It worked fine except for one detail. It took about 35 lbs. of effort for that single pump! It was too difficult for anyone but a strong adult man to operate for very long. Over the years, single-stroke pump mechanisms have been refined to the point that, when Daisy came out with their model 717 target pistol in the 1980s, the pump stroke only required 17 lbs. It was and still is the easiest single-stroke ever built, but it only managed 350 f.p.s. with a light .177 pellet. In fact, power has been the Achilles heel for all single-strokes. They rely on compressed air and, with just one pump stroke of that, they’re wimps. There’s a trade-off to consider. If the pump stroke compresses a lot of air, it takes too much effort; if it’s too easy, it doesn’t compress enough air. Several years ago, a British inventor created a sporting single-stroke rifle called the Dragon that developed 12 foot-pounds of energy—roughly twice what a normal single-stroke rifle can manage. To achieve that, he had to make the pump lever extremely long for better leverage, and the pump stroke was a 120º near-semicircle! Put that in an 11-lb. rifle that doesn’t have as much power as a Benjamin 392 weighing half as much and costing less than 20%, and you have a sure formula for failure. He Found A Way! Two inventors who should be well-known to Shotgun News readers are legendary barrelmaker Harry Pope and Fred Huntington of RCBS fame. Both men solved similar problems when greater force was required. Pope invented the toggle-link short starter for muzzleloading lead bullets straight into the bore without resorting to a hammer. Huntington created the famous compound linkage reloading press that handloaders today celebrate as the RCBS Rock Chucker. Without knowing it, Pshenychny used the same principle for his gun. He reasoned that air pressure increases more rapidly toward the end of the pump stroke. He used a compound linkage to increase both the applied force at the point in the pump stroke where the compressed air really starts fighting back and to lengthen the pump stroke for greater air volume. Compare this to the Beeman P2 to see how compound linkage allows a longer piston stroke. A longer stroke means more air compressed with less effort by the shooter. What’s not to like, Gaylord says. The result is about a 50% increase in power over the average single-stroke with far less effort. Not bad for a first try! A look at one of his patent drawings makes everything clear. In fact, this drawing is reminiscent of Pope’s toggle-link bullet starter. It also helps us make sense of the pistol in the open position. Compare that to the Beeman P2 shown earlier, and the longer piston stroke and greater leverage of this new design should become apparent. Cont to pg3>>>>