A collection of vintage and modern airguns.
Readers may remember in my last article that I described Anson’s guarded Firefly in considerable detail and contrasted it against known unguarded Firefly air pistols. At the time when the article was originally written, Jimmie Dee’s Airguns did not have an “unguarded trigger” example in the collection. In early 2016, that changed…
Continue reading “The “Firefly” (unguarded trigger) by Edwin Anson & Company (1925-1933)”
In this article, we are going to discover one of the key contributors of the British air pistol revolution of the early 20th century. Standing on the shoulders of his father’s success, he helped to drive forward and perhaps single-handedly kick-started the British air pistol industry by developing an air pistol of such high standards that it possibly could no longer be considered within the realm of toys.
Continue reading “The Westley Richards “Highest Possible” (non-concentric) Air Pistol (c. 1907 to c. 1915) by Edwin Anson”
This Czech Drulov DU-10 “Condor” target pistol was a recent birthday present from Jimmie Dee Snr, thanks, Dad!
Continue reading “Drulov DU-10 “Condor” (c. 1995 – c. 2010) by Lověna-Družstvo”
In this article, I will try to unravel the identity of a mysterious new pistol recently acquired for Jimmie Dee’s collection. At first appearance, one could be mistakenly drawn to the conclusion that it is a Daredevil Dinkum, a later copy of Michael Flürscheim’s MF air pistol. However, as we shall discover together, a close detailed inspection throws much doubt about its identity…
Continue reading “An Eisenwerke Gaggenau MF, or is it?”
In this article, I discuss what is possibly Germany’s oldest production air pistol and its inventor. We will discover how he built a significant business that is still in operation today, his social ideologies and his demise. We also discover that some of Germany’s most influential firearms designers and weapons of the 20th century owe their roots to this man. Get yourself a nice drink and get comfy as this is going to be a long read…
Continue reading “The Eisenwerke Gaggenau “MF” (1878 to 1900) by Michael Flürscheim”
In this article, we will follow the life and career of one of the late 19th-century American airgun pioneers as well as that of his business partner. We will discover how his ingenious and unwaning passion helped to pioneer the way ahead for our airgun heritage with his earliest designs still commonly in use today. We may also discover why George Gunn’s repeating “Gem” style air rifle was, perhaps, never realised. It could be said that Haviland and Gunn’s, or perhaps just Gunn’s influence on spring airgun development could be considered so significant that they could be called the fathers of the modern spring airgun. After all, their designs are the basis of all break-barrel airguns and can still be seen in airguns that are made today. How’s that for a legacy?
Continue reading “Benjamin Haviland, George P. Gunn and the “Morse” Air Pistol (1872 to c. 1881)”
This article takes us on a journey through history as we follow the lives of two inspiring Norwegian entrepreneurs from the late 19th century. It’s full of new beginnings, adventure, war, the construction of an empire and its downfall, successes and failures, loss and sadness and an assassination or two…. it’s a real rollercoaster! Take your time though, it’s another epically long one….
Continue reading “Iver Johnson, Martin Bye and the “Champion” Air Pistol (1876 to c. 1893)”
In this article, I will attempt to tell the story of another facet of the late 19th-century American air gun industry. We shall learn about the relationship between three important pioneers of early American air guns whilst investigating Bedford and Walker’s Eureka air pistol. We will also discover the first bolt-action breech seal that is still used in today’s modern airguns.
Continue reading “The “Eureka” (1876 to c. 1893) by Augustus Bedford and George A. Walker”
In March 2016, I was asked by Danny Garvin of the Vintage Airgun Gallery, if I would write an article for Issue 3 of the Airgun Collector, an online magazine full of wonderful vintage airguns and superbly written articles. I was honoured to be included amongst such highly acclaimed authors and collectors. Danny’s introduction for the article seems a good place to start this article…
Continue reading “Albert Augustus Pope and The Pope Brothers Rifle Air Pistol (1874-1878)”
In a previous article, I wrote about the Challenger Arms Corporation Plainsman “pneumatic” air pistol. That article described how the pneumatic Plainsman was effectively a further development of the Apache air pistol. Both pistols were designed by Albert Dale Fogel who was a financial partner and Vice President of Design and Production at the National Cart and Challenger Arms Corporations. [1]
Continue reading “The Challenger Arms Corporation Plainsman (CO₂) Pistol (1954-1958)”
The Challenger Arms Corporation was a subsidiary company of the National Cart Corporation. If you have been following our articles it will come as no surprise to you that the National Cart Corporation also produced the Apache range of air pistols and air rifles. After designing the Apache air pistol, Daniel Fogel, the Vice President of Design and Production at the National Cart Corporation, developed a .28 calibre air shotgun sometime mid-1948. But rather than add it to the Apache line Charles Burhans, the president of the National Cart Corporation, decided to market it via a separate company called the Challenger Arms Corporation. Perhaps Burhans had already realised that the Apache airgun range along with its high failure rate and free lifetime warranty was already doomed. Or perhaps they had not managed to productise the new air shotgun by the time the Apache and production tools had been sold to SIMCO. Whatever the reason, as far as Burhans and his associates were concerned, the Apache era was over and the Challenger range of air guns had begun! [1][2][3]
Continue reading “The Challenger Arms Corporation Plainsman Pistol (Pneumatic) (1949-1951)”
The Apache “Fireball” air pistol was part of a small range of airguns produced towards the end of the 1940s by the National Cart Corporation in Pasadena, California. I’m sure you are wondering why a company with such a name would consider manufacturing airguns. I know I certainly am. Before the introduction of airguns and employing around one hundred workers, the National Cart Corporation’s product line was a range of golf carts which, according to one of their advertisements, were known as the “famous tag-a-long golf carts”. In 1947, Stuart Klingelsmith, the public relations director of the National Cart Corporation, wrote an article in which he predicted that the potential earnings from the rental and sales of golf carts could reach multiple millions of dollars in that year. With such signs of significant revenue earnings, why would the company consider branching out into airguns at all? [1]
Continue reading “Apache Airguns – Part 1: The Apache “Fireball” Air Pistol (1947-1949) by the National Cart Corporation”Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.
