Midland air rifle???

[Iain D]

Does anyone out there have any info on Midland air rifles, one of the lads brought one in tonight and it is in a sorry state to say the least. It is a .22 break barrel, there are screws missing others replaced with bolts and washers and nuts on the other side, breach seal has gone, but on the plus side there is a fair amount of life in the spring, I have not worked up the required courage to put a pellet through it yet, the butt is very similar to a bsa pistol grip slightly shallower in angle.

I will try and get some pics up tomorrow... so i will wait for the comments as if i didn't know what half of them will be..

Iain D

http://s705.photobucket.com/albums/w...20Air%20Rifle/

[edbear2]

Hi Iain......That looks like a midland "demon" break barrel. As you rightly say it does look like a BSA in some respects, mainly due to the period it was made. At that time, as today, people would copy other makers designs/styles if they were selling well, or seemed good mechanically, and you will find that the overall "look" of a gun will often give a lot of clues to it's period of manufacture after you have seen or read enough about them. I would recommend that you invest in a copy of the Hiller book as you seem to be seeing more old guns!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Air-Rifles-C...2&sr=1-3-fkmr0

The book is a pretty good guide to what's out there, and may well help you spot a bargain, or a rare gun one day by being "genned up"

Some demon pics for you........

An engraved one from a bbs member;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7614881342508/


BSA/Midland comparison.......The BSA in the picture is a 1938 "break down" model;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7607860743867/

Another gun from this period, and a sought after model, with some nice design features........but note the overall style;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7622473876937/