![]() ![]() In response to questions posed by Airgun World on behalf of Roy Valentine in August 1977, Webley’s official date of introduction for the Junior Air Rifle was 1947. ![]() but for this article, I am more looking at the Webley Junior and Ranger which I believe will be future rare items and not the Jaguar made in larger numbers. #Webley air gun serial numbers serial numbersI’m unsure if there were 8,437 other Jaguar air rifles slotting between these two numbers and if the Jaguar alone had true serial numbers or some other production numbering system. I found the overlay also still exists with all the component numbers printed on tiny cut-out squares laboriously pasted on, in those days before dry transfer print, or computers allowed layers to make keying a diagram to a list easy. The pencil notes beneath instruct the printing block engravers to make a squaredup half-tone with lettering overprinted,suitably screened and required end-up size. All the parts photographed have been heightened with white paint and very skilfully sharpened in places by hand. ![]() Directly scanned from Webley’s original base artwork for the Junior air rifle parts diagram before the numbering was applied, is Figure 3. Some years back, I was loaned a large box of old Webley & Scott publicity material and before I returned it, I scanned everything in the box, which took some weeks in my limited spare time. The Webley Junior air rifle retained the half-pistol grip style butt of the pre-war German Diana No. 22, a design that had been in production since 1926, and made, or part-made post-war by Milbro for Webley & Scott after Millard Brothers acquired tooling and equipment for making the smaller model airguns from the German Diana factory as part of the war reparations, along with the old brand-name ‘Diana’. It’s difficult to pinpoint the dates of introduction of Webley’s post-war air rifles intended for young shots, but it’s obvious that the first one – the Webley Junior model air rifle (Figure 2) was a copy of the pre-war Mayer & Grammelspacher German Diana No. Maybe in the future, they will be sought after with as much zeal as the vintage Webley Mark I air rifle, also included in the group, is today, in order to complete a collection of Webley models. ![]() The Webley Junior air rifle is now scarce and the Ranger model is rare. They were an easy-to-handle, uncomplicated, juvenile fun rifle suitable for garden plinking or target shooting. 410 bolt-action shotguns, the ‘Junior’ air rifles seem to have been supplied during different periods, with either dark walnut stained woodwork or finished more naturally by being left unstained. It can be seen with its light colour stock in Figure 1 along with two later Webley Rangers. I had no idea what to offer, so suggested £6 on the grounds that it was more than when it was new, and the Webley changed hands. The seller had owned it since new, the price then being recalled at just under £5. Of course, Webley & Scott had rather confusingly, also given the ‘Junior’ title to their small, pressed steel juvenile rifle! I’d forgotten that at the time, but recalled it from the photograph on my old Webley catalogue page. One reply from a local reader offered me a Webley ‘Junior’ on the ‘phone – so I wrongly assumed it was another pistol and arranged a convenient time to call.Ī quick trip in my bulky VW 411LE with it’s useful petrol-fired heater ticking away like an unexploded bomb, took me snugly to the address, where I was slightly taken aback to be offered a small air rifle, rather than the expected air pistol. Webley pistols: ‘Seniors’, ‘Mark Is’ and ‘Juniors’ were purchased with prices ranging from £3 - £14, depending on the condition and if boxed. On starting to collect airguns seriously in the early 1970s, many of my early ‘finds’ were thanks to my small advertisements in local newspapers, but sadly, these might not be accepted today. I looked at these in one of my ‘Post-War Plinkers’ articles I copied for him and will expand on the subject now. Already seldom seen are the lightweight Webley ‘Junior’ and ‘Ranger’ models that may become as hard to find as a mid-1920s to early ‘30s Webley Mark I air rifle is today so they were one of my suggestions to him. ![]()
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