The Chequered Past Of Daystate

Don Lowndes was one of the founders of Daystate and had many different skills and interests. He was a bare-knuckle boxer known as the Fighting Blacksmith.

As he got older, he decided that deer farming was something he was going to have a go at. He wasn’t doing it for the meat. He did it to breed the deer to sell to other reserves and areas. And he was involved in Whipsnade Zoo at some point. And he had a small head of deer. And one day, Don was on his farm, I think it was Riddings Farm, and a deer got snagged in a plastic bag with his antlers. And this put the deer really into a sad state. It started going nuts, and they could do nothing with this deer. It had to be shot and killed.
It was pretty distressing to see a beautiful animal killed for nothing. So Don looked around for an effective tranquilliser gun, and, unable to find one, he decided to build his own.

The First Build

So it began; Don made a few tranquilliser guns based on a Sheridan pump-up rifle. A Sheridan Blue Streak, in particular, was used as the base rifle. Eventually the tranquilliser gun was named the Air Ranger, the air rifle was called the Sportsman.

The Creation Of The Huntsman

They met with a guy called Joe Wilkes Wilkins and his youngest son Steve Wilkins. They were working on an air system which went underneath the barrel.another rifle. Don working with Joe created their first air rifle called the Huntsman. The first ones produce had parts from other manufactures to keep costs down. They produced tranquiliser versions as well, which was Don’s main interest. As the factory in Stone became more commercial in air rifles, Don’s interest began to wane on that side of the business.

Investment Needed

Demand started to increase so he needed investment to expand the production. The investors became company directors and they were Ken Gibbon and Mike Seddon.

So there was a change from stainless steel to brass. Otherwise, guns remain the same. We’re talking now about the mid-eighties. And in the mid-1980s, they started to get interested in making higher volumes. By this time, Don had retired to the farm and was still pursuing his dreams of tranquillising guns and was starting to go abroad and do demonstrations on the tranquilliser rifles abroad.

Commercial Success

The first real commercial success was the Huntsman Mark I, which simplified the original Huntsman. However, it remained expensive to produce. The Huntsman FTR Custom was the slightly tweaked air rifle for the competition.
The FTR Custom was the first match-winning rifle in field target when field target started to use pre-charge air rifles. Ken tried selling the new air rifle to the shops, but the cost was prohibited. He was told to go away when they also discovered you needed air tanks to fill them back. It cost 250 pounds at a time when a VARG HW 77 would cost you £80.

Field Target Domination

But then, a gentleman named Barry McClure started to win every field target match with a Huntsman FTR Custom. Attitudes began to change, the interest in the rifle peaked, and cost was no longer an issue putting Daystate on the Map.

Diversification & Survival

Daystate also used its air technology to paintball and also got commissioned to develop a multi-shot riot gun for a company. They also made a simplified version of the Huntsman HL for Rentokil, this contract was very important in the early years keeping Daystate financially stable. Daystate quoted that they still occasionally get these in for service or repair and that most of the surviving models are now owned by private owners.

The focus went back to the air rifles, particularly a lightweight version of the Huntsman called the Huntsman Mark II. It took quite a while before the Mark 11 version was complete because they wanted to use their existing parts wisely. So there are a few hybrids of the original and the Mark11 in circulation.

Air Regulators

Fast forward to, Daystate 2000, pioneering air regulators. That was the first regulated gun commercially. Air Arms had done a couple in ’87, ’88, and then DayState did its version in 1992.

At this point, the factory had moved from its premises in New Castle Street to Birch House Lane. The company had been sold to a gentleman called Gary Saunders, and he previously made parts for DayState and brought it into the building in Birch House Lane.

Export Market & Electronics

The Air Ranger was a noteworthy model produced by Daystate, and they worked with stock designer Gary Cain to create a laminate stock for it. The Air Ranger Extreme was an 80-foot-pound, .22 calibre air rifle that was developed in the early 2000s. Daystate also collaborated with airgun designers Steve Harper and David Snook to develop electronic air rifles, starting with the XL/XS model in 2002. The electronics were not initially stable, but Daystate later engineered one of its paintball regulators to stabilise the system. The Mark III and Air Wolf models followed, and the Air Wolf proved to be a successful export model. Daystate also developed an electronically controlled air regulator that could map each shot at different power settings, which was first developed by hand in 2003 and later automated in 2007. The MCT (Map Compensated Technology) model was developed and did not require a chronograph.

Tranquilliser Mark 2

Daystate had remembered its tranquilliser gun roots and continued to produce tranquilliser guns, such as the Air Ranger Mark II and the X2 and Air Wolf-based versions. The X2 version was developed in Holland by Alfred de Vries, and the Air Wolf version allowed for electronic power control to avoid over-powering the darts. These tranquilliser guns can shoot between 80 and 180-foot pounds and are used to stun animals without killing them. Darting with a tranquilliser gun is considered an exciting sport, but it requires precision and skill to achieve the desired effect. The Huntsman is another noteworthy Daystate model that has been in production since the beginning. The current version is the Huntsman Regal, featuring a beautiful walnut stock made by Minelli and an Huma air regulator.

New Italian Leadership

Mauro Marocchi took over DayState and invested in design, including the Wolverine project. They developed the indexing pin system, which worked in both electronic and mechanical DayState rifles. The magazine for the Wolverine initially fell apart after around 2000 shots, so they created the Wolverine 303, which slowed usage and gave them time to fix the problem. DayState then moved to a new factory, the largest one they have ever had. They continued to develop new products, including the Red Wolf, which combines the Pulsar’s electronics with the Wolverine’s mechanical system. The Red Wolf has been a best-seller, dominating other rifles in competitions.

History Of Daystate’s Directors

Originally it was a construction company which ties into the speculation above. The business Daystate was incorporated in October 1978, but at the time, the names of the Directors/Secretaries were Derek Harry John Pattison and David Francis Ordish. In July 1987 (searchable document), Don, Ken and Mike appeared on the documents as Directors/Secretaries. Then, Daystate changed from being a construction company into an airgun manufacturer.

In 1988 one of the directors resigned (unknown), and in December 1989, a new director was appointed.
We presume that Don retired from Daystate because a filing in 1995 shows that Kenneth Roy Gibbon is the company secretary, director, and Michael Seddon and Arthur Thompson.

Then in June 1996, Mike Seddon resigned his Directorship from Daystate. In September 1996, Gary Sanders was appointed as a director. Ken then resigned in June 2002. In January 2000, Ken was no longer the secretary for Daystate and Gary Saunders was appointed.

In May 2009, Mauro Marocchi was appointed as a director, along with Anthony Charles Belas and Gervasoni Stefano Giovanni. This resulted in the termination of Arthur Thompson and Gary Sanders.
The company was stable until October 2017, when they terminated Anthony Charles Belas. In February 2018, they appointed Mr Gianbattista Sabatti and terminated Gervasoni Stefano Giovanni.
In 2019 Racheal Flint was appointed Financial director. Then in December 2020, they terminated Gianbattista Sabatti.

So today, that leaves Rachel Flint and Mauro Marocchi as active Directors for Daystate.

Daystate Figurehead

When you think of Daystate, the name Tony Belas comes to mind. He started with Daystate in 2000 as a sales and Marketing Director and is still in Business Development. One of the constants over the years along with quality made Air Rifles.

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(Content Source, Video – The history of Daystate by Tony Belas, 40 year celebrations & PDF of the booklet Daystate produced for the companies 40^th year celebration supplied by Tony)