Quote Originally Posted by thisisdonald View Post
Ahh.. I thought the alecto came first and all others were copies... like the hw40.
The first SSP pistols, were match guns from the late 60s through early/mid 70s like the Walther LP2&3, FAS604, Air Match.

The mid-range SSPs started I think with the Gamo PR-15 and PR-45 as lower-cost derivatives of the Gamo Compact in around 1992-93. Quickly followed by the old (proper) Webley Nemesis in 1994 or 95.

HW saw an opportunity and brought out the HW40/Beeman P3 in 1999.

If you compare the three, they are all the same basic design (as is the HW75). And are based on the FAS.

Yes, you read that right. First Webley, then HW, copied Gamo.

Or, maybe, there is one obvious best way to design an SSP.

Until 1999, Beeman had been selling Webley Nemesises (is that the correct plural?) in the US. He immediately dropped the Webley and sold the HW instead - another nail in old Webley’s coffin. Truth be told, the HW is probably a better pistol (and the Gamo ain’t bad, and was cheaper).

The “Webley” (Zoracki) Alecto arrived on the scene about ten years ago, and is no longer sold as a “Webley”. Which is almost a shame as it’s one of the few modern “Webleys” that actually seems quite good (even if I think it looks stupid).