Calling Airsporter owners.

[bulldog_drummon]

Hi guys, first post here wanting to say hello to everyone and seeking a little advice/info at the same time.

Briefly, I'm a member of my local firearms club and shoot both a .22 rimfire BRNO rifle and a .357 magnum Winchester 94 AE underlever. I also shoot occasional clays with my O&U. I used to shoot rimfire and centrefire handguns until they were banned and owned everything from .22 to a Dirty Harry 44 magnum. I loved shooting them together with the re-loading aspect but alas events meant that the guns were banned. I've owned the mentioned firearms since around 1995.

Back in the 1970s I bought a fairly old and somewhat beat up BSA Airsporter which I now believe to be a MK2. It gave me many hours of pleasure during the late 70s for a relative pittance back then and last weekend, after around 40 years of it languishing in the loft untouched, I took it for an outing to the range to give it an airing, bearing in mind that it hadn't been fired over the intervening years. Externally it's quite pitted much as it was when I first bought it but mechanically everything works just as it did and I considered restoring it to it's former aesthetic glory or as near as I could but then it might be better to just remove some of the pitting but retain much of the patina it has gained over the years. That I can decide on later.

There are several regular club shooters who own among other things, some pretty tasty and I suspect very expensive firearms-rated air guns and they tested my Airsporter chronographically and even without replacing the spring which I did replace maybe 40 years ago and no servicing during the intervening time, the old Airsporter's output still bordered on the legal limit power output and we found it to be perfectly and repeatedly accurate at roughly 60 yards/55m with some old Milbro 13.8 grain pellets which is no mean feat for a gun that must be getting on for 60 years old.

So now to the needed advice. I've done some research on Airsporters and I think the one I own is a mid-late MK2 but I'm definitely open to being corrected on that by those who know better. So far I've not found any external numbering to confirm or date it etc. It has some of the classic MK 2 tell-tales like the flip down rear sight or the way the barrel is mounted to the rest of the body but what I'm finding confusing is the scope grooves which are from my measurements, 11mm apart. Most of the images I've seen of the MK2s have two separate sets of pronounced/raised scope mounting points but on mine it's a pair of grooves approximately 100mm long which to be fair look very shallow?

I know back in the early 60s I once owned a really early MK1 Airsporter which had no scope groves or points for attaching a scope and the only rear sight was a Parker Hale circular target sight mounted on the rear curvature of the trigger housing but that would have been a 1950s MK1 model.

Until recent years I have always enjoyed shooting with iron sights but sadly my main (right) eye has gradually deteriorated over time due to an eye injury acquired in 1988 which left slight blurring due to scarring from the injury so I needed to add a pair of scope mounts to my .357 Winchester underlever which was easier said than done, though a few weeks ago I was very fortunate to find a new pair of Weaver all-in-one scope mounts in this country for the princely sum of £20.00 and they have allowed me to add a decent scope which gave my centrefire shooting a new lease of life. I have a scope on my BRNO and I'll need to do the same with the Airsporter so I need to make sure that I get the correct scope mounts for my model.

Also the Airsporter actually kicks more than my .22 rimfire, in fact it kicks/vibrates as much or even more as when I fire regular .38 special loads through my Winchester underlever so any new scope will definitely need a scope that can cope with the vibration from the Airsporter.

I tried mounting the scope from my BRNO on the Airsporter but the mounts wouldn't grip the grooves due to the curvature of the cylinder and shallow grooves so I wondered how other Airsporter owners of this vintage got around the problem?

Many years ago I owned a cheap 2x scope which mounted firmly on this very air gun but at that time I preferred shooting with iron sights and 2x was little better than open sights so it was discarded. Now I wish I'd held onto it. The mount was hardly substantial (rather cheap and nasty would be an apt description) but it kept the scope firmly held.
Even if I can find one of those old scopes complete it would be better than nothing but I'd prefer to find mounts more substantial which will allow me to attach a decent scope which I can correct for my eye problem.

So any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

I've added an image of the scope grooves.

https://i.postimg.cc/xd2S7bLV/gunscopemount1.jpg

[Gambo]

SportsMatch make a specific one piece mount to fit BSA Mercury/Airsporters.

I have a few, and they are superb.......highly recommended.

I'm not sure if they are still available new.....but they are not that hard to find secondhand if not.

Hope that helps.

[bulldog_drummon]

SportsMatch make a specific one piece mount to fit BSA Mercury/Airsporters.

I have a few, and they are superb.......highly recommended.

I'm not sure if they are still available new.....but they are not that hard to find secondhand if not.

Hope that helps.

Indeed it does helm me Gambo.
As long as I can get hold of a good solid preferably one-piece mount which keeps the scope mounted firmly that will do for me. The grooves are so shallow, they certainly need a mount which can get a good grip.

[Neil54]

What letter code does the serial number start with?

[bulldog_drummon]

What letter code does the serial number start with?

Hi Neil, thanks for the reply.
So far I've not actually come across any ID number. I've noticed that on some MK2s, the ID number is on the metalwork in front of the trigger guard but it's either been scuffed off or it's in some other location on mine. The exterior of the barrel is quite pitted and I can only just read BSA .22 calibre stamped onto it but I can't see any other ID markings.

In the next day or so I'll take off the stock to make sure the lube points are clean and greased and at same time see if there are any ID markings.

I bought the gun cheap because of its then condition (rough) from a local gun shop back in the 1970s and it was estimated to be at least 10 years old then so I would have thought that it would put it into the MK2 age bracket. Thankfully the internals of the gun far exceed the exterior aesthetics and other than replacing the spring at the time, it's had no other work done on it and I was very surprised at it's accuracy on the range last weekend.

When I last shot it in the late 70s I used to shoot it at targets in my late FIL's field at a fixed distance of 60 yards and with decent ammunition it was absolutely consistent on every shot over that distance and last weekend when I took it to the range to test it out after all those years, it was still delivering the same power and accuracy.

Once I've got the scope mounts sorted I can start shooting it again which will make a nice change from shooting rimfire and centrefire rifles.

[micky2]

Hi and welcome to the BBS. you should find the se/no at the front of the trigger guard with a letter and number.

[bulldog_drummon]

Hi and welcome to the BBS. you should find the se/no at the front of the trigger guard with a letter and number.

Hi Micky and thanks for the welcome.
That's where I would have expected to find the number.

Do you know if the number was printed on or actually stamped on? If it was printed on then it looks as though that it had worn off through rough use, probably before I got it although thinking back I seem to vaguely recall there being a number or part of on there but that could just be my mind playing tricks. If it was stamped on then it might be that an attempt was made to re-paint it before I got it and in which case the remaining paint has filled the stamping.

I've used directional light to see if there are any signs of a stamped number but I can't see one.

I don't think it's later than a MK2 and it's certainly not a MK1 so I'd say it was a later MK2.

[Bellycrawler]

Serial No is stamped on mine.

[rapidresponse1]

welcome to the bbs

[Geezer]

Some late Mk2s had full-length scope rails as you describe rather than the two-piece cut out dovetails of the earlier ones.

Sounds like you have one of those. Or the rare/not quite-mythical Mk3.

Pics?

PS - welcome to the BBS. High quality first post!

[bulldog_drummon]

welcome to the bbs

Thank you.
Well I think my scope issue is resolved (hopefully).

This afternoon I took my Airsporter to an air gun shop in the next town about 12 miles away and dropped it off while the owner went through his stock and fortunately he found a pair of brand new SportsMatch scope mounts specifically designed for the Airsporter and similar BSA guns.
I would have preferred one piece mounts as there is no dowel hole on the Airsporter for the arrestor pin for the individual mounts but the single piece mounts were nearly double the price of the paired mounts and the gun shop owner who fitted them said they were fine so we'll see how they behave when I take the gun to the range this weekend and mount one of my scopes. I might have to invest in an arrestor block or find some way of avoiding mount creep as that gun has a very mean kick to it, so I just hope they'll hold but in fairness they do feel firm.

Looking at it now I could have saved a bit of cash by sourcing the same mounts on or the likes but for the extra few pounds I paid, I got the peace of mind of the correct mounts fitted and supplied plus it supported a local business at the same time so the job is a good'un.

[bulldog_drummon]

Some late Mk2s had full-length scope rails as you describe rather than the two-piece cut out dovetails of the earlier ones.

Sounds like you have one of those. Or the rare/not quite-mythical Mk3.

Pics?

PS - welcome to the BBS. High quality first post!

Thanks for the welcome. It's not a Mk3 as far I'm aware as the stock is wrong as is the rear sight and the way the barrel enters the cylinder. The scope grooves are not terribly well defined on mine, I'm just hoping that the mounts I've had fitted hold up to the rigours of the Airsporter's spring recoil.

I thought the same as yourself, it's a later MK2. Going by info on the net ( particularly Google images) it certainly appears to be a MK2 and that would coincide with the age I put it at when I bought it in the 70s. It was at least 10 years old and from what the shop owner told me at the time, it had been used for pest/vermin control on a local estate by the gamekeeper. I just hope the said gamekeeper looked after any other estate guns guns better than the old Airsporter as it was in a pretty rough state externally and must have spent a lot of time in wet conditions. Thankfully the innards were still good.

Airsporters I do remember, were quite popular with gamekeepers back in those days as apart from the power, they were also seen as a 'proper gun' but as a result they often took some punishment.

[DEAN C.]

Hi, I collect Airsporters and you are correct it is one of the last Mk2s. Probably the most practical of the older versions. A mk2 number as said should be near the trigger guard, but maybe if its a very very late one it might be stamped under the rear of the barrel, maybe hidden by the under lever.

[bulldog_drummon]

Hi, I collect Airsporters and you are correct it is one of the last Mk2s. Probably the most practical of the older versions. A mk2 number as said should be near the trigger guard, but maybe if its a very very late one it might be stamped under the rear of the barrel, maybe hidden by the under lever.

Hi Dean, I'm pleased to know my suspicions were right about it being a MK2. At least I'll know what to order if I ever need any parts. That's an interesting comment with regard to the MK2 being the most practical of the older models.

Here's an image of the trigger guard. As you can see there is no visible stamping so the ID must be elsewhere. I'll take the stock off the body and see if I can locate any ID numbering.
Also with regard to the large long screw which anchors the body to the stock (second image), is there a ferule spacer, washer or something missing from the hole? It just seems rather deep and unfinished but that might just be the way they were made but if something is missing it might explain why the trigger housing doesn't completely seat neatly and properly into the stock.

https://i.postimg.cc/QMkQ9ry5/gun2.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/RVkKgFrK/gun3.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/QMb7NJFJ/gun4.jpg

[mallyally]

Interestingly your stock appears to be one piece I thought three pieces was more usual on that model (as mine is ! )

Oh and welcome to the BBS