Sharp Innova 11 (.22 ) in very good condition. Valuation suggestions please.

[Paul BC]

Hi All.
I recently aquired a Sharp Innova 11. 5.5mm (.22) air rifle (manufactured in Japan) with serial number A806976. The rifle is in extremely good condition having had very little use since new with the one previous owner. I have just replaced the pump head and fitted a new seal kit to the cartridge and the rifle is fully operational.
In addition, the rifle is fitted with an A.S.I. Superscope, waterproof, 4x32 telescopic sight and has been stored in a fleece lined "Sportsmarketing" British Made carry case since new. The carry case and sight are also in great condition. Unfortunately, the original "peepsight" or rear sight unit is no longer with the rifle.
I would be very interested to obtain some idea of valuation from members of the forum as it is my intention to sell the rfle and ancillaries.
If further information is required please come back to me through the forum.
I'm not sure if I can post photos of the rifle on the forum as this is my first post and I'm still learning the ropes.

[junglie]

£100 -£120, I'm doubtful it had very little use if you had to replace the pump head, my 2 had a lot of use& the pump heads were still fine when i sold them.

[jirushi]

Hi Paul BC,

That sounds like a nice Innova. Rare to find a first owner Innova.
The fact that you changed the pump head does not necessarily mean that the gun was used much, it is possible that the blow off valve mechanism in the pump head has started to leak.
The period scope and gunbag are nice extra's.
Photos would help to determine value, but it sounds like a 250-300 pounds example to me.
It is a buyer's market however. At the same time, I think that Sharp values will increase over time.
Simply very good guns.

Cheers, and good luck with the sale,
Louis

[Paul BC]

Hi Louis.
Contrary to one comment, I can gaurentee this air riffle had very little use as my friend purchased it new but only used it occasionaly for a few months, it was then put away in storage an remained there until recently having a sort out. I think the rubber pump head had stuck in the barrel having never moved for 30 or 40 years and it had sheared off when I came to look at it.
I would like to post some photos of the riffle but I'm not shure how I can do it on this forum. Any advice would be helpfull.

[jirushi]

Good morning Paul BC,
If you want you can send photos to: sharpairguns@gmail.com
Then I will add them to this thread.
If it has special features such as a front sight with three little screws, or two instead of one screw at the front of the trigger guard, then that would be interesting to see.
An original purchase receipt would add value.
Also, may I ask if you replaced the pump head seal, or the entire brass piece with the seal still on it?
Many thanks,
Louis

[Paul BC]

Hi Louis.

As far as I'm aware it has the standard front sight and only has the one single screw at the front of the trigger gaurd.
Regarding the pump head, I only replaced the seal and re-used the original pump head. The seal was purchased from John Knibbs International Ltd.
I will ask my elderly friend if he has the original purchase reciept but I very much doubt it as it was so long ago. I do know it was purchased from a gun shop in Hertford UK.
I will try to take some photo's over the next day or so and send them over to you.
Many thanks for your help and interest.
Regards
Paul C

[jirushi]

Hi Louis.

As far as I'm aware it has the standard front sight and only has the one single screw at the front of the trigger gaurd.
Regarding the pump head, I only replaced the seal and re-used the original pump head. The seal was purchased from John Knibbs International Ltd.
I will ask my elderly friend if he has the original purchase reciept but I very much doubt it as it was so long ago. I do know it was purchased from a gun shop in Hertford UK.
I will try to take some photo's over the next day or so and send them over to you.
Many thanks for your help and interest.
Regards
Paul C

You are most welcome.

[rapidresponse1]

nice guns

[jirushi]

Here are some photos of the gun. It looks like a very nice example.

[notomorow]

Here are some photos of the gun. It looks like a very nice example.

As the run of mk11’s being imported came to an end the words on the breach included Korea as being covered by the USA and Japan patent as the very last guns were produced out of Japan the word IDON was also added denoting Indonesia. You may also notice the t is back to front on the word “etc” placed after the patent info.

[notomorow]

As the run of mk11’s being imported came to an end the words on the breach included Korea as being covered by the USA and Japan patent as the very last guns were produced out of Japan the word IDON was also added denoting Indonesia. You may also notice the t is back to front on the word “etc” placed after the patent info.

Little known is that innova’s of exactly the same spec as the original Japanese gun’s after a break of 25 years or so began to be manufactured again in Japan using original tooling and materials whilst strictly for non export while very poor copies were coming out of China Turkey and Indonesia. The Japanese ones tho had a greatly improved and modified woodwork.

[jirushi]

Little known is that innova’s of exactly the same spec as the original Japanese gun’s after a break of 25 years or so began to be manufactured again in Japan using original tooling and materials whilst strictly for non export while very poor copies were coming out of China Turkey and Indonesia. The Japanese ones tho had a greatly improved and modified woodwork.

Do you mean this Sharp Chiba Innova?
Sharp produced Innova's right up to the end in 2001, when founder Mr. Kensuke Chiba died.
The factory was then moved to another prefecture, and the company's name changed to Sharp Chiba.
Sharp Chiba produced Ace's and Innova's until closing its doors for good in 2014.

I bought this Sharp .20 Innova in Japan last year. Personally I prefer the utilitarian stock of the earlier type Innova.
Sharp started to sell Innova's with this later type fancy stock around the nineties, I think. They were offered in .177, .20 and .22.
It looks like nothing changed with the Innova design in the Sharp Chiba period.

[jirushi]

As the run of mk11’s being imported came to an end the words on the breach included Korea as being covered by the USA and Japan patent as the very last guns were produced out of Japan the word IDON was also added denoting Indonesia. You may also notice the t is back to front on the word “etc” placed after the patent info.

To be honest I am certain that Sharp never produced original Innova's in Indonesia.
Was INDON not added on the breach as Sharp wanted to protect its design from being copied in as many countries as possible?

[notomorow]

To be honest I am certain that Sharp never produced original Innova's in Indonesia.
Was INDON not added on the breach as Sharp wanted to protect its design from being copied in as many countries as possible?

Agreed Sharp added Indonesia in order to protect the design as it was being copied but as you must be aware the patent fell idle hence the multiple copies of the original design. On your modern Japanese innova does it still mention the patent and cover erase printed on the side of the breach.

[jirushi]

Hi notomorrow, yes indeed. I don't have a better photo atm, the gun is at my parents' house where I do all my shooting.