A Very Special 1923 BSA.

A place to discuss and share pictures, reviews, of your rifles.
Post Reply
Leonardj
Marksman
Marksman
Posts:128
Joined:Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:58 am
A Very Special 1923 BSA.

Post by Leonardj » Fri Apr 10, 2015 10:57 pm

This air rifle is a 1923 BSA Standard, "S" prefix "giant", in .22 cal. It is fitted with a BSA No. 22 fold down rear aperture sight that has been modified to allow the fitting of different aperture sizes. Those familiar with these fine old BSAs may recognize that what I have just described is not a particularly rare or unusual variant of the gun, so what makes this BSA so special?

Image

Image

What makes this particular BSA unique, is that it's 92 year history can be accurately traced, by virtue of the fact that it had been owned by two members of the same family since it was sold new. I suspect that there are not many guns of this age for which such a claim can be made.

The original owner purchsed the gun new from a shop in Buckingham, England in 1924, and eventually had the gun fitted with the BSA No. 22 aperture sight.
In 1953, the original owner gave the gun to his young nephew, who became the second owner, and carried on the stewardship of the gun for the next 62 years, until March of 2015, when I became the third owner of the gun. The second owner kindly provided me with the provenance of the gun, along with a few anecdotes, and a summary of all work done to the gun over the years, that he could recall. In my opinion, such a well documented airgun is indeed special.

There is however, one modification that was done to the gun by the original owner that remains a bit of a mystery. The only telltale evidence of this modification is a tastefully fitted filler screw, set into a small flat on the top of the barrel, just ahead of the rear sight. If anyone is familiar with what sort of device may have been fitted to the barrel in this location, I would be most interested in any details that could be provided.

Image

gab
Plinker
Plinker
Posts:55
Joined:Sat Dec 08, 2012 4:51 am

Re: A Very Special 1923 BSA.

Post by gab » Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:15 am

Leonard, that BSA is a beauty. I have no idea what the unusual modification could be for; hopefully, someone on the forum knows.

User avatar
pmh
Site Admin
Posts:1826
Joined:Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:07 pm

Re: A Very Special 1923 BSA.

Post by pmh » Mon May 04, 2015 11:23 am

An excellent thread Leonard, and a very interesting read.

Kind regards,



Phil
M0KPH
I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

Post Reply