Pre War Air Rifles !

[Blackrider]

John, I've a few Long Toms, If you want you can borrow a couple to try out before you part with any money, You may not like having no timber to hold at the front end


John

Great suff, many thanks John !

[Blackrider]

Condition is everything for the collector but a good user BSA Standard or Light should be around or under £200.

Binners sold just what you need on here last week.

Make sure sights are present and correct and that Stock is ok.

Gavin's vintage BSA resource gallery is an excellent aid.

Yes, saw that...Damn !

[Binners]

A chap called GMBalistic is selling a Light Patt on a diff site. I think Johnbaz may know him???

[Abasmajor]

If it were me, it would have to be a Standard Pattern Improved Mod D fitted with the No 12 aperture sight. I also prefer the Straight Hand stock, but, that's a purely personal choice.
Regards
Brian

[Binners]

March is such a long time to wait

[Blackrider]

March is such a long time to wait

I am a very patient Man Pete !

[walnutfarmmick]

I use a BSA Club Standard on a regular basis, Well engineered and great fun to shoot and with a little practice can be superbly accurate, I also have a Model D and light, The only real problem with the BSA rifles is that once you buy one it becomes addictive, You'll start hankering for rarer examples, particular sights etc etc, Basic models such as the standard can be found in nice usable condition for around £200, I have also seen very poor examples for as much as £450+, They come up often so don't rush in, buy a good one and it'll give years of pleasure, mechanical parts are readily available, sights ect are becoming harder to find and can quickly add the costs up to more than the rifle's value, Stocks can crack around the neck where it joins the action, easily repaired if you know how but worth looking out for, Other than that they're superbly engineered and rarely give trouble. There are plenty on here who have far more knowledge than me with regards to models, variants & values, my knowledge is simply based on ownership and the purchases I have made (and intend to make)

And the above is only the start! You'll find a craving for a Military pattern or one of the 200 (100 years ago) .25s. And those are just the BSAs. Other, inferior, makes also have rarities.

Good luck anyway, Mick

[Blackrider]

Cheers Mick !

[chieffool]

Not quite sold yet but, this would have been ideal for John. If you can find the .177 CS model, you will have best of both worlds and should cost less than £300 for a nice example.

Just in case you were all wondering.... most definitely 'sold' (bought on behalf of a friend, as a surprise xmas present from his wife) and Peter not only very kindly dropped it over to a suitable friend's address nearby - but also threw in a rifle sleeve as well.

So if ANYONE is EVER considering buying a previously owned air rifle (or pistol) - take my advice and remember you will not meet a more knowledgeable, trustworthy or decent set of people then frequent this forum.

Cheers guys
Richard

[Huttles94]

I use a BSA Club Standard on a regular basis, Well engineered and great fun to shoot and with a little practice can be superbly accurate, I also have a Model D and light, The only real problem with the BSA rifles is that once you buy one it becomes addictive, You'll start hankering for rarer examples, particular sights etc etc, Basic models such as the standard can be found in nice usable condition for around £200, I have also seen very poor examples for as much as £450+, They come up often so don't rush in, buy a good one and it'll give years of pleasure, mechanical parts are readily available, sights ect are becoming harder to find and can quickly add the costs up to more than the rifle's value, Stocks can crack around the neck where it joins the action, easily repaired if you know how but worth looking out for, Other than that they're superbly engineered and rarely give trouble. There are plenty on here who have far more knowledge than me with regards to models, variants & values, my knowledge is simply based on ownership and the purchases I have made (and intend to make)

Boy you are right about it being addictive. I started out with my Grandpa's first air rifle which is a CS model (33089) and I just recently bought a first batch improved model. Will also be buying a S prefix mod d off someone on this forum . Already bought a 16b and 17 Parker hale sight! I have also bought a BSA no 8 sight to....but I might sell some of my sights soon, also have a ph7 sight and an old milbro peep sight which is in its original box! Although the rubber eye piece needs some hot water and tlc.

But you cannot go wrong with the old BSA air rifles. They are common enough that they don't break the bank (unless you buy lots of them....) and parts are easy to get with people like John Knibbs and chambers about. They shoot great, easy to work on and the even look great to!

Set yourself £200 and you can get a real nice one at auction (My first batch improved model cost me £150 and all it needed was a clean and a service).

Good luck
Jake

[DAVALI]

More and more interest is developing in old spring gun air rifles both in owning but using as well,
Here at Lea Valley we have an active section of pre 1939 air rifle owner/users, to give these olduns an outing we run a Vintage/Classic Target comp. 40mm kill zone knockdown targets set between 10 and 35yds, anyone in the area on the second Saturday of every month will be welcome to come and have a go, we also run on the same day but in the afternoon a Bell/10yd Target comp, rifles to be pre 1939 and with open sights no apertures allowed I myself use anything from my BSA cs .177 to a 7mm Gem with home made “Slugs”, in the Rifle comp but we restrict the Bell/10yd to .177 only.

The classic section in the morning comp is for air rifles up to 1986. Additional to this we have a small semi recoiling section, all shooting in there own groups.
Bisley also have an active Vintage airgun section, all good fun and for my part more interesting than the “Clinical” HFT with Puff guns!.
Check the results on our forum to see what we used.
DaveM.