Webley Premier .22 *no code letter printer on the L.H.S*

[Andrew31]

Hello,Hello,
I’d love to introduce myself as an avid air gun enthusiast but the simple truth is I’m not. My Dad recently passed on what was left of his air gun collection. Collecting air guns was his main hobby, and he took it very seriously.
I’m trying to research his Webley ‘Premier’ and I’d be grateful of some help.
It’s a Webley & Scott LTD - Premier (.22) Air Pistol, unboxed. It has the following stamped on the body:

THE WEBLEY PREMIER
MADE IN ENGLAND
WEBLEY & SCOTT LTD BIRMINGHAM

I have ‘The Collectors Guide to AIR PISTOLS’ (Hillier) and I’m struggling to date this model.

Batch number is 794 with inspection letter D on trigger guard.

** There appears to be no code letter printer on the L.H.S of the body **

I have taken numerous photos, please see my flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16099319@N03/

Can anyone help please?

Thanks,

Andy

[Josie & John]

Hello,Hello,
I’d love to introduce myself as an avid air gun enthusiast but the simple truth is I’m not. My Dad recently passed on what was left of his air gun collection. Collecting air guns was his main hobby, and he took it very seriously.
I’m trying to research his Webley ‘Premier’ and I’d be grateful of some help.
It’s a Webley & Scott LTD - Premier (.22) Air Pistol, unboxed. It has the following stamped on the body:

THE WEBLEY PREMIER
MADE IN ENGLAND
WEBLEY & SCOTT LTD BIRMINGHAM

I have ‘The Collectors Guide to AIR PISTOLS’ (Hillier) and I’m struggling to date this model.

Batch number is 794 with inspection letter D on trigger guard.

** There appears to be no code letter printer on the L.H.S of the body **

I have taken numerous photos, please see my flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16099319@N03/

Can anyone help please?

Thanks,

Andy

Hello Andy and welcome to the Collector's section of the BBS.

You have an early 1970s Premier. Not every E Series Premier was stamped with a code letter and your 5 pin model matches this series. I can't quite make out if the finish is blued or has been coated over with a lacquer type finish, which Webley used for a while during the early 70s. A date was usually stamped under the left stock side/grip and I can't quite make out if yours was ever date stamped. The stamp will be found about half way down the grip.

The Premier was a fine pistol and there are many variations to collect, as lots of changes were made to the design over its 13 or so year production run.

Hope this helps.

John

[Andrew31]

Hi John,

Thanks for the prompt reply. No this one does not appear to be stamped with a date. I had a stab at doing some research and this is what led me to post on here. I just couldn't make my mind up, and numerous sources have said that there should be a date stamp under the left hand grip but there is not.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1609931...in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1609931...in/photostream

The finish is very smooth, but I can't make my mind up whether it's a lacquered finish or not.

Thanks,

Andy

[Josie & John]

You are most welcome Andy.

Not every Premier was date coded during the late 1960s/early 70s, so not unusual to see yours wasn't. Likewise, there are quite a few without a Series code from the early 70s but which share characteristics with the E Series. I believe yours to be such a pistol.

Best regards,

John

[webman]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum. That's a very nice Premier you have. I've had a good look at your photographs and I 'm fairly sure it has the epoxy paint finish. If you look closely at the edge of the front section, there is a very small chip out of the paint which is hardly noticeable. This finish was applied for a fairly short time at the end of the production of the Premier.