BSA production information.

[mrclark303]

Hi all,

Like many of us, we start with an interest in a particular Milsurp, from there, as our interest grows, we dig into the history and manufacture.

My main interest is British service rifles (shooting and research), with this in mind I have approached various official organisations and associations over the years for production information and contract info, that's not recorded anywhere else.

Many have proven to be about as much use as a PoundLand Bra .... to steal a line from our our PL!


Not that I ever need an excuse to get into another area of gun collection, I found myself reaching for a long forgotten air rifle at the beginning of lockdown to fight my very own back garden bush fire war against insurgent rats, who had taken over the garden right in front of my nose...

The rifle in question was a 1985 vintage BSA Mercury Challenger, .22 break barrel.

I bought her new for rats and rabbit control back in the day and eventually lost interest in it, oiled her up and put her in the back of the safe.

Out of 'reserve' she came and into the workshop, a kit supplied by an airgun tuning wizard called Welsh Willie arrived and I rebuilt the gun over the course of a weekend.

While zeroing in the gun, it came back to me what simple fun airguns are. A very enjoyable few hours spent puffing pellets at a target, to work out range and hold over/ under on the open sights (just like Full-bore in miniature really), then it was down to the serious business of taking names and reclaiming my garden for me and the rest of the wildlife that disappeared during the infestation.

Wider note here, if the wildlife suddenly disappears from your garden, check for rats, they don't play well with others and drive everything away.....

Anyway .... This whole thing started a new arm to my gun collection, specifically classic BSA airguns.

Over the last few months I've been quietly building a collection of fixed barrel, lever action Airsporters.

Two mk1's one mk2 and a couple of rare late guns, a fully stocked Stutzen and a final production batch S model.

BSA guns went into receivership in 1985 and were rescued by the Spanish company Gamo. The models in production in that time period therefore had a small run of guns made, as Gamo ordered a production stop to certain models.

Production numbers don't appear to be available anywhere, it's quite possible, for instance, that my late Airsporter S model 'might' be one of less than 100 to be made before the tools down order.

It seems to me that as these last of the line, mid 1980's '100% British' BSA guns are little researched, with no one seeming to know little in the way of production numbers.

We are of course looking at this through the lens of time (35 years have elapsed) and the individuals involved with production are knocking on in years with fading memories and any records of manufacture likely to be in paper form in an old filing cabinet, perhaps already destroyed..

If some effort isn't made to record this information now, then an interesting period of UK Gunmaking history will likely be lost for good.

Does anyone know of any sources of BSA production to tap, or individuals who might be worth contacting?

Information

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