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Webley MkII 'Service' Air Rifle.22 calibre,Serial Number S4876 Webley MkII 'Service' S7959,.22 calibre The Webley JUNIOR Air Rifle-evidently made for W&S Ltd by Milbro!
1921 B.S.A. Standard No. 1 Model (Aka 'L' Or Light/ Ladies Model) .177 Calibre Under Lever Air Rifle. Sn 16244 - 16244 This is a very good B.S.A. Standard No. 1 Model 177 calibre, under lever air rifle. Also known as the 'L' or Ladies/ Light model it measures 39 ½” overall with a 17' rifled barrel. It’s original wood stock has chequered panels at the pistol grip and has just the bumps and bruises to be expected with age and use. It has a ribbed butt with trap. The stock is mounted with a void white metal shield, applied at some point in its life. The rifle has a blade fore sight and adjustable dial rear sight. The metal work is undamaged with original blue finish and is crisply stamped with the correct 'L' prefix serial number on the trigger block 'L16233' which dates it to1921 (see page 27 of the Collectors Guide to Air Rifles By Hiller). The loading port is correctly marked ‘Load 1’. It loads and fires as it should with a strong spring action. The price includes UK delivery. Sn 16244 £275.00 |
VALUE FOR MONEY At a Street Price of just under $180, the Webley Mark VI CO2 BB revolver is at the upper end of pricing for a firearms replica airgun. For that it offers excellent realism, great accuracy and a good shot count per fill of CO2. It’s also a relatively unusual handgun by US standards and has reached iconic status from it’s long use in the British Army and appearances in many. My statement was based on Webley & Scott's website dating of the guns they've produced over the course of more than a century. The Webley Senior offered for auction in this listing is serial number 1245; that serial number stamped in the front plug, under the muzzle. Potential buyers should draw their own conclusions about the vintage of this.
Boxed, Post 1966, Webley Premier 'D' Series .22 Calibre Air Pistol With Brown Grips, Original Instruction Leaflet & 1968 Dated Sales Receipt. AI 675 - AI 675 The Webley Premier 'D' series was introduced in 1966. The 'D' Series designation was stamped on the frame near to or under the left grip (see pages 116/117 of Webley Air Pistols By Bruce). This is a very good example in .22 Calibre. It is undamaged and has brown plastic grips with embossed Webley logos. Its blue finish has areas of wear consistent with age and use. The left side of the cylinder is stamped 'The Webley Premier Made In England'. The right side 'Webley Scott Ltd Birmingham'. The frame near the left grip is stamped with the correct large 'D' (Series designation). The front of the cylinder is stamped with batch or serial number '2266'. It has a blade foresight & adjustable rear sight and it cocks and fires perfectly with a strong spring action. The barrel’s bore is clean with crisp rifling. The barrel block has calibre detail ‘.22’. The pistol is contained in its original cardboard box with Webley labelling & imagery. 'Instructions for use' are adhered to the inside of the lid. The box contains its original instruction leaflet and the pistol’s 1968 dated sales receipt with serial number matching the pistol (illustrated in image 2). The price includes UK delivery. NB As a post 1939 Air Pistol the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale & delivery of this item. AI 675 £295.00 |
1931- 1939 Accles & Shelvoke Ltd .177 Calibre Side Lever Warrior Air Pistol. AI 673 - AI 673 In the 1930's, Accles and Shelvoke Ltd of Birmingham manufactured 'Acvoke' Air Pistols and Slaughterhouse Weapons. Between 1931 and 1939 the company produced their Warrior Air pistol. This is a good original .177 calibre example of the Warrior. It measures 8' overall with a 7' rifled barrel. Its blue finish which has areas of wear and light pitting consistent with age and use. It is side lever loading & has a bead foresight & adjustable rear sight. Its black chequered vulcanite grips are undamaged with just small areas of surface wear and have Accles and Shelvoke 'Medieval Helmet' roundels. The grip strap is stamped with serial number '2728'. The left side of the frame is faintly stamped 'THE WARRIOR ACCLES & SHELVOKE LTD, BIRMINGHAM'. The right ' F.CLARKE'S PATENT No's. BRIT 351268 USA 538057'. The pistol cocks & fires with a strong spring action. The price includes UK delivery. AI 673 £375.00 |
1960’s Webley Mark III .22 Calibre Under Lever Air Rifle. Sn 16134. - 16134 Webley introduced their MK 3 series of air rifles in 1947. In 1961 Webley began producing Webley MK 3 air rifles with a telescopic sight rail spot welded to the top of the air cylinder (see Page 237 to 243 of Hiller’s Book 'A Collectors Guide to Air Rifles'). The woodwork and metal work of this example are very good condition with just knocks and bumps consistent with age & use. The stock has the correct inlaid 'Webley' roundel. It has an 18 ¾” clean rifled barrel with loading tap and measures 43' overall. The underlever is stamped with serial number 'B3236'. The air chamber has its original spot welded sight rail and the weapon is marked with model and manufacturer detail (illustrated). It has a shrouded block & blade fore sight and adjustable dial rear sight. The loading and firing actions work perfectly. The price includes UK delivery. NB as a post 1939 Air Weapon the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale and delivery of this item. Sn 16134 £275.00 |
MINT, British Air Arms TX200 .22 Calibre Under Lever Action Air Rifle With 6-18 x 40 Simmons Telescopic Sight. AI 668 - AI 668 This is a near mint example of the Air Arms TX200 in .22 calibre. The measures 39” overall length. It has excellent woodwork with decorative chequered panels and rubber shoulder recoil pad. The metal work retains all of its original blueing and the top of the Air cylinder is grooved for telescopic sight. The cylinder is marked with model detail (illustrated in image 2). It is serial number '035744'. The rifle cocks loads and fires with a nice tight action. It is fitted with a 6-18 x 40 Simmons Telescopic Sight in the same mint condition. The sight is stamped with magnification detail (illustrated). The optics of the sight are excellent. The price includes UK delivery. NB As a post 1939 Air weapon the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale & delivery of this item. AI 668 £425.00 |
1929 B.S.A. Standard No. 1 Model (Aka 'L' Or Light/ Ladies Model) .177 Calibre Under Lever Air Rifle. AI 667 - AI 667 This is a very good B.S.A. Standard No. 1 Model 177 calibre, under lever air rifle. Also known as the 'L' or Ladies/ Light model it measures 39 ½” overall with a 17' rifled barrel. It’s original wood stock has chequered ‘BSA’ panels at the pistol grip and has just the bumps and bruises to be expected with age and use. It has a ribbed butt with trap. One side of the stock has a stylised monogram which appears to be ‘BFA’, hand applied at some point in its life. The rifle has a blade fore sight and adjustable dial rear sight. The metal work is undamaged with original blue finish and is crisply stamped with the correct 'L' prefix serial number on the trigger block 'L35650' which dates it to 1929 (see page 27 of the Collectors Guide to Air Rifles By Hiller). The cylinder has faint electroplated BSA name and address. It loads and fires as it should with a strong spring action. Price includes UK delivery. AI 667 £345.00 |
1970’s Webley Jaguar .177 Calibre Small Frame Break Action Air Rifle. AI 665 - AI 665 Webley introduced their Jaguar air rifle in 1970 and production ran through to 1979 (see Page 225 of Hiller’s Book 'A Collectors Guide to Air Rifles'). The woodwork and metal work of this example are in very good undamaged condition. It has an 14” clean rifled barrel and measures 36 ½” overall. The underside of the barrel is numbered ‘496’ . The air chamber has its original spot welded sight rail and the weapon is marked with model and manufacturer detail (illustrated). It has a post fore sight and adjustable rear sight. The loading and firing actions work as they should. The price includes UK delivery. NB as a post 1939 Air Weapon the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale and delivery of this item. AI 665 £175.00 |
Early 1900’s B.S.A. Improved Model D, .177 Calibre Under Lever Air Rifle. AI 663 - AI 663 This is an excellent original BSA Improved Model D Air Rifle. These rifles were made with both straight hand and pistol grip stocks (see pages 19 to 25 of Hiller’s book ‘The Collectors Guide To Air Rifles). This example has its original pistol grip wood stock with chequered panels and blued steel butt plate. It has a 19 ½” clean rifled barrel and measures 43 ¾” overall. It has a blade foresight and adjustable dial rear sight. The left side of the weapon bears the serial number '60309'. The loading port is marked ‘Load’ and with the BSA stacked rifles trademark. The loading tap has patent detail ‘Patent 8246/06’ and underside of the cocking lever ‘BSA Patents 8761-04 25783-10 RD479972’. The top of the cylinder is stamped ‘The BSA Air Rifle (Improved Model D) The Birmingham Small Arms Co Ltd England Sole Manufacturers’. The Rifle cocks, loads & fires as it should with a strong spring action. The price includes UK delivery. AI 663 £475.00 |
MINT, 1962-1966 B.S.A Meteor MK II .22 Calibre Break Action Air Rifle 'TA' Prefix Serial Number. AI 660 - AI 660 Birmingham Small Arms introduced the Meteor Air rifle in both .177 & .22 calibre in 1959. MK 1 rifles were produced until 1962 when the MK II model was introduced. MK II production continued until 1968. The small frame rifle is 41 ½” overall with an 18' barrel. This is a near mint example of the MK II Meteor in .22 Calibre. It has a mint undamaged light coloured wood stock with grooved butt end. The metal work is undamaged and retains all of its original blueing. It has a block and blade fore sight. The top of the adjustable rear sight is stamped with the BSA piled arms logo and the top of the cylinder forward of its 2 raised scope mounts is crisply marked 'BSA Meteor' with stylised arrow logo. The rifle's serial number 'TA27572' is stamped on the underside of the barrel block. The 'TA' prefix serial number dates the rifle to between 1962 and 1966 (see page 39 of Collector's Guide to Air Rifles By Hiller). The top of the barrel is stamped ‘BSA Guns Ltd England’ together with ‘.22 Cal’ and BSA piled arms logo. The barrel's bore is clean with crisp rifling and it cocks and fires as it should with a strong spring action. The price includes UK delivery. NB As a post 1939 Air rifle, the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale and delivery of this item. AI 660 £225.00 |
SOLD SOLD (04/08) Cased, 1980’s German, Feinwerkbau FWB Model 2, .177 Calibre, CO2 Match Target Air Pistol & Accessories. Sn 15765 - 15765 Cased, 1980’s German, Feinwerkbau FWB Model 2, .177 Calibre, CO2 Match Target Air Pistol & Accessories. Sn 15765 The quality made German Feinwerkbau air pistol was introduced in the early 1980’s (see page 321 of the Blue Book of Airguns’ by Beeman & Allen). It is a precision .177 calibre air pistol with adjustable target sight & blade fore sight This example is in very good fully functioning condition. These CO2 pistols are powered by removable air chambers screwed to the frame. The cylinders are charged by CO2 canisters (not PCP air tanks). The pistol’s blue finish has small areas of wear to be expected with age and use but is undamaged & it has the correct contoured wood grip. The pistol is stamped with FWB manufacturer, model & calibre detail (all illustrated). The pistol is serial number '17883'. The pistol is contained in its wood hard plastic carry case with hinged lid, carry handle and sliding clasp fasteners. The foam lined case contains a copy of the pistols illustrated instruction booklet, adjustment tools and 3 CO2 cylinders with FWB markings. The price for includes UK delivery. NB as a post 1939 air weapon the restrictions of the Crime Reduction Act apply to the sale and delivery of this item. Sn 15765 £0.00 |
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Beeman discovered rather early that most of the factories that we deal with do not even have literature, much less specimens, of their earliest models. For instance, we discovered that we had more specimens and information about the early Benjamin airguns than the factory itself, and that our collection housed a pre-WWII Weihrauch repeating air pistol that the Weihrauchs had forgotten.
Because I am an avid airgun collector, I've been able to take more of a historical view in the development of our own company. Someday I'm going to work through our records and get exact details on serial numbers and production quantities of early Beeman airguns. In the meantime, perhaps I can do the collecting fraternity a favor by at least pointing out some rare Beeman models and variations.
Any gun that is produced in quantities less than 500 Is generally considered to be a very rare gun. Commemorative series are usually run in quantities of less than 2000. Virtually all of the guns which I will mention have been produced in quantities less than 500 and most of them in quantities under 100. A few of them existed only in 'handful' quantities.
The first airguns that Beeman imported which bore factory Beeman markings were the Beeman/Feinwerkbau 124 sporter rifles. We were bringing these in when we were a very small company in a home shop in San Anselmo, California. Any such guns marked with the San Anselmo address must be considered quite rare. There was a later small run in which the 'Inc.' of the company name was incorrectly stamped as “Jnc.' Less than 5% of the above variations were produced In .22' caliber, so a legitimate .22' caliber specimen with either of these marking is an exceptionally rare item.
When we first started importing airguns from the Dianawerk company in Germany, they were marked both with our name and the brand name .'Original.' Almost as soon as we started to bring these 'Beeman’s Original' models in, we negotiated with the factory to produce variations of these guns under the Beeman name only and under different model numbers. Therefore, we must consider Beeman's Original Models 27 and 35 air rifles and Beeman's Original Models 5, 6, and 10 air pistols as rare Items. Only a tiny series of Beeman's Original Model 10 air pistols were made with an eccentric sleeve around the rear of the receiver to provide for variable pressure against the web of the shooting hand. Again, .22' caliber versions were extremely rare versions of these scarce items. There are no legitimate specimens in .22' caliber of the Model 27 and 35 rifles nor of the Model 6 or 10 pistols. The very rarest legitimate version of this series would be a .22' caliber Beeman's Original Model 5 pistol. Beeman's Original Models 5 and 6 air pistols which bear genuine Beeman one piece walnut grips are extremely rare, especially if mounted with the removable Beeman wire shoulder stock. Variations of Beeman's Original pistols with a Beeman-supplied Schmeisser-type folding stock are the rarest versions of all. Only one specimen of Beeman's Original Model 5 in .22' caliber, with such a folding stock, is known to exist. There also is a Beeman's Original Model 75 match rifle. Few were made; perhaps less than six of these were made with a true left-hand action.
As noted, we started to import various Beeman model airguns from the Dianawerk factory, but none were highly popular* and all should be considered as desirable collectors' items. These were the Beeman Model 100. 200. 250 and 400 air rifles. and the Beeman Model 800, 850 and 900 air pistols. The Beeman Model 200 rifle was the very rarest of all; I recollect that less than 100, perhaps less than 50, such guns ever were made. All of the above Beeman model guns were made In .177' caliber only.
We discovered two successive defects in the operation of the large plastic safety mechanism of the Beeman Model 250 rifle. The first problem was that the original safety protruded so far that the hand of the shooter, even in a fairly normal shooting position, could inadvertently push the safety into the off position. In the safe position, that safety protruded 1 1/8“ (29mm) from the receiver. This was corrected by reducing the length of the huge safety bolt which protrudes from the rear of the receiver. Only a handful of guns came in with the long safety. Route 66 gpx file. One of these extremely rare early specimens was used in our cover catalog photograph of the 7th edition of the Beeman Precision Airgun Guide. If you have a Beeman Model 250 which has a safety like that illustrated in detail on page 36 of that catalog you have an extremely rare gun.
The second problem that we discovered was that thissafety could fail if the trigger had been pulled excessively hard. As required by law, we notified the Consumer Product Safety Commission and cooperated with them in an industry-wide recall of this and all related models. Minecraft the hidden versions. The safeties of all guns returned under this recall, and all guns in the stock of dealers and jobbers, were converted to a new form. They still had a large plastic mass protruding about 3/4' (20mm) from the receiver in the safe position, but were differently designed internally and bore an “N' at the rear. Many of the extra long safeties that had existed on the U.S. market were replaced with this new short “N' version, making the long safety versions even rarer. Any version of the Diana or RWS 45, Hy-Score 828, or Beeman 250 (which were all variations of the same gun) without the 'N' marked safety must be considered an uncommon item, but the 'long safety' Beeman 250 must be considered the rarest of all. Anyone having a gun with these old safeties should send it to Beeman or RWS, before using it again, for a free new safety. Ask for the old safety back to maintain the collectors' value. Do NOT use guns with the old safeties.
Macdraw pro. Two other versions of the Beeman 250 are extremely rare. Only 20 specimens of the factory commemorative model of the Beeman 250 were ever made and only 40 specimens of the .20' caliber (5mm) rifle were ever made. Made in such low numbers, these guns must be considered among the very rarest of all production guns. From 1979 to 1982, Beeman phased out all of the various Diana built Beeman guns*.
The new Beeman Rl magnum air rif1e already has a collectors' version. Only the very first production run of these guns had the Beeman logo on the left hand side of the receiver. Even the Beeman museum has only one or two specimens of this variation, and I'm not sure that any exist in .22' caliber. There certainly are no legitimate specimens of this variation in 5mm caliber.
Production of the Beeman C-l carbine began at serial no. 800001. The first 30 serial numbers of this interesting new gun were set aside for VIP's of the gun industry and collectors. These should be extremely desirable items in the future.
Any specimens of Weihrauch's Barakuda air rifle (which uses an ether injection mechanism to tremendously boost the spring piston compression power) are rare and highly desirable to collectors. Perhaps about 50 of them exist which were factory stamped with the Beeman name, so those are among the very rarest. Certainly the very rarest are Beeman/Weihrauch Barakuda rifles with chrome or gold plating. Only two or three of the factory chrome versions exist; a single gold plated version of this gun was presented to myself by the factory. Less than 20 factory chrome plated versions of any Beeman/HW gun exist. The very rarest versions are the ones that are factory stamped with my initials: ' RDB 1'. Of course, the very rarest versions of all are the single specimen of each model factory stamped RDB 1 and gold plated, made as presentation items to the Beeman collection.
Only a handful of Beeman/HW 35 rifles were ever made with a factory thumbhole stock. None of the Beeman/HW airguns bore the San Anselmo address, but the earliest ones had 13.5 mm wide dovetails on the receiver for scopes or peep sights. Beeman marked specimens of the HW 35 in .22' caliber are very rare and Beeman marked specimens of the HW30 and HW50 are uncommon.
I have no doubt that the Beeman/Feinwerkbau CO2 pistol is going to be an extremely important collectors’ item In the future. Certainly the rarest versions are the first six: low serial number guns which were factory marked 'Beemann' instead of 'Beeman'. The factory engraver accidently made us honorary Germans for just six guns!
Among the Beeman/Webley items, there was very little production of the Beeman marked Webley Osprey rifles, especially in .22'. There were only one or two specimens, completely unmarked prototype versions, of a 'Super Osprey' rifle. Certainly the rarest of the Beeman/Webley items is the single specimen of a presentation version, illustrated on the back color cover of the 4th edition of the Beeman Guide. This was engraved by the late George Spring, Sr., complete with a rendition of Beeman's 'Boswell' bear and finished with a frosted nickel plating and custom walnut grips by David Wayland. Finally, Robert D. Beeman received a presentation Beeman/Webley Vulcan, Serial No.1, from Keith S. Faulkner, who was then President of Webley (but is now Marketing Director of Beeman), at the 1980 SHOT Show.
Very few custom versions of the Beeman airguns have been made. Those with custom stocks such as illustrated in catalogs prior to Edition 10 must be considered as rare and very desirable items. The thumbhole stock versions are the rarest.
Smith & Wesson Gun Serial Numbers
Even sights** are now collected; both as authentic accessories for early gun models and as items in themselves. Any Beeman aperture sight without adjustable dovetails must be considered as a rare item as well as the early Beeman model 5001, 5002, 5003, and 5004 riflescopes and model 5010 pistolscopes.
Pellet collectors have already noted the variations in our pellet labels. I'm not going to cover those here, except to alert you as to their existence and to note that Beeman is now phasing out all pellet labels in which the Beeman name is curved over the top of the label. As these are replaced by the labels which are illustrated in the l0th and later editions of the Beeman Guide, the old version labels will become collectors’ items. Especially rare are the now discontinued 5mm Beeman Silver Sting pointed pellets. Beeman Perfect Rounds lead balls, other than .177' caliber, have all been discontinued. They were never made in very large numbers and are thus definitely highly desirable. Even the labels on the Beeman quick cleaning pellets and our Magnum Jet CO2 cylinders are in the process of being changed. The old versions will become matters of history rather soon, as will the few specimens of the old Beeman Pellet Sampler labels. The old versions of the labels, and the discontinued Perfect Round labels, are illustrated on pages 62-63 of the 8th edition of the Beeman Guide.
Webley Air Guns Usa
Of course. the early editions of the Beeman Precision Airgun Guides themselves are already much sought after. Less than 500 of the first edition were printed and only a handful are now known to exist. A few of these early catalogs have my autograph, but I guess I'll have to pass away to make them more valuable! The Airgun Digest, published by Digest Books, edited by myself, is already out of print and will probably soon become a scarce item, valuable in itself and for its large amounts of information on now obsolete models.
Webley Bb Gun
This short report should give those now holding Beeman guns, or other items mentioned above, some idea of their relative scarcity. I hope that gathering these bits of information at this time will help historically-minded collectors in the future when they try to sort out old Beeman products.
*The Diana airguns (=RWS airguns) were never good sellers when they were in the Beeman catalogs because there they had to go head-to-head with the Beeman/Weihrauch airguns, such as the Beeman R1 and R7. After having the opportunity to really compare them, the great majority of the catalog readers would decide to go for the considerably higher quality Beeman/Weihrauch airguns, even though they had to pay somewhat more for them. An exception was the Beeman Model 800 (=Diana Model 6, RWS Model 6 series); its special Giss patent recoilless action had no parallel in any other brand.
*The Diana airguns (=RWS airguns) were never good sellers when they were in the Beeman catalogs because there they had to go head-to-head with the Beeman/Weihrauch airguns, such as the Beeman R1 and R7. After having the opportunity to really compare them, the great majority of the catalog readers would decide to go for the considerably higher quality Beeman/Weihrauch airguns, even though they had to pay somewhat more for them. An exception was the Beeman Model 800 (=Diana Model 6, RWS Model 6 series); its special Giss patent recoilless action had no parallel in any other brand.