It's here! Improved Model D

[Tank]

So - the Improved Model D which I bought last week has arrived!
So it was a nice sunny afternoon and I decided to spend some of it in the garden with the rifle. I was quite surprised at how well it grouped, very close, bit of a surprise really. I am not sure what I was expecting really but it is very smooth and shoots really well.
I need to work on the sights next. I am going to a couple of arms fairs so this is the top of my "must get" list, a new front sight and a rear sight.

[pmh]

Jolly good. I look forwards to having a go.

Kind regards,



Phil

[Certus]

Hello Graham,

Glad you finally got your hands on the BSA Improved Mod D. They just seem to retain their accuracy and smoothness with very little maintenance. I will have a dig through my spares as I think I have a John Knibbs front sight and an original No 10 rear sight which I replaced with the No 8 on a Light Pattern.

Regards

Brian

[Tank]

Well Brian as I mentioned to you, I spent some time this afternoon stripping the gun.
To my surprise I discovered that it was full of a totally inappropriate grease. The leather washer was so hard and compacted I really thought it was some synthetic replacement
I have the washer soaking in a little neatsfoot oil and tomorrow I will re-assemble the rifle. The spring when I removed it, although flat ground as are this model spring was all one piece. The rifle should have a pair of springs fitted, contra wound. I have also heard that the Air Arms TX 200 spring fits and at first blush this indeed seems the case - I happen to have this exact model spring to hand.
I will build it back up tomorrow and settle the washer in before test firing it. The last thing I want is some bucking Bronco pushing out 11.9 ft lbs! I specifically want to use the rifle for Bell Target, power is not the goal, but smoothness and consistancy are.

[Certus]

Hello Graham,

Sounds like you are well on the way to getting the rifle up and running. I'm not sure exactly sure when BSA changed over from the double main spring set-up to a single spring but my 1909 model has an original single spring fitted.

Apart from the replacement of one mainspring, I have only ever had to clean and lubricate my rifles. I bought some neatsfoot oil from a local horse saddlery and that seems to work well with leather washers.

I'm not sure what pellets you intend to use but I have found light weight pistol pellets work best in all of my older BSA rifles. H&N .177 Match (Wadcutter) work best but RWS Hobby are a cheaper alternative.

Keep us up to date as things progress.

PS I'm sure you are aware of the excellent book on the history LJ & BSA Air Rifles available from John Knibbs.

http://www.airgunspares.com/store/produ ... fles-Book/

I have both editions the first of which has become a collectable item in its own right.

Regards

Brian

[Tank]

Thank you for your kind words Brian, I do a little leatherwork so I have some useful items to hand as it were, including Neatsfoot and other Leather oils. It is very, very good. Mink oil is another you can use.
I have fitted the Air Arms TX 200 spring without preload washers and frankly it is superb. I would guess the power is around the five to six ft lbs at the moment and there is little if any recoil. The spring is very well behaved though I did coat it, carefully, with some heavy chain grease that my friend John G gave me. I carefully and lightly coated the bore and the piston with 1-2 micron Molybdenium Disulphate powder and carefully distributed it onto all the metal surfaces. I had polished the piston to a bright finish before applying the Molybdenium and attaching the leather washer.
For pellets I am using RWS Superdome which weigh in at 8.3 grains as these are our control pellet for the Bell Target. Anyhow, here are some pics of the progress so far.

I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of cleanliness, this is the debris removed from the counterbore on the triggerguard shown on the kitchen towel and just general debris in the Brunox tray from gentle brushing of "clean" parts.

[Tank]

Here are a couple of photographs showing the comparison between the BSA spring and the Air Arms spring. The BSA is the shorter of the two but as you can observe from the photograph of the Air Arms spring protruding from the Breech end the protrusion is not that great and the preload was easy to overcome to fasten the two parts together:

[Tank]

Well, took the (almost) finished gun up to the club last night and everyone had a go. It was very well received and a couple of people remarked just how smooth the cocking action was. I have fitted a front and rear sight and the gun groups well, everyone hit the target at ten yards

I had to file the rear sight to fit and that was very theraputic, many, many years since I filed a dovetail to fit, brought back many good memories, my old metalwork shop is a tennis court now, drove past it a couple of weeks ago. The front sight was loose so in that case I selected one of my Copper mallets ( Yes Bob, I have more than one!) and placed the barrel on my block, couple of blows later it fit just lovely. For safety's sake I put a little loctite in the assembly before finally pounding it home, okay, gently tapped.

The gun is a great addition, and one that does not look out of place in the corner of my Dining room, I have actually told the missus that it is an interior "feature"

[zunmik]

Looking very good I've never owned older rifles always been pistols perhaps something I should consider, M.

[pmh]

An interesting gun to shoot.

I had been pondering, for some time, as to how the fore grip of a rifle stock came into existence.

Last night I decided it was to stop the grease coming out of the cocking arm slot, and possibly to stop cold fingers.

The trigger adjustment amused me. It's basic a screw which forces the trigger back, thereby reducing sear contact. Not the safest method, but functional.

Kind regards,



Phil