If that’s the case then it would indicate that the double spring-clip was still being manufactured in tandem with the sliding barrel catch second series MKI. You might expect the serial number to be stamped onto the airgun at the latter stages of production rather than when it left the factory. However, there are examples of double spring-clip pistols with serial numbers of 1257, 15 which is quite intriguing. Webley and Scott eventually replaced the spring clips with a sliding barrel catch at around serial number 700. Whilst pistol 1257, as seen at a recent Kempton Arms Fair, has intact protrusions, this pistol could be an earlier pistol that was serialised much later. An indicator of this could be characterised by squared edges of the breech rather than rough or rounded edges where the protrusions would have been broken off. There doesn’t appear, at this time, to be any distinct point in the serialisation of the pistols where a change may have been made to the manufacturing process. No signs that this pistol was manufactured with protrusions. Hence the phrase, “ All that glitters is not gold“.Ĭlean, flush and square breech block. In fact, I haven’t seen any photographs of one let alone one for sale! However, I have heard of a double spring-clip pistol that had one side expertly “filled in” to make it appear to be a single clip model. The earlier single clip model is even rarer. You may be lucky enough to see one for sale a year if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. It is possible that this could be due to the sale of old stock during the end of the financial accountancy period.Īs you can imagine, with only 700 pistols produced, the double spring clip is a very rare find today. As I will explore later in this article, there appears to be a history of earlier models intermixed with the serial numbers of later models. Incidentally, the earliest known single clip is marked with serial number 27. However, some suggest as few as 30 single-clip pistols may have been manufactured with a spurious higher numbered, serial 131, pistol adding to the confusion. About 700 spring-clip MKI pistols were manufactured and perhaps over 100 of the first pistols were of the single-clip design. Not too long afterwards, Webley and Scott realised that a single spring clip wasn’t quite up to the job and so they introduced a second spring clip on the other side. The purpose of the spring clip was to lock the barrel in place ready for shooting. Originally it was manufactured with a single spring clip on the right-hand side of the breech. Webley and Scott introduced their MKI air pistol in 1924.
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