Friends Reunited - Bsa Juniors Class Of 1911

[silva]

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Here are two little .177 Bsa Junior rifles from 1911 - just under a thousand were produced in the years before the First World war.
Along with its close relative the Juvenile pattern, these have one of the smallest production runs of any Bsa model. According to John Knibbs excellent book, many were exported and I suppose the rest were worn out by generations of children.

There is only a 25 digit difference in the serial no.'s between these two, so it's a fair assumption they sat together on the same rack in the factory, they may even have been manufactured on the same day. Strange how objects can cross paths again over the century.

See the difference in the checkering pattern on the diminutive 11 1/4 stocks, though both are undoubtably the original items and have the 11 1/4 stamp beneath the stock - a good example of how specifications varied even within batches at the Bsa works.
One has a higher pattern rearsight than the standard no.10 unit, though according to Knibbs some Juniors were fitted with these, or it may be a later period replacement.
They shoot well and seem surprisingly powerful for such tiny rifles - though I suppose they are light pattern carbines really ! I wonder how they compare with the Webley Mk 1 rifle.

The catalogue is a genuine 1913 one, with all the various bsa airguns, rifles, sights etc, that my mum found for me. The Bsa pellets and box are stamped with Bournemouth Sports Derby underneath, which may have been a sporting event. These probably date from the 20's or 30's.

It must have been a very lucky young lad who had one of these in 1911.

[Garvin]

Very interesting Morgan, thank you. Could you possibly post larger pictures, these look a bit small?

[Gareth W-B]

What a wonderful find, and what amazing little bits of BSA history they are too . Thank you very much indeed for sharing them with us, and as our Garvin says if you could do bigger pics they'd be greatly appreciated by we the myopic many . Atb: Gareth.

[silva]

Just wondering, how do you post larger pictures, do you set it up in the camera settings itself or via the photo hosting site.
Cheers Morgan

[Arch.Stanton?]

There's something about a nice old airgun that stirs the blood , and the imagination , and a pair (!) ........as the Jazz Man said , " .....Nice !"

[ewoodie]

you are a very lucky lad, with that mum!

[silva]

Hi Ewoodie,
My mum is great at ferreting out interesting items. I remember once casting a dull eye over an old box of tools at a market stall and walking off, Jayne puts her hand in the box, has a rummage and comes up holding an 18th Century bullet mold and buys it for £1.50 - I got a very nicely mounted stuffed fox head off her for Xmas !

Regards Morgan