Betsy Gun, developed and offered by Castillo Geophysical Ltd. of Reno, Nevada, provides portable propellant-powered seismic sources for geophysical investigations. Its BFG-1000 uses blank ammunition to generate acoustic energy, combining the data quality associated with explosive sources with a system designed for broad accessibility. The company says the source can investigate from the shallow subsurface to depths of up to 2 km in good conditions, and can be configured for remote, extreme, or environmentally sensitive settings.

The BFG-1000 is electronically initiated, allowing operators to stand away from the system during use. It delivers 117 kJ per shot, with frequencies ranging from 2 Hz for deeper reflection work to 200 Hz for high-resolution shallow imaging. Applications include refraction studies, full waveform inversion, surface-wave analysis, site hazard classification, and shear-wave velocity estimation. The source can also generate tube waves that produce vertically polarized shear waves.

Betsy Gun products and ammunition are available in the United States and Canada.