Product Details
WHALEY, LONDON
A RARE CASED .177 MULTI-PUMP PNEUMATIC CUSTOM AIR-RIFLE, MODEL 'WHALEY-CROSMAN 761XL SUPER', no visible serial number,
circa 1980, with blued exposed 18 3/4in. barrel, ramp and blade fore-sight, elevating buckhorn rear-sight, old gold colour anodised receiver with single-shot bolt action or auto-load with bb's, both sides of the receiver with applied plastic decals marked 'WHALEY-CROSMAN, 761XL SUPER, LONDON NEW YORK', the left side also with swing-lidded aperture for bb's, plain beech butt-stock with shallow cheek-piece, polished brass pump-housing, plain beech full-length fore-end pump-handle and guarded trigger with push-button safe, complete in its supplied tan vinyl hard case with jade-green material lining and paperwork, working but requires service
Provenance: The Whaley Crosman was a short-lived project produced by the gunshop Whaley's of North London Ltd, 456 Hornsey Road, London. It was an attempt to build the lightest and most accurate sporting air-rifle that was as powerful as the UK law allowed without licence at the time. It also introduced the concept of 'topping up' in that it did not fully discharge the air reservoir on firing, allowing a lesser number of pumps to bring it back to full power. It was available in many wood and finish combinations and the receiver colour of this example is particularly rare, with most clients preferring black. Sadly, the diminutive diameter of the pump-housing of its parent gun, the Crosman 761XL caused over-heating problems and the noise generated whilst pumping was not popular with hunters. Despite positive reviews in the shooting press, sales were not strong and it was soon eclipsed by the fledgling pre-charged pneumatics such as the Galway Fieldmaster and Daystate Huntsman
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Estimate £100-200