Unique Vintage Pellet Gun

UnionMillsNW · Jul 28, 2019

Hey Folks,

Cleaning out an old house my brother-in-law found a pellet gun and, unsure of what it was, gave it to me. After a little research I think it's a Gat Air Pistol.

The mechanism is unique in that you use a hard surface to compress the barrel into the gun, open the back breach, load a pellet, close the breach and fire.

The only markings are an "HS" on the grip and "Made in Germany" on the hilt.

Anybody know anything about this interesting little gun?

kmk1012 · Jul 28, 2019

If it's a true "gat", shouldn't the sights be mounted on the right side of the pistol (at 90 degrees from vertical)?

Sorry, couldn't resist. It's a real interesting piece and will be following this thread to gain some info as well.

WAYNO · Jul 28, 2019

HS was a brand of airgun sold in the back of Popular Mechanics and similar magazines. I never saw one in person, but they were the stuff dreams were made of for a postwar era boy.

cigars · Jul 28, 2019

Very cool find!

tac · Jul 28, 2019

Cool. Here in yUK they were sold in a box with English on one side and German on the other. Value here is about $100 equivalent. They originally sold in the fifties for 27/6p - twenty-seven shillings and sixpence - about $15 - 20. The one in the picture does NOT have a busted trigger - it resets when the 'barrel' is pushed back in to load and shoot.. No1 bore = .177cal and it is smooth-bored to shoot pellets and darts.

titsonritz · Jul 28, 2019

That is cool, never saw such a critter, before my time but so is a lot of things I guess.

tac · Jul 29, 2019

This here is my old GAT, made by Harrington in Walton Kingston-upon-Thames - see Gat air pistol - Wikipedia

This modern version has the calibre in millimetres and the F symbol shows that it is compliant with European air weapon standards - ie, below 6ft lbs m/e. In this case, WELL below.

The German version - the HS stands for the famous American company name of HyScore - has better grips, often made of wood.

Your model is a version of THIS one, rather than the die-cast clam-shell-made GAT. The sights are there for show. I used to use mine with darts, shooting at an airgun target at 20 feet. pinned on a backyard gate at my Aunt Lou's house. I often hit it.

The gate, I mean, not the target.

WAYNO · Jul 29, 2019

In spite of the close similarities, I'm not sure these pistols are one and the same. Herbert Schmidt, (Germany) was the maker of the HS pistol that we used to see in the magazine ads.

But again, because of the close similarity, I wondered if HS (Herbert Schmidt) evolved to HS (HyScore). Further searches have shown the HyScore version, model 814, was still made in Germany for HyScore, and apparently for other marketers.