Most influential airgun designers ?

[Sgibbar]

In using and collecting air guns some names just keep coming up as prolific and innovative designers. I don’t mean brilliant business people, I mean people who have taken what is essentially quite a simple thing and made it better.
For me as a pistol shooter my two obvious selections would be Cesare Morini who has been responsible for grips, pistols that bear his name as well as companies he founded and designed for (SAM, MatchGuns) and Massimo Mencarelli who founded and was the lead designer of FAS.
Who would you choose?

 

[Pete Evans]

Venom arms - particularly for their work in the 1980s. Taking designs from the major manufacturers, principally Weihrauch and elevating them to the next level.
John Bowkett - as a designer and engineer. Responsible for Titan, and more recently BSA (S10, Ultra et al). Although I knew a fair bit about John, Louis Van Hovell's new book on the subject of Titan guns and others, has been nothing short of a revelation.

 

[That hurts]

John Bowkett, Ben Taylor and Dave Theobold are certainly up there along with Bill McLean

 

[Tricky-Dicky]

I would class people who actually design and build better/innovative mechanisms as the talents rather than those that just redesign parts and the looks of a gun, there are plenty of those people about.

 

[KT83]

My personal favorites based on mad British eccentricity is Roy Hutchinson and Steve Wray.

 

[chouchin66]

Dr. Robert Beeman... First fella to computer model a springer air rifle design ( I think ?), giving you the Beeman R1/ HW 80 Mk1. You're Welcome.

 

[Troy.T.]

Mike Saxby and Roy Palmer. Also a nod to Johnstone and Ferns.

 

[Dioclese]

Lincoln Jeffries.

 

[Owain]

And in the beginning there was…….

 

[Bowland Blades]

Venom sorted what can be done with Spring piston rifles . Theoben sorted the multi shot PCP . Both raised the Bar for those that came after .

 

[Jimmypie]

Maxim Petrov , the big brain behind a lot of Ataman , AGT and now Airmaks Arms , a very talented man , humble and genuinely in it for the love of the game

 

[Devondumpling]

Joe and Steve Wilkins , Ripley rifles

Mike

 

[Bighit]

Does Graham Trimm count?

Without him we would not have as the Ball Bag ( it has other names ).

He has designed a number of rifles that some would like to buy but they did not get made other than prototype's.


The Paradigm that Webley was looking to market and some of the others Sterling Armaments were going to produce.

 

[Engin]

I only met one designer, who custom built me an s410 in .20 calibre, which iirc i had to sell to Greywof off the BBS.

That designer was Ken Turner: https://airgunforums.co.uk/threads/a-few-ken-turner-unfinished-projects.62243/

A man i rated

 

[Dioclese]

I only met one designer, who custom built me an s410 in .20 calibre, which iirc i had to sell to Greywof off the BBS.

That designer was Ken Turner: https://airgunforums.co.uk/threads/a-few-ken-turner-unfinished-projects.62243/

A man i rated

Hi Engin-I met Ken through his close friendship with Adrian Wilkes.
A very quiet and polite genius-a gentleman.

He epitomised the very British “problem-solution” engineer.
As airgunners, we all owe him a massive debt of gratitude.

 

[P8X]

In recent years, I'd have to say, Eduard Gavarov

 

[Mark E Smith]

Lincoln Jeffries.

Beat me to it !
Lincoln Jeffries Underlever design in the early 1900's was a quantum leap forward, even if it took BSA to make it a commercial success but, the basic design lived on until the '70's & early '80's (Webley Mk3, Original Mod. 50) and is still with us today, albeit breech loading not tap, with everyone's favourites from Air Arms & Weihrauch.
LJ was the airgun equivalent of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in my opinion !

 

[Dioclese]

Beat me to it !
Lincoln Jeffries Underlever design in the early 1900's was a quantum leap forward, even if it took BSA to make it a commercial success but, the basic design lived on until the '70's & early '80's (Webley Mk3, Original Mod. 50) and is still with us today, albeit breech loading not tap, with everyone's favourites from Air Arms & Weihrauch.
LJ was the airgun equivalent of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in my opinion !

Exactly.
A well serviced version is still capable at air gunning distances.
Modern ammunition and the advent of affordable telescopic scopes being mass produced, made airgun accuracy easier to attain, arguably, rifles like Lincoln Jeffries were better engineered than their modern descendants.

 

[Mark E Smith]

Exactly.
A well serviced version is still capable at air gunning distances.
Modern ammunition and the advent of affordable telescopic scopes being mass produced, made airgun accuracy easier to attain, arguably, rifles like Lincoln Jeffries were better engineered than their modern descendants.

Agreed, I've got 2 x Webley MK3's in my hoard, don't particularly like shooting them - ergonomics, sights, everything really but, I own them as a testament to British Craftsmanship and Engineeriing from a time gone by.
Sort of like having your Dad's old Norton under a sheet in your garage but, you'd rather throw your leg over something modern.

 

[Mark E Smith]

After Lincoln Jeffries, my 2nd vote would go to Herman Weihrauch - King of the Springers !