Old 22LR?

[halamrose 24]

We get a lot of praise here for the CZ452, but what do you guys think of the older stuff that costs a fraction of new gun prices? I see on guntrader a number of bolt action rimmies like the BSA Supersport and BRNO 2 in the £50 to £100 range, are they worth hunting down and if so what are the vital checks we should do before spending what is still too much money to thow away?

Cheers,

H

[salukiwhippet 6]

We get a lot of praise here for the CZ452, but what do you guys think of the older stuff that costs a fraction of new gun prices? I see on guntrader a number of bolt action rimmies like the BSA Supersport and BRNO 2 in the £50 to £100 range, are they worth hunting down and if so what are the vital checks we should do before spending what is still too much money to thow away?

Cheers,

H

 

I've got a BRNO model 2 made in 1973, I paid £125 for it. It'll do 1/2" groups at 50 yards all day long. Every bit as good as a modern rimmy. Just worth checking the condition of the crown and rifling.

 

James

[andyf 144]

We get a lot of praise here for the CZ452, but what do you guys think of the older stuff that costs a fraction of new gun prices? I see on guntrader a number of bolt action rimmies like the BSA Supersport and BRNO 2 in the £50 to £100 range, are they worth hunting down and if so what are the vital checks we should do before spending what is still too much money to thow away?

Cheers,

H

The old BSA .22 rimfires are very simple cheap and cheerful rifles, normally only with Iron sights, and not fitted for/with scope dovetails or for silencer threading as the front sight is fixed at the barrel muzzle. Also the magazines on the Supersport 5's are notorious for falling to bits as the bottom 'shoe' slides off and the spring, follower, shoe and any unfired cartridges fall out onto the ground to be lost forever, and you cannot buy replacement mags, (Hence they are very sought after items for vintage rifles enthusiasts).

My advice is don't even think about it,for a useable pest control rifle the CZ452 is unbeatable, save up the 'extra' £150 and get one. These days I have a SAKO finnfire varmint, very nice and much more 'pretty' but it is only as 'good' as my old CZ452 which I bought new and shot for 15 years.

The old BSA's are perfectly good and accurate, but they are cheaply made and will all be over 40 to 50 years old.

[rjimmer 4]

I still have my BSA Supersport 5 from 1968.

The aficionados will tell you that the barrel is too long, but it suits me. Had thousands of subsonic rounds through it but no more than c200 HVs. I put a Zeiss 8x56 on top of it last Autumn and am looking forward to the new rabbit summer. A friend bought new BRNO at about the same time and I wished I had got one instead, but now, 40 years later, he tells me it used to jam. My BSA used to clip the nose of the first round from a full mag sometimes.

You can get Kevlar mags from John Knibbs for the BSAs, but you might have to sand them down on sides to get them to slide in easily.

The model before the Supersport was called the Sportsman (5 or 10 shot mag) and there was a single shot Sportsman

[bob.243 8,281]

Hello Halam, I bought a new BRNO Mod 2, in 1984 and still have it to this day,It was the cheapest model at the time with the beech wood stock with no checkering or anything, it's very accurate and just as good as it the day it came out of the box.

Have had years of fun with it, has accounted for many a bunny.

I would say your best bet would be to try before you buy, get it on to a target and try it out if you can, they are great rifles.

 

Bob

[halamrose 24]

From what I've read elsware the Sportsman is not scopeable - the bolt handle runs aloong the top. The Super Sport is which makes it viable. Thanks for the tip about magazines, I guess it could always be used as a single shot - all the more reason to make the one shot count. On the other hand I've shot two bunnies where a quick reload got the second when he stopped to - hmm, I dont know why he stopped - he wont make that mistake again.

Thanks for the input chaps.

H

[rjimmer 4]

Just to add that I did lose the bottom of a mag, but had a couple of spares anyway.

My Supersport 5 is fitted with a Parker Hale sound moderator. The original lightweight model.

[JonathanL 4]

We get a lot of praise here for the CZ452, but what do you guys think of the older stuff that costs a fraction of new gun prices? I see on guntrader a number of bolt action rimmies like the BSA Supersport and BRNO 2 in the £50 to £100 range, are they worth hunting down and if so what are the vital checks we should do before spending what is still too much money to thow away?

Cheers,

H

[JonathanL 4]

I've had both a Sportsman and the SPortsman 5. The former I inherited from the grandfather and the latter I bought for 50 quid I think. They worked ok but are just about as basic as you can possibly make a rifle and you have to give them away when you don't want them. I've known dealers who've cut loads of them up because they couldn't shft them. I think one of mine had been scoped by drilling the tapping the front reciever rind and adding a mounthing block further down the barrel.

 

One rare little rifle I do have and intend to keep is a BSA "Ralock" semi-auto which feeds through a tube in the buttstock, rather like the Browning .22. This is an ingenious little rifle which keeps all it's fired brass inside it and the whole thing takes down by unclipping the barrel and the action drops out as a single unit for cleaning. It's apparently based on the the design of the unsucsessful BSA sub-machine gun which never got to production. I would seriously consider another one as they made a nice collectors piece and you can pick them up for about £100 or so.

 

http://www.rifleman.org.uk/BSA_Ralock_and_Armatic_semi-auto_rifles.htm

 

J.

Edited January 4, 2010 by JonathanL

[halamrose 24]

there is a Ralock here but I guess they want collectors prices:

http://www.guntrader.co.uk/GunsForSale/Detail.php?NewGunID=091110153234002&Num=1GunsTotal+2&Filter[NewType][]=Rifle&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Bolt%20Action&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Break%20Barrel&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Falling%20Block&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Hammer&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Lever%20Action&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Martini&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Over%20and%20Under&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Pump%20Action&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Revolver&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Rolling%20Block&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Semi-Auto&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Semi-Auto%20%26%20Bolt%20Action&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Side%20by%20Side&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Single%20shot&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Straight%20Pull&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Trapdoor&Filter[NewMechanism][]=Under%20Lever&Filter[Calibre][]=.22%20LR&Filter[Calibre][]=.22%20Short&Filter[Make][]=BSA&Filter[Model][]=Ralock&Filter[Model][]=Raylock

 

eek, thats a long link, wander if it will work.

H

[mangy1983 51]

I inherited a Winchester Model 63 last year just a pity its being kept in storage till l get my FAC. Am hoping to

add an old model 70 to my collection as well eventually

[rjimmer 4]

The friend of mine who had the BRNO, next had a BSA Ralock and at some time had a Winchester Model 63 also.

I think one of my neighbours has still got a model 63.

[RicW 67]

We get a lot of praise here for the CZ452, but what do you guys think of the older stuff that costs a fraction of new gun prices? I see on guntrader a number of bolt action rimmies like the BSA Supersport and BRNO 2 in the £50 to £100 range, are they worth hunting down and if so what are the vital checks we should do before spending what is still too much money to thow away?

Cheers,

H

 

I used to have a BSA falling block target rifle. VERY accurate and if I lined up a string of cartridges I could match a bolt action for rate of fire. I can't remember whether it had scope dovetails, but with 1/8th MOA adjustable Parker-Hale peep sights who needs glass?

[Deker 3,477]

Many, many rimfires, especially .22lr, can and do last people a "lifetime".

 

There are obvious checks such as crown, rifling, bolt action, overall condition, etc but the most important thing may well be to decide what you want it for and if it offers what you want!!

 

Does it have dovetails, is it cut for a moderator, can you get spares, do you want art or practicallity!

 

Not a lot of point in saving money buying a gun only to find it has cost you more to service, repair, fit scope and mod etc, than buying a new one to start with!