Circa 1958 or so, there was a plastic pellet firing version of the Thompson sub gun. Pellets didn’t travel very far but the stick magazine and removable shoulder stock and front grip made it really cool. Somehow linked in my memory with Audie Murphy’s “To Hell and Back” movie.
my friend who lived across the street always had the latest toys, and one of them was a battery operated replica of a howitzer that fired projectiles about 50 feet. One fine day we were playing in his house and I successfully gaged direction and elevation and nailed the family cat that was walking on the top of his parents piano.