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Thread: How many different models did Lane Bros make?

  1. #1
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    How many different models did Lane Bros make?

    As per title. It's just that I have a clearly marked Lane Bros. London, British made .177 break barrel air rifle. The only one where I can find a photo of the stamping so is in a JC Militaria advert which says Musketeer. I haven't yet found reference to any other model. My serial no. is 3047.

    It appears identical to the one in Hiller.

    Any suggestions?

    ATB, Mick
    When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns .

  2. #2
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    My basket case musketeer is away in storage at the moment but if iirc it had the model name stamped on it. Does yours?
    Rich.
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    Quote Originally Posted by averageplinker View Post
    My basket case musketeer is away in storage at the moment but if iirc it had the model name stamped on it. Does yours?
    Rich.
    No. That was my point.

    As it doesn't say Musketeer is there any other model it could be?

    ATB, Mick
    When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns .

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    Bump for the insomniacs and breakfast reading for Trevor.

    Somebody must know, Mick
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    Lanes

    The Lanes that I once owned was 0.25 and not stamped with a made name or number Regards Davehl
    If you dont do it today, you might not be able to do it tomorrow!

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    Quote Originally Posted by daveh View Post
    The Lanes that I once owned was 0.25 and not stamped with a made name or number Regards Davehl
    Thanks, Dave.

    I'm not sure that that helps but at least I'm not alone.

    ATB, Mick
    When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns .

  7. #7
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    I've an idea these might have been made in Germany , possibly by Eisenwerke Gaggenau, as an early catalogue of theirs has an "Artists Impression" of something very similar.

    Atb Mark

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    Hi Mick,

    It is debatable s to whether Lanes actually made the Musketeer or if it was made for them as they were more of a pellet rather than gun manufacturer. It is possible the Musketeer was part made in Germany and it has also been suggested the Midland Gun Company may have had some involvement. The Musketeer deserves a place in the U.K.'s airgun history as it was the first 'British made' air rifle to be advertised, coming before the Lincoln Jeffries and Britannia.

    Lanes also imported and adapted German Jewel (not Gem) airguns, which looked like Gem types with their own trigger system at the beginning of the 20th Century and these were marked with the Lanes name too. As the time, Jewel was a name used for some Gem types and the two terms were almost interchangeable. As time went on, Gem seems to have survived and Jewel has been almost lost to history. If you read contemporary accounts of the earliest organised airgun matches in the U.K. Jewels feature quite prominently.

    Not sure if this helps you?

    Kind regards,
    John

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Farsight View Post
    I've an idea these might have been made in Germany , possibly by Eisenwerke Gaggenau, as an early catalogue of theirs has an "Artists Impression" of something very similar.

    Atb Mark
    When I was researching these a while back I am sure there was some link to WW Greener. IIRC it may have used their trigger mechanism, so perhaps they were made for Lanes by Greener? If I can fire up my old laptop I will see what information I can rediscover!
    Yours may be a different model if it does not have Musketeer stamped on it, or they may not have stamped all of them? In any case are you able to host pictures somewhere and then post a link to them? We can then look for visible differences to any owned by the rest of us.
    Rich.
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  10. #10
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    Looks like John was typing quicker than me 😀
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    Quote Originally Posted by averageplinker View Post
    Looks like John was typing quicker than me 😀
    Great minds, eh?

    Yes, Harry Greener was responsible for the Musketeer's trigger block, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Greeners may have made the Musketeer for Lanes. A far later 1937 Parker Hale catalogue I have illustrates the Greener air rifle with the patented 'hanging trigger block' that was used on the Musketeer but to the best of my knowledge never on the Greener.

    John

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    Quote Originally Posted by averageplinker View Post
    When I was researching these a while back I am sure there was some link to WW Greener. IIRC it may have used their trigger mechanism, so perhaps they were made for Lanes by Greener? If I can fire up my old laptop I will see what information I can rediscover!
    Yours may be a different model if it does not have Musketeer stamped on it, or they may not have stamped all of them? In any case are you able to host pictures somewhere and then post a link to them? We can then look for visible differences to any owned by the rest of us.
    Rich.
    That is part of the problem - it looks just like the picture in Hiller but simply doesn't have any model stamps, hence the query. Hiller supplied all the other info proffered regarding Greener and Midland but only mentions the one model.

    Thanks, Mick
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    Quote Originally Posted by Josie & John View Post
    Great minds, eh?

    Yes, Harry Greener was responsible for the Musketeer's trigger block, so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Greeners may have made the Musketeer for Lanes. A far later 1937 Parker Hale catalogue I have illustrates the Greener air rifle with the patented 'hanging trigger block' that was used on the Musketeer but to the best of my knowledge never on the Greener.

    John
    Quite so, but have a look at the EG catalogue and see the other offerings ,esp. the spring in butt gem types: Just like the Lanes ! If the Musketeer was churned out by Greeners , they seem to fall a bit short of the usual quality materials and workmanship.

    Atb Mark

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    With hindsight (20/20 as ever) I think I should have titled this thus - Is my Lane Bros rifle a Musketeer?

    Thanks for the replies so far, Mick
    When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns .

  15. #15
    ccdjg is offline Airgun Alchemist, Collector and Scribe
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    Quote Originally Posted by walnutfarmmick View Post
    With hindsight (20/20 as ever) I think I should have titled this thus - Is my Lane Bros rifle a Musketeer?

    Thanks for the replies so far, Mick
    Reading the authoritative review of the Lanes' airguns by John Atkins in the January and February, 2007 editions of Airgunner I would say that if your gun has the Greener patented trigger mechanism (which it will have if your gun looks the same as that in Hiller's book), and taking into account that your gun is clearly marked "Lanes Bros", then it must be a Musketeer. Your gun's serial number (3047) is remarkably close to that of a Musketeer (SN 3044) reported by John Atkins in his February 2007 article. This rifle was also .177. Unfortunately he does not say if it was stamped with the model name or not. It is always possible that the stamping was dropped with these higher serial numbered guns if the stamping die had become damaged or worn at that stage, and Lanes may not have wanted to go to the expense of replacing it if the rifle was coming to the end of its commercial lifetime.

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