A Gem of an air rifle

This intriguing item could catch out the unwary collector, who must follow a trail of patents to discover its identity, as Robert Morgan reveals

- Robert Morgan

Sometimes things are not quite what they appear to be. Readers who have been involved with shooting for some time will probably instantly recognize the air rifle shown here as a ‘Gem’ type. For those who are not familiar with the description, the Gem was a mass-produced air rifle manufactured mostly in Germany and Belgium by various makers from around 1870 right up to the beginning of World War Two. Even in good condition, they rarely break the £100 mark at auction. A much smaller number were manufactured in the USA and the knowledgeable amongst you might be saying right now, “I bet it’s a Quackenbush.” Whilst rare, he is the most commonly found American Gem maker. You would still all be wrong, because this humble little air rifle is actually a Haviland & Gunn, identifiable by the tiny little ‘H’ and ‘G’ stamps on the breech-face, although, as we shall see, those who did say Quackenbush were not far off.

Spring system