BB guns are often confused as toys, despite the government in Australia treating these as firearms. Whilst not as strong as most types of air rifles, BB guns have the potential to pierce the skin and could cause significant damage to the eye.
What Are BB Guns?
BB Guns are air guns carrying metallic ball projectiles. BB stands for bearing balls, as this gun shoots out metal balls. An air gun fires ammunition with the help of the velocity of the molecules in compressed air. This air provides the balls with momentum, and it shoots out of the gun with high velocity.
These guns are useful for target practice and pest control. It’s not uncommon to see farmers and pest controllers use BB guns to manage small pests in their sheds. The steel or lead balls usually are about 4.33 mm in diameter. This gun is powerful and shoots balls at a high enough velocity to penetrate the body of pests and kill them.
If you’re not going to shoot at anything other than pests and rodents, BB guns are preferable to other more powerful firearms because BB guns produce low levels of noise and the ammunition cost is miniscule.
Are BB Guns Legal In Australia
Each State and Territory in Australia has decided to ban airsoft guns, as they can be mistaken for actual firearms. Anything that is not classified as a firearm is hard to get your hands on because of this ban.
BB guns that can shoot pellets are considered firearms, and they are referred to as air rifles in Australia. You can look for a gun that can shoot out both pellets and BBs, as that is legal and also regulated in Australia. The possession of air rifles in Australia requires you to have a Class A firearms license.
With a Class A license, these are the firearms you’ll be permitted to own:
- Air rifles
- Rim-fire rifles; except self-loading rim-fire rifles
- Break-action shotgun/rim-fire rifle combination firearms
- Shotguns; except pump-action or self-loading shotguns
- Blank-fire firearms with a minimum length of 75 cm
Examples of The Types Of BB Guns You Can Get In Australia
The most common kinds of air rifles you can find in Australia are the ones that shoot pellets and are powered by CO2.
The Crosman Repeatair is a great air rifle for you to start with. It is a semi-automatic, CO2 air rifle that can fire 12 shots in each load.
It fires .177-caliber pellets with up to 780 fps speed. The Repeatair is easy on the ears and comes with a cross-bolt safety. It features a steel barrel and adjustable rear sight, plus it includes a fiber-optic sight.
This gun is ideal for target, plinking, and pest control purposes. Crosman is known for making high-quality air guns. They make accurate, lightweight and easy to use guns. So, I’d recommend this gun if you are getting started with air guns.
Conclusion
BB guns are good to practice with if you want to take up shooting as a sport. Other than that, it only has a use for pest control.
