some ray gun q's even though i lvl 44

Perhaps the player you were shooting at had rendering bugs, and weren't exactly where you shot them.
Generally, if you hit someone with a raygun blast, it should damage them. However, I believe the laser does go through people, so try hitting their feet.

 

I believe what Brawler said about the render glitch is true, and try aiming below that player or on their feet.

 

The best way to damage opponents is not to hit them with the beam, for, as Brawler said, it passes through people , so take advantage of the splash damage and hit the ground or a wall next to them.

 

Problem resolved, locked.

 

Already locked, but I have some more info

The ordinary bullets (snowballs) have a large hitbox, as seen here. When you shoot someone who is hiding behind a corner, this is why you can sometimes hit them. But the raygun does not use snowballs, so it's bullets have to be aimed directly at the player's hitbox, which is very small. As you can see in this lovely photo of GreenPeas_, the player's hitbox is only slightly larger than the torso itself. Therefore the snowballs do not have to be aimed directly at the player's hitbox, they only have to graze it. Meanwhile, the raygun has to hit it dead-on for it to be considered connection.