A rare Gat find

[ccdjg]

This Harrington Gat was found in a small auction, with no other airguns accompanying it. It was a bit of a gamble buying it on-line, but it turned out to be quite a snip.





The box was unlike any other I had seen, having a lift-off lid, and the pistol was unusual in not having a muzzle adapter for firing corks.







It was evidently a rare first version Gat, the one introduced briefly in 1939 before being suspended by the outbreak of war. The finish is most unusual, and I am sure it is original, consisting of a copper plating layer which had been chemically blacked. The black layer was wearing a bit thin in places, showing the copper under layer. The pistol dismantles quite differently to post- war guns, and has separate grip plates.





The breech pin also differs from that of the post-war models.





The box lid label looks superficially like those on all the later boxes, but in fact shows a pistol with no cork-firing adapter, and also unlike all later box lids, the description makes no mention of using the gun with corks. There is an interesting large label on the bottom of the box.




A great find at a bargain price. So the moral is, keep an eye out for the unexpected lots in the smaller auctions.

[Garvin]

Extraordinary! A prewar Gat! Who knew? (apart from you John, obviously). Note to self: I must read my ESAP without skipping over sections...

[Powderfinger]

A terrific find and great to know it is in the hands of an enthusiast who has documented it.

[Buck25]

I find the condition of the original box and a packet of the original "GAT" darts to be just as rare as the pistol itself. These accessories really compliment the pistol. So nice to see that there are still nice examples out there for the collector to find. Very nice find John.

[Garvin]

The last paragraph on the box lid label about accuracy clearly applies to the information given above about licensing, but could equally be applied to the pistol itself.

[junglie]

The last paragraph on the box lid label about accuracy clearly applies to the information given above about licensing, but could equally be applied to the pistol itself.

Lol my first gun. Not that i have a soft spot for them, in fact it nearly put me off airguns, swapped it for a nicely faded denim jacket, still feel ripped off.......

[Josie & John]

What a lovely find John. The box and envelope of darts are pure icing on the cake and confirm this to be a 1st model.

John Atkins has recently featured an identical pistol and box in Air Gunner, as well as other early Gats and I would dearly love to own such an example myself.

John

[ccdjg]

John Atkins has recently featured an identical pistol and box in Air Gunner, as well as other early Gats and I would dearly love to own such an example myself.

John

Well spotted John. Actually it is the same pistol. I let John Atkins publish it first, before describing it on here, as it fitted in so neatly with his recent Gat articles. So although other examples of this first version Gat without the cork-firing adapter have been reported, the box is still the only one known at present.