Time to stir the pot again...

Over the weekend I was looking up some patents when I came across one by Leslie Wesley. I'm sure many of you have heard of Leslie, gun collector, gun shop owner and author of Air Guns and Air Pistols of the 1950's. This particular patent was submitted on Feb 4th 1946 for an air pistol that used a CO2 "sparklet" bulb. Here's a link to the patent:

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/pate...pn%3DGB607444A

I suspect most haven't heard about this patent. The only mention in the airgun world that I could find was a very short note in an article by John Atkins in which he said that the pistol wasn't commercially produced but Leslie did make a few that are still in circulation.

The only other CO2 pistol to use sparklets at the time was the Schimel which has been credited to be the first production CO2 air pistol to use sparklets. There is mention on a no longer available website of the Schimel that the first guns were produced in 1945 in Clifford Schimel's garage. Full production did not begin until 1946. The website was generated by David and Jon Schimel, descendants of the original inventors. Some have suggested that this information is incorrect and it wasn't until 1949 that the Schimel was produced.

Now considering how long it takes to create a patent and the design process, it's conceivable that Leslie's CO2 pistol would have been designed and made in 1945 too.

If the information from Schimel's descendants is correct, albeit with no official documents to prove it, then this would appear to be a very close race. Certainly if the 1949 date is true then that would put Leslie's invention in the lead.

Sadly, Leslie's gun didn't go into mass-production unlike the Schimel. Thus the Schimel would still be considered the first mass-produced air pistol to use CO2 sparklets.

Just imagine if Leslie's pistol had gone into mass production. He could have become Europe's Crosman.

I don't think there are any earlier patents which incorporate CO2 sparklets into airguns. If you know of any, I'm all ears!

Does anyone have one of Leslie's pistols or know of any photographs? I'm sure we'd all love to see it.

All the best,
Jimmie