BSA SINCE 1861

History & Ethos

HISTORY & ETHOS

Dedication to Excellence

Our commitment to excellence is made possible through the dedication and loyalty of every member of the BSA Guns family. Our employees believe that quality, service and standards of excellence should never be compromised.

BSA Since 1861

In a little over hundred years BSA has grown from a small union of gunsmiths to become one of Britain’s important industrial groups. The story is not entirely one of steady progress and expansion there is drama and excitement too. And because BSA has served its country more directly than most private concerns, its story is also part of Britain’s history.

160 Years young and still going strong

1861 Company formed

1864 First Government military arms contract

Prior to 1905 all work undertaken by BSA was for UK and Foreign Government contracts, no commercial work was undertaken.

1905 Manufacture 1st Lincoln Jeffries air rifle

1906 Contract to make 100,000 rifles for the War Office, (War Office pattern miniature .22)

1907 10,000th Lincoln Jeffries air rifle made

1909 Introduction of BSA’s first commercial sporting & target rifle, a Martini action that continued in production until 1986

1910 Contract to make 60,000 .310 Martini rifles for Australian Government

1911 Production of first mass produced shotgun in .410

1914 Rifle production increased from 135 to 10,000 per week in two years to meet demand of WW1

1915 1st Lewis Gun manufactured

1919 Company restructured into three divisions

1920 Production of 12 bore double barrel shotgun

1933 1st BSA break barrel air rifle, ‘Breakdown Pattern’

1939 – 1945 BSA manufacture over 50% of all small arms used by British forces in WW2

1940 Factory covers 32 acres, bombed 3 times in 3 months destroying 4.5 acres, 53 killed & 89 injured

During WW2 BSA made:

568,100 .303 Browning machine guns
1,250,000 .303 Lee Enfield rifles
60,000 7.92 ‘BESA’ machine guns

1945 Manufacture of 1st Cadet air rifle

1946 Manufacture of Cadet Major air rifle

1948 Manufacture of 1st Airsporter air rifle

1949 Manufacture of 1st Gold Medal winning Martini International .22 target rifle

1950 Awarded Government contract to produce 1st Self Loading Rifle (SLR) in NATO 7.62

1955 Introduction of Hunter sporting rifle

1959 Introduction of the ‘Majestic Range’ of classic sporting air rifles.
Introduction of 1st air rifle to have a telescopic sight, the Meteor

1962 Introduction of Meteor Mk2
Introduction of Merlin air rifleIntroduction of Armatic .22 self loading rifle
Introduction of Airsporter Mk2 air rifle
Introduction Snipe single barrel 12 bore shotgun

1963 Introduction of the High Power sporting rifle

1965 Introduction of the Monarch sporting rifle

1972 Introduction of the CF2 range of sporting rifles.
Introduction of Mercuary air rifle

1973 Introduction of Scorpion air pistol

1977 Introduction of the Buccaneer air rifle

1982 Special edition of 1000 Centenary Airsporters to commemorate 100 years since the registration of Piled Arms Trade Mark

1985 Introduction of Challenger air rifle
Introduction of Maxi Grip scope rail
Introduction of Airsporter Stutzen air rifle
Introduction of Shadow and Trooper Carbine air rifles
Gamo Ownership

1986 Production of VS2000 prototype, first repeating air rifle (not produced commercially) but some features latter used in the SuperTEN
BSA Guns liquidated, bought by Gamo and renamed BSA Guns (UK) Ltd
Introduction of Supersport air rifle

1987 Introduction of Meteor Challanger and Airsporter Carbine air rifles

1990 Introduction of Superstar, 1st rotary breech air rifle

1991 Introduction of Goldstar, 1st commercial repeating air rifle

1992 Introduction of Airsporter RB2 rotary breech air rifle
Introduction of shotgun type safety catch on Airsporter RB2 air rifle

1993 Introduction of Meteor Mk6 air rifle

1994 Introduction of .240 Magnum air pistol

1996 Introduction of SuperTEN, 1st BSA pre-charged pneumatic air rifle

1997 Introduction of SuperTEN, 1st BSA pre-charged pneumatic air rifle

1999 Introduction of SuperTEN Mk2 pre-charged pneumatic air rifle.
Introduction of Spitfire pre-charged pneumatic air rifle

2001 Introduction of Firebird rotary breech pre-charged pneumatic air rifle

2011 150th anniversary.
R-10 Mk2.
Scorpion SE Launched.

2012 Ultra SE launched.
BSA First .25 multishot introduced.
Spring Gun range updated.
Gas Ram Rifles introduced.
XL Tactical production returned to Birmingham

2013 Scorpion Cadet ‘3P’ becomes the only official PCP Rifle approved for use by the British Army Cadets.