“Some pellet guns are potent enough to kill someone.”
Girardoni air rifle
18th century Austrian airgun
The Girandoni air rifle is an air gun designed by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Girandoni circa 1779. The weapon was also known as the Windbüchse. One of the rifle’s more famous associations is its use on the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore and map the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Wikipedia
You beat me to it.