Airgun of the future will be ?

[dan_house]

Less wood, more syntehtiec stocks, better ergonomics, higher shot count to to better regulators.

I also thinkwe will start seeing "chassis systems" for common AG actions

 

[Willie14228]

....Will be regulated by the Federal Government.

For sure will be! The more advancements on slugs, higher pressures, etc the more dangerous and we all know what that means...

I don't believe so, at least not federal level perhaps manufacturer level to insure safety but advancements have been made in muzzleloader and they are still an open market and much more power. Local state laws can of course step in and in some states already has.

More advanced computerized regulators,

A uniform sizing on calibers,

On board electric pumps 

Actual barrels rifled for Airgun speeds and projectiles. 

Bullet design for low velocity penetration and wound expansion 

 

[Vana2]

I like pellet guns for what they are - economical to shoot, quiet, accurate and safe to shoot without having to travel to a formal shooting range.

More power? Was never impressed with the magnum springers as they are too hard to cock, unpleasant to shoot and lack the accuracy I want. PCPs are great (I have a couple) but I feel that they are falling into the "extreme power" trap as well. True, big bore airguns have a "cool factor" but I don't think they are practical. Each to their own - personally, if I want a hunting challenge I will stick with my homemade bows and arrows. 

The Canadian regulations view airguns and "firearms" and all the same rules apply. Anything that shoots over 500 fps requires a license and a pellet pistol that shoots 501 fps is considered a restricted weapon just the same as a Dirty Harry's .44 magnum.

Talking about restrictions, our bureaucrats have banned some airguns based on the fact that they "look" dangerous (go figure) and I think that the airgun industry would do best if it didn't call to much attention to itself . The guys in power have classified blowguns as prohibited weapons (watched to many Ninja movies?) so scaring them with super high powered or full-automatic airguns is probably not a good idea - I would rather they think of them as Daisy BB-guns instead.

I am totally excited about slugs and think they will be the optimum for airgun hunting and pesting. By its performance, I see a slug-gun as a different thing than a pellet gun and hope to see the industry develop more reasonably priced "entry level" slug-guns to make the technology more affordable. 

 

[dan_house]

I would rather they think of them as Daisy BB-guns instead.

I agree in principle. But if you want your state to allow AG hunting (assuming they dont already) then you'll need them to FULLY understand the power, accuarcy and capability of many AG's. the two goals are not compatible

 

[tsmith]

all i can say is........ with all the slug hype........

careful what you wish for. it may cause more issues than we want. i just want to shoot my “pellet gun”. i dont want to make it work.

 

[Pneumatic-Addict]

I anticipate the number of hammer-less, programmable guns will continue to grow. Wonder what it would take to make a gyro stabilized gun? And who knows what will happen with ammo; printed pellets?

 

[Vana2]

@dan-house Good point! 

Airguns are mentioned twice in the (Ontario, Canada) hunting regulations...

 Firearms include rifles, shotguns, muzzleloading guns, air or pellet guns and bows (including longbows, crossbows, compound bows and recurve bows).

Air and pellet guns are not permitted for hunting big game (big game includes bear, deer, elk, and moose), but may be used for hunting small game.

I kinda get the impression that they can't be bothered with airguns and just lumped them in with everything else for their convenience. I am ok with these restrictions and would just as soon they didn't take any more notice of them.

 

[intenseaty22]

....Will be regulated by the Federal Government.

For sure will be! The more advancements on slugs, higher pressures, etc the more dangerous and we all know what that means...

I don't believe so, at least not federal level perhaps manufacturer level to insure safety but advancements have been made in muzzleloader and they are still an open market and much more power. Local state laws can of course step in and in some states already has.

More advanced computerized regulators,

A uniform sizing on calibers,

On board electric pumps 

Actual barrels rifled for Airgun speeds and projectiles. 

Bullet design for low velocity penetration and wound expansion

I was at EBR this year. The question came up. The industry IS gearing up for it & trying to set the pace for what’s to come. You can believe what you want (respectfully), but when you have a rifle that can shoot lead at over 900 FPS at a high rate of Automatic fire, or an airgun capable of shooting .45 cal with enough energy to kill a 150 Lb animal, you are going to grab some federal attention. 

 

[mike-nashville]

Some very interesting reading and also some very good thoughts as to where our industry might be headed. If you look at motor cycles/motor bikes you can also see how they were effected. In my state (Tennessee) they are regulated as to the size of the engine. Also insurance is adjusted for anything over 750cc (I think?). Have not had a bike in about 15 years and did not ride it very much. If the powers to be get interested enough they will regulate air guns in more ways that we would ever want. I am looking at moving into the Atlanta GA area and each city, county has different rules pertaining to shooting air guns. I don't plan on moving into a city/county that I can not shoot in my back yard. I do think the more power air guns have and the larger caliber they have we will see more people looking into regulating them. As of now we are way past the .177 and .22 pellet and the springer days.

 

[JWilson]

Bluetooth onboard enabling trigger and velocity tuning over downloadable O/E Apps. Everything digital is a trend that will not slow down.

Semi-Auto will likely be a trend.

Advancements in materials allowing larger volume of higher pressure air. Thinner walled vessels.

Advancements in ballistic and terminal performance of airgun specific projectiles. Possibly composite construction. With these advancements will likely come a lower energy trend.

The elimination of pellet probes. We will likely see more and more designs that do not use probes.

Polymer frames

Onboard dopler providing feedback to digital velocity regulation. Auto - tune functionality to optimize velocity, shot count, BC of given projectile...

High capacity magazine belts.

Possibilities are endless

 

[Guest]

By the time you get there three year olds will be assembling rail guns from cell phone parts.

 

[GBGUNNER]

Personally I'm hoping since FX pulled their semi auto they have another in development. AS For the future Semi auto, 5000 psi maybe more, tubular magazines of 30 plus projectiles, hopefully some improvement in modulators. Gyro stabilization is an interesting thought. But the air gun's niche is between the sling shot and the .22 short. We've exceeded that so it's only a matter of time. Buy now. Lead pellets, molds & dies. And air guns Well You choose .... springers, gas rams, pcp's. co2 cartridges will be sold with powder propelled ammo. If we are lucky we will only be saddled with English Canadian, Austrialian laws.