The purpose of this article is to explain the various types of air guns available and enable you to make informed decisions. Air guns come in various forms, such as target and hunting types, as well as different caliber and weight for pellets. Deciding on what you intend to use the air gun for will help you in making the decision on what type of air gun to purchase.Target air guns are precision guns that are used specifically for target shooting. These only require enough energy to speed a .177 caliber pellet through the air. The speed is able to be lower; however, the accuracy must be extremely high. With target air guns, repeatability of the power ensures high quality. The function should be as smooth as possible to keep concentration accurate and pellet insertion should be easy.

Hunting air rifles should provide reasonable accuracy and be able to transfer three to five times as much energy as target air guns. The hunting rifle pellet energy should, at the very least, be as high as the distance of the target, as target air guns are at the muzzle.C02 or pre-charged air guns help eliminate re-cocking, thus providing for a smoother shooting process. Choosing pellets for an air gun again depends on the purpose in which you intend to use it. The different types of caliber available for air guns include .177, .20, .22, and .25 calibers. In order to determine the best type of pellet for your air gun you should experiment with the various combinations until you are satisfied with the intended results.