His goal was to produce a pistol about the size and weight of a Webley Nemesis (a popular single-stroke pistol), but with greatly improved power. Fortunately, for comparison purposes, the Nemesis is available in .22 caliber—something that is very rare in a single-stroke air pistol! Pshenychny’s gun more than doubles the power of the Nemesis, but because it is a prototype made of machined metal parts, it’s about a half-pound heavier. That could be reduced by the use of molded synthetics if the gun were to go into high-rate production. The placement of pump links on both sides of the frame removes all tendency for the piston rod to bind during compression. It also eliminates the possibility of mounting a scope above the barrel. Pshenychny did some preliminary design on another pistol with separate pump handles that allows a scope to be mounted and boost the power another 50%, but that gun was never completed. Performance The prototype pistol weighs almost 39 oz. and is 10 inches long. It has an 8-inch rifled steel barrel borrowed from a Crosman gun and turned down to fit. Most of the parts are made from high-strength aluminum, with steel used only where absolutely necessary. Every effort was put into making the gun easy to produce through the use of parts made from flat stock with no complex machining anywhere. If something could be used off the shelf, it was. Muzzle velocity with 13.9-grain lead pellets is 440-450 fps Taking 445 as the average, that produces a muzzle energy of 6.11 foot-pounds. Because it is well established that a .22 cal. is about 20% more efficient than a .177, we can reduce that figure by 20% and, by calculating backwards, derive a ballpark muzzle velocity for an 8-grain .177 pellet of 519 fps.   The breech pops open to receive the next pellet. The pistol exists only in prototype form, but Gaylord says it could revolutionize airgun shooting if a manufacturer were to adopt it. That puts this air pistol in the magnum category. There are some supermagnum air pistols capable of 50+ foot-pounds. Among those that use standard powerplants and are conventional in size, 6 foot-pounds is close to the current maximum. The pumping effort tops out at 15 to 18 pounds of force, or about what a modern Daisy 747 pistol (a descendent of the 717) needs to develop less than half the energy. In fact, the only single-stroke pistol capable of producing equivalent power is an $1,800 target pistol made by Feinwerkbau–and it is 50% larger and uses an extra-long pump handle for added leverage! Accuracy is not an issue with the prototype. The barrel is just a mule, awaiting the production decision of how good it should be. Rifling is so advanced today that a barrel capable of fine accuracy need not cost much, so I am hoping that if the gun is ever produced, it will have a great one. I also hope the lawyers don’t get hold of the design and demand a 12-pound trigger. A manual safety would be nice (the prototype doesn’t have one, but that’s easy to fix), but the world doesn’t need another anti-litigation trigger! Nobody Cared! This is where the “better mousetrap” saying runs afoul of reality. Naturally, Pshenychny is proud of his work and wants to see it produced, so he approached Daisy and Crosman with his design. You could hear the crickets chirping over their lack of response! In fairness to both companies, however, they undoubtedly hear many more cockamamie ideas than I do every year, and it probably takes something special to break through the filters that have naturally developed. Otherwise, why would they avoid a proven new design that makes it easier for shooters to pump a single-stroke pneumatic airgun—especially when both have single-strokes in their lines right now? Hanging In There! Pshenychny is now talking to other manufacturers who have quicker decision processes and faster developmental cycles. If he meets with success, the world may yet taste the fruits of his labors and have a single-stroke pneumatic that’s easy to pump yet more powerful. We hope he succeeds!