Air guns are NOT toys. They have been and are used for hunting small game, and larger ones have been used to take down deer.

That is why the manufacturers refuse to allow orange "toy marking" on the weapons.

Airsoft is similar, but with less muzzle velocity and a far lighter projectile.

Either can harm or kill.

A spring operated "BB gun" produces from 250 to 350 fps to a 5 grain .174 steel ball ("BB"). Ten pumps on a Daisy Powerline 880 will get 560 to 670 fps with the same steel ball. A Beeman R-1 moves it up to as much as 1100 fps, and some newer models are faster. For some perspective, a standard 9mm round or a .45 ACP move at about 650 fps and a standard .22 at 1025. Of course, these last rounds are more deadly because the bullets have more mass (230 grains for a military-grade .45 ACP, 40 grains for a .22).

Air guns are NOT toys.