Pop gun
A pop gun (also written as popgun or pop-gun) is a
air pressure to fire a small tethered or untethered projectile (such as cork or foam) out of a barrel, most often via piston action though sometimes via spring pressure. Other variants do not launch the obstruction, but simply create a loud noise.[1] This mechanism consists of a hollow cylindrical barrel which is sealed at one end with the projectile and at the other with a long-handled plunger
.
Construction
Various types of popguns have been described, such as popguns made of a hollowed-out
chinaberries.[4] Similar tube-and-plunger toys, firing small stones, were used by the Plains Indians and Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest,[5] though these may post-date European contact.[6] Similar toys were found in other American Indian cultures.[7]
Commercial history
During World War II, the American company
air rifles due to rationing of metal, so produced wooden popguns until the end of the war.[8]
Currently, the largest producer of American-made popguns in the United States is Kraft-Tyme, Inc. located in Canton, TX.
See also
- Popgun Plot, an alleged 1794 conspiracy to assassinate George III using a poisoned dart fired by an airgun
- Gun, a weapon that shoots bullets at high-speed.
References
- ISSN 0032-4558. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-57441-037-2. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ^ Every Little Boy's Book: A Complete Cyclopædia of in and Outdoor Games with and Without Toys, Domestic Pets, Conjuring, Shows, Riddles, Etc. : With Two Hundred and Fifty Illustrations. Routledge, Warne, and Routledge, Farringdon Street; New York: 56, Walker Street. 1864. pp. 17–. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4490-2399-7. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-87422-087-2. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4381-0990-9. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-6356-7. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-313-35111-2. Retrieved 4 June 2013.