Christmas finds: Last Haenel 28 to complete collection

[45flint]

Found this Haenel 28 on Christmas Eve on a auction site, grabbed it cause it completed my Haenel 28 collection. It is .177 and that gives me a Haenel 28 and a Haenel 28R in both calibers. It also came in the box with the little box of pellets. Box is just ok but it’s there. Loved the figuired walnut grips, my weakness.
Came today and it’s better than the pics. Grips are the best on any of my 28s. Even got a extra new leather seal. Interesting it has a stop screw in the end cap, I have never seen this before? Sure looks factory. Serial number 18,000+ so it toward the end of the run. Will put a slide show of the gun, last pic is my total Haenel 28 collection. Done! Started it just a year and a half ago, hard to believe my luck there. Last pic I will post separately below, anyone ever see this stop screw?

Slideshowhttps://imgur.com/gallery/ih48c

Pic of stop-screw:

[Abasmajor]

Hello,

A great start to the new year especially as I would guess nice European pistols are much harder to source in the USA than here in the UK.

The Haenal complimentary pellet packaging is very similar to that offered by Webley and makes a nice addition to the set. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to find a boxed 28 that included the pellet pack, so settled for a post-war tin, but at least its of German origin.

I can't say I have handled too many of these pistols, but my own example (23298) doesn't have the end cap securing screw.



Regards
Brian

[45flint]

a

Hello,

A great start to the new year especially as I would guess nice European pistols are much harder to source in the USA than here in the UK.

The Haenal complimentary pellet packaging is very similar to that offered by Webley and makes a nice addition to the set. Unfortunately, I wasn't lucky enough to find a boxed 28 that included the pellet pack, so settled for a post-war tin, but at least its of German origin.

I can't say I have handled too many of these pistols, but my own example (23298) doesn't have the end cap securing screw.



Regards
Brian

Yours being later it would seem that the stop was added?, just don’t know why someone would go to that trouble? They are pretty secure as is?

[ccdjg]

Found this Haenel 28 on Christmas Eve on a auction site, grabbed it cause it completed my Haenel 28 collection. It is .177 and that gives me a Haenel 28 and a Haenel 28R in both calibers. It also came in the box with the little box of pellets. Box is just ok but it’s there. Loved the figuired walnut grips, my weakness.
Came today and it’s better than the pics. Grips are the best on any of my 28s. Even got a extra new leather seal. Interesting it has a stop screw in the end cap, I have never seen this before? Sure looks factory. Serial number 18,000+ so it toward the end of the run. Will put a slide show of the gun, last pic is my total Haenel 28 collection. Done! Started it just a year and a half ago, hard to believe my luck there. Last pic I will post separately below, anyone ever see this stop screw?

Great collection Flint. You have done extremely well to put together a collection of Haenel 28's like that in 18 months. It took me more than twice that length of time to get the same, and that was 25 years go when there were a lot more collectables about. The .22 repeater is especially rare in the UK.

Incidentally I have never come across that locking screw before.

You say that your Haenel collection is now complete, but I bet you anything that you won't stop there. Have you thought about adding the "Haenel Air Pistol" to your collection? - basically it is a very early Haenel 28 which was sold before Haenel decided to add the suffix "28" to this design to differentiate it from the
lesser Haenel 26. They are simply stamped "Haenel Air Pistol" . They have a flat grip emblem, without the usual outer rim, and the cylinder lock-up unit uses a notched peg rather than a hook. An example of this pistol is shown in the pic below.

Then are the two Haenel 26 variants, pictured with their big brother, to look out for. Probably not your cup of tea due to their mainly alloy construction and lack of walnut grips, but even so they are an important part of the Haenel story. They would certainly put the lid on your collection.

Happy collecting for 2018,
John

[45flint]

Great collection Flint. You have done extremely well to put together a collection of Haenel 28's like that in 18 months. It took me more than twice that length of time to get the same, and that was 25 years go when there were a lot more collectables about. The .22 repeater is especially rare in the UK.

Incidentally I have never come across that locking screw before.

You say that your Haenel collection is now complete, but I bet you anything that you won't stop there. Have you thought about adding the "Haenel Air Pistol" to your collection? - basically it is a very early Haenel 28 which was sold before Haenel decided to add the suffix "28" to this design to differentiate it from the
lesser Haenel 26. They are simply stamped "Haenel Air Pistol" . They have a flat grip emblem, without the usual outer rim, and the cylinder lock-up unit uses a notched peg rather than a hook. An example of this pistol is shown in the pic below.

Then are the two Haenel 26 variants, pictured with their big brother, to look out for. Probably not your cup of tea due to their mainly alloy construction and lack of walnut grips, but even so they are an important part of the Haenel story. They would certainly put the lid on your collection.

Happy collecting for 2018,
John

The same fellow selling the Christmas Eve 28 I bought also put up a 26 in very good condition. I thought about it but the alloy is just a turn off for me. You in the U.K. probably have a better shot at the earlier more obscure 28s. The only variant I have seen over here is the “Super” which is really the same gun but a few different markings. I would love to have the long barrel version but have only seen one in pics. Want to go after US import Webleys now, lots of room to expand there and I’m in the right country. Also seems less people over here are into prewar airguns, less competition.

[micky2]

Yes l bought a Haenel 28 last year which had a keeper screw fitted to the end cap. a feature which l had never seen before. and l have had about 7, 28s altogether.

[ccdjg]

Yes l bought a Haenel 28 last year which had a keeper screw fitted to the end cap. a feature which l had never seen before. and l have had about 7, 28s altogether.

Very interesting. Always something new to learn.

[45flint]

Yes l bought a Haenel 28 last year which had a keeper screw fitted to the end cap. a feature which l had never seen before. and l have had about 7, 28s altogether.

That’s crazy, if you have one in the UK probably is factory? Maybe something they started and then stopped cause later serial numbers don’t have it. Very curious as to your keeper screw serial number? We can start the very rare keeper screw variant, everyone needs one to complete their Haenel 28 collection. Only two known to exist!! Value of mine just went up $50. Lol

[micky2]

That’s crazy, if you have one in the UK probably is factory? Maybe something they started and then stopped cause later serial numbers don’t have it. Very curious as to your keeper screw serial number? We can start the very rare keeper screw variant, everyone needs one to complete their Haenel 28 collection. Only two known to exist!! Value of mine just went up $50. Lol

Hi Flint se/no is 18554, l bought this from a auction as a .22 and when l went to pick it up. it was a .177 so l sold it on, has l already have a boxed one in .177. l had not seen this feature before, which l belive this was a factory job or done by a gunsmith. l will email you a photo if l still have it.

[Garvin]

Very interesting that this keeper screw has turned up on two known Haenel 28s at around the same serial number range, and that it was apparently dropped later on. It does seem very belt-and-braces for a relatively secure screw-on cap -
especially when compared to the (inherently dangerous?) EM-GE Zenit bayonet-fitting end cap arrangement!

I have a postwar Falke-branded variant of the Zenit that has been adapted with a large central keeper bolt, so manufacturers were obviously mindful of the danger of an end-cap flying off towards the shooter's eyes...



Later Falke 33s (a Falke design but closely based on the Zenit) reverted to the less secure Zenit-type bayonet end-cap fitting, though I suspect it was more secure since I've never head of one coming loose, unlike the Zenits.

The postwar Diana rifles and pistols also had a keeper/lock-screw fitted to their screw-on end-caps, so risk aversion of this kind clearly carried on after the War. I wonder why Haenel dropped the idea though - perhaps cost-saving at the end of the pistols' run?

[45flint]

Hi Flint se/no is 18554, l bought this from a auction as a .22 and when l went to pick it up. it was a .177 so l sold it on, has l already have a boxed one in .177. l had not seen this feature before, which l belive this was a factory job or done by a gunsmith. l will email you a photo if l still have it.

My serial number is 18,265, also a .177 so it would appear that it was factory and short lived? It really does seem like overkill as I have a very difficult time getting these unscrewed anyway. Gave up getting one off. As Garvin says may be a reaction to reports of other gun endcap issues at the time? I have a prewar EM-GE Zenit in my collection and I fire it with a thumb on the endcap, doesn’t help the form, lol

[Abasmajor]

There must be plenty of forum members out there who own Haenal 28s, so it might be an idea start a new appropriately titled thread to prevent it getting lost here requesting any members with similar end cap retaining screws fitted to advise the Ser Nos of their pistols, provided of course that they are happy to do so.

The more we share the more we learn.

Regards
Brian

[45flint]

There must be plenty of forum members out there who own Haenal 28s, so it might be an idea start a new appropriately titled thread to prevent it getting lost here requesting any members with similar end cap retaining screws fitted to advise the Ser Nos of their pistols, provided of course that they are happy to do so.

The more we share the more we learn.

Regards
Brian

Not a bad idea, also many may not even have noticed it?

[45flint]

Mick wanted me to post pic of his gun: pretty much identical so from different countries it must be factory.