Not necessarily a simple answer - but I thought I'd get an answer by now. Afterall, AIRGUNBBS is devoted to all things to do with this sport - so you'd think a question as basic as 'where did it all start?' would get a definitive response by now. At the moment we seem stuck on identifying the very first .22 and first .177 airguns. I don't even know if the first was a rifle - or a pistol?
...and i only asked because i genuinely don't know the answer!