Quote Originally Posted by ccdjg View Post
That is a very interesting question and one that I don't really know the answer to. You are right in that the system is basically what we would call now a spring piston mechanism. The term "strike pump" seems to have been coined by Arne Hoff in his 1972 book "Airguns and other pneumatic arms", and he has a whole chapter entitled "Strike-pump Guns". Wherever it came from, the term has now come into general use (especially by auction houses) as a descriptor for very early spring-piston airguns where the cylinder is concealed within the stock. It is also popularly used in Germany, as "Schlagpump".

If anyone knows of any use of the term before 1972 I would be very interested to know.
Thanks,
John
Thank you for the reply. I will have to look out for Arne Hoff's book. Xmas is a long way off but I have a birthday before that