BSA International stock..To Australia??

[Luke777]

Hello to everyone and thanks for your time.

I am in Australia and I am hoping someone may be able to help me in my search for BSA International parts. 

I have a Mark II that I am rebuilding from a neglected state. I saw it for sale and could not resist. Beautifully made rimfire. I have almost everything I need to get started but I need a Right handed stock to suit a mark II.  I have scoured Australia and can find nothing. The US has some semi-finished options but basically they wont ship to Australia. Hoping I might have some luck here.

It should be noted that I won't be attempting to restore this rifle to an "as it was out of the factory" state. I want to use glass on it and hopefully be able to shoot some fun competition in the limited settings I have at my local clubs and ranges. I would love to eek out as much accuracy from this rifle as I can and use it to help me become a better shooter off the bench and perhaps prone. 

Apart from the stock, if anyone has any Mark II or Mark III parts and are willing to ship to Australia (nothing serialised of course such as receivers or barrels) I would be interested to see what you have.

I would also love to see your Internationals or hear any stories and or advice about them that will help me in my project.

 

Sincerely and kind regards, Luke

[Cumbrian]

Welcome, Luke.

Your best bet by far - perhaps your only one - is Jim Hallam, near Bisley itself. He has many of these BSAs in various states and models. I was in touch with him earlier this year. He is a good chap, but his contact details are no longer available by Googling his name as they used to be.  (I hope this is not ominous.) Therefore I will give you his e-mail, which of course should not normally be done.

It is:    jim@jimhallam.me.uk

Have you looked at the BSA section in https://www.rifleman.org.uk ? If not, you will find a great deal of information there.

You might also like to join rimfirecentral.com, which has quite a flourishing 'Martini' forum, though I don't recall any fellow Australians as contributors. It is mostly US based.

Roger

Edited 7 May 2020 by Cumbrian

[Luke777]

12 hours ago, Cumbrian said:

Welcome, Luke.

Your best bet by far - perhaps your only one - is Jim Hallam, near Bisley itself. He has many of these BSAs in various states and models. I was in touch with him earlier this year. He is a good chap, but his contact details are no longer available by Googling his name as they used to be.  (I hope this is not ominous.) Therefore I will give you his e-mail, which of course should not normally be done.

It is:    jim@jimhallam.me.uk

Have you looked at the BSA section in https://www.rifleman.org.uk ? If not, you will find a great deal of information there.

You might also like to join rimfirecentral.com, which has quite a flourishing 'Martini' forum, though I don't recall any fellow Australians as contributors. It is mostly US based.

Roger

Thank you very much Roger. I have taken this information and sent Jim an email explaining my plight. I hope it finds him well and perhaps he can help me out.

I really appreciate the help and advice I have received here so far.

 

Thank you!  Luke

[tim s]

Luke, 

If you didn't put it in your email, you need to specify whether you have a light or heavy barrel. Jim Hallam should ask, but remember the barrel was not free-floated. So you need a fore1end that's the same contour as your barrel, unless you want to hand fit it, or epoxy bed. 

[Luke777]

9 hours ago, tim s said:

Luke, 

If you didn't put it in your email, you need to specify whether you have a light or heavy barrel. Jim Hallam should ask, but remember the barrel was not free-floated. So you need a fore1end that's the same contour as your barrel, unless you want to hand fit it, or epoxy bed. 

G'day Tim, Yes I should have specified that I am OK for a forend, it's just the Butt that I need. I am also looking at a little project to free-float the barrel on the Mk II. I know it has been done successfully. Thank you for touching base! Luke

[tim s]

Luke, 

I've seen Mk 2s with rubber bedding pads, and one with a bracket soldered/brazed onto the barrel to hang the fore-end onto, but the only way to fully free-float the barrel would be a single piece stock. 

[Luke777]

3 hours ago, tim s said:

Luke, 

I've seen Mk 2s with rubber bedding pads, and one with a bracket soldered/brazed onto the barrel to hang the fore-end onto, but the only way to fully free-float the barrel would be a single piece stock. 

Yes Tim,

the one I saw had a forend hanger that fit between the barrel shoulder and the receiver. It requires the barrel-tenon shoulder be set back to accommodate the thickness of the hanger. Aparrently there was a fellow here in Australia successfully did this job to quite a few Mark II rifles but he passed away many years ago.... Interesting... 

[Cumbrian]

Luke,

You will, I think, find several examples of home conversions to a free floating barrel, with photos, if you research the subject on www.targettalk.com. (you need to join first). However, BSAs are not usually a hot topic on this website, though you may find plenty else to interest you there.

I have attempted a conversion with a Mk 5. It is not easy. And in the 1950s and 1960s excellent results were obtained with the Mk 2s - in the right hands. A free floating barrel will probably need batch-tested ammunition to get the best out of it, if my two Anschutz 1800 barrels are anything to go by: they have produced batch-tested results varying from 13 mm to 24 mm at 50 metres even with the most expensive RWS and Lapua ammo. BSA barrels are said to be of such quality that they are not too fussy about ammunition, provided it is match grade to start with, and I can readily believe this. Can you access batch testing in Australia?

Don't let me put you off your project, however!

I hope you are having success with Jim Hallam. Do you lack any particular parts, excepting the butt? A few are still available from John Knibbs at www.airgunspares.com, though frustratingly he also lists many desirable items that are now 'out of stock'.

Edited 12 May 2020 by Cumbrian

[Luke777]

9 minutes ago, Cumbrian said:

Luke,

You will, I think, find several examples of home conversions to a free floating barrel, with photos, if you research the subject on www.targettalk.com. (you need to join first). However, BSAs are not usually a hot topic on this website, though you may find plenty else to interest you there.

I have attempted a conversion with a Mk 5. It is not easy. And in the 1950s and 1960s excellent results were obtained with the Mk 2s - in the right hands. A free floating barrel will probably need batch-tested ammunition to get the best out of it, if my two Anschutz 1800 barrels are anything to go by: they have produced batch-tested results varying from 13 mm to 24 mm at 50 metres even with the most expensive RWS and Lapua ammo. BSA barrels are said to be of such quality that they are not too fussy about ammunition, provided it is match grade to start with, and I can readily believe this. Can you access batch testing in Australia?

Don't let me put you off your project, however!

I hope you are having success with Jim Hallam. Do you lack any particular parts, excepting the butt? A few are still available from John Knibbs at www.airgunspares.com, though frustratingly he also lists many desirable items that are now 'out of stock'.

I'm not sure whether we have access to batch testing where I live which is a fairly rural area but I will enquire. So far no reply from Jim Hallam but I live in hope! I have looked at airgun spares and will probably grab a few things off them soon. It's one of the only places with any International parts I can find. The butt is all I need at this stage... Hoping I have some luck soon. 

[Cumbrian]

Hmm, sounds as if batch testing might be difficult. Can you locate the main .22 ammunition retail suppliers to ask them about such a facility? In the UK, RWS and Lapua offer it only once or twice a year at Bisley (possibly more often at club level for RWS), whilst Eley offer it all the time, I believe, but obviously subject to booking.

The problem of inserting a hanger for a fore end into a Mk 2 or Mk 5 receiver is that there simply isn't the room, which is why BSA lengthened the receiver quite appreciably to make the free floating barrel for the Mk 3. But their hanger had to be made out of aluminium to save weight, and that led to other problems. 

[tim s]

36 minutes ago, Cumbrian said:

The problem of inserting a hanger for a fore end into a Mk 2 or Mk 5 receiver is that there simply isn't the room, which is why BSA lengthened the receiver quite appreciably to make the free floating barrel for the Mk 3. But their hanger had to be made out of aluminium to save weight, and that led to other problems. 

Roger, 

I'm envisaging a collar with a bar hanging off the bottom. The collar is clamped between the face of the receiver and the shoulder of the barrel. Luke mentioned setting back the shoulder for the collar. Clamping a a fore-end cantilever in a Mk 2 would be tricky even if it was longer, as the barrel is threaded. 

[Cumbrian]

Tim,

I haven't come across that method , but, yes, I expect that  it would work, though perhaps at the expense of the complete originality of the barrel. As you say earlier, the only really sound method is to fabricate a one-piece stock. My attempt to  connect the fore arm and butt of my Mk 5 works in the sense of rigidity and practicality, but it includes a flat aluminium spar running from the one to the other on the port side of the rifle,  which is one of the ugliest things that I have ever seen, so I won't go into details, let alone offer to provide photos.

Roger 

[Luke777]

Tim your interpretation of the free floating system I have seen is spot on. Cumbrian your efforts with the one piece stock sounds amazing. Lots of work too I'd imagine. I think if I tried to free float the MK II in the aforementioned manner I might try with an aftermarket barrel to keep the original as-is... Although the end-pountthat could be argued too... If you have an excellent barrel like the BSA it's a shame not to enjoy it... All interesting stuff. 

[MIke Jenvey]

Long shot - there are some BSA International stocks on eBay - worth a look to see if anything matches?

[Luke777]

1 minute ago, MIke Jenvey said:

Long shot - there are some BSA International stocks on eBay - worth a look to see if anything matches?

G'day Mike. Yes I haven't checked Ebay for a couple of weeks so I will take your advice and do it now.