Air rifle

Air rifles were a type of slugthrower available during the Galactic Civil War between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire. The rifles used compressed air to fire small metal pellets or light, spinstablised darts over long distances. They were not considered weapons on most worlds and as such there were few planets with laws restricting their use, even amongst the Core Worlds, which normally had the strictest of weapon regulations. Most sentients in fact considered the rifles toys, and they were mainly marketed to hobby shooters, collectors or those who need to use them for shooting practice. Most air rifles were accurate, silent, safe and easy to use, which made them popular amongst bounty hunters and big game hunters who needed to use stealth when pursuing their prey. Many rifles could be upgraded to contain toxins or chemicals, such as the tranquilizer "SmartTranq", making them more dangerous. The company Field Sports was a trusted name in the production of air-weaponry such as air rifles, and during the Civil War produced the Model 77 air rifle, which was the most common on the market at the time.

Behind the scenes
Air rifles were first mentioned in Enter the Unknown, a sourcebook written by Sterling Hershey and released in 2013 for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Edge of the Empire roleplaying game.