Only a matter of time before they use PCPs in the military…

[Elgreco]

Bb Guns in action

 

[Beer Nap]

Exactly, could you imagine mounting your bayonet to an air rifle and using it on someone in battle? Semper Fi!

Yes.

 

[MWS]

With the introduction of these new rifles such as the Skout Epoch rifles, the FX Panthera, and the Impact M3…I think it’s only a matter of time before they are adopted by the military for training or actual military application (they might already be in use…I recall the Impact was being used as a training tool for snipers under the Black Hawk Down instructor). Then there will be regulation…then I cry . I wish we could just be stuck in limbo where we are at now…but I don’t think it’s going to happen since it’s human nature to want more and more and better toys. People are hitting 4 inch targets at 250 yards with a little .22 slug. Imagine 10 years from now…

What do you all think?

Not practical for the military. Refilling the air tank during combat is too problematic. Air rifles are excellent for civilian use but the modern battlefields are another story. Been there, done that.

 

[MWS]

Napoleon did it many, many years ago…

Napoleonic weaponry and warfare - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Austrian Army introduced the Girardoni M1780 repeating air rifle as a specialist weapon and used them in the Napoleonic Wars. A multi-shot breech loader, it only had an effective full charge range to about 150 yd (140 m). It was nearly silent and made no smoke or noise, but was complex and needed a significant infrastructure to support it. The air rifle fell out of use after 1815 as more conventional types of weapons proved superior overall, in only a few more decades, all soldiers would be gunpowder rifle equipped.

Actually, Napoleon didn't do it. The Austrian military used them against the French/Napoleon during that conflict. Napoleon thought the air rifles were so dangerous that he ordered anyone caught with one was to be executed.

I just learned about PCP's a few years ago and have done a lot of reading about them. Love these things.

 

[MWS]

Lewis and Clark took an air rifle on their expedition. A Giradoni pcp that took 1500 pumps to get 30 shots, according to Wikipedia.

They were used in actual combat.

The Girardoni air rifle was in service with the Austrian army from 1780 to around 1815. Many references to the Girardoni air rifles mention lethal combat ranges of 125 to 150 yards and some extend that range considerably. The advantages of a high rate of fire, no smoke from propellants, and low muzzle report granted it acceptance.

It looks like they do use paintball markers for training.

They were used when the best military rifles were black powder muzzleloaders. Other than training (basic rifle marksmanship maybe?), there is no realistic place for them on the modern battlefield.

Maybe the Space Force can use them in orbit?