Spring-powered pistols

Spring-piston

— true to its name, the design of this type of weapon is based on the use of a spring. A spring-loaded piston is used, which moves in a special cylinder. When cocked, the piston moves back and is secured in this position, and when fired, it is released, moves forward due to the spring and pushes air from the cylinder into the barrel, thus accelerating the bullet.

Weapons of this type are characterized by low cost, reliability, good repeatability of shots (the muzzle velocity is the same every time) and ease of use and maintenance; at the same time, it can be quite powerful and long-range. The main disadvantages of this scheme are the specific recoil and the need to cock the mechanism before each shot. In addition, most spring-powered models use a barrel fracture system for cocking, which has its own nuances (for more details, see “Cocking system”); and models with bolt-action cocking are distinguished by either a large length (if a handle is used for cocking) or very low power (if a blowback is responsible for cocking, as in a real pistol).