There seem to be two types of air rifles in the US: BB guns, which shoot BBs, and pellet guns, which are rifled and shoot a pellet that look more like a bullet.

There seem to be two types of air rifles in the US: BB guns, which shoot BBs, and pellet guns, which are rifled and shoot a pellet that look more like a bullet. There are all kinds of variants, including BB guns that are fully automatic. https://www.airgundepot.com/automatic-bb-guns.html https://www.airgundepot.com/automatic-bb-guns.html Air rifles 200 years ago were so effective (quiet, 30 round magazine) that Napoleon supposedly ordered that anyone carrying one be summarily executed. https://notorc.blogspot.com/2006/08/short-history-of-air-rifle_29.html https://notorc.blogspot.com/2006/08/short-history-of-air-rif... It was common in the US to do "plinking" with a BB gun at various targets, including windows of abandoned buildings, tin cans, and the unfortunate small animal. Probably still is in more rural areas. Anyway, different tradition than a weapon of war.