factory and used it solely to manufacture the BAR. The first unit from this source was delivered on June 11, 1918 and the company’s peak output reached 200 automatic rifles per day. Colt had only produced 9,000 BARs at the time of the armistice due to the high demands of previous orders. These three companies produced a combined daily production of 706 rifles and a total of about 52,000 BARs were supplied by all sources by the end of the war. Between 1918 and 1919 102,174 BARs were jointly manufactured by Colt, Winchester and Marlin-Rockwell.

A US soldier demonstrates a Browning Automatic Rifle in France, November 1918.

In July 1918, the BAR arrived in France and the first unit to receive it was the US Army’s 79th Infantry Division, which put it into action for the first time on September 13, 1918.[9] The weapon was used by 2nd Lt. Val Allen Browning, the inventor’s son, personally brought before the enemy.[9] Although introduced very late in the war, the BAR made an impression disproportionate to its numbers. It was used extensively during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and made a significant impression on the Allies (France alone requested 15,000 automatic rifles to replace its Chauchat machine guns).[9]

US Marines briefly took possession of the BAR. Troops from the First Battalion, Sixth Marines had persuaded the “hounds” of the US Army’s 36th Division to trade their BARs for their chauchats. However, complaints from officers of the 36th led to an order being issued by Marine Lt. Col. Harry Lee on October 9, 1918: All Browning guns and equipment owned by the Marines were to be surrendered.

Design details and accessories [ edit ]

The M1918 is an air-cooled, selective-fire automatic rifle that uses a long-stroke, gas-operated piston rod actuated by propellant gases vented through a vent in the barrel. The bolt is locked by a rising bolt lock. The weapon fires from an open bolt. The spring-loaded cartridge case extractor is included in the breech, and a fixed ejector is installed in the trigger group. The BAR is fired with a firing pin (the bolt carrier serves as the firing pin) and uses a trigger mechanism with a fire selector lever that allows operation in either semi-automatic or fully automatic firing modes. The selector lever is located on the left side of the housing and is also the manual safety (selector lever in position “S” – weapon safe, “F” – fire, “A” – automatic fire). The “safe” setting blocks the trigger. [citation required]

The gun’s barrel is screwed into the receiver and is not quick-detachable. The M1918 is fed two-column 20-round box magazines, although 40-round magazines have also been used in an anti-aircraft role. These were phased out in 1927. The M1918 has a cylindrical flash suppressor fitted to the muzzle end. The original BAR featured a fixed wooden buttstock and a closed iron adjustable sight consisting of a front post and a rear blade sight with range increments of 100–1,500 yards (91–1,372 m).

A heavy automatic rifle designed for support fire, the M1918 was not fitted with a bayonet mount and no bayonet was ever issued, although an experimental bayonet lug was manufactured by Winchester.

Variants and subsequent models[ edit ]

The primary US M1918 variants

The early M1918 BAR

During its long life, the BAR has been continuously developed and received many improvements and modifications. The first major attempt to improve on the M1918 resulted in the M1922 machine gun, which was adopted by the United States Cavalry in 1922 as a squad-level light machine gun. The weapon used a new heavy-profile ribbed barrel, an adjustable spiked bipod (mounted on a pivoting collar on the barrel) with a rear stock-mounted monopod, side-mounted sling swivel and a new rear butt plate attached to the stock mount Sleeve. The handguard was changed, and in 1926 the BAR’s sights were redesigned to accept the heavy 172-grain M1 .30-06 ball ammunition, which then entered service for machine gun use.

An FBI special agent practices with the Colt Monitor (R 80). The Monitor had a separate pistol grip and a long, slotted Cutts recoil compensator.

In 1931, the Colt Arms Co. introduced the Monitor Automatic Machine Rifle (R 80), intended primarily for use by prison guards and law enforcement agencies.[13] Intended for use as a shoulder-fired automatic rifle, the Monitor omitted the bipod and instead featured a separate pistol grip and buttstock attached to a lightweight receiver, and a shortened 18 in (458 mm) barrel with a 4-in (100 mm) cutting compensator.[14] With an empty weight of 7.34 kg (16 lb 3 oz), the monitor had a rate of fire of approximately 500 rpm. Around 125 were produced; 90 were purchased by the FBI.[14] Eleven went to the US Treasury Department in 1934, while the remainder went to various state prisons, banks, security firms, and accredited police departments.[14] Although available for export sale, no specimens appear to have been exported.

In 1932, a heavily abridged version designed for bush warfare was developed by USMC Maj. H. L. Smith and was the subject of an evaluation report by Capt. Merritt A. Edson, was a weapons officer at Quartermaster’s Depot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The barrel was shortened by nine inches (229 mm) at the muzzle and the gas connector and gas cylinder tube were relocated. The modified BAR weighed 6.24 kg (13 lb 12 oz) and was only 880 mm (34.5 in) long overall.[15] Although it proved superior in accuracy to the M1918 when fired in the prone position in automatic mode, and matched in accuracy to the standard M1918 at ranges of 500 to 600 yards (460 to 550 m) from a break, it was less accurate when fired from the shoulder. and had a loud bang combined with a violent muzzle flash.[16] Fitting a Cutts compensator significantly reduced muzzle blast, but this was more than offset by the increase in smoke and dust at the muzzle when fired, reducing operator visibility. It also did not improve weapon control when fired in automatic bursts.[15] Although the report recommended the construction of six of these short-barrelled jungle BARs for further evaluation, no further progress was made on the project.[15]

The M1918A1, with a lightweight spiked bipod and gas cylinder-mounted leg height adjuster and folding steel butt plate, was officially approved on June 24, 1937. The M1918A1 was designed to increase the weapon’s effectiveness and controllability when firing in bursts. Relatively few M1918s were converted to the new M1918A1 standard.

M1918A2

In April 1938 work began on an improved BAR for the US Army. The Army specified the need for a BAR to serve as a light machine gun for squad-level support fire. Early prototypes featured barrel-mounted bipods as well as pistol grip casings and a unique rate-of-fire reduction mechanism purchased from FN Herstal. The rate-reducing mechanism performed well in trials, and the pistol grip casing allowed the operator to fire more comfortably from the prone position. However, in 1939 the Army declared that any modifications to the base BAR could be retrofitted to earlier M1918 guns without loss of part interchangeability. This effectively destroyed the FN designed pistol grip and its proven velocity reduction mechanism for the new M1918 replacement.

Final development of the M1918A2 was approved on June 30, 1938.[19] The FN-designed pistol grip and rate-reduction mechanism with dual automatic rates of fire were shelved in favor of a Springfield Armory-designed rate-reduction mechanism and housed in the buttstock. Springfield Armory’s rate reducer also offered two selectable rates for fully automatic fire only, activated by flipping the selector switch. Additionally, a bipod was fitted with sliding feet at the muzzle end of the barrel, magazine guides were fitted to the front of the trigger guard, the handguard was shortened, a heat shield was added to aid in the cooling process, a small separate stock rest (monopod) was added for attachment to the butt supplied, and the weapon’s role was changed to that of a squad light machine gun. The BAR’s rear sight scales were also modified to accept the newly standardized M2 ball ammunition, with its lighter, flat-based bullet. The M1918A2 walnut buttstock is approximately 1 inch longer than the M1918 BAR buttstock. The barrel of the M1918A2 was also fitted with a new muzzle flash suppressor and fully adjustable iron sights. A barrel-mounted carrying handle was added late in the war.

Due to budget constraints, initial M1918A2 production consisted of conversions of older M1918 BARs (which remained in surplus), as well as a limited number of M1922s and M1918A1s. After the outbreak of war, attempts to ramp up new M1918A2 production were hampered by the discovery that the World War I tooling used to manufacture the M1918 was either worn out or incompatible with modern production machinery. The new production was first at the New England Small Arms Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. included (a total of 188,380 new weapons were made). In 1942, a shortage of black walnut for stocks and grips led to the development of a black plastic buttstock for the BAR.[22] Made from a mix of Bakelite and Resinox and impregnated with shredded cloth, the stocks have been sandblasted to reduce glare.[20] The Firestone Rubber and Latex Products Co. produced the plastic stock for the US Army, which was officially adopted on March 21, 1942.[20] The M1922 machine gun was declared obsolete in 1940, but it was later used in the war by Merrill’s Marauders in Burma as a slightly lighter alternative to the M1918A2.

Production rates increased sharply in 1943 after IBM introduced a process for casting BAR receivers from a new type of forgeable pig iron developed by General Motors’ Saginaw division called ArmaSteel. After successfully passing a series of tests at Springfield Armory, the Chief of Ordnance directed other BAR receiver manufacturers to switch from steel to ArmaSteel castings for this part.[23] During the Korean War, M1918A2 production resumed, this time on behalf of the Royal McBee Typewriter Co., which produced a further 61,000 M1918A2s.

The last US-made variant was produced in 7.62×51mm NATO as the T34 automatic rifle.

Heavy Counter Assault Rifle[ edit ]

Heavy Counter Assault Rifle HCAR

In 2006, Ohio Ordnance Works worked on modernizing the BAR for the 21st century, dubbed the Heavy Counter Assault Rifle (HCAR).

The Ohio Ordnance Works HCAR includes enhancements such as an AR-style buffer tube with adjustable stock, an optional shortened 16″ barrel with adjustable gas regulator, handguard and receiver Picatinny rails, and a silencer-compatible flash hider.[28] It also addresses the original BAR’s weight issue by reducing material by machining stock from the receiver and adding a dimpled barrel that removes 8 pounds in total from the magazine.

International and commercial models[ edit ]

Export models[edit]

The BAR also found a ready market overseas and was widely exported in various forms. In 1919, the Colt company developed and produced a commercial variant called the Automatic Machine Rifle Model 1919 (company designation: Model U), which compared to the M1918 has a different recoil mechanism (it installs in the stock rather than the gas tube) and lacks a flash hider. Later, for a short time, the Model 1924 rifle was offered with a pistol grip and redesigned handguard. These Colt automatic rifles were available in a range of calibers including .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm), 7.65×53mm Belgian Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 6.5×55mm, 7 .92×57mm Mauser and .303 British (7.7×56mmR).[30] All 6.5×55mm Colt automatic rifles appear to have been sold directly to FN.[30]

An improved version of the Model 1924, the Model 1925 (R75), has achieved the greatest popularity in export sales. It is based on the Model 1924 but uses a heavy, ribbed barrel, lightweight bipod, and is equipped with dust covers in the magazine well and ejection port (some of these features have been patented: US Patents #1548709 and #1533968). The Model 1925 was produced in a variety of calibers including the .30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm), 7.65×53mm Belgian Mauser, 7×57mm Mauser, 7.92×57mm Mauser and .303 British (7.7×56mmR) (No Colt-made Model 1925 rifles in 6.5×55mm appear to have been sold).[30] A smaller variant of the Model 1925 (R75) was the R75A quick-barrel light machine gun (produced in small quantities in 1942 for the Dutch Army). Between 1921 and 1928, FN Herstal imported over 800 Colt-made examples of Colt machine guns for sale abroad.

All of Colt’s automatic machine guns, including the Colt Monitor, were available for export sale. After 1929, the Model 1925 and the Colt Monitor were available for export sales in Colt’s exclusive sales territories under its agreement with FN.[14] These colt areas included North America, Central America, the West Indies, South America, Great Britain, Russia, Turkey, Siam (Thailand), India and Australia.[14]

Belgium[ edit ]

FN Mle D with quick-change barrel

A variant known as the FN Mle 1930 was developed by FN Herstal in 7.65×53mm Belgian Mauser and adopted by the Belgian Army. The Mle 1930 is essentially a licensed copy of the Colt Automatic Machine Rifle, Model 1925 (R 75).[31] The Mle 1930 has a different gas valve and mechanical velocity-reducing fire control mechanism designed by Dieudonné Saive, located in the trigger guard pistol grip housing. Some of these FN rate reduction mechanisms and pistol grip casings were later purchased by Springfield Armory for evaluation and possible adoption as a replacement for the M1918. The weapon also had a folding shoulder plate and was adapted for use on a tripod mount. In 1932 Belgium adopted a new version of the FN Mle 1930, assigned the service designation FN Mle D (D – demountable or “removable”), which had a quick-change barrel, a shoulder stock and a simplified method of dismounting for easier cleaning and maintenance.[32] The Mle D continued to be produced after World War II in versions chambered for .30-06 Springfield (for Belgian service) and 7.92×57mm Mauser ammunition (for Egyptian service). The last variant in Belgian service was the DA1 model, chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge and fed from the 20-round magazines for the FN FAL battle rifle.

Poland[ edit ]

Production of the BAR in Belgium began only after an agreement was signed with Poland (on December 10, 1927) for the procurement of 10,000 wz. 1928 Light machine guns chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser, similar to the R75 variant but specifically designed to meet the needs of the Polish Army. Changes to the base design include a pistol grip, a different type of bipod, an open V-shaped front sight, and a slightly longer barrel. Subsequent rifles were assembled in Poland under license from the State Rifle Factory (Państwowa Fabryka Karabinów) in Warsaw. The wZ. In 1928 it entered service with the Polish Army in 1927 under the official name 7.92 mm rkm Browning wz. 1928 and was – until the outbreak of World War II – the primary light support weapon of Polish infantry and cavalry formations (in 1939 Poland had a total of approximately 20,000 wz. 1928 rifles in service). Additional detail changes were introduced to the production line; These included replacing the iron sights with a smaller version and reshaping the butt into a fishtail.

In the mid-1930s, Polish small arms designer Wawrzyniec Lewandowski was tasked with developing a flexible aircraft-mounted machine gun based on the Browning wz.1928. This resulted in the wz. 1937. Changes included increasing the gun’s rate of fire to 1,100 rounds/min, eliminating the buttstock, adding a spade-like grip to the rear of the receiver, moving the main drive spring under the barrel, and most importantly, changing the feed system. With the standard 20-round box magazine, sustained fire was virtually impossible, so a new feeding mechanism was developed and added to the receiver as a module. It incorporates a spring-loaded, bolt-actuated lever that feeds a cartridge from a 91-round pan magazine above the receiver, forcing the cartridge into the feed path during unlocking. The machine gun was adopted in 1937 and ordered by the Polish Air Force as the karabin maszynowy observatora wz. 1937 (“Observer Machine Gun Model 1937”). Eventually, 339 machine guns were acquired and used as armament in the PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber and the LWS-3 Mewa reconnaissance aircraft.

Sweden[ edit ]

Swedish Kg m/21 model that was almost identical to the M1919 configuration

Model Kg m/37 with quick detachable barrel

In 1920, the Belgian firearms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN) acquired the distribution and production rights for the BAR series of firearms in Europe from Colt. The first BAR model sold by FN was the Kg m/21 (Kg – Kulsprutegevär or “machine gun gun”) chambered for the 6.5×55mm m/94 cartridge. The m/21 is a variant of the Model 1919 designed to Swedish specifications and originally manufactured by Colt’s and later under license by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna. Compared to the Model 1919, apart from the different caliber, the Swedish gun has a spiked bipod and dust covers for ejection. The m/21, along with the water-cooled, belt-fed Ksp m/1914 medium machine gun (Swedish adaptation of the Austrian M07/12) became one of Sweden’s main support weapons during the interwar years. Dissatisfied with the m/21’s quickly overheating fixed barrel, Carl Gustaf set about developing a new quick-release barrel mechanism that would connect the externally grooved chamber to a series of rotating flanges in the receiver, operated by a locking lever. The barrel also received cooling fins along its entire length. These improvements were incorporated into the fm/1935 prototype, which was positively evaluated during trials in 1935. The final version was the Kg m/37, accepted for service in 1937, which uses a smooth, non-ribbed barrel. Numerous m/21 guns were retrofitted with the screw-on receiver extension and quick-change barrel and were redesignated the Kg m/21-37. [citation needed] The m/37 remained in service until replaced by the FN MAG, but was still in second-line service until 1980. Carl Gustaf also developed a belt-fed prototype; however, it was never adopted. [citation required]

China [ edit ]

The Chinese Nationalist Army used the FN M1930 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. 29,550 were bought from Belgium between 1933 and 1939. The Chinese BAR was chambered for the German 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, the National Revolutionary Army’s standard rifle cartridge. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma was equipped with American BARs. Small amounts of American equipment, including the BAR, made their way to mainland China towards the end of the war.

Civil use[edit]

Colt monitor[ edit ]

With the end of World War I hostilities, Colt Arms Co. obtained the Browning patents for manufacturing the BAR, which had been withheld from issue during the war.[36] This allowed Colt to make the BAR available for commercial sale, including civilian owners. The Colt Automatic Machine Rifle Model 1919, originally made up of overruns from the M1918 military production contract, was the first of several commercial Colt BARs that would follow. However, the gun’s high price and its limited usefulness to most civilian owners resulted in few sales. Ad Topperwien, a famous marksman of the early 1920’s, bought one of the first Colt-produced BARs to conduct aerial target shooting demonstrations.[37] Occasional BAR sales were made to civilian owners through dealers such as the Ott-Heiskell Hardware Co.[38] In 1931 the new Colt Monitor was made available to civilians during the Great Depression for $300 each, including a spares kit, sling, cleaning supplies and six magazines, but Colt records indicate no domestic sales to individuals were made.[39]

Post National Firearms Act[edit]

After the passage of the National Firearms Act 1934, civilian ownership of BAR was further restricted. Importation of machine guns for civilian transfer to the US was banned in 1968 and production of machine guns in the US for civilian transfer was banned in 1986. However, there are some civilian-owned transferable BAR models in the United States that are occasionally offered for sale to qualified buyers. citation required]

21st Century [ edit ]

Einige Unternehmen stellen halbautomatische Kopien für den Verkauf an Zivilisten her, wie z. B. Ohio Ordnance Works, Inc. in Chardon, Ohio. OOW produziert gelegentlich eine zeitgemäße halbautomatische Variante des M1918 und eine stark modifizierte, leichtere Version namens HCAR, deren Besitz für Zivilisten ohne FFL (Federal Firearms License) legal ist.

Kriminelle und Strafverfolgungszwecke [ bearbeiten ]

Obwohl die Colt-Monitor-Version des BAR die zivilen US-Käufer mitten in der Depression nicht interessierte,[41] war die Unterwelt viel interessierter: 1936 betrug der Preis eines Schwarzmarkt-Colt-Monitors 5.000 US-Dollar, wobei militärische BARs im Umlauf waren für etwas weniger.[41] Der M1918 der Armee war ein Favorit des Gangsters Clyde Barrow, der seinen durch regelmäßige Raubüberfälle auf die Waffenkammern der Nationalgarde der Armee im Mittleren Westen erlangte. Barrow verwendete gerne panzerbrechende (AP) .30-06-Munition, die er aus Waffenkammern erhielt, und modifizierte seine BARs häufig, um sie seinen eigenen Bedürfnissen anzupassen. Barrow brachte seiner Freundin Bonnie Parker bei, den M1918 abzufeuern, und sie war allen Berichten zufolge eine ausgezeichnete BAR-Betreiberin. Sie benutzte ein vollautomatisches M1918, um ahnungslose Gesetzeshüter festzuhalten, nachdem sie die Bande in einem Haus in Joplin, Missouri, konfrontiert hatten.[42] Ein Streifenpolizist aus Missouri, der am Tatort war und gezwungen war, hinter einer großen Eiche Deckung zu suchen, nachdem Bonnie Parker sich ihm geöffnet hatte, sagte später: „Diese kleine rothaarige Frau hat mein Gesicht mit Splittern auf der anderen Seite dieses Baums gefüllt dieser verdammten Kanonen”.[42]

Als der Einsatz automatischer Waffen durch kriminelle Elemente in den USA immer weiter verbreitet wurde, befahl FBI-Direktor J. Edgar Hoover der Behörde, regelmäßige Schulungen mit automatischen Schulterwaffen, einschließlich der Thompson-Maschinenpistole und der BAR, zu erwerben und zu beginnen. Für seine BARs wandte sich das FBI an Colt, das 90 automatische Colt Monitor-Maschinengewehre an die Agentur verkaufte.[14] Einige der Monitore des FBI wurden an Außenstellen verteilt, um sie bei Bedarf als Unterstützungswaffen für eine bestimmte Operation zu verwenden, während der Rest zu Schulungszwecken an der FBI-Akademie in Quantico, Virginia, aufbewahrt wurde.[43] Colt verkaufte 1934 weitere 11 Colt Monitors an das US-Finanzministerium, während 24 Waffen an Staatsgefängnisse, Banken, Sicherheitsunternehmen und akkreditierte Polizeibehörden von Städten, Kreisen und Bundesstaaten verkauft wurden.[14] Mindestens ein Mitglied des Hinterhaltsteams, das Bonnie und Clyde tötete, war mit einem Colt Monitor bewaffnet.

Obwohl manchmal behauptet wurde, dass die M1918 oder M1918A2 BAR von Mitgliedern der Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) bei einer Schießerei mit der Polizei von Los Angeles am 17. Mai 1974 verwendet wurde, benutzte kein SLA-Mitglied jemals eine solche Waffe. Die Verwirrung entstand aus der Entscheidung von Browning in den 1970er Jahren, sein halbautomatisches Jagdgewehr auch als Browning BAR zu bezeichnen. Die SLA baute ein .30-06 Browning BAR Jagdgewehr und ein .243 Remington Modell 742 auf automatisches Feuer um, indem sie den Sear ablegte, und es waren diese Waffen, die bei der Schießerei verwendet wurden.

Im US-Militärdienst [Bearbeiten]

Weltkrieg [Bearbeiten]

Zu Beginn sollte das M1918 als Schultergewehr verwendet werden, das sowohl halbautomatisch als auch vollautomatisch feuern kann. Es wurde erstmals im September 1918 an die American Expeditionary Forces ausgegeben und basierte auf dem Konzept des “Walking Fire”, einer seit 1916 verwendeten französischen Praxis, für die die CSRG 1915 (Chauchat) verwendet worden war, um vorrückende Schützengruppen in Richtung der feindlichen Schützengräben zu begleiten , da normale Maschinengewehre zu umständlich waren, um sich während eines Angriffs mit den Truppen zu bewegen.

In addition to shoulder-fired operation, BAR gunners were issued a belt with magazine pouches for the BAR and sidearm along with a “cup” to support the stock of the rifle when held at the hip. In theory, this allowed the soldier to lay suppressive fire while walking forward, keeping the enemy’s head down, a practice known as “marching fire”. The idea would resurface in the submachine gun and ultimately the assault rifle. It is not known if any of the belt-cup devices actually saw combat use.[citation needed]

The BAR only saw minor action in France during World War I, being brought into action only as late as September 1918, less than three months before Armistice Day. The intentional delay had been inspired by General Pershing, the AEF commander, in order not to let the BAR fall into enemy hands too early. Fifty-two thousand BARs were available by the end of the war in November.

Interwar use [ edit ]

A US Army soldier trains with a BAR

During the interwar years, as the U.S. Army was reduced significantly in size, the BAR remained in the smaller extant Regular Army and by the 1930s, was also issued to state national guard units to be maintained at their armories. Given the part-time nature, smaller manning and lesser security of these national guard armories when compared to regular army installations, some BARs were subject to plunder by domestic civilian criminal elements.[46]

The BAR was also standard issue to US naval landing forces during the period.[47] The weapon was a standard item in US warship armories, and each BAR was accompanied by a spare barrel.[47] Large capital ships often had over 200 BARs on board,[47] with many of the US Navy BARs remaining in service well into the 1960s.[47]

The BAR also saw action with US Marine Corps units participating in the Haitian and Nicaraguan interventions, as well as with US Navy shipboard personnel in the course of patrol and gunboat duty along the Yangtze River in China.[48] The First Marine Brigade stationed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, noted that training a man to use the BAR proficiently took a full two days of range practice and instruction, compared to half a day with the .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun.[48]

Prior to World War II both the US Army and Marine Corps had a separate BAR squad together with three rifle squads in the “square” organisation of the time. When converting to the “triangular” organisation the separate BAR squad was eliminated with BARs going to each rifle squad.[citation needed]

World War II [ edit ]

A US Marine Corps infantryman firing a BAR at enemy positions

When the threat of a new war arose, Ordnance belatedly realized that it had no portable, squad light machine gun, and attempted to convert the M1918 BAR to that role with the adoption of the M1918A2 by the US Army on 30 June 1938.[49] The BAR was issued as the sole automatic fire support for a twelve-man squad,[50] and all men were trained at the basic level how to operate and fire the weapon in case the designated operators were killed or wounded. At the start of the war, infantry companies designated three-man BAR teams, a gunner, an assistant gunner, and an ammunition bearer who carried additional magazines for the gun. By 1944, some units were using one-man BAR teams, with the other riflemen in the squad detailed to carry additional magazines or bandoliers of .30 ammunition.[51] Contrary to certain claims, the BAR was issued to soldiers of various heights.[52]

As originally conceived, US Army tactical doctrine called for one M1918A2 per squad, using several men to support and carry ammunition for the gun.[50] Fire and movement tactics centered on the M1 riflemen in the squad, while the BAR man was detailed to support the riflemen in the attack and provide mobility to the riflemen with a base of fire.[50] This doctrine received a setback early in the war after US ground forces encountered German troops, well-armed with automatic weapons, including fast-firing, portable machine guns.[53] In some cases, particularly in the attack, every fourth German infantryman was equipped with an automatic weapon, either a submachine gun or a full-power machine gun.[53]

Elements of the 6th Marine Division at Okinawa with the lead marine carrying a BAR

In an attempt to overcome the BAR’s limited continuous-fire capability, US Army divisions increasingly began to specify two BAR fire teams per squad, following the practice of the US Marine Corps. One team would typically provide covering fire until a magazine was empty, whereupon the second team would open fire, thus allowing the first team to reload. In the Pacific, the BAR was often employed at the point or tail of a patrol or infantry column, where its firepower could help break contact on a jungle trail in the event of an ambush.[54] After combat experience showed the benefits of maximizing portable automatic firepower in squad-size formations, the US Marine Corps began to increase the number of BARs in its combat divisions, from 513 per division in 1943 to 867 per division in 1945.[55] A thirteen-man squad was developed, consisting of 3 four-man fire teams, with one BAR per fire team, or three BARs per squad. Instead of supporting the M1 riflemen in the attack, Marine tactical doctrine was focused around the BAR, with riflemen supporting and protecting the BAR gunner.[55]

Despite the improvements in the M1918A2, the BAR remained a difficult weapon to master with its open bolt and strong recoil spring, requiring additional range practice and training to hit targets accurately without flinching.[56] As a squad light machine gun, the BAR’s effectiveness was mixed, since its thin, non-quick-change barrel and small magazine capacity greatly limited its firepower in comparison to genuine light machine guns such as the British Bren and the Japanese Type 96. The weapon’s rate-reducer mechanism, a delicately balanced spring-and-weight system described by one ordnance sergeant as a “Rube Goldberg device”, came in for much criticism, often causing malfunctions when not regularly cleaned.[57] The bipod and buttstock rest (monopod), which contributed so much to the M1918A2’s accuracy when firing prone on the rifle range, proved far less valuable under actual field combat conditions.[54] The stock rest was dropped from production in 1942, while the M1918A2’s bipod and flash hider were often discarded by individual soldiers and marines to save weight and improve portability, particularly in the Pacific Theater of war.[57] With these modifications, the BAR effectively reverted to its original role as a portable, shoulder-fired automatic rifle.[57]

Due to production demands, war priorities, subcontractor issues, and material shortages,[58] demand for the M1918A2 frequently exceeded supply, and as late as 1945 some Army units were sent into combat still carrying older, unmodified M1918 weapons.[59]

After a period of service, ordnance personnel began to receive BARs with inoperable or malfunctioning recoil buffer mechanisms. This was eventually traced to the soldier’s common practice of cleaning the BAR in a vertical position with the butt of the weapon on the ground, allowing cleaning fluid and burned powder to collect in the recoil buffer mechanism.[57] Additionally, unlike the M1 rifle, the BAR’s gas cylinder was never changed to stainless steel. Consequently, the gas cylinder frequently rusted solid from the use of corrosive-primered M2 service ammunition in a humid environment when not stripped and cleaned on a daily basis.[57] While not without design flaws (a thin-diameter, fixed barrel that quickly overheated, limited magazine capacity, complex field-strip/cleaning procedure, unreliable recoil buffer mechanism, a gas cylinder assembly made of corrosion-prone metals, and many small internal parts), the BAR proved rugged and reliable enough when regularly field-stripped and cleaned.

During World War II, the BAR saw extensive service, both official and unofficial, with many branches of service. One of the BAR’s most unusual uses was as a defensive aircraft weapon. In 1944, Captain Wally A. Gayda, of the USAAF Air Transport Command, reportedly used a BAR to return fire against a Japanese Army Nakajima fighter that had attacked his C-46 cargo plane over the Hump in Burma. Gayda shoved the rifle out his forward cabin window, emptying the magazine and apparently killing the Japanese pilot.[60][61]

Korean War [ edit ]

Korean War, 1951: A US soldier behind an M4A3 76(w) HVSS Sherman tank, with an M1918A2

The BAR continued in service in the Korean War. The last military contract for the manufacture of the M1918A2 was awarded to the Royal Typewriter Co. of Hartford, Connecticut, which manufactured a total of 61,000 M1918A2s during the conflict, using ArmaSteel cast receivers and trigger housings.[24] In his study of infantry weapons in Korea, historian S.L.A. Marshall interviewed hundreds of officers and men in after-action reports on the effectiveness of various U.S. small arms in the conflict.[62] General Marshall’s report noted that an overwhelming majority of respondents praised the BAR and the utility of automatic fire delivered by a lightweight, portable small arm in both day and night engagements.[63] In his autobiography Colonel David Hackworth praised the BAR as ‘the best weapon of the Korean War’.[64]

A typical BAR gunner of the Korean War carried the twelve-magazine belt and combat suspenders, with three or four extra magazines in pockets.[65] Extra canteens, .45 pistol, grenades, and a flak vest added still more weight.[65] As in World War II, many BAR gunners disposed of the heavy bipod and other accoutrements of the M1918A2, but unlike the prior conflict the flash hider was always retained because of its utility in night fighting.[66]

The large amounts of ammunition expended by BAR teams in Korea placed additional demands on the assistant gunner to stay in close contact with the BAR at all times, particularly on patrols.[67] While the BAR magazines themselves always seemed to be in short supply, Gen. Marshall reported that “riflemen in the squad were markedly willing to carry extra ammunition for the BAR man”.[68]

In combat, the M1918A2 frequently decided the outcome of determined attacks by North Korean and Chinese communist forces. Communist tactical doctrine centered on the mortar and machine gun, with attacks designed to envelop and cut off United Nations forces from supply and reinforcement. Communist machine gun teams were the best-trained men in any given North Korean or Chinese infantry unit, skilled at placing their heavily camouflaged and protected weapons as close to UN forces as possible.[69] Once concealed, they often surprised UN forces by opening fire at very short ranges, covering any exposed ground with a hail of accurately sighted machine gun fire.[69] Under these conditions it was frequently impossible for US machine gun crews to move up their Browning M1919A4 and M1919A6 guns in response without taking heavy casualties; when they were able to do so, their position was carefully noted by the enemy, who would frequently kill the exposed gun crews with mortar or machine gun fire while they were still emplacing their guns.[69] The BAR gunner, who could stealthily approach the enemy gun position alone (and prone if need be), proved invaluable in this type of combat.[69]

During the height of combat, the BAR gunner was often used as the ‘fire brigade’ weapon, helping to bolster weak areas of the perimeter under heavy pressure by communist forces. In defense, it was often used to strengthen the firepower of a forward outpost.[69] Another role for the BAR was to deter or eliminate enemy sniper fire. In the absence of a trained sniper, the BAR proved more effective than the random response of five or six M1 riflemen.[69]

Compared to World War II, US infantry forces saw a huge increase in the number of night engagements. The added firepower of the BAR rifleman and his ability to redeploy to ‘hot spots’ around the unit perimeter proved indispensable in deterring night infiltration by skirmishers as well as repelling large-scale night infantry assaults.[70]

While new-production M1918A2 guns were almost universally praised for faultless performance in combat, a number of malfunctions in combat were reported with armory-reconditioned M1918A2s, particularly weapons that had been reconditioned by Ordnance in Japan, which did not replace operating (recoil) springs as a requirement of the reconditioning program.[55] After decades of complaints, ordnance addressed the problem of maintaining the problematic gas piston on the BAR by issuing disposable nylon gas valves.[67] When the nylon valve became caked over with carbon, it could be discarded and replaced with a fresh unit, eliminating the tedious task of cleaning and polishing the valve with wire brush and GI solvent (frequently in short supply to line units).[67]

A South Vietnamese soldier using a BAR LMG

Vietnam War [ edit ]

The M1918A2 was used in the early stages of the Vietnam War, when the US delivered a quantity of “obsolete”, second-line small arms[71] to the South Vietnamese Army and associated allies, including the Montagnard hill tribespeople of South Vietnam. US Special Forces advisors frequently chose the BAR over currently available infantry weapons. As one Special Forces sergeant declared, “Many times since my three tours of duty in Vietnam I have thanked God for … having a BAR that actually worked, as opposed to the jamming M16 … We had a lot of Viet Cong infiltrators in all our [Special Forces] camps, who would steal weapons every chance they got. Needless to say, the most popular weapon to steal was the venerable old BAR.”[71]

Post-Vietnam use [ edit ]

Quantities of the BAR remained in use by the Army National Guard up until the mid-1970s. Many recipients of US foreign aid adopted the BAR and used it into the 1980s and 1990s.[citation needed]

Users [ edit ]

Polish resistance fighters during the Warsaw Uprising , 1944. The wz. 28 seen here is likely a survivor of the 1939 September Campaign

BAR in use by Vietnamese communist guerrillas, 1966

British Home Guard in 1941. The man on the end of the front rank is carrying a BAR.

See also[edit]

Notes [edit]

We have been involved in airgun shooting for about 30 years and in that time different airguns have come and gone, different shooting disciplines, styles, scopes etc etc. One thing that has always gone on in the background and sometimes the ‘pellet argument’ comes up in the Fore what size of pellets to use in airguns and air pistols and which is “best”. I have put together a few of my own thoughts on this topic and combined them with some facts for you. This is in no way intended as a start of an argument or a definitive explanation, but rather as a guide for beginners.

The .177 Pellet, Light and Fast Flying The .177 enjoys a flat trajectory over longer ranges and is therefore more forgiving of the Scope Zero at more ranges than its heavier counterparts. The .177 is the first choice of sport shooters around the world because of these factors and its inherent accuracy. All of these things that have been said and duly noted in favor of this little cartridge speak against a few factors. The fact that it is a light cartridge means that it can be affected over long distances by external factors, e.g. B. Wind. Also, this fast-moving light cartridge can create a phenomenon known as “overkill,” meaning that its high velocity and small circumference make it possible to fly cleanly through a target, putting everything in the background at risk behind. However, a Sagittarius should always aim for a safe background under all circumstances.

The .22 bullet is heavier and has a larger circumference than the lighter .177. The .22 offers a harder alternative. However, this is his only outstanding merit in my book. Given a .22’s very pronounced “lobed” trajectory, the impact this has on climb and fall over distances compared to your scope zero, and the slower velocity, I think their only saving grace for extra-resilient use Quarry like rats is short to medium range, many will argue that it is not, and a .22 is useful at medium to long range too. Personally I find the .177 to be far more useful in these areas, after all when it comes to pellet choice the top guys including myself all go for the more accurate .177. Certainly when shooting live wild this should be your primary concern, nobody wants to hurt and cause unnecessary suffering. Most will argue that the shock impact of a .22 is more useful for stopping a harder quarry, I won’t argue against that, but the wound track of a .177 causes just as much, if not more, soft tissue and bone destruction on its way through and As I mentioned before, we should all take care of a safe background when shooting, so overkill shouldn’t be a problem.

This probably raises a question in your mind, why does the .177 fly faster than a .22 but give the same power reading? This is due to the fact that measuring the power of an airgun measures the energy it transmits on impact and in the UK this must be under 12ft lbs at the muzzle for an airgun available without a gun certificate. For a .177 to achieve this, it must fly faster to compensate for its lighter weight compared to the heavier calibers. Therefore .177, .20, .22 and .25 all have different velocities to meet the lower limit of 12 ft lb according to their weight, where the exact calculation is

FPS x FPS x GRN

Divided by,

450240

= ft lbs

To explain, if you chronicle your rifle with an 8.4 gram Luftwaffe field pellet and it’s moving at 790 feet per second from the muzzle, your total would be:

790x790x8.4

Divided by,

450240

= 11.64 ftlbs

This weight bullet makes your rifle completely legal to own and use in the UK. However, if we were now using Chrono a .22, the equation would look more like this: Using a 14.5 gram air force field, the rifle fires at 600 feet per second.

600x600x14.5

Divided by,

450240

= 11.59 ftlbs

As you can see there is a speed difference of almost 200 feet per second between these two pellets due to the difference in weight and the speed required to stay within the 12 ft lbs.

A few if not all of you will probably have noticed that in the previous paragraphs I mentioned two other pellet sizes, these are .20 and .25, I will start with the .20. Ranging in size between the .177 and the .22 I would consider this caliber very useful and it has puzzled me for years why it has not become more popular. It’s a great compromise between the flatter and faster flight of the .177 and the heavier impact weight of the .22, but unfortunately there aren’t many guns this size and I find that really disappointing! Perhaps shooters should try to make this a more popular alternative by asking gun manufacturers to make this size more readily available, the more of us ask the more likely they are to supply it. Moving on to the .25, unfortunately I can’t really argue why anyone shooting a rifle under 12ftlb would want one, but if you’re looking for something that can hit really hard up close then this would probably be your boat float but forget it for any other purpose as it has a trajectory more akin to a mortar than a rifle at this power level.

I hope everyone reading this has gained a more solid understanding of the differences between the pellet sizes available and their properties, but I think it all boils down to “horses for courses” which some of you may have sworn by for years and used to shooting the .22 and not being swayed by evidence or arguments put forward as to a more effective alternative for what you’re using it for, alternatively there may be some out there that dodged ricochets from the .177 are while shooting rats in concrete buildings, not a practice I would recommend or endorse, but it happens.

When it comes to choosing your airgun, ask yourself one question, “What am I going to use it for primarily?” From there, make an informed decision, either based on advice from experienced shooters, personally acquired knowledge, but most importantly, ask yourself Be sure to seek advice Receiving is impartial and based on YOUR needs. If you are going to use a rifle heavily in more than one area then I would urge you to consider more than an airgun, after all you wouldn’t use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail, each virtue or tool to its own or if you want “more appropriate use”.

FYI, a .25 inch under 12 ft lbs based on a 24g pellet weight provides a fairly lethargic flight speed of just 465 feet per second (11.51 ft lbs) slightly above the speed offered by a Co2 pistol in .177! !!

Proof of certification required for all NITROX fills – NITROX and O2 fills take up to 24 hours (subject to Mix & Blender availability)

(Recent “Oxygen Clean” Visual & Hydro required for ALL tanks)

When we say “Best prices and fastest processing”, we mean it.

Service that meets the highest standards in the diving industry

Your scuba tanks must be subjected to a visual inspection, “VIP”, annually. You need a HYDRO test every 5 years.

VIPs are conducted by our trained and certified Aquatic World service personnel. Your HYDRO will be performed on-site by the same company that services our local fire departments and hospitals. Quality at every turn.

VIPs are scheduled for 1 week in the low season from October to April, they usually last less than a week. During the main diving season from May to September the service can take up to 2 weeks. Depending on the volume of tanks that require maintenance. When they’re done, you’ll get the call and an email.

The HYDROSTATIC TEST is expected to take 3 weeks due to the nature of what needs to be done with them. But if they finish earlier, you’ll get the call.

When do I bring my scuba tanks?

Bring them along with your regulator and other scuba equipment during the off-season – November to April. This ensures you don’t miss out on anything from the short season we have here in New York.

Filling with standard air usually takes about 1 hour for up to 3 tanks. Sometimes we have a large number of tanks to fill. If that happens, we try to get them out the same day. You have them the next morning.

What about NITROX tanks –

A day of mixing and filling

Custom O2% blends

Standard tank conversion to Nitrox

Oxygen cleaning and valve service for your Nitrox tank

New tanks are available for purchase Nitrox ready

If it’s NITROX, we’ve got it here at Aquatic World

A tank is not made to last forever

As your tank ages, the metal begins to fatigue and the big question is, “Can I get a HYDRO for my 25-30 year old tank?” The answer is yes! We will have your tank tested for you, both HYDRO and VIP.

Unless they’re Luxfer’s 6351-T6 aluminum alloy cylinders, dated before 1990, even with the post-production 3AL stamp. We are unable to HYDRO this particular tank.

We know this is a hot topic, but we want your gear to be safe to fill and safe to dive. Think about it for a moment…sometimes replacing older gear is just good dive planning.

If you have any questions about your scuba tank, call us at 315.458.1955 or stop by the store.

Airgun that uses metallic bullets called BBs

For airguns that fire non-spherical pellets, see Pellet pistol. For airguns that fire 6mm plastic bullets, see Airsoft Gun

“Bee-bee” redirects here. For other uses, see Beebee

2 shells and BBs BB pistol with CO shells and BBs

A BB gun is a type of airgun designed to fire metallic spherical projectiles called BBs (not to be confused with similar-looking bearing balls) that are roughly the same size as BB lead birdshot used in shotguns (0.180 inch or 4.6 mm diameter). Modern BB pistols usually have a smoothbore barrel of 4.5 mm (0.177 in) caliber and use 4.3–4.4 mm (0.171–0.173 in) diameter steel balls weighing 0, 33-0.35g (5.1-5.4g). usually zinc plated or copper plated for corrosion resistance. Some manufacturers still make the slightly larger traditional lead bullets, weighing around 0.48–0.50 g (7.4–7.7 gr), generally intended for use in rifle barrels (since lead has better malleability and wears out the guns less).

The term “BB gun” is often incorrectly used to describe airsoft guns that fire plastic pellets (often incorrectly referred to as “BBs”) that are larger (typically 6mm or 0.24 inch in diameter) but much are less dense than metal BBs ,[1] and have significantly lower ballistic performance. The term is also sometimes misused to describe a pellet gun that fires diabolo-shaped (non-spherical) lead projectiles with greater power and velocity. Although some BB guns can also fire pellets, the reverse situation is not true: steel BB bullets have greater stiffness and are not intended to be fired from pellet guns, which usually have rifled barrels and therefore can get stuck ( similar to a squib charge). firearms) and result in damage or mechanical failure of the BB gun.

It can be shot with a CO2 canister and with plastic or medal BBS. Firearms are dangerous and can lead to violence, but BB guns are a safer alternative

history [edit]

The term BB comes from the nomenclature of the size of lead shot used in a smoothbore shotgun. “BB” size shots were usually .180 in (4.6 mm), but tended to vary significantly in size due to loose tolerances in shotgun shells. The largest sized buckshot that is commonly used was called a 00 or double ought and was used for hunting deer and hence referred to as a buckshot, while the smaller BB sized buckshot was typically used for shooting small/medium sized game birds and therefore was a birdshot.

In 1886, the Markham Air Rifle Company of Plymouth, Michigan produced the first wood-construction, spring-piston airgun as a training weapon for youth, and used the BB-sized birdshot as the ammunition of choice. Two years later, neighboring Plymouth Air Rifle Company (later renamed Daisy Manufacturing Company in 1895) introduced the first all-metal airgun that also fired BB shots – the Daisy BB Gun, which became a very popular term due to its successful marketing. Around 1900 Daisy changed the BB size bore diameter to 4.4 mm (.175 in) and began marketing precision machined lead shot specifically for their BB guns. They called these “round shots” but the name BB was already well established and most users continued to call their guns BB guns and the projectiles as BB shots or just BBs.

Subsequently, the term BB became generic and is loosely used for all small spherical projectiles of various calibers and materials. These include bearing balls commonly used by anti-personnel mines, .177 caliber lead/steel balls used by airguns, round plastic balls (like the pellets used by airsoft guns), small marbles and many others. It has become ubiquitous, any steel ball, such. B. a BB, to be referred to as “ball bearings”. However, BBs should not be confused with a ball bearing, which is a mechanical component that uses small internal rolling balls to reduce friction between moving parts of machinery.

operation [edit]

BB pistols can use all operating mechanisms used for airguns. However, due to the projectile’s inherent limited accuracy and short effective range, only the simpler and less expensive mechanisms are generally used on weapons designed only to fire BBs.

Because the steel BB’s strength does not allow it to be crushed with the small motive force with which it is accelerated through the barrel, BBs are slightly smaller (4.3 to 4.4 mm (0.171 to 0.173 in)) than the Barrel inner diameter (4.5 mm (0.177 in)). This limits accuracy as little spin is imparted to the BB. It also limits range, as some of the pressurized gas used to accelerate the BB leaks around it, reducing overall efficiency. Because a BB will easily roll down the barrel unhindered, it’s common to find guns that use a magnet in the loading mechanism to hold the BB to the rear of the barrel until fired.

The traditional and still most common powerplant for BB guns is the spring piston pump, usually modeled after a lever action rifle or pump-action shotgun. The lever-action rifle was the first type of BB gun and still dominates the inexpensive youth BB gun market. Modeled after a pump-action shotgun with a trombone pump-action mechanism, the Daisy Model 25 dominated the budget, high-performance market for over 50 years. Leverage models generally have very low velocities of around 84 m/s (275 ft/s) due to the weak springs used to keep tension effort low for youngsters. The Daisy Model 25 typically achieved the highest speeds of its time, ranging from 114 to 145 m/s (375 to 475 ft/s).[2]

Pneumatic guns with multiple pumps are also common. Many pneumatic pellet guns offer the option of using BBs as a cheaper alternative to lead shot. Some of these guns have rifled barrels, but the slightly undersized BBs don’t press into the barrel, so the twist doesn’t add significant spin. These are the types of guns that will benefit the most from using precision lead BB shot. The pneumatic BB gun can reach much higher velocities than the traditional spring-piston types.

The last common type of energy for BB guns is pressurized gas, most commonly the powerlet rounds. The Powerlet is a disposable metal gas cylinder containing 12 grams (190 g) of compressed carbon dioxide, with a self-sealing valve to release the CO 2 that expands to power the BB. These are primarily used in BB pistols and can fire quickly, unlike spring-piston or pneumatic types. A typical CO 2 BB pistol uses a spring-loaded magazine to feed BBs and a double-action trigger mechanism to chamber a BB and cock the hammer. However, some guns (either to stay true to the original gun or to make the trigger easier to pull) have a single-action trigger. Both weapon types can also have a blowback action where CO 2 pushes the slide back in addition to firing a BB. When fired, the hammer strikes an internal valve connected to the CO 2 source, releasing a measured amount of CO 2 gas to fire the BB. This also gives it realistic recoil and muzzle reporting capabilities. Many CO 2 BB guns are modeled after popular firearms such as the Colt M1911 and can be used for both training and recreational use.

Some gas-powered BB guns use a larger gas source and deliver machine gun-like fire. These guys, especially the shooting star Tommy Gun (originally known as Feltman), are a common sight at carnivals. The MacGlashan BB Gun was used during World War II to train anti-aircraft gunners in the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy. 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. The gas is released in a constant stream and used to suck the BBs down the barrel at speeds of up to 3600 rounds per minute.[3]

Security [edit]

BB weapon wound with a 4.5mm steel BB penetrating the middle finger of the left hand

BB guns can shoot faster than 60 m/s (200 ft/s) but are often less powerful than a conventional pellet airgun. Pellet airguns can fire significantly faster, even in excess of 170 m/s (560 ft/s).[4][5][6] Although claims are often exaggerated, some airguns can actually fire a standard .177 caliber lead pellet faster than 1,000 ft/s (320 m/s), but these are generally not BB firearms.

A BB traveling at 45 m/s (150 ft/s) can penetrate skin and 60 m/s (200 ft/s) can fracture bone.[7] This is potentially lethal, and this potential increases with speed but also decreases rapidly with distance. The effective penetration range of a BB gun with a muzzle velocity of 120–180 m/s (390–590 ft/s) is approximately 18 m (60 ft). A person wearing jeans at that distance would not suffer serious injury. But even at that distance, a BB can still penetrate bare skin and even if not, leave a severe and painful bruise. The maximum range of a BB weapon in the 120 to 180 m/s (390 to 590 ft/s) range is 200 to 300 meters, provided the muzzle is raised to the optimum angle.

Steel BBs are also particularly prone to bouncing off hard surfaces such as brick, concrete, metal, or end grain wood. Eye protection is essential when shooting BBs at these materials, even more so than when shooting lead bullets, as a BB ricocheting off a hard surface can retain much of its original energy (bullets usually flatten and absorb energy) and get slightly serious Eye damage can result. [citation required]

Quick kill training[edit]

The US Army trained recruits in quick kill techniques using Daisy Model 99 BB guns to improve soldiers’ use of their weapons in the 1967-1973 Vietnam War. The technique was developed for the Army by Bobby Lamar “Lucky” McDaniel and Mike Jennings ]

Legal status [ edit ]

BB guns are often regulated as typical airguns. [citation needed] Airgun laws vary widely by local jurisdiction.

See also[edit]

air pistols

The National CO 2 Air Pistol is a single-shot air pistol with a CO 2 engine.[1][2] It is manufactured by the National Rifles Division of Indian Hume Pipe Co. Ltd of Ahmedabad, India.[3]

Technical characteristics [ edit ]

“World Arms Catalogue”. n.d.

Caliber: 4.5mm / .177

Barrel length: 228mm

Barrel: Drawn

Grain: 5 mm wide

Rear sight: 4.2mm notch

Action: Bolt Action

Capacity: 1 round(s).

See also[edit]

In this blog post, Sucharita Ghosh, a student studying the , discusses the legal and illegal use of airguns in India and in particular in Kashmir.

introduction

Recent acts of violence in Jammu and Kashmir have brought the use of shotguns into focus. Many people are seriously injured after security forces fired shotguns in an attempt to stem the violence sparked by the death of Burhan Wani. Although a pellet gun is treated as a “non-lethal weapon”, use by untrained personnel makes it a deadly weapon.

In this article, we will discuss the legal and illegal use of airguns in India and Kashmir.

What is a pellet gun?

Pellet gun, a specialized form of airgun, is a type of non-lethal weapon used by police and military around the world as a means of crowd control.

A pellet gun cartridge contains lead pellets, and the moment it is fired, the cartridge bursts, instantly ejecting hundreds of pellets from a single point. The pellets can be of various shapes, either like ball bearings or an irregular shape. When fired, the cartridge spreads a few hundred pellets over a few meters, depending on the type of pellets used. They don’t follow a specific path.

The pellets penetrate the soft tissues of the skin and cause severe damage to people and cause pain. The pellet sometimes hits the eye. An eye is the delicate structure most susceptible to damage. Once a pellet gets into an eye, it shatters tissue and causes multiple damage to the different parts of an eye.

The airguns were introduced by state police in August 2010 when more than 100 people were killed during rockfall protests in Jammu and Kashmir.

legality

Each country has different regulations on handling weapons. While airguns are not specifically regulated in some countries, most jurisdictions have gun control laws for different guns with different bore, muzzle, energy, velocity, etc.

Air Gun Use Law in India

In India, using an air pistol is not entirely illegal. It can also be used legally, but only after presenting a license. In certain cases or with less powerful weapons, you don’t need a license to use them.

Airguns are used for hunting, pest control, recreational shooting, and competitive sports. But airguns are used specifically for crowd control by the army and police.

In India, the use of guns is regulated by the Indian Arms Act 1959, which proposed an amendment and a new draft was prepared in accordance with the proposal in 2015. Per the new Arm Regulation Draft, 2015, purchase of airguns with muzzle energy below No firearm license is required for 20 Jules/15 feet or .177mm. But any airgun with a muzzle energy greater than 20 Jul is treated as a firearm. To use an airgun without a license, it must pass the Deal Wood Test.

If someone owns such an airgun without a gun license, it will be treated as illegal and he will be fined.

Use of air guns in Kashmir

Air guns are used by security and police personnel for crowd control. It caused serious injuries and serious damage to thousands of people in Kashmiri. The use of airguns by the police in Kashmir in response to the current protests is a clear violation of human rights and international humanitarian law.

Large-scale protest and mourning rallies took place in the Kashmir Valley following the death of mujahideen leader Burhan Wani. Police and security forces used firearms and airguns to control the protesting crowd by violently throwing rocks at police and military officers.

This is not the first time that the Kashmiri State Armed Forces have previously used firearms and shotguns, treating these weapons as non-lethal weapons. However, many people have lost their lives and sight and remain permanently injured.

Using Pellet Guns: A Violation of International Standards

In its current reaction to the protests in Kashmir, the Indian government is violating international standards by using airguns. The government is violating the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. The Core Principles state that law enforcement officers must use nonviolent means before using force. When the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, law enforcement officials must exercise restraint in such use and act proportionate to the seriousness of the crime. You should focus on minimizing damage and injury and ensuring that assistance and medical attention is provided to any injured or affected person.

But no restraint is exercised in Kashmir; the injury is not minimized and medical assistance is not secured. Shotguns are a moral offense and not an appropriate response to the people who violate peace and security. Serious damage is being done, particularly to people’s eyesight, far too many passers-by, including children, have been injured, and medical assistance is given only at the risk of being arrested and prosecuted.

It is true that sometimes it is necessary to use firearms to bring peace and control to the state. The police have a duty to protect life and safety and to prevent crime, but in fulfilling that duty they must use non-violent means as much as possible. When the use of force is unavoidable for compelling reasons, the police should focus on using force against those involved in the violent act. The police should ensure that bystanders are protected from injury.

Domestic crowd control procedures should reflect international expectations of proportionality and necessity. These procedures are supposed to protect Kashmiris, but in reality they are not being followed. It causes serious damage to the citizens. During a crowd control operation, only two to five officers should have non-lethal weapons and banners should be used to warn the unlawful assembly against the use of force. Not only when gunfire becomes necessary, which is only when efforts have been made to disperse a crowd without violence; Every attempt should be made to shoot below the waist. With the number of eye injuries suffered by Kashmiri citizens, it is hard to believe that any attempt was made to shoot below the waist.

Furthermore, when shooting becomes necessary, shooting must be done in a single shot mode. However, pellet guns fire hundreds of tiny shots with each cartridge. This goes hand in hand with the requirement that fire may only be directed at the most violent parts of a rocking mob, not the mob as a whole. Air guns do not provide an effective target to adequately hit the crowd, and many peaceful protesters and bystanders were injured during their use. Another thing is that the protesters and children should only be handled by female officers and that water cannon, tear gas smoke and flashbang if necessary should be used to disperse these protesters, but many women and children also fall victim to air guns as they are not well aimed can guarantee shots.

Regrettably, the current legal system in India grants government officials impunity for even the grossest human rights abuses, including the recent shelling attacks and the breakdown in crowd control procedures. The Indian Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides de facto immunity for police officers, members of the armed forces and other government officials. Section 197 of the CrPC states that no court has jurisdiction over any alleged criminal offense committed by a government official “while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his or her official duty” without first obtaining authorization from the necessary central or state government.

View of the Supreme Court on the use of airguns in Jammu and Kashmir

For the above reasons, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, after finding the injury to civilians from the use of airguns by untrained security personnel, ordered a report by the Center on the Handling of Deadly Weapons by Untrained Personnel to its disapproval of the use of air guns by security personnel.

The Kashmir High Court Bar Association (KHCBA) has requested an urgent hearing on its petition calling for instructions to end the use of bullets and airguns in law and order issues. The Bar Association has taken a PIL to the Supreme Court, praying that the use of airguns as a means of crowd control be banned outright.

The court also asked the government to consider other means of crowd control that do not involve air guns.

Based on these reports, India plans to reconsider the use of airguns by security forces in crowd control. Recently, Home Secretary Rajnath Singh decided to take steps to stop the use of this dangerous weapon.

On July 26, a seven-member committee headed by T.V.S.N Prasad, joint secretary of the Home Office, constituted in the Lok Sabha to explore non-lethal alternatives to the use of pallet guns in Kashmir. The committee is examining various ways to increase the intensity of tear gas grenades, using chili powder and rubber bullets instead of airguns. The committee suggested that there would be no blanket ban on the use of airguns. It will only be used in the rarest of cases; and the pellets are not made of metal but of soft material such as polymer, soft plastic, rubber and even paper.

Conclusion

The government has faced strong criticism for using the airguns, and many of the political parties have called for their complete withdrawal. The Indian and Kashmir state government must order police to cease use of shotguns as soon as possible. This kind of “lethal” use of “non-lethal” weapons would not only be harmful to the citizen, but would be a criminal act. The pellet gun should not be used as it is totally against humanity and morality.

Relation