BSA Centenary???

[ken69]

[COLOR="blue"]ken69

the satisfaction that I had returned an unloved one back to it's former 'glory' but I wasn't worried about using it as it was intended!

Airsporterman

And there is the quandry.... A beautiful rifle indeed but as some have indicated, in mint condition, too nice to use and chance it getting marked. So I agree that having a used example is probably a better option than having a mint one.
I like Airsporterman love to use my rifles and as far as my mk1 Stutzen, RB2 and S are concerned do so on a regular basis. However I can not say the same about the mint Stutzen RB2 and Centenary .177 which I have never shot. They have only been out to clean and oil. I advertised the Centenary once before for £700 and it was snapped at straight away but at the end of the day I could not bring myself to part with it. I am now thinking that I may be better off using it or passing it on to someone who would appreciate it a little more.

[Airsporterman]

My advice would be dont sell it, I have seen too many people on this and other forums who have sold rifles like this and always regretted doing it.
Unless you need the money, keep the rifle and enjoy owning it, in it's own way it is both rare and unique, you own what a lot of Airsporter owners would love to own.
It's a depressed market at the moment, you would not realise the best price for it, later if you realised your mistake and wanted another, it will end up costing you a lot more!
Just my take on it!

atb
Airsporterman

[Troubledshooter]

Production of the 'Centenary Airsporter' started on 14th. June 1982.

736 were produced in .22, and 264 in .177

Numbers 1 and 1000 were initially kept by the factory, but I believe both are now in private hands.

The current going rate for a complete boxed .22 example appears to be around £650.
I don't know about the .177 as so few appear on the market, but I would imagine a premium of at least £50 over the .22 would not be amiss, possibly even more.

I haven't checked the handles on mine for a few years, but I suppose I'd better bite the bullet and check them.

[gingernut]

I bought a user two years ago and had the internals sorted.
It looks nice and shoots ok and I have no idea what it is worth especially as the rear of the action and the trigger guard have been stripped back to aluminium!
I paid just under £300 and at the time mint boxed with all bits were £650.

[Airsporterman]

Best sort to have in my opinion as you can enjoy it without the fear of marking it or reducing it's value.
Indeed, mostly any improvements you do will now increase it's value by virtue of it's rarity value.
I would look into the possibility of having the trigger block assembly specialist painted with black powder paint

Airsporterman

[Gareth W-B]

Would depend who was selling and what condition its in but if you mean the complete "BSA Centenary Package" with gun,scope,mounts,case etc. and all the "bag o mashings" in tip-top nick, then you could be looking at £600 -£700 ! Maybe a tads more !

I'm semi looking myself and thats what I'm expecting to pay for the right outfit.

"B'rider"

Kin' 'ell, sold a .22 Centenary kit, as near mint as you can get, with everything (rifle, scope, mounts, sling, swivels, sample pellet pack, lube oil tube, bag -- with intact handles -- and certificate for £350 plus post when I went skint back in 2009.

[gingernut]

On balance I think I will just keep mine.

Sorry about that Gareth

[dazmond66]

Did the centenary box have a polystyrene insert like other bsa boxes?

[Airsporterman]

Not certain about that, however, the ones I have seen have not had the foam insert due to the padded gunbag they came with!

[B]ASM[/B]

[Troubledshooter]

Did the centenary box have a polystyrene insert like other bsa boxes?

No it didn't.
The rifle was enclosed in a long polythene bag, and all the other bits and pieces were in either card boxes or polythene bags.

[DM80]

I would not pay more then £350 for a centenary i will never understand why folk pay so much for these which to be fair are just a standard Airsporter s with a differnt stock and they aint the best airgun in the world average at best' sure the centenary looks nice in its box with its bits and bobs but why pay £600 to open a box look at it and shut it their are far better things in life to spend that sort of money on.

Dave.

[spikedueller]

I owned one many years back and its good to see that the bag handles issue wasn't just me. I wrote to BSA about this at the time and apparently the bags were a special order so they didn't have any replacements.
I sold the rifle many years ago but the certificate for it has resurfaced after being lost for decades so if you have rifle no 762 then you may want the certificate for it

[Airsporterman]

I agree with both the previous posts!

Airsporterman

[Tim James]

I owned one many years back and its good to see that the bag handles issue wasn't just me. I wrote to BSA about this at the time and apparently the bags were a special order so they didn't have any replacements.
I sold the rifle many years ago but the certificate for it has resurfaced after being lost for decades so if you have rifle no 762 then you may want the certificate for it

Hi, never posted any where before, but I recognised the serial number on my Centenial 177 rifle and yes, I wouldn`t mind reuniting the certificate with the rifle.
I bought it about five years ago at a Wallis & Wallis auction and after fees and tax etc I think I paid about £230 , this seemed to cause a bit of a jaw drop for some they thought I paid way too much! I dont regret it. Regards Tim

[harry mac]

Hi, never posted any where before, but I recognised the serial number on my Centenial 177 rifle and yes, I wouldn`t mind reuniting the certificate with the rifle.
I bought it about five years ago at a Wallis & Wallis auction and after fees and tax etc I think I paid about £230 , this seemed to cause a bit of a jaw drop for some they thought I paid way too much! I dont regret it. Regards Tim

That's exactly what I paid for mine, new in 1983, from Guns & Ammo, 55 The Wicker, Sheffield. At the time I remember my dad saying "what's tha want to spend that kind o' money on a bloody airgun for?"
I've still got the "full bag o' mashings" (not heard that for a long while), but the rear sight screw has sheared in it's hole and I can't get it out.