During WWII, the Robinson Co. produced munitions for the U.S. Government. Shortly after the company turned to the production of toy tools, an engineer by the name of O´Connell approached George Robinson with a design for a single shot CO2 rifle. At about the same time, Crosman Arms Corporation was promoting their CG (Compressed Gas) series rifles via indoor shooting leagues, one of which was in East Rochester, NY. It is probably no coincidence that the O´Connell rifle so closely resembles a Crosman CG rifle that collectors who have seen one of these very rare rifles often think that it is a prototype or a version of the Crosman CG rifles. The complete lack of any markings on the O´Connell rifles helps promote this error. However, the internal design is considerably different and the quality is higher.
Previous manufacturer of the O'Connell Gas Rifle located in Rochester, NY circa 1947-1949.
