For many reasons, airgunning is a fast-growing, seemingly limitless segment of the shooting industry.

Traditionally, airguns are generally single-shot, piston-powered guns that charge the compression chamber with a pump. They are almost always .177- or .22-caliber.

In recent years, however, big bore airguns have been ascendant, especially among hunters that use up to .82-cal. bullets and slugs to take every type of big game worldwide.

They are becoming so popular that Safari Club International added airgunning as an independent trophy category, said Brad Webb, vice-president of sales at Umarex USA. Based in Fort Smith, Umarex is a top manufacturer of high-end pneumatic rifles and pistols.

"The Safari Club [trophy] book is very thick," Webb said. "Every category is wide open. People are trying to get in the book with airgun rifles."

Buckmasters has also added an air rifle category to its trophy animal recognition records. Chad Simon of Harrisonburg, Va., owner of Lethal Air, killed the world-record white-tailed buck in Buckmasters airgun category. It was an 11-point Virginia buck that scored about 160 on the Buckmasters scale. Simon shot the buck with a specially designed copper jacketed bullet made by Lehigh Defense, which was recently purchased by Wilson Combat of Berryville.

Copper bullets generally don't work in air rifles, Simon said, because copper is too hard. Airguns don't produce enough pressure to expel copper bullets from the barrel. The Lehigh Defense bullet has three small ribs that lightly contact the barrel while eliminating blow-by.

"It has a hollow point cut into four sections," Simon said. "It's made to break off at 750 feet per second. When you shoot a deer, the core goes through the deer, but four little broadheads splinter and drive different directions inside the deer. It causes all kinds trauma. That's what you need. I see copper as the future in airguns once they figure it out."

So far, 26 states allow hunting with big bore air rifles. In 2018, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission passed a regulation allowing hunters to use big bore air rifles for deer hunting. A legal air rifle for deer must be at least .40-cal., and must produce at least 400 foot pounds of pressure. It must also be charged with an external air tank.

Idaho, the most permissive airgun state, allows big bore air rifles for all of its big game, including elk, sheep and moose. Alaska allows them for caribou and black-tailed deer.

Along with its rifles, Umarex is well known for its replica air pistols that resemble those by Glock, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Walther, Colt, and H&K. Umarex produces replicas under licensing agreements. Many law enforcement agencies use them for training. Umarex replicas -- shooting airsoft pellets or BBs instead of bullets -- are much safer to train with, and they are also a lot cheaper to shoot.

"Airsoft is not just toy," Webb said. "You can train with airsoft. We're a leader in the replica realm, and we give people the opportunity to put a replica of their service firearm in their holster and do any kind of training drills. You can train for a penny a round or less, and that gives you a lot more opportunity to practice muscle memory."

For engagement training, Umarex replicas shoot rubber balls, pepper balls or paint balls.

"You replicate duty weapon training with those," Webb said. "With a .43-caliber rubber ball, you know you've been hit in a law enforcement scenario."

Benchrest shooting is another big growth area for air rifles. Bore sizes vary, but Simon said one competitor shot a ground squirrel target at 650 yards at a match in Utah. He used a specially designed lead slug.

"It took 5.9 seconds for the slug to make impact," Simon said. "It was really cool to show people that."

Airgun meets are big events, with prize money that equals or surpasses "powder burn" matches. One such meet is the Rocky Mountain Airgun Challenge in June at Salt Lake City, Utah. Several hundred shooters competed in multiple categories. The top prize in the benchrest division was $20,000.

Airguns are increasingly popular because they are inexpensive to shoot compared to powder burning firearms, and they are quiet. That allows owners to practice in their homes and backyards, even in densely populated neighborhoods.

They are valuable for teaching, Webb said, because they have almost no recoil or muzzle jump. This reduces flinching and helps instill proper shooting habits.

Traditionally, air rifles were single shot units. Repeaters are now becoming popular and increasingly common with small-bore rifles.

"You're seeing break-barrel guns that have 10-round cylinders to advance pellets," Webb said. "You get 10 shots before you have to reload the magazine."

Scott Faldon of Fort Smith, marketing manager for Umarex, said that airguns are excellent options for traditional gun stores because of their training value.

"One thing local gun shops should know is that airguns are a good way to transition new gun owners or people that are curious about guns into the firearm world," Faldon said. "If you have someone come in off the street that has never shot before, you can put an airsoft or BB gun in their hand and start moving them up the chain."

Another big development is the air-powered arrow gun. As its name suggests, it uses pneumatic power to propel arrows. The Game and Fish Commission debated the concept exhaustively during its latest regulations cycle. Virginia allows hunters that have orthopedic disabilities to use them for big game hunting during archery and muzzleloading deer seasons.

"My dad is in his 70s. He fell off a ladder and sustained a serious shoulder injury," Simon said. "He's been using a Umarex Air Saver for two or three years. He killed a 250-pound black bear with his."

Simon also used an arrow gun to kill a seven-foot alligator in Florida. He organizes hunts in Florida to kill exotic iguanas, which are an ecological menace.

"Each time we took out three boats in the canals," Simon said. "We killed about 500 iguanas in two days of shooting. I also have some arrow guns rigged up to do some bowfishing trips."

Airgunning is clearly the wave of the present. For hunting, it might be the wave of the future.

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