Modern CO2 air pistols can be single-action or double-action, just like their powderburning counterparts, and many offer both modes. But even though they've been around for years it's still easy to get these two technical descriptions wrong when describing how a gun actually works. To be honest, yours truly still gets these mixed up – and that's after using the real thing. For airguns, life used to be simple back in the 1970s with a break-barrel BSA Scorpion or Webley Tempest to tickle your fancy. Now we have Desert Eagles, Chiappa Rhinos and Lugers – and it's never been better! But what about the action?
Working actions can vary, so let's start with revolvers. With a powder-burning handgun, and subsequently their much later airgun counterparts, there are two methods that determine how the gun is
