I recently shot my mates BSA Standard, I'm unsure what version it was but really enjoyed it. I'm now thinking of buying one to add to my very modern collection of air rifles, and to hopefully try out a bit of vintage airgun shooting at my local club.
Is there much difference between the versions? And what should I be looking for in terms of condition, common problems and power? And what should I be paying for one in good condition (just to give me a ballpark idea).
Any help would be appreciated as I'm planning to go to Kempton arms fair and hopefully pick one up.
First, this seems to be your first post, so welcome to the BBS forum.
Secondly, there is plenty of expertise here, to guide you in terms of the variations between the BSA Standards.
Thirdly, check out the Vintage Airgun Gallery, run by Garvin : https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery.com/
You will find a wealth of information there.
Fourthly, it is still easily possible to find BSA Standards that exceed 11ft/lbs - some nearly 12. Since some of these are approx 100 yrs old, power has dropped for many of them, so it is worth enquiring. New springs can be fitted to restore the power.
Fifthly, these are remarkably accurate for their age. Somewhere on Garvin's website, targets and groupings are displayed at between 40-50yds. The open sights are amongst the best of all open sights, with their distinctive bead foresight. Groupings of 2in, from recollection, are easily possible at 50yds.
Sixthly, I would ask about the power. I would check that the rifle is in good condition. The better it has been kept, the less likely it is to have been abused. When cocking the rifle, open the air tap and then release, slowly, the cocking lever to make sure there is not a clear and loud emission of air from the opened air tap (ie poor seal). Moreover, in those days, the piston washers were leather so some lubrication every one to two tins of 500 pellets is required (via the air tap).
Many others here will supply better guidance than I have, above. In my view, it is more satisfying to shoot these than some of the more modern air rifles. They perform remarkably for their age.
Rgds
Andrew.
Thanks to both of you for your advice, looking forward to a trip to Kempton. Hopefully will find what I'm looking for but also will be interesting as I've never been before, may come away with more than I'd planned to!
VAG have some really useful info https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....e-bsa-airguns/
I think this is the thread you need to read, from the vintage gallery:
https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....sas/#post-2664
This will tell you what you need to know before buying. The author, Lakey, is a very decent and helpful fellow who is a member here.
I dare say he will be attending Kempton too!
Rgds
A
In very, very simplistic terms there are two models : the light pattern and the standard.
The light pattern is just perfect for bell target work, they are slightly shorter overall (but with full length stocks usually), a little lighter and run about 5.5~6 ft/lbs and all are .177 I believe.
The standards are longer overall, heavier and more powerful and come in .177 & .22 flavours
Within this there are all kinds of variations especially in the triggers and stocks with premiums for Lincoln Jeffries models, fitted peep sights, .25 calibre, etc
Decent complete standard ones start at £150 if you're lucky with nice examples fetching over £250.
Others more knowledgeable than I may disagree...
I disagree in reality there are a few more lengths, but excluding the really rare stuff like Milpats (longest) and the real tiddlers (Shortest Juvi and juniour) I would say actually the 3 "middle" remaining lengths are "common", 45 inch, 43 inch and 39 inch.
No point getting wrapped up in the "standard" moniker as it can be confusing as was applied to several models and lengths, ie BSA Standard Air Rifle (Light Pattern) etc.
Basically as above the 39 inch guns are the Light / Ladies / L and later A prefix guns are .177 around 6 foot pounds and shorter in size
The 43 inch guns are the original Lincoln, the "BSA Air Rifle", the Improved B's and D's. plus some 1930's C and CS guns..these are a bit more powerful, doing 700 and a bit fps in .177.
The 45 inch guns (sometimes called Long Toms) are both .177 and .22 and very rarely .25....the size came out as a 22 in the first 1905-19 period and was called the Sporting Model, post 1919 it was re-introduced with an S prefix and later a .177 version was made with a CS prefix. but there was a T prefix as well at the end of production which was a simplified gun.
These 45 inch guns can shoot hard as per previous posts.
It's easy to get confused but the bare bones are they are all basically the same gun from start to finish, and as the years went by they made longer and shorter ones, fiddled with the sights and triggers, and made them gradually simpler and cheaper to make
The later guns had a seperate trigger and sear compared to the early guns where the trigger acted directly on the piston rod, which may be a selling point, but the early guns are nicer IMHO with hand cut chequering and nice little touches like keeper screws / metal buttplates.
I am sorry I can't make it easier, but honestly they are all pretty much the same to the layman, and when in the past I have shown someone say a model B and D next to each other and explained the difference, they just roll their eyes like you are bonkers, it's a collector thing!
So just decide on how big a gun you want and waht size bore and go from there!.....If you wade though this link and jot down the prefix letters for 1905-39 it may help;
https://www.airgunspares.com/whats-my-bsa
ATB, ED
Last edited by edbear2; 04-06-2021 at 07:28 PM.
Your whole post was well written and informative Ed but I would add that the most obvious changes made were to the cocking lever locking system and for the layman, make it reasonably easy to tie the guns age to an era of production. A spring locking catch = pre late 1911, a side lever release button = 1911-1919 and an end release button put the gun between the wars. not infallible , but a general, easy to recognise guide
That's a whole lot of information, but it clears a lot up as far as BSAs I've seen advertised.
I think going to Kempton will give me a selection and I'm going to go with what I like aesthetically as much as anything. I've already started to look at other pre WW2 airguns, so this may become an expensive hobby
How easy is it to get spares for them, and who stocks them? In case I have to replace seals at some point, it's not always possible to fire or chrono a gun especially at a fair.
Hi Phil,
Protek Supplies in Bognor Regis usually carry a good selection of spares. My advice would be to buy a rifle in the best possible condition you can find/afford. That way there is less likelihood of something going drastically wrong or ending up with non original or period incorrect sights (which would bug me!).
I'll be walking around the show tomorrow taking pictures, so feel free to say Hi if you see me.
Kind regards,
John M
Currently looking for Baikal Makarov pistols with the following prefixes to the serial number: 98, T01, T09, T21, T22
Prefer boxed or cased but will consider loose examples too.
First and foremost, the main thing about owning a pre-WW2 BSA underlever air rifle is to enjoy it.
I don't think it is possible to wear one out in normal use, as they were made of such high quality materials.
They are simplicity itself to work on ( with a full breakdown to component parts only taking around 15 minutes to achieve), and spares are readily available.
Plenty of information on these from learned members of this forum, and the guns come in at 1/3 to 1/2 the price of an average PCP. What's not to love..
One word of warning though - one is NEVER enough !
Lakey