Has anyone fired a WW1 Bsa Gun Laying Teacher Air Rifle ?

[silva]

Another bit of ancient Bsa exotica that has always fascinated me. Has anyone ever plinked with one ? I did for a short time own a small black rubber tank, that was used with the WW2 Australian ones....

[Leonardj]

I have.

Many years back, I managed to acquire an Admiralty Pattern Gun Laying Teacher. There wasn't much information available back then, so I sent John Knibbs a letter requesting information, which he very kindly provided in a return letter.

I built a very nice, solid oak base for it, and proceeded to do some testing with it.
Pictures and details of the gun were published in an article that I wrote for U.S. Airgun, in the Jan/Feb/Mar 1995 issue.

Not long thereafter, I sold the gun to Fred Liady, a prominent U.S. collector (sadly no longer with us) and he eventually sold the gun to Robert Beeman.
The picture in the Blue Book of Airguns shows that gun still mounted to the oak base that I made for it.

Article and some pics here (just scroll down the page):
http://www.network54.com/Forum/67044...Laying+Teacher

[CRX]

Another bit of ancient Bsa exotica that has always fascinated me. Has anyone ever plinked with one ? I did for a short time own a small black rubber tank, that was used with the WW2 Australian ones....

Chris Hough who used to be HW Vixen on here and Mad Mike on another forum had one for sale some time ago, I can't believe that he wouldn't have fired it!

From memory I believe that he also had some rubber tanks with it.

[pennineway.fswo]

Chris certainly had one and possibly still owns it.
A very interesting piece of kit

If you need to get in touch with him I can let you have his e-mail address by pm

John

[trevor1]

Chris Hough who used to be HW Vixen on here and Mad Mike on another forum had one for sale some time ago, I can't believe that he wouldn't have fired it!

From memory I believe that he also had some rubber tanks with it.

There were,tanks,trucks and telegraph poles! All made from black rubber.Sealed and dated. With the layer came a sizable painted steel trunk which contained a motor,pulleys and flexible wires. The targets were attached to the wire and the whole set-up was laid out on a field in a triangular shape.The wire traversing the base of the triangle had the targets attached. Heaven knows how a chap in a Valentine,manning a two-inch gun with a pellet-shooting insert,managed to hit these targets.
I was in the army(compulsed)at the time but didn't ever see any cavalry playing with this gadget.Guess it was all to do with "laying" rather than "hot pursuit"!;-)

[mel h]

A few years ago I bought some artefacts from the estate of a British submariner who had started his career during WWI as a gunlayer, he then rose through the ranks to finish up as a commander, through the second war and into the postwar period. I kept the things I wanted and passed the rest on, among some of the paperwork was a postcard size target with a ship sillouette pierced with a small hole, It was signed and dated (WWI period), I never gave it much thought at the time but now think it was probably used with a BSA gunlayer. Anyone Know if they used targets like that?
Mel