Probably, every person had to see a pneumatic single-shot pistol at least a few times in his life. They are used in inexpensive shooting ranges, and most models can be freely bought in stores without a license or permission. So a little understanding of them will be useful to anyone who is at least a little interested in weapons.
Destination
First of all, let's figure out why a single-shot pistol with a break barrel is needed at all.
Of course, its main purpose is to master the skills of handling weapons. After all, in fact, the principle of aiming remains the same for both combat pistols and pneumatics. Therefore, having learned to shoot well from the "air gun", as it is affectionately called by fans of weapons, you can easily transfer this skill to rifled firearms. Of course, you will have to take certain amendments - after all, pneumatics do not give a return. But still, the ability to shoot well from it will be an important plus when mastering a real weapon.
Besides, turning point single-shot pistols will be goodchoice for a child or teenager. Thanks to his first weapon, he will be able to acquire a culture of handling it. Also on pneumatics, you can easily and clearly explain the basics of safe shooting, storage and maintenance. In addition, the first weapon, even if not quite real, presented at the age of 8-12, significantly disciplines, instills responsibility for one's decisions and actions.
Finally, many people get them just for fun - to shoot at empty cans or pre-printed targets during a field trip. Well, a great hobby to learn a useful skill, strengthen your hand and boost your self-esteem.
Therefore, we can say with confidence that such an acquisition will definitely be a good investment.
Device
It's nice that the scheme of a single-shot pistol is as simple as possible. Even simpler than CO2 models2.
When the barrel breaks, the spring connected to the piston, freely moving inside the cylinder, is retracted to the extreme position. Here it is fixed with a hook connected to the trigger mechanism. If necessary, the spring can be in this position for an arbitrarily long time. When the shooter pulls the trigger, he releases it. Expanding, the spring pushes the piston at high speed, which creates excess air pressure in the barrel tube. Thanks to this, the shot is fired.
Key features
One of the main advantages is the amazing simplicity of the devicesingle-shot pistols with a broken barrel. On the one hand, this significantly reduces the cost of them - the cheapest models can be purchased for a couple of thousand rubles, so every person can afford the purchase. On the other hand, the probability of breakage is significantly reduced. This is especially true if the weapons will be used by teenagers and children who do not yet have an accurate understanding of the correct handling of complex mechanisms.
An important advantage is safety. Of course, the piston creates high pressure in the cylinder, but for a very short period of time - only a fraction of a second. When using canisters with carbon dioxide, the pressure in them reaches 30-35 atmospheres. If the cylinder is defective, overheated, or accidentally damaged, it may well explode. The consequences of this are not hard to imagine.
Finally, a simple mechanism and the ability to abandon the liquefied gas cartridge makes it possible to reduce the weight of the gun. This is an important parameter for people who buy pneumatics to use for serious training. Holding the gun at arm's length for just a minute, you can understand that every extra hundred grams can cause serious difficulties in operation.
Are there any disadvantages?
There are no significant shortcomings in turning pneumatics. Perhaps the only serious one is the need to load the weapon for each shot. That is, to conduct a series of shots in order to gain the skill of fast and accurate shooting, it will not work with him. You will have to break the gun, retracting the piston in the cylinder, then insert the bullet, close the gun, and only then fire.
Also, some users do not like that it is impossible to carry a loaded weapon - the spring, being in a compressed position for a long time, loses its elasticity, which leads to a decrease in the speed of the shot. And the trigger mechanism itself wears out because of this, becomes less reliable. However, this cannot be called a serious minus. It is unlikely that someone may have a situation where they will have to shoot from pneumatics offhand and there will be no time to charge it.
Now it will be useful to tell you a little about some of the most interesting airgun models.
Pistol "Monte Cristo"
In general, single-shot Monte Cristo pistols cannot be fully called pneumatic. But they are not firearms either.
In our country, these pistols appeared before the Revolution and the Civil War that followed.
They used a rather new and unusual ammunition at that time - the Flaubert cartridge, invented at the end of the nineteenth century. In fact, the ammunition was an igniter capsule into which a round bullet was inserted. That is, there was no cartridge as such. There was no cartridge case and powder charge, which makes some experts classify Monte Cristo pistols as pneumatic weapons.
When loading a pistol, its barrel broke,due to which the trigger mechanism was cocked. When fired, the striker hit the primer, causing the detonation of the igniter. Despite the small amount of explosive, it turned out to be quite enough to create enough pressure in the primer to fire a shot - fortunately, the caliber was very small, the mass of the bullet was simply tiny, and no one made special requirements for cartridges. So, judging by the popularity of the pistol, the reviews among we althy citizens were very positive. They were usually used for shooting rodents and self-defense. The weapon could not cause serious harm, but it could inflict sharp and rather severe pain.
Gamo P-900 pistol
A very successful pistol produced in Izhevsk. Might be a great choice for fun and getting started with shooting.
Despite the low cost, it accelerates a bullet to 120 meters per second - a very good indicator for its class. This is made possible by a fairly long barrel. The maximum range of fire is 100 meters. True, the effective sighting distance is much less - no more than 10 meters.
The gun weighs only 1.3 kilograms - for experienced users this will be an important advantage, because they will not buy models that are too heavy, so that shooting does not turn into an endurance test.
It is important that the weapon is equipped with a fuse, which excludes the possibility of a shot. Many users, leaving reviews, highlight this item separately, knowing full well how important it issecurity.
Pistol IZH-46
Another interesting domestic version, also developed and produced in Izhevsk - IZH-46.
It also has a long barrel, which allows you to accelerate the bullet to the same speed - 120 meters per second. Yes, and the weapon weighs exactly the same - only 1.3 kilograms.
But unlike Gamo, it doesn't break - under the barrel there is a special handle, pulling which away, the shooter not only opens the barrel chamber to load the bullet, but also cocks the spring. The combat range is about the same - a little more than 100 meters, but aimed fire is problematic at a distance of more than 10 meters.
Reading the reviews, you can meet the opinion that the handle looks quite massive. But it is precisely thanks to it that high ergonomics and convenience when shooting are ensured. Subsequently, several more successful modifications were produced on the basis of IZH-46, which received a compressor with an increased volume, which made it possible to increase the power of the shot.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know more about pneumatic single-shot pistols. And if necessary, you can easily choose the model that suits you, which can last for many years and not disappoint.
