Whether a BSA Shirley rifle really is of a higher quality than the others really depends on who you talk to. They ALL had to conform to the same set of gauges so........ As an Armourer who's handles and worked on thousands(?) of them, I can tell you, from my experience, that there were good and bad among them all. Just like MG cars. Some with a finish that looked like they'd been sent to the USAicon by deck cargo on a submarine, others were pristine examples. Most of mine looked like thay's gone there AND BACK via deck cargo!