Crossman Rifle Company was founded in 1923 in Rochester, New York, when Bertram Fener, Operations Manager for Crossman Brothers Seed Company, reached an agreement with William McLean to produce pellets and an air gun based on McLean's own patented design. Two years later, Frank Hahn purchased Crossman Rifle Company and renames it Crossman Arms. His son, P. Y. Hahn, becomes the driving force of the company for the next fifty years.