N/A Seriously rare factory produced piston guns

[DualMagMike]

FWB Running Target V.1- Seemingly very low production, I have seen just 2-3 others. (.177)

Walther LG55 Tyrolean w/double set triggers- low production, hard to find. (.177)

HW Barakuda EL54- a few hundred were made. This one has original glass ether viles and round shot. Incorrectly called HW35 Barakuda by some, specimens are not authentic unless marked Barakuda. (.22)

Beeman FWB124D Jnc- certainly more than 25 claimed in the older Blue Books but a scarce item. (.177)

Beeman FWB127D Jnc- seem to be exceedingly rare, I have seen/heard of just 1-2 others. (.22)

RWS RA-800- Production total seems to be ~25-40. (.22)

RWS RA-800- .177

Beeman HW35 TH- .177 very few produced (.177)

Double left side stamped Beeman R1- only the very earliest R1’s came with both the Beeman San Rafael stamp and the Boswell Bear logo on the left side. All later R1’s the logo is on the right side. (.177)

Theoben Dual Magnum- Approximately 104 were produced (Theoben & Beeman combined) (.22)

Beeman Dual Magnum- Approximately 104 were produced. (Beeman & Theoben combined) (.22)

Beeman R1 20 year commemorative- 50 were produced (.20)

Beeman RX1 20 year commemorative- 25 were produced (.20)

Beeman P1 20 year commemorative- .20 from the R Beeman collection, just 50 were produced

Air Arms Pro Elite- A little over 1400 Pro Elites were produced, approximately 500 were .177 cal. the rest were .22 Total walnut stocks numbered just 57. This one is .177 with walnut stock 1 of ~20?

Beeman HW55 Tyrolean- 25 produced. Heavy barrel sleeve option makes it even rarer (.177)

Beeman R1 Tyrolean- less than 25 produced (.177)

Beeman R1 Tyrolean- less than 25 produced (.20)

Beeman HW97 Tyrolean- I have only heard of 3-4 others. (.177)

Beeman HW35 RDB1 chrome- a handful were made in chrome, the rarest have an RDB1 stamp. (.177)

 

[shambozzie]

DualMagMike, You are the Man.

 

[fishing43]

Wow that’s one heck of a collection! Thanks for letting us see them.

 

[boscoebrea]

Geeeze, like a museum of rarities,I have seen a very few of those pictured back in the early 1980s.

Are all those in our collection? Do you have an air gun museum?

The nicest collection of rare springers I have ever seen.

What about that guy in the old Yellow Forum maybe a decade ago, he had a giant collection and would have the same models in different woods, laminates, and calibers.

Do you know who I am talking about?I may be getting too nosey; I love seeing such beautiful air rifles, Thank you for always sharing.

 

[holo07]

As always Thank You for sharing.. I enjoy your post they are very educational for me, as I am a newbie to the airgun world.

 

[Bear-of-Grayling]

Love those Tyro’s. Quite a collection you occasionally give us all glimpses of. Thanks

 

[EzyE]

Very nice. The rarest springer I ever had in my collection was a Theoben Imperator FT SLR88. Can’t remember how many were made, but it wasn’t many that’s for sure. 

 

[baranjhn]

Amazing collection! Thanks for sharing.

 

[beerthief]

 wonderful Thank You for taking the time to post this .

I saw a lot of very old pump air guns at the Midwest show last Saturday , some round ball shooters too .

 

[crowski]

Always enjoy your posts. Best collection and literature. Thanks for sharing. Crow 

 

[crowski]

…and possibly the rarest and finest….certainly the most expensive..

The Imperial gun Co Double Express….Built along the lines of a fine English shotgun from solid steel and walnut. ….destined to become unobtainium. ..

Apparently the production run was supposed to be around 100 but due to time, probably making a loss in production terms, they never got close to half that…

In .22 the 2 barrels delivered 10.5 ftlbs in quick succession on 10 pumps. Alternatively you could have one barrel in .22 and the other in .25 for different vermin clearing tasks in one gun. The person I know who has one, uses his own moulded lead balls …2 in the breech for ratting.

Wow. Never imagined anything like this existed. Crow 

 

[DualMagMike]

Yes, all my collection, no to a museum. I know of the person you are talking about and although his collection is huge it's not my particular taste. So many of the same model and seem to be repeats separated perhaps by a year of manufacture but I could be mistaken. None of mine are duplicates, all have at least different caliber, barrel length, stock, etc. Basically, I collect what I like and like what I collect.

 

[DualMagMike]

Some of my other Tyro's, all factory models, no customs.

 

[DualMagMike]

39...

 

[AirShot]

Yes, all my collection, no to a museum. I know of the person you are talking about and although his collection is huge it's not my particular taste. So many of the same model and seem to be repeats separated perhaps by a year of manufacture but I could be mistaken. None of mine are duplicates, all have at least different caliber, barrel length, stock, etc. Basically, I collect what I like and like what I collect.

All I can say is WOW....what a collection, that would be a full time job keeping all those beauties in perfect condition !!

 

[DualMagMike]

No where near the rarest or finest or most expensive. If according to your own "estimation" of near half that would be around 50. Several above are far scarcer and valued considerably higher than that, according to the Blue Book the value is $1500 for 100% condition. As always somethings worth what someone will pay and I certainly would not pay that much. I could go on to other guns of what other people own but I post what I have not of what others posses.

 

[Steveoo]

…and possibly the rarest and finest….certainly the most expensive..

The Imperial gun Co Double Express….Built along the lines of a fine English shotgun from solid steel and walnut. ….destined to become unobtainium. ..

Apparently the production run was supposed to be around 100 but due to time, probably making a loss in production terms, they never got close to half that…

In .22 the 2 barrels delivered 10.5 ftlbs in quick succession on 10 pumps. Alternatively you could have one barrel in .22 and the other in .25 for different vermin clearing tasks in one gun. The person I know who has one, uses his own moulded lead balls …2 in the breech for ratting.

Wow. Never imagined anything like this existed. Crow 

In a world of shooters turning up on the circuit with contraptions like this.

I sometimes wonder if such guns ever existed also….and became disillusioned with the field target scene….Surely the sport should be about taking a sleek, practical arm into the field as we have done for the last 100 years….not taking a ridiculous contraption such as shown…What they going to turn up with next i wonder….a bench strapped to the base of the gun perhaps… 

Think rules against such items should be bought into the sport …..Learn to shoot!

 

[Chuck-in-Ohio]

Your collection is astounding!



As beautiful as it is interesting.

 

[DualMagMike]

Was not trashing your collection buddy…its superb…

I may have got the wrong end of the stick with the title of your post of seriously rare Guns and chimed in with an item of interest…

Let me know if its hijacking your post and ill happily delete it and maybe make a new post with this gun…

Incidentally, a recent auction in Uk saw one go for £2500 …its a contender for sure …25 were supposed to have got made but never verified.

I did not own it but shot one 3 years ago..

To be honest you are showing a pneumatic gun and this post is clearly titled ..."Piston guns"... I really do appreciate keeping in line with the subject matter at hand as much as possible. As I mentioned above several guns pictured are productions of 25, less than 25 and even a handful (10 or less) so a few of your statements were a bit off (rarest (no), finest (opinion), most expensive (no). I would not mind at all a deletion so this post can stay on track and you creating a new post might attract quite a bit of attention on its own. Perhaps someone else here has one and will chime in. There are a couple of Daisy rifles that are valued $5000-$7000 at an auction who knows where the final price would come in! A Daisy rifle I own recent sold on eBay for over $3100 and it's not even pictured above but is a piston gun.

 

[KWK]

…and possibly the rarest and finest….certainly the most expensive..

The Imperial gun Co Double Express….Built along the lines of a fine English shotgun from solid steel and walnut. ….destined to become unobtainium. ..View attachment 216716View attachment 216725View attachment 216734

Apparently the production run was supposed to be around 100 but due to time, probably making a loss in production terms, they never got close to half that…

In .22 the 2 barrels delivered 10.5 ftlbs in quick succession on 10 pumps. Alternatively you could have one barrel in .22 and the other in .25 for different vermin clearing tasks in one gun. The person I know who has one, uses his own .25 moulded lead balls …2 in the breech for ratting.

The style and grace….someone knew what they were doing when they designed this thing…

Very interesting. Thanks for showing it