![]() ![]() Production of the various Plainsman models continued until 1980 when Healthways finally ceased trading. The company had actually filed for bankruptcy in 1963 and only continued to trade as it was bought over by a number of large corporate owners. However, despite the commercial success of the Plainsman, by the 1970s Healthways was not doing well. ![]() ![]() It sold well and during the 1970s a licensed version was sold by the Uma Hunting and Sporting Goods Company in Germany (which would later became Umarex) and marketed in Europe as the Perfekta Plainsman. The slightly less exciting truth was that the Plainsman was a relatively simple and robust design which was sold fairly cheaply (early models retailed at around $12, around half the price of a Crosman revolver replica) and proved to be reliable and trouble free.“ Most sensational pistol ever made!” Hmm Healthways hyperbole from the early 1970s.Other than an early modification to the piercing cap which allowed the use of larger 12g CO2 cartridges, the Plainsman stayed relatively unchanged during its production life. Like the Colt Woodsman that it (sort of) resembles, it’s also a decent shooter as well as being reasonably well made, robust and reliable and decent examples can be had for relatively little money. ![]() Incidentally, don’t confuse this with the much rarer and more valuable Challenger Plainsman, a pump action pneumatic air pistol manufactured by Challenger Arms Corporation in the 50s and 60s.The Healthways Plainsman was designed and first produced in the sixties and it lies somewhere between the quality and technical sophistication of, for example, the Crosman 600 and the cheap and cheerful end of the market represented by the Marksman 1010. Just make sure you know what you’re buying or you may find yourself with a replica that it’s almost impossible to find ammunition for. It’s an ugly little devil, looking like some kind of Frankenstein marriage between a Colt Woodsman and a Japanese Nambu, but it’s robust and reasonably powerful and accurate. This time we’re looking at the Healthways Plainsman, a CO2 powered multi-shot replica of the classic Colt Woodsman. ![]()
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