VERY RARE** ONE OF 2000**Cased, 1946 -1949, British Abas Major 2nd Type (A.A. Brown & Sons) .177 Calibre Air Pistol With Correct Smooth Brown Plastic Grips & Accessories. Sn 23484:24 air pistol .177

**VERY RARE** ONE OF 2000**Cased, 1946 -1949, British Abas Major 2nd Type (A.A. Brown & Sons) .177 Calibre Air Pistol With Correct Smooth Brown Plastic Grips & Accessories. Sn 23484:24 - 23484:24

A.A. Brown & Sons were established in 1930 at Whittall St in Birmingham and mainly concentrated on making sporting guns but towards the end of the thirties and during WW2 they were producers of weapon components and machine tools. After the war both work and the necessary materials to continue with their normal line of work dried up and the company were scratching around for things to enable them to survive. This inspired them to produce an air pistol entirely of their own design which was marketed as the “Abas Major” (the name Abas derived from the initials of the company name). One of only three English air pistols that use a tap loader, the Abas Major was produced between 1946 & 1949. Only 2000 Abas Major’s were manufactured. The underlever (trigger guard) cocking air pistols were produced in three variations which can be identified by the grips. The first model had walnut grips, the second model had smooth plastic grips and the final model had chequered plastic grips. Although work like this helped the company though a difficult period, they soon returned to their normal product line and were a renowned manufacturer and customiser of high quality sporting guns. This is an excellent original example of the 2nd pattern Abas Major with correct smooth plastic grips in .177 calibre. The pistol retains its original blue finish and the grips are undamaged. It has a blade fore sight and adjustable rear sight. The top of the cylinder has the correct loading port marked ‘Load’ and the correct thumb operated loading lever which has a hole for pellet gauge. The right side of the cylinder is marked ‘Abas Major’. The front of the cylinder has ‘.177’ calibre. The trigger guard lever is stamped ‘Abas’. The grip frame is stamped with serial number ‘916’ (of 2000). The pistol loads and fires correctly. The pistol comes with its associated custom-fit faux leather covered wood, baize-lined case. The case contains an oil applicator and a vintage Webley .177 pellet tin which contains a quantity of lead pellets. The case has a carry handle, hinged lid and clasp fasteners. The price for this very rare air pistol 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 23484:24