The pattern having been adopted in 1948, the Birmingham Small Arms Co. manufactured 2,500 of a new .22" training version of the No.4 Rifle for Royal Air Force and R.A.F. Regiment use. It was fitted with a solid barrel, and a specially produced long bolt head. A standard No.4 magazine had the spring and loading platform removed and a plate riveted into the top with a slot and channel to hold a modified BSA Sportsman five round .22" magazine. This magazine, which in its original utilisation was fitted into the rifle from below, was now inserted from the top by the simple expedient of inverting its locking clip and spring in their box section at the rear of the unit.

This differed from the Canadian manufactured C No.7 in which the magazine was fitted only with a single loading platform.

Somewhere over 17,000 of the C No.7 rifles were produced at Long Branch between 1944 and 1947.

The left hand side of the receiver of the British rifle is lightly stamped "No. 7 Mk.I" below which is milled the slot for the ejector plate. It can be seen below that a spring steel auxiliary extractor is fitted in a slot machined in the left hand side of the bolt head. This has a curved lead (see images below and bolt comparisons) which rides over the cartridge rim when the bolt is closed, and holds the fired case in position against the extractor until the bolt face comes back to the ejector plate whence the case is plucked out of its grip.

This auxiliary extractor was neither used on the earlier No.5 trials rifles, nor carried forward to the No.8 rifle production. However, in order to reduce the bolt travel of the new No.8 trainer, which was intended to double-up as a target rifle, the bolt head was shortened and the barrel brought back into the receiver a further one and a quarter inches. A further concession to target shooting was that, unlike the No.7 and preceding bolt designs which cocked as the bolt was closed, the No.8 cocked on opening.

On the example of the No.7 Rifle shown above, the left hand side of the butt socket carries the serial number "BS 0341" and the right hand side only the broad arrow and crown stamp of military acceptance. The magazine carries no marking at all. The rear sight fitted to this rifle uses the standard No.4 leaf graduated for 25,50 and 100 yds, with the additional marking "H" high on the left hand side at the rear. When set at this position, the rifle was said to be "Harmonised". This elevation raised the point of impact by 27" at 25 yards, and was for use with the Landscape training TARGETS . It has been suggested that the 'harmonisation sight' was not an original standard fitment, however, many of these rifles are so configured and it is by no means certain that either the specification did not change at some point during the production period, or that many rifles were not retro-fitted with this sight.

  The barrel was an especially made

solid .22 version

with, unlike the C No.7,

the bayonet lugs still in place.

There were probably no more than five BSA manufactured

prototypes of the No.7 Rifle, produced with beech stocking.

On the left hand receiver side plate, these rifles bore the designation

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Beware the scales, which are only for cursory information.

Largest JPG file approx. 450 kb

( in due course dimensions will be posted here before end Feb)

The main extractor pin is too tight to punch out without damage, hopefully enough information for the extractor will be evident when dimensions follow.

A spring circlip can just be seen in the groove ahead of the threaded rear section

EJECTOR DETAILS - 5 more images for refurbishers

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