Advice wanted regarding crudely home made Air Pistol

[Garvin]

As title and piccies (once hosted by someone kind enough to offer to do so).

All that I know about this item is that It's crudely made and seems to be in 0.25 cal (and whilst someone suggested that it's a prototype that sounds fanciful to me). It looks to me as if it's cobbled up out of 1920's Air Rifle bits and Ironmongery parts, but I'd appreciate any light that anyone else might be able to shed on the item as I want to sell it but need some idea as to a fair asking price.

The story is than : an elderly gentleman bought it into the local gun shop a couple of years ago with the "usual story of it having been in the family 70 years or so", but with no other provenance and it's consequently of unknown origin etc. One of the salespersons in the shop put it to one side for me and I subsequently brought it (don't ask me why, I certainly can't figure it out now as to why I did so)).

Does any one out there have a clue what it is and as to whether or not it's saleable, and if so, at what price.

Thanks, Vic Thompson.

PS : I would appreciate someone hosting a couple of piccies for me if possible.

Vic T

Vic I'd be happy to host the pics if you email them to me.

[Garvin]

Vic's homemade pistol:

Pic 1
Pic 2

[Garvin]

Very crude!

Presumably that little cap on the barrel unscrews for loading? Do you then need a probe to push the pellet past the transfer port, or is there one built into the cap?

[Geordie]

Great to see you're still around Vic, I've still got that brown plastic suitcase filled with old Air Gunner and Airgun World magazines you sent me many moons ago.

Best,

Dan

[ccdjg]

I suppose you might call it a poor man's Abas Major. As far as value goes, I suppose around £20 would be OK for something that could be a talking point, although personally I would not give it house room.

[Vic Thompson]

Quote "Very crude!

Presumably that little cap on the barrel unscrews for loading? Do you then need a probe to push the pellet past the transfer port, or is there one built into the cap?"

Yes, that's correct, the thread on the end cap extends into the barrel and pushes the pellet forward, whilst the thread is relieved over the Transfer port region allowing air to flow past it to the pellet.

Regarding the Mags Dan, I hope that you're getting good use out of them, if I still had them they'd be making the rafters in the loft sag along with all of the other rubbish I've piled there over the years.

Vic T

Does anyone recognise anything about this item, and is it saleable ?

Vic T

[Benelli B76]

I suppose you might call it a poor man's Abas Major. As far as value goes, I suppose around £20 would be OK for something that could be a talking point, although personally I would not give it house room.

I think you could have undervalued it if it can be proved to have been originally found with other artifacts in he tomb of Tutankhamun.

Baz

[pjbingham]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,I think it's one of those cases of it's worth what somebody would pay. I wouldn't pay £20 because I wouldn't feel it's fair on the seller. I'd personally say 3 times that to the right person. It's so ugly it's beautiful. Atb Phil

[micky2]

I suppose you might call it a poor man's Abas Major. As far as value goes, I suppose around £20 would be OK for something that could be a talking point, although personally I would not give it house room.

Perhaps that's the pistol that A.A.Brown got their idear from.

[Vic Thompson]

Based on the number of views to date there's been a lot of passing interest in this item.

I might be wrong, but there doesn't seem to be any significant relationship between this item and any other known about Air Pistol designs. If that's right it makes it a "one off rather than a prototype". At a glance it looks as if most of this item could be made up from salvaged parts using rudimentary tools except from the frame and the cocking link which at a guess could well have taken ages to make (unless again, they too are parts salvaged from something else).

Even with a reasonable workshop and based on just looking at it, it would take days to make, and yet it's worth very little today. I can't help thinking that it was a labour of love made for a young lad in austere times.

JMHO, Vic Thompson.