Fine Modern & Antique Guns - March 2017 : Sale A0317 Lot 604
BROWNING ARMS CO., BELGIUM A SCARCE .177 ELECTRICALLY POWERED SELF-COCKING AIR-RIFLE, MODEL AIRSTAR or RUTTENS PATENT, serial n...

Product Details

** BROWNING ARMS CO., BELGIUM

A SCARCE .177 ELECTRICALLY POWERED SELF-COCKING AIR-RIFLE, MODEL 'AIRSTAR' or 'RUTTEN'S PATENT', serial no. 1214P46NZ01558,
for 1991, with exposed, fixed 16 12in. blued barrel, tunnel fore-sight, lift-up breech-block stamped with the 'deer-head' Browning trademark, blued air-chamber railed for a telescopic sight, rear-mounted back-sight, the side of air-chamber marked 'BROWNING ARMS COMPANY, MORGAN UTAH & MONTREAL P.Q MODEL AIRSTAR 200 CAL 4.5mm' over 'MADE IN BELGIUM PATENT NO 4.899.717 AND OTHER PATENTS PENDING BY RUTTEN S.A. HERSTAL', ambidextrous beech half-stock with charging ports and warning lights in the heel of the pistol-grip and a large plastic covered Ni-Cad battery concealed in the fore-end, the whole appearing little used, complete with a charging device, untested

Other Notes: The Airstar was a good idea but designed at the wrong time. In practice it proved to be noisy, slow to load and very heavy, even compared to the spring operated rifles available at the same time. Cost was also prohibitive, with the initial retail price being over double of the top spring models offered by others. The Airstar's major selling point was its self cocking mechanism, but with the sudden proliferation of pre-charged pneumatics occurring in the early 1990's, the electric cocking design soon passed into history

** Please note this item is subject to 20% VAT on the hammer price.

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Estimate £80-120