Enjoying my BSA

[jirushi]

Such a nice gun, this Light Pattern from 1928.
I bought it in January 2022, and it was a huge learning experience to get everything to work well.
I tried using a Sharp peepsight, but my conclusion is that I prefer the original open sights.
Perhaps I will use the peepsight again in the future.



30 shots at 25 yards, no wind, 7.0 gr RWS flatheads. Sitting on the ground with my knee supporting my left hand.
I have shot better groups, but I think it shows these old guns have good potential.

[Binners]

Lovely rifles these and that rear sight from a MK1 Airsporter or Cadet Major is better and nicer than an original.

[jirushi]

That's interesting Binners! I didn't know that it was a non original rear sight.
It makes sense now, because there is a gap between the base of the dovetails in the barrel, and the bottom of the rear sight.
I filled it up with JB Weld, and then secured the sight with red Loctite, once I had it centered correctly.
It was wobbly first, now obviously rock solid.
I really like it.

[Lakey]

Good shooting !

Whenever I have one of these guns apart for the first time I always do a deep clean of the barrel with bore cleaner and a phospor bronze brush.

I find that it can tighten up the groups quite a bit. And if you think about it, given the difficulty of checking/cleaning the barrels in underlever rifles, it could be the first time the barrel has been cleaned in nearly 100 years.

Definitely worth doing IMO

Lakey

[jirushi]

Thank you for the tip Lakey!
That's a good idea.
Louis

[SteveB13]

What a smashing gun.

[rapidresponse1]

lovely looking gun bud

[45flint]

My favorite rifles by fair. Love both the Light and the .22. My 1914 Sporting would be the last gun I would sell, not the target shooter you are.

[jirushi]

Today and last week I noticed some oil “sweating” around the line where the cylinder meets the tap/barrel.
Perhaps it has to do with the hot weather.
Is it normal?
I have a feeling that this gun’s cylinder was taken off at some point;
there is no blueing where both parts meet.

[jirushi]

Lovely rifles these and that rear sight from a MK1 Airsporter or Cadet Major is better and nicer than an original.

For my own knowledge, may I ask how you make the distinction between a Light Pattern rear sight, and a MK1 Airsporter/Cadet Major one?

[Lee5159]

Great rifles with outstanding build quality, I love my old BSA

I also prefer the standard open sights as the peep sights I feel they limit my field of view

For my own knowledge, may I ask how you make the distinction between a Light Pattern rear sight, and a MK1 Airsporter/Cadet Major one?

It's possible the cylinder/barrel have been removed in past, replaced or re finished as the oil has got into threads & removed bluing

This might help about the rear sights

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....a-cadet-major/

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....rts-internals/

[torrens]

There are obvious “ molegrip” marks in the second photo….someone has had it apart. The cylinders were soft soldered to the barrel assembly so it has been heated to separate things. If you can disassemble it you could degrease both threads and use Locktite to reseal that area ( and clean the rifling as suggested ).
Nice air rifle, I’ve had a few.

[jirushi]

Great rifles with outstanding build quality, I love my old BSA

I also prefer the standard open sights as the peep sights I feel they limit my field of view



It's possible the cylinder/barrel have been removed in past, replaced or re finished as the oil has got into threads & removed bluing

This might help about the rear sights

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....a-cadet-major/

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....rts-internals/

Hi Lee5159, thank you for the links!
I agree, the standard rear sight gives a much better field of view, which is nice in my garden shooting situation.
I thought the peepsight would be easier on my eyes, but if I take enough time between shots, and focus on my breathing, my eyes cope fine with the standard opens.

[jirushi]

There are obvious “ molegrip” marks in the second photo….someone has had it apart. The cylinders were soft soldered to the barrel assembly so it has been heated to separate things. If you can disassemble it you could degrease both threads and use Locktite to reseal that area ( and clean the rifling as suggested ).
Nice air rifle, I’ve had a few.

Thank you for the advice torrens.
I thought I had finally finished working on this BSA after nearly 2 years, but she keeps surprising me!
It's interesting to get to know the gun very well this way.

The marks on the inside of the tap hole now make sense.
Someone must have put a thick steel tool in there, to turn the barrel assy whilst gripping the cylinder, to unscrew.
The tap wouldn't enter 100% because of these marks. I filed them down carefully a while ago.

[jirushi]

I am a bit anxious to unscrew the barrel assy, but it probably has to be done.

My next Light Pattern will be a "very good" one, I now sort of know what to look out for...

What kind of Loctite would you use to put it back together?
I was thinking about the blue variant, which should seal fine? Red might be better, but if the cylinder needs to be removed in the future, it will cause a headache.