BB Gun

A BB gun is a type of air gun that fires small metal spherical projectiles called BBs, roughly 4.5 millimeters across and today usually made of zinc or copper plated steel, using a spring-piston, pneumatic or compressed-gas mechanism. The name comes from shotgun pellet sizing, and the type traces to the Markham Air Rifle Company's 1886 wooden spring-piston air rifle built for youth training; two years later the Plymouth Air Rifle Company, later renamed Daisy Manufacturing, introduced the first full-metal BB gun, which became widely popular. Because steel BBs are too hard to be swaged tight by the propelling force, they are made slightly undersized for the barrel, which limits accuracy and range through gas leakage. Beyond recreational and youth training use, the United States Army issued Daisy Model 99 BB guns for Quick Kill marksmanship instruction during the Vietnam War.