Reply With QuoteWow that is something special!
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Sadly, this unique air pistol was discovered a bit too late to make it into The Encyclopedia of Spring Air Pistols, Second Edition, by John Griffiths.
The J. B. Peters air pistol was always considered as an unrealized patent design, but with the coming to light of this particular specimen, it would appear that at least one prototype was produced. There are absolutely no maker’s markings on the pistol, so it is unclear whether this is the original prototype, or a very skilled reproduction built several decades ago by an enthusiast. Examination of the constructional details however, lead me to believe that it may well be the original prototype.
This pistol is very well made, all steel construction, with walnut grip panels. The frame consists of three precision castings, welded together to form the main frame, and the sliding compression chamber is made of a fourth casting. The pistol weighs 2 pounds, 0.3 ounces. The overall length is 8.5 inches, and stands 5.0” high. The width of the sliding compression chamber is 1.0 inches, and the overall width at the thumb rest of the grip is 1.625 inches. The gun fits the hand very comfortably, and balances well. One of the attached pictures shows the relative size of the Peters air pistol in comparison to a Webley Senior air pistol.
As received, the gun required some minor repair. New seals were fabricated for the piston and the breech, and a new slide release was needed to replace the original which had about 0.100” broken away from the engagement finger that contacts the frame. The pistol was now ready for testing.
Sadly, the robust construction contradicts the performance of the pistol. The anemic velocities are to be expected from such a tiny power plant. The piston is only 0.50 inches in diameter, and with a stroke of only 0.80 inches. The recommended ammo, #6 chilled lead shot, is propelled at very low velocity, which I would estimate at around 150 or so FPS. I tried to chronograph the gun, but consistently received error messages. I am unsure of whether the #6 shot is too small to obtain a proper reading, or if the projectile is moving too slowly.
More pictures are available at the Vintage Airgun Gallery.
https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....rs-air-pistol/
Patent details, along with a description of how the gun operates can also be found on the Vintage Airgun Gallery.
https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....atent-details/
Last edited by Leonardj; 29-11-2022 at 09:50 PM.
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Wow that is something special!
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A unique pistol for sure and a great find. I am not sure that I would have recognized this pistol if I saw it sitting on a table. Guess I need to put my copy of John's book under my pillow at night so that I can absorb as much information as possible. It continues to amaze me how many examples and information are still out there just waiting to be discovered. Me, I am looking for that mythical Haenel Mod 27 and a Horr unless someone else beats me to it.
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Very nice pistol and great to see it's been brought back to life. Minor thought re shot size, if they meant #6 as in shotgun pellet, remember UK, US and continental shot sizes vary for a given number, so it could, as you say, be undersized.
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If it were not for John's amazing books, I certainly would not have been able to identify it.Originally Posted by Buck25
professional hookaduck ringer
This forum never ceases to amaze me. Many thanks for sharing
Morally flawed
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Thanks.
Yes, the recommendation was for 0.110" chilled lead shot, which is #6 shot in US size.
I did discover however, that the shot size varies considerably, so it was necessary to keep a clearing rod handy to remove any shot that was far too tight to be fired.
Award-winning Airgun Anorak
I find it strange that this inventor went to all the trouble of designing, patenting and building what is quite an attractive air pistol and yet was content to have the cocking lever/piston travel such a short distance and so, along with the small diameter power plant, generate so little power. Surely it wouldn't have been that difficult to have the lever bypass a narrower trigger guard and a larger compression chamber travel a bit further. Maybe another prototype with these kind of tweaks exists somewhere.
Vintage Airguns Gallery
..Above link posted with permission from Gareth W-B
In British slang an anorak is a person who has a very strong interest in niche subjects.
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Might make for an interesting project during the cold winter months here in Canada.I find it strange that this inventor went to all the trouble of designing, patenting and building what is quite an attractive air pistol and yet was content to have the cocking lever/piston travel such a short distance and so, along with the small diameter power plant, generate so little power. Surely it wouldn't have been that difficult to have the lever bypass a narrower trigger guard and a larger compression chamber travel a bit further. Maybe another prototype with these kind of tweaks exists somewhere.
Perhaps scaled up enough to utilize light weight .177 pellets.
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Quite an amazing find, Len. Your gun resembles the patent drawings so closely, with a pretty clever design principle even if underpowered. The patent shows a mighty large dead space ahead of the piston leading to the transfer port, which can't help the output. Is the real pistol built that way?
Don R.
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Hi Don,
There are a few very subtle differences between the patent drawings and the actual gun, but yes, that large dead space is there.
Politically Incorrect
Hi Len, hope you are keeping well.
Even though it's not really my scene, another amazing little known air pistol comes to light, nice one Len.
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This helpful information was posted to my thread on the American Vintage Airgun Forum by DWTrull in response to my comment that this pistol was found in Nova Scotia, Canada:
"That makes sense since James Bernard Peters was originally a Canadian born in Nova Scotia Canada.
It probably ended up with the family back in Canada when he passed.
Undoubtedly the gun was never mass produced. I suspect your gun may be the "Prototype" of the pistol.
Peters may have hand produced a handful of pistols since he was an accomplished machinist,
but its also just as likely that he only produced the one prototype which went back to Nova Scotia when he died.
I think your pistol is likely the prototype due to where it was found and likely the only example in the world.
It was a one in a million chance that you found that pistol! And I know you love all things Canadian!!
The Peters was made by a Canadian living in the US, and returned to Canada."
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