bsa cadet manufacture numbers

[isobar]

does anyone have an idea of cadet numbers from the BC range?it was quite a long period compared to the other letter prefixes so i'm thinking quite a lot.it seems across the cadet manufacture there was little change apart from the rear fixing and the various types of wood/splicing.i have had several cadets over the years,none with a beech stock.

[Dornfelderliebe]

Mine's only four digits after the BC.

[isobar]

i have 2 BC in the 11000-12000 range.

[Mr Pusk]

Mine is BC 50***

[Faerie]

As can be seen here - https://www.ihunter.co.uk/bsa-prefix-codes/ the BC range of serials ran for 11 years, from 1951 to 1962, while the B prefix ran for only the first year of manufacture, and the BA prefix for 4 years, so it should hardly be surprising that the BC prefix covers a wide numerical range.
I have no idea how many BSA Cadets were made in total, however, or whether a change of prefix denotes changes to the rifle itself, it being perfectly possible that BSA changed the prefix either upon the start of a new year or upon manufacture of a new variant. Does anyone know which method BSA used ?

[isobar]

i was assuming that that when the pre fix letter changed the number started at 1 but that is only an assumption,i have a B at 18***.many cadets would have survived and the stamping is quite deep so the numbers would be visible even on rough examples(mostly)

[slug-gun]

does anyone have an idea of cadet numbers from the BC range?it was quite a long period compared to the other letter prefixes so i'm thinking quite a lot.it seems across the cadet manufacture there was little change apart from the rear fixing and the various types of wood/splicing.i have had several cadets over the years,none with a beech stock.

According to previously published information, Prefix 'BC' ran from July 1951 to 1959, numbers 1000 to 62000, so 61000 produced.

Info from BSA production records apparently supplied by BSA.

[isobar]

thanks for that information,that would give a rough idea of the year for a number within the BC range,it would also be of interest to know when the beech stocks were used,were they toward the end of production or just dropped in now and again?

[Faerie]

I have a very strong suspicion that BSA were either left with a large stock of English Walnut after WWII, when they produced a lot of military firearms, or could perhaps acquire remaining government stock being sold off as surplus at a very low price, hence them using English Walnut for air rifle stocks for some years.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that the Airsporter Mk1/Mk2 3-piece stocks were made from off-cuts from some other process, though I have nothing to support this except why would you make a (weaker) 3-piece stock if there was no reason to ?

[Historical note] Almost all the walnut trees is Britain were cut down during WWII to provide wood for rifle stocks or other strategic uses, and as it's a slow-growing species they are now rather rare. I daresay a few survived in out-of-the-way places or in the gardens of those in a position to forbid their cutting down. I know of a couple in a garden in Pant/Llanymynech, south of Oswestry, but that's all.

[Dornfelderliebe]

I always wondered about the 3 piece stock. It must have been cheaper and there would have been loads of off cuts to make the forends with.

[Faerie]

I always wondered about the 3 piece stock. It must have been cheaper and there would have been loads of off cuts to make the forends with.

Indeed. It would be interesting to compare the early Airsporter butt stocks with those of the Lee-Enfield rifle to see if they could be made from the same blank, as BSA might have had plenty of those left over from wartime production, and then marry them up with off-cuts to make the fore-end. That way, the whole stock might have been effectively "free" to BSA.