What is it?

[excavman]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but I guess it can be considered a handgun. From my earliest memories as a child my Dad had this air pistol and it didn't work because the pump packing was worn out. He had several tubes of .25 caliber lead shot for it ( my brother and I used them in our sling shots ). There is no name on it that I can find. I believe it was made before WW2 as the first time I saw it was probably around 1949-50.

Larry

[Bent Ramrod]

I can't find the reference, but I think it is a pre-Healthways "Plainsman" air pistol. I have one of the rifles and it is the same at the breech although the metal is blued or blacked and the pump handle is attached to a wood forend like a Sheridan or Crosman pump rifle. They came in (I believe) .177 and .22 as well as .25 caliber and I think mine is their .28 caliber shotgun that was supposed to come with a .25 caliber liner. Mine won't pump either and I can't figure out how to get into the mechanism to replace the seals. They may have been a "modular" design like the Crosman, to be replaced rather than repaired.

At some time, the Plainsman was also called the Challenger. The more usual Healthways Plainsman is a BB CO2 pistol that looks vaguely like a Colt Woodsman.

Another airgun that looks the same around the breech is the "Apache," which would be my second guess. There's also a "Kessler" that looks sort of the same. I can find pictures of the rifle and know I have some picture somewhere in my books of the pistol but can't find it at the moment.

[excavman]

Thanks BR, that's a lot more info than I started out with. Do you have any idea about dates of manufacture or collector value?

Larry

[Bent Ramrod]

According to the none-too-plentiful info in WHB Smith's book all three of them were very short lived, from slightly after 1945 to 1949 or so.

For value, I really can't say. You might see if there are some airgun forums that have collectors' sections. Otherwise Ebay would give you the best idea.