1943 BSA No. 4 Mk 1 (T) Less Telescope- low serial number.

[corco]

Thank you all for your feedback. So the general consensus is serial 7282 that most likely should be A7282 is a genuine BSA Shirley No 4 Mk 1 less T that has had some history with all it's what could be called left over parts to put it together at a BSA factory and not in a garage. Does that sound about right?

Also, a friend of mine has a genuine Holland and Holland (T) that I compete with in the CMP matches put on in the South East corner of the States. Peter did a great job rebuilding his scope a few years back. My friend does very well with the rifle in the matches and he is hoping that there would be another T for him to compete against. If the very knowledgable members of this forum say the rifle is a real one then that is good news.

From another resource I found this rifle which I though was an early number is actually a late number as per what I've found which I am sharing below.

"No.4 and No.5 rifle serial numbers can readily identify manufacturers. British No.4 rifles have five numbers, usually after one or two letter prefixes. The same letter prefix(es) were used by Maltby, Fazakerley & BSA Shirley, A to Z then AA, AB to AZ, then BA to BZ, CA to CZ &c. Maltby rifle serial numbers commence with a number '1', Fazakerley with a '2' and Shirley with a '3', e.g. 1xxxx for Maltby, 2xxxx for Fazakerley and for Shirley, 3xxxx, after the letter prefix. Late Shirley numbers then supposedly ran A4000 to A7999 and with PS prefixes at the very end of production. Post-war Fazakerley No.4 rifles had PF letter prefixes. The only exception to the 5-number sequence for No.4 rifles was the initial BSA Shirley production which ran from 0001 to 9999 then went with A to Z prefixes (A0001 to A9999 to the Z prefix) and some early dual letter prefixes (e.g. AT 0303), but then went over to A30001, &c. So early M47C No.4 rifle numbers could be confused with the Jungle carbine in having four rather than five numbers."

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[corco]

FYI - the info for the serial numbers did not cite their source so I apologize if it is from anyone's books they have written. The info is appropriate for this subject of the rifles incorrect serial number.

The correct serial number is stamped on the barrel under the top hand guard for "T", correct?

[Roger Payne]

The serials on BSA Shirleys were as you have lifted from wherever (?the late Skip Stratton?) initially - a single letter followed by a four digit number. This was the case in 1941/42. By 1943 they had graduated onto the AA 1234, AB3456, AC5678 (etc) system. By 1944 the single letter followed by a 5 digit number commencing with a '3' had arrived. This continued until the end of the War, & even a little while after (Y prefix 1947 dated rifles have been noted).

The rifle in the thread should originally have had a serial number A? 7282.

I suspect you will not find a written source for this information exactly as stated.

ATB.