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Airgun History is Being Made

If you attend an airgun show, you are doing something extraordinary.  There are a lot more airgunners than there are attendees at a show.  This time may be a golden age of airgunning.  If it does get any better than this it is because of the pioneers that took the effort to attend the airgun shows.  The amount of participation is a factor in the growth of airgunning, just as people deciding to buy, for example, a TX200.  They're voting with their money that the TX200 is the better of the guns available.  Their participation is what made if popular.  When what we are doing now is looked back on in the future, they will wish that they were here with us now.  Maybe I'm a geek for knowing this, but Lt. Worf, in Star Trek the Next Generation, knew that when he was doing something daring, or extraordinary, that his success would be recognized by saying: "Songs will be sung about this."  There hasn't been a time like this that by participating you are making airgun history.

There is one thing about airgun shows that I would like to have changed.  In the show hall people would discharge an airgun to show that it was working or holding air.  This should not be done at the table, but at a designated place.  I was at an airgun show where this was happening and what started out as a joke like, "Oh my eye" or "it hit me", when a discharge was made it then escalated to a bunch of people hooting like a bunch of monkeys in a tree.  Airgun safety is not to be taken lightly.  Inappropriate airgun discharges should be booed. 

 

The following are posts where I tried to inform and recruit airgunners to help fight off a back-door attempt to regulate airguns.
I regret to say that nobody came forward.  Even when I asked people face to face I got "I'm retired; I live to far away, etc".  Membership is $75, which is also tax deductible for a business, so all the excuses told me what type of people they were.

Anti-airgun chronology & connections
14 May 2005

Tracing back from the current point of contention, it starts with Bill Clinton, having 2 terms in office, was able to appoint all of the commissioners on the Consumer Products Safety Commission.  The commissioners have staggered terms so they are replaced sequentially.  A one-term president would not be able to change all of the commissioners.  Bill Clinton was able to seat anti-gunners on the commission.  The CPSC, by an act of congress, does not have jurisdiction over firearms.  So they turn to the next thing that they could meddle in, and that is airguns.  The CPSC used a tragic misuse of a Daisy airgun to claim that Daisy had a defective airgun, which therefore fell underneath their jurisdiction. 

In comes the television program 60 Minutes, ever ready to support an anti-gun or leftist agenda.  If you remember, 60 Minutes is the one that attached remote controlled model rocket motors to Chevy pickup truck fuel tanks so they would have spectacular fires when they crashed the pickup trucks.  They never told you that the fuel tanks were purposely set on fire.  60 Minutes takes up the anti-airgun issue in the same manner.  This is where confusing velocity with power comes in.  The 60 Minutes segment, on Dangerous Daisy's, had a Ruger Standard Auto pistol and a chronograph.  They must have shot CB caps in the .22 cal. Ruger pistol because that's the only way they could have gotten a velocity of lower than 600fps.  Then they fired the Daisy BB gun through the chronograph, which indicated a higher velocity, than the .22 pistol.  The conclusion is the lie of lies.  They declared, on air, that the Daisy BB gun was more powerful than the .22 pistol.  I know these two lies from 60 Minutes, so I don't believe anything else they have to say.

George Bush is elected President, and as CPSC commissioner's terms expire, he appoints less "hostile" commissioners.  The leftist, now out of power on the commission, go to the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), a standards setting organization, to regulate airguns by this back door method.  I and others, some to modest to have their name mentioned, joined the ASTM to combat this anti-airgun movement.

In California a legislative assistant, minding his own business driving down the street, is shot in the neck by a juvenile (soon to be a career criminal) using a "high power" airgun.  It was a 1000fps, advertised, spring gun, that the punk was using to shoot at passing cars.  Having been a victim, by being shot, he takes the liberal way of not blaming the perpetrator, but by blaming the airgun.  He joins the ASTM to regulate "high power" airguns.  The aim is to limit the velocity of airguns to 350fps. 

Because of resistance at the ASTM, from airgunners, an easy conclusion to their agenda was thwarted.  So the "shot in the neck" victim takes the agenda back to somebody he knows, California State Senator Jack Scott.  The CA anti-airgun proposal is that they want to regulate airguns as though they were firearms.  So your airgun would have to comply with all the rules and regulations as if it were a firearm.

This is how I see it up till now.

Enemy at the Gates
7 May 2004

   The enemy is at the gate and few rise in defense.

   The people who believe that a Daisy 856 is too powerful are going to decide the fate of air gunning.  These same people hold that the Daisy 856 that has a disconnector, a manual safety, visible loader and safety precaution information molded into its surface is unsafe.  You know that they are not there to be reasonable, they are there to eliminate air guns.

   What if Ge-orge Sor-ros, (take the dash out for the name, I don't want it to be found on a web search) democrat activist and billionaire, granted $7500. for 100 participants in the ASTM committee?  The committee would be stacked and we'd all be shooting airsoft.  If this were to happen I'm sure the hat could be passed and a collection made to match, but it will be too late.  It can't be undone.   The British and the Canadians only wish they had a voice, like this, to prevent what befell them.

 This is my plea, if you are able to please join the committee.  What is also needed is a coordinator, so that all those involved can be emailed with the information about when events are about to happen. 

Major Threat to Air Gunning
8 May 2004

   Do you recall the Consumer Product Safety Commission's attempt to destroy Daisy?  That was only thwarted when the Clinton appointee's term expired and Bush was able to appoint a non-radical  commissioner.  (We'll fight this battle again if Kerry gets to appoint commissioners.)  The CPSC's over Daisy would have set a precedent to cover all other air guns.

   Well, now comes the backdoor method, through the non-governmental organization American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM), which is a standard's development organization for industry.  The same people that were at the CPSC are now chairing a committee at the ASTM.  The standards that they are looking at are things like:  loaded chamber indicators, automatic safeties, restricting power levels and may include undeveloped technologies as a ploy to stop air gun manufacture.  In this way they require a technology that can't be put into an air gun, so that no air guns can be made, because the technology can't be adapted to the air gun.

   What is needed to stop this is voting and participating members on the committee that is going to take this up.  The committee number is F-15/06.  The catalog section is Sporting Goods 15/07.  Membership is $75.  Go to www.ASTM.org.  Existing members please respond here so we can get a list for coordination so that we all vote at the correct time, on the correct item.

   Just like NRA members are the thin front line in the fight to preserve firearms ownership, this ASTM membership is very important, in the long run, for air gunning.  Not everyone can participate, but if you have $75. and the will, join the front line.  You're needed in the battle, don't be a shirker.

   People already involved:  Crosman Corp., Daisy, Airhog, Airguns of AZ, Gamo & others that I just don't have in mind at the moment.  You can help by putting this notice on other forums that I have not attended to.  Thank you.

 

First Frontline Report
8 July 2004

The first ASTM airgun regulation meeting was held in Philadelphia. Quick background: The Clinton appointees, to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, had pushed for government regulations of airguns through a suit against Daisy. With Bush's election more gun friendly commissioners were appointed, replacing the anti-gun Clinton people. Some of the same anti-gunners from the commission are now trying to use a non-governmental regulatory group to push heavy restrictions on airgun types and designs.
At the meeting representatives from AirForce, Crosman, Daisy, Remington, Marksman, GAMO & Dr. Beeman were there. The NRA has also gotten involved and had representatives from the 4-H, boy scouts and a local shooting club attend the meeting.
The meeting put together working groups (in their term "task groups"). Some of the things each group is tasked with is to study: 15 years of previous airgun reports to the CPSC, warnings required on the guns themselves, a standard way of loading/feeding BB's, loaded chamber indicators, velocities and automatic safeties for airguns.
The next meeting will be in October. I hope more of you would join in and support the fight against these regulations. In the future you may be like the pilots in the Battle of Britain where so much will be owed to so few for keeping airgunning such an enjoyable and diverse sport.
Dennis Quackenbush

First Warning
13 July 2004

Do you recall the Consumer Product Safety Commission's attempt to destroy Daisy? That was only thwarted when the Clinton appointee's term expired and Bush was able to appoint a non-radical commissioner. (We'll fight this battle again if Kerry gets to appoint commissioners.) The CPSC's over Daisy would have set a precedent to cover all other air guns.
Well, now comes the backdoor method, through the non-governmental organization American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM), which is a standard's development organization for industry. The same people that were at the CPSC are now chairing a committee at the ASTM. The standards that they are looking at are things like: loaded chamber indicators, automatic safeties, restricting power levels and may include undeveloped technologies as a ploy to stop air gun manufacture. In this way they require a technology that can't be put into an air gun, so that no air guns can be made, because the technology can't be adapted to the air gun.
What is needed to stop this is voting and participating members on the committee that is going to take this up. The committee number is F-15/06. The catalog section is Sporting Goods 15/07. Membership is $75. Go to www.ASTM.org. Existing members please respond here so we can get a list for coordination so that we all vote at the correct time, on the correct item.
Just like NRA members are the thin front line in the fight to preserve firearms ownership, this ASTM membership is very important, in the long run, for air gunning. Not everyone can participate, but if you have $75. and the will, join the front line. You're needed in the battle, don't be a shirker.
People already involved: Crosman Corp., Daisy, Airhog, Airguns of AZ, Gamo & others that I just don't have in mind at the moment. You can help by putting this notice on other forums that I have not attended to. Thank you.

The steel companies are all members of ASTM, so they work out the chemical composition of a grade of steel and set the standard strength and physical characteristics. The use of this is that the people who are involved with steel and know steel set the standards, rather than having them set by an outside entity with an agenda (i.e. grudge against the steel industry. An environmental group proposes that because coking is air polluting, that steel cannot be made without coke. Coking is where they take coal and heat it to drive off moisture and some volatiles, so when burned it can obtain a higher temperature.)
We presently have an ASTM committee to set the standards for air guns. The chair and participants of this committee are anti-air gun. Do you think it's good for us to let these people alone and tell us what air guns are to be like and what we can have in the future?

Possible future regulations on airguns
July 29 2004 at 11:57 PM

These are four of the ASTM working task groups. These are the areas in which they are considering standards and regulations.
Load & Feed task group: acceptable methods of verifying loaded or unloaded airguns, which may include loaded chamber indicators.

Velocity & Age task group: restricting airguns by their velocity as to what age you need to be to own one.

Labels & Warnings: What important data needs to be on the gun itself. (If you've seen some firearms, they're loaded with warning script.)

Incident Data task group: This group will review all the incident reports of injuries, damages, etc., caused by airguns for the past 10 years. (I believe 10 years is the limit.)

Just to keep you informed. Thank you for your interest.

Application of regulations
July 31 2004 at 12:06 AM

Whatever is won or lost at the ASTM will apply to new manufacture. But once these standards are set, any state or federal law could be made using this reference to ban existing guns. This back door regulation of airguns is a tool and it will be used by those opposed to airguns in any way they can to get rid of airguns. There are more scenarios than I could lay out in all the available space here. It's not to worry about the future, but to be active now to make your future.

They (Liberals) are attempting it right now!
July 31 2004 at 10:29 PM

People who were once empowered in government by the Democrat party tried, through the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to restrict airguns. These same people are now the driving force in an ASTM (American Standards & Testing) rule & regulation writing push that may eliminate many of the manufacturers & types of airguns in the US. How many time does it have to be explained that they use incrementalism. A little rule here, a little law there and airguns are gone. Their not going to come to your door and demand your guns, the law will be written so that you'll have to bring them to them.

 

 

Collar Button Bullet from the 1880's

Originally designed a hundred years ago for gallery, small game and plinking; this design was reintroduced in 1999 with only 100 moulds being made. We were fortunate to get a few moulds and can offer this interesting bullet for sale. In the Contender carbines and pistols this is a dandy bullet for plinking and small game. Recoil is quite manageable and accuracy is good. This bullet can also be used in the old .455-caliber Colts and S&W revolvers that originally took a .457" bullet. This bullet is also used in some .45 caliber air rifles.

 

 

 

Lyman
#457130

Weight:

150 grains

Style:

Collarbutton

Size:

.458"

Qty:

100 per box

Price:

$8.50 per 100
$40.00 per 500
$75.00 per 1000

Ship wgt:

2.25# per box

Creative reading of the 1st  Amendment threatens the 2nd
27 August 2004

Current interpretation of the 1st Amendment has a principal �separation of church and state.�  Nowhere in the Constitution or the minutes of the debate when making the Constitution or the Federalist Papers contains the words �separation of church and state�, especially when this is meant to mean that there should be no religious participation in public affairs.

The current interpretation of the 2nd Amendment of the �right to keep and bear arms� is a collective right, not a personal right.  Now, all the mention of individual rights of the people in nine of the Amendments are personal rights, but in the second Amendment it�s now read �the militia� as a collective right, so you as an individual cannot own a gun.  The right to keep and bear arms belongs to the National Guard.  In the debates of the Amendments to the Constitution both George Mason and Richard Henry described the militia as �the people�, which is you, me and the guy next door. 

So if you go along for a misreading of the First, you set yourself up to have to accept their misreading of the Second.  For whatever reason a person might have to curtail the liberty of one group will come back and bite you.  We�re supposed to have tolerance for people with different lifestyles and people of different ideas, except when it comes to people of religion, they are to be expunged.  Don�t fall for it.  Don�t go along with the persecution of one group because the same argument will be turned on you at some other time.  Protect it all, or lose it all.

The separation of church and state argument is a misconstruing that is detrimental to all our rights.

Discourse and Debate
29 August 2004

Somewhere between 10-20% of the people visiting this forum are participants.  This is a proportion to the number of people signed in, to the number of visitors.  I�m sure some of these people, who aren�t participants, have good points to make and information to contribute.  Their hesitancy might be the way that they see how some posters are treated.  They don�t want to get slammed.  The following are some of the practices that stifle discourse and debate, and if avoided may cause more people to participate.

1)       Name calling; you know the other side is losing as soon as they start calling others names.

2)       Accuse others of calling them names;  calling a person a name, the word(s) used would be derogatory, not to be confused with a description in a general sense.   In a following point I am going to describe how a person who uses a particular tactic is a loser, for using a bankrupt tactic.  Now, if I was name calling I would tell a person �you are a loser.�

3)       Using grammatical or typographical errors as a reason to slam somebody.  We all make mistakes and we can use the �edit� button to go back and make our message clearer.  But to seize upon an obvious unintended error, shows that the opposition cannot make their point based on merit.

4)       Changing denotation and connotation of words so you can either feel insulted or try to change the meaning of you opposite�s intent.  When in doubt, just consult a dictionary.

5)       Demanding an apology for perceived slights.  Most of the perceived slight is the use of some of the above points and is intended to put your opposite off balance and off subject.  Again, this is when the opposition can�t persuade you by the strength of their argument.

6)       Laughing, the �hee-hee� and �ha-ha� is there to try and belittle the other party by trying to assume a position of superiority.  Again, this is done when they can�t persuade you with ideas.

7)       Focus on one word, or a phrase, in the presentation.  This is usually the problem of the person who is upset with the word or phrase on an emotional basis, and no clarification will ever move them off of it.  In this case, just move on with your main point.

8)       Hijacking of a thread.  When others might want to steer away from the point made they�ll bring up all kinds of things to vector off from your presentation.  This is best ignored, don�t answer.

9)       The dissecting of sentences; when a person takes their opponents writing and parses it word for word.  They are usually doing many of the things above, changing denotation, connotation and definition, or pointing out grammatical or typographical errors as a way of trying to win the point.  This is the mark of a loser.  You needn�t have to do this if you have strength in your argument.

10)   Slamming a person by using one of the above points, then self righteously declaring victory, then leaving.  This person has nothing to contribute or their position was indefensible.  You, the reader, know people like this deep, deep down they�re really shallow.

11)   A discussion that never ends.  A person keeps on coming back to the same point, no matter how it is explained.  You know these types of people, when one of them comes into the room they believe they�re the smartest person there and they�re going to prove it to you.  So at some point, you have to accept that they're irrational and  you're never going to change their mind, so just move on.

One last caveat, this is not aimed at anyone in particular it is a general discussion.  This is experience from observing the forum for a couple of years.  The reason I mention them is because these points are continually reappearing.  If they can be toned downed in some way, I think there would be more, and better, participation.

Kinetic Energy; Explanation of Pressure

Think of gas molecules in constant motion.  If they have motion, they have kinetic energy.  (The kinetic energy is dependant on the temperature of the gas.)  The gas molecules are moving about and they collide with each other and the gas molecules have elastic collisions.  An elastic collision is where the molecules collide without losing energy.  They bounce off each other.  Gas molecules can be captured in a container.   In this article, the container will be a pressure vessel.  The molecules are colliding with each other and the walls of the pressure vessel.  If you add more molecules of gas, you have more collisions with the pressure vessel�s walls.  The pressure vessel sees these collisions as stress and we measure this as pounds per square inch (psi).

The pressure (psi) is due to the collisions of the molecules of gas on the pressure vessel�s walls.  The more molecules of gas in the pressure vessel, the greater the pressure.

Pressure Gauge Accuracy

Pressure gauges commonly used for airguns are not 100% accurate.  As a standard industry grade D gauge, it has a plus or minus 5% tolerance.  5%, at 3000psi, is 150psi, for an extreme spread of 300psi.  3000psi gauges will most probably have the greater amount of their error at the 3000psi level.  That�s because pressure gauges are most accurate in the middle of their range.  So the least amount of expected error, in a 3000psi gauge, would be at the 2000psi range.  To reduce the amount of inaccuracy, the use of a 4000psi reading gauge would move the 3000psi reading to the middle of its range where the amount of error is the least.

Some airgunners may have seen this where they have found a �sweet spot� for their fill pressure.  Having sold or lent the gun to someone who is using a different fill apparatus and gauge, fills the gun to the prescribed pressure level and doesn�t find the sweet spot.  The difference between your gauge and his could be as much as 300psi difference.  (This is the theoretical maximum, which would not occur often, but 100 to 200psi would be more common.) 

Now you can buy a better grade of pressure gauge, but again the mid-scale accuracy of pressure indication comes into play.  Industry standard grade B gauges have a 2% mid-scale accuracy and a 3% over the first quarter and the last quarter of the pressure scale.  Again, to get the accurate reading out of this gauge you would want a dial reading of 4000psi so it moves your useful 3000psi reading towards the middle of the scale.

There are more accurate gauges.  Grade A gauges have a + or � 1% accuracy for a mid-scale reading and 2% for the first and last quarter.  On these gauges, and even higher accuracy reading gauges, the price rises significantly.  Pressure gauges of this or higher accuracy are used as calibration gauges and not used as fill apparatus gauges because of their price.  An example is the grade 2A, + or � 0.5% for the full range, that I use for checking the accuracy of other gauges, but not used for filling airguns. 

The Maturing Airgun Field  
30 May 2007

To demonstrate the greater maturity of current airgunning, I�ll cite some experiences and observations from over the past 20 years.  The first one is advertising, because for many airgun enthusiasts, they�ve never seen many of the guns that they desire, so it�s the advertising that they see first with their contact with airguning.  Mature people accept plain and blunt statements of fact when delivered with courtesy and sincerity.  Mostly gone now is the flowery language extolling the pride of ownership and the double speak of giving you the highlights without a complete picture of the airgun; scanty information.  Nothing is more important when you make a mail order purchase and the item arrives and you realize that it is priced more than it�s worth, and the quality is less than what you paid for.  The internet has been a good source for airgunners because they are few in number and widely separated and the internet ties them together coast to coast.  Through internet participation airgunners soon learn from others about undelivered promises and unreal claims, allowing them to make a better choice in their purchase.

There was once a gray market in airguns.  A gray market is when an item is imported by someone other than the official importer/distributor.  There would be European or English made airguns for sale by never heard of before people (and never heard from again) who, on a trip to Europe, returned with a handful or a score of airguns hoping to recoup part of the cost of their trip by selling the airguns.  The unfortunate part for the buyer was is that the guns were lower power European specification and may have been styled or have other specifications different because they weren�t intended for sale in the United States.  The official importer/distributor was under no obligation to offer warranty service and, because of European specifications, the parts may even be different, therefore unattainable in the U.S.  I haven�t seen any gray marketing of airguns for a long time now because upon seeing a picture of the gun most airgunners would catch on that they are not made for the U.S. market.

The speed at which new innovations in airguns occur is much more rapid.  The eventual end of innovation will never happen, but the airguns have taken a quantum leap forward.  The only problem with this is that it makes the airgun that you bought just last year obsolete and less saleable used.  Yet, some airguns are so good, like the TX 200, that they are good sellers for years on the strength of their proven usability and performance.

The growth in numbers of airgunners is encouraging.  Years ago there was only a small amount of hard core airgunners who, without the internet, would gather at airgun shows.  The first Little Rock airgun show, sponsored by US Airgun Magazine, was small.  But among those who attended were the most dedicated, they had to be, to go along with the difficulties. One of them was after the first day�s show a majority, just about everybody, went to Michael�s restaurant, which was connected to the La Quinta motel.   The restaurant was used to sending sandwiches as room service and when the 40 to 50 people from the airgun show descended upon it, it was overwhelmed.  It took actual hours to get your meal.  It took over 2 hours for my wife and I to get our meal.  While some fumed about the situation, most were happy to spend the time amongst newfound friends discussing airguns.  So instead of being a restaurant it was a meeting room with refreshments served occasionally.

The first Baldwinsville show I attended was so small that half of the American Legion bar room was petitioned off for the tables of the airgun show.  But that size was no impediment.  Everyone there wanted to be there to be in the company of other airgunners and surrounded by airguns.

The gun handling safety awareness has risen tremendously, thank goodness.  At the Baldwinsville airgun show I was standing next to the jukebox talking with Tom Anderson, when I got shot in the leg.  Across the room a group were studying a Sharpe air pistol by disassembling it.  Nobody had checked the barrel to see if there was a pellet in it or that the gun had a charge in it.  During handling the gun discharged.  Fortunately the breech was not closed properly, for when the pellet flew across the room, it was not at full power.  It struck me right on the seam of my Levi�s (then, Levi�s were still made in the USA and were substantial products).  It hurt like a bee sting!  It didn�t penetrate the skin, but I still had a welt from where it hit.

Another unthinkable airgun handling mishap, that should never happen again because it broke all the common sense safety rules, was that a loaded, cocked, ready to fire, high power big bore airgun was handed to an inexperienced person.   Well the gun discharged during the handling and at least the muzzle was pointed downrange, but when it when off the muzzle was elevated so it shot a hole in the ceiling.   These types of mistakes would not be repeated today with the heightened awareness that airguns are not toys.

And in another 20 years I would be more than pleased to be able to say that the airgun hobby has reached new heights of participants with even better airguns (in ways we can�t even think of right now).

Turbulence limits airflow

Air released at higher pressure is higher velocity air.  As air speed increases it gets fouled in the path that it takes, restricting the main current of the air.  Awareness of a problem always precedes understanding.  Everybody knows that you want a smooth flow and has a general idea of how it should be, but the higher the pressure, the more important the little things are.  Have you ever noticed how, on a pre-charge gun, if you increase its operating pressure its performance gets worse?  If the performance at higher pressure becomes erratic, it�s probably due to turbulence.  That�s why lowering the fill pressure from 3000psi to 2800psi makes the gun consistent because you�ve eliminated the disruption of a confused airflow.

Let�s use an automotive poppet valve as an example.  Although it works in reverse, drawing air through the poppet, rather than pushing air out of the area the poppet seals off.  The descent of the auto piston creates vacuum.  When the poppet opens air is drawn down the duct passage, past the valve stem, which obstructs the flow, making a transition as the bend in the flow in the back of the poppet valve and then through the annular space between the valve poppet and the seat.  Motorcycle engines of the late 70�s could obtain an air velocity of 400fps with the attention paid to detail in their porting.  Whereas production auto engines could be as low as 180fps with their simplified, as cast, porting.

So the air gun is pushing the air the other way.  When the valve poppet is opened, air has to flow around the valve return spring, past the head of the poppet valve, through the annular space, then into a round conduit that is disrupted by the valve stem, it has to take a turn and then reshape itself into the round passage again and then into the breech of the airgun.  This airflow is terrible.  It has dead areas in the area of the turns.  Flow is restricted to the lee side of the stem and biased to one side of the valve.

To get supersonic speeds you need supersonic airflow.  And air flowing at that speed is a different creature.  In the bends of air passage cavitation can occur and the airflow will actually erode away metal from the valve passage.  This, and other problems, are all part of figuring out how to make better airguns.

If I were riding on a wave of compressed air

When the valve opens a jet of high pressure, high velocity air passes through the annular space.

The air then expands to fill all available space, expanding and having a drop in pressure.

Meeting resisitance on all sides, but one, it travels through the transfer port and into the breech.

Pressure builds up between the bolt face and the projectile base.

When the pressure on the base of the projectile becomes a high enough force to overcome its inertia and the friction resistance to start into the rifling, it accelerates down the barrel.

Moving down the barrel the air is constantly expanding, lowering the pressure, thus lowering its speed.

I contend that the air is at its highest velocity because it's at highest pressure as is leaves the reservoir.

All of the air in the column is expanding at the same rate

Or there would not be any force for the air next to the pellet base to "push" against.
And the pressure in the column is decreasing at the same rate. It starts out the highest at the valve and drops pressure from there.
That's as I think it to be.

Escape from Galaxy 3 air/ray gun

Airguns in movies (others can add their observations) usually are place holders for firearms. There is the James Bond poster, with Roger Moore holding a Walther air pistol and another example is in one of Star Wars movies using a bunch of 10 meter pistols.

I was watching 1976 science fictin movie, Escape From Galaxy 3, and they use a ray pistol. I can't explain the reason why, but I immediately thought that I could make a pistol like the one in the movie (but it's an actual shooting airgun) out of a Crosman 700 rifle.

I got a rusted 700 action, without a stock, from Ron Sauls and cut the barrel to 10" and made an adaptor plate for it to take a Crosman pistol grip. Polish & blued it and I now have a unique fun gun that cost less than $50 to make.

No collectible airgun was harmed in the construction of this project.

Fe_bar2.jpg (98132 bytes) click on picture to enlarge

The difficulty for small quantity steel users: Although I spend over $1500. a year purchasing steel, that's nothing to the order takers in the front office.  At this level I still have no sway over the steel that I purchase.  After waiting 5 times being told that it would be there next week, 5 weeks worth of waiting got me steel I could not use.  
Pictured (from top to bottom) is sheared flat stock, finished edge bar stock and the barrel stay that is made from that stock.  Now I wanted regular rolled bar stock because its rolled surfaces become the working surface of the part.  So when the steel company didn't have the bar stock, they took a plate and sheared it into 1" strips.  "Sheared" in sheet steel (.014 to .046) actually shears, just as if you cutting paper.  But to say that you're shearing plate (3/16" thick and up) is really a misnomer because what you're really doing is breaking a piece of steel off.  When the shear blade strikes the plate there is slight compression, then cutting begins, but rapidly the tensile strength of the steel is surpassed and the steel fractures, breaking off.  The top of the picture is the fractured edge of the steel.  On one side of the strip the fracture is undercut, and on the opposite side the fracture throws a burr, so you have a trapezoid shape.  When this strip is measured, it measures 1", but when you machine the edges, to smooth it out, it's undersize by .048.  So this steel can't be used to make the part as pictured.
So the way around it is to take a day off and drive to the steel warehouse.  The reason for this is when I can talk to the guys on the shop floor I can get things worked out right.  A box of doughnuts and some gun magazines, as a gratuity, makes you one of their buddies.  They'll take 3 minutes more to find some rolled edge steel in the stack.  I pay the same money for the steel, but the personal contact makes sure that I leave with what I actually wanted.