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BSA Airsporter Mark IV

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There is really nothing particularly remarkable about the BSA Airsporter,

but is a good robust product that has served the market well over many years.

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The range of these rifles, through the years from the first in 1948 to the Mark VII and Stutzen models in the mid 1980s, was a significant seller for the Birmingham Small Arms Company.

The underlever cocking and tap-loading configuration was a continuation of the hugely successful Lincoln Jeffries design, initiated ca. 1904 and then widely used by members of the Working Man's Club and the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs, and regularly in public houses and clubs for Bell Target shooting.

Below: the classic loading tap in the open position.

and the standard 'U'-notch rear-sight with its elevation wheel.

B.S.A. bought out Lincoln Jeffries early on, and markets air rifles to this very day, albeit not British built.

The Airsporter has figured largely over half-a -Century.

The one unusual aspect of the rifle here illustrated is the reflex rear-sight.

This was contemporary with the Mk.IV Airsporter in the early 1970s, and is now a quite rare item.

Sold as the RS1 model, it afforded the equivalent of today's red-dot sights,

but with a cross-hair type reticle engraved on a glass plate withing the sight.

Clamping onto the rear dovetail of the rifle usually used for a telescopic sight, it offered a short eye-relief and almost military-style optic.

Engineered with a sprung base mount, the sight has the expected windage and elevation adjustment, and the sprung system provides shock protection, with the sight effectively returning to zero if knocked. One might expect this to be a problem but, in fact, it works remarkably reliably.

Below: the care and maintenance instruction leaflet provided with the sight,

also showing an exploded diagram.

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Close-up images of the sight itself.

Right: the mount, cast with "MADE IN ENGLAND" between the locking screws,

and with the windage adjustment knob at the rear.

Left: from the left-hand-side, showing the elevation knob at the front.

The angled front of the optic tube prevents light interference on the sight picture from above.

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From front and rear.

Left: the squared end of the optics tube, shrouded by the sight's box-section.

Right: the RS1 can be used without removal of the standard open rear-sight

or the front sight, although unclipping the fore-sight tunnel accessory may be sensible.

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