BSA mystery Supersport without serial number

[evert]

A quite nice Supersport turned up, old enough to have the single stage plastic trigger blade, and not have the Anti-Bear-Trap of the later versions.
To my somewhat limited knowledge, this places the rifles production date somewhere before 2000, as my dad bought a Lightning new around 1999, which had the ABT.

Now, the big mystery is that I cant find the serial number. I own several Lightnings, Supersports, Tacticals, and meteors from mk1 up through mk6, so I know that the serial number has been moved around a bit. But this gun totally lacks a serial number
Never seen this on a BSA before, if anyone can shed some light on this I would be happy for the info!

[piggy589]

Not sure about the serial number,but a lack of calibre stamp can denote a .25 rifle.
Well that was my experience with a RB Airsporter.

[tunnelrat]

Hello evert,

One possible explanation could be that the serial number was originally on the breech block. The rifle was then rebarreled using a new barrel from e.g. Knibbs that was not numbered.
Do the barrel and cylinder bluing look similar?

[evert]

Not sure about the serial number,but a lack of calibre stamp can denote a .25 rifle.
Well that was my experience with a RB Airsporter.

Its a .177", and clearly marked as such, but thanks for the input!

[evert]

Hello evert,

One possible explanation could be that the serial number was originally on the breech block. The rifle was then rebarreled using a new barrel from e.g. Knibbs that was not numbered.
Do the barrel and cylinder bluing look similar?

The gun looks to be untouched, and is presumably "new old stock", almost unfired. Theres no wear on anything, just some small rust spots from storage.
All bluing looks similar.
The seller said he had gotten four of these old Supersports from someone that had just had them sitting unused on a the shelf.

[greenwayjames]

A quite nice Supersport turned up, old enough to have the single stage plastic trigger blade, and not have the Anti-Bear-Trap of the later versions.
To my somewhat limited knowledge, this places the rifles production date somewhere before 2000, as my dad bought a Lightning new around 1999, which had the ABT.

Now, the big mystery is that I cant find the serial number. I own several Lightnings, Supersports, Tacticals, and meteors from mk1 up through mk6, so I know that the serial number has been moved around a bit. But this gun totally lacks a serial number
Never seen this on a BSA before, if anyone can shed some light on this I would be happy for the info!

The barrel was probably bought as a spare part and therefore has no serial number. If you think about it that makes sense. The serial number of the rifle was stamped on the breechblock as it came out of the factory. It is the rifle that's serial numbered not the barrel

[evert]

The barrel was probably bought as a spare part and therefore has no serial number. If you think about it that makes sense. The serial number of the rifle was stamped on the breechblock as it came out of the factory. It is the rifle that's serial numbered not the barrel

Thanks for the input. That would make sense in the UK, but over here in Norway, buying and changing barrels on old sporting airguns is something done by very few.
Plus the gun seems totally untouched by tools after it left the factory, so I'm having a hard time accepting that the gun has been worked on.

[mrto]

Thanks for the input. That would make sense in the UK, but over here in Norway, buying and changing barrels on old sporting airguns is something done by very few.
Plus the gun seems totally untouched by tools after it left the factory, so I'm having a hard time accepting that the gun has been worked on.

You could always try contacting BSA and ask them,in my experience they are quite friendly and helpful.

[evert]

You could always try contacting BSA and ask them,in my experience they are quite friendly and helpful.

Thanks, that might be a good Idea! I've been thinking that BSA is just Gamo these days, but there might still be som knowledgeable people in Birmingham?