Will a pellet gun kill a you. The last answer said a pellet gun that shoots lead will kill you. I must be mistaken I assumed a pellet gun that shot lead was known as a gun and the pellet a bullet.?

Answer 1

If the projectile is fired without the use of an explosive charge, i.e using air, then the weapon would be considered a pellet gun and the projectile a pellet.

A pellet gun has can kill you dependent on several factors. The first factor would be where your shot. If your shot in the head or near a vital organ it could kill you. The second factor would be range. Pellet guns generally have short ranges or effectiveness, So if you were shot at less then 4 feet away with a pellet gun it has a possibility to kill you. The third factor is ammunition type. The gun could shoot a pellet or a bb or an airsoft bb. A traditional bb is a small bore round ball which is shot at low velocities, they can be made from plastic or metal and might have a coating, thesegenerally wont kill anything with ease except at close ranges and in very vital areas(still rare it will kill you though). An airsoft bb is a type of bb that is very light weight and can be found easily in calibers .177 - 6mm. They are meant to be shot at people. The use is similar to paintball just with small objects and armour is used. A pellet is lead, plastic or PBA performance ballistic alloy, this is just a name that Gamo calls that type of pellet) projectile. Pellets range from .177 caliber to 20mm (.50 caliber of the highest that most places will ever sell.). The shape of the head changes the aerodynamic properties of the pellet which can change its purpose. Pellets that are made of lead are the most lethal could possibly kill someone. PBA and plastic ammo doesn't have much accuracy to be use full to kill anything. The heavier a pellet is the more muzzle energy the gun will have. The fourth factor is muzzle energy. Muzzle energy is expressed in 2 measurements. Foot pounds and joules. To give you an idea as to what muzzle energy some things have or what muzzle energy a gun needs to kill something I'll list out some numbers:

1 foot-pound will pierce skin.

To kill a small bird: 3-4 foot pounds

To kill a squirrel 6-8 foot pounds

A .22 long rim fire rifle has about 71 foot pounds of energy.

A non PAL/FAC airgun (one that can be picked up without a licence in Canada has around 3-5 foot pounds of energy.

A .177 caliber airgun with 1000 fps velocity: 15-21 foot pounds (depends on ammo)

A .177 caliber airgun with 1250 fps velocity: 20-30 foot pounds (depends on ammo)

A .50 caliber airgun with around 570 fps: 180 foot pounds

A .50 caliber Machine gun / Sniper: 11, 000 - 14,000 foot pounds

So its all highly dependant on the airgun and ammunition, With your run of the mill 495 fps gun and being shot by accident probably would kill them but could injure them badly. With a high powered air rifle being shot in the head would most likely kill you.

With a high powered air rifle at long range, not likely to kill you but it still has the ability to.

A Message to readers: Even though pellet guns can be lethal they are still great for teaching younger shooter what they need to know, Better you mess up with something weak then with something truly destructive.