BSA CF2

[Spencer54]

These appear mighty good value, are they any good?
Better off with a PH1200?

Opinions pleasse :)

[ovenpaa]

They are both fine rifles and usually at a very competitive price plus spares are still available to a degree. As ever give the rifle a good look over as they are reasonably old now and may have been well used. I assume this is for sporting use?

[DL.]

If it were my money the parker hale 1200 is the only one I would be interested in.

Over on UKV a couple of people speak highly of them, and they are supposed to respond well to a 155 grain A-Max and a case of varget.

http://www.highwoodclassicarms.co.uk/Fi ... argetg.htm

[The Gun Pimp]

These appear mighty good value, are they any good?
Better off with a PH1200?

Opinions pleasse :)

Round count? Weird dovetail for decent scope rings. Not a very good trigger. May be difficult to sell when you come to move it on. Don't pay more than £200.

[Spencer54]

Not sure it was in a gun shop, £150 with a scope and mounts.

Looked in fair condition from what I saw.

[Laurie]

Notorious for trigger problems on the CFT single-shot match variant, but the CF2 is a reasonable run of the mill sporting rifle of that era. Like Parker-Hale, BSA had invested in the hammer forging machinery to make their own barrels, and this type can see large variations in the quality of the results when from that era. (Stress relieving has come a long way since the 70s and 80s, and hammer forging really induces stresses.) So whilst OK for a sporting rifle that shoots from a cold barrel, range use can see wandering POIs as the barrel heats and stresses are released - especially with skinny barrel standard sporters.

I'd say that with barrels in equal condition, there is nothing much between a CF2 and P-H 1200 in sporting rifle form, although there are more people around (especially on a forum like this full of traditionalists) who prefer the modified Mauser '98 action on the 1200 to the CF models' push-feed variant. (Early post war BSAs from the '50s had really, really nice traditionally machined from forgings Mauser system controlled-feed actions in three lengths and cut-rifled barrels but they were far too expensive to make and were steadily downgraded until you got the one-size fits 222 Rem to 7mm Rem Magnum CF2.) In both cases you can be lucky and get a low round-count one if it was used solely for a few deerstalking shots per year.

For the TR models, I'd much prefer a 1200TX with a good barrel to its CFT equivalent. Of course, when discussing range rifles from 40 years ago, there are precious few around with good original barrels and plenty with completely shot-out ones.

[dromia]

I have two CF2s in .222" one is in light sporter configuration and will put three rapid consecutive shots into a one hole group at 100 yrds when I do my bit. That is all I need for a field gun for roe, fox and the like. The second one has a very heavy barrel and is extremely accurate, shooting easy half minute groups with me shooting which is the limiting factor on group size, rapid firing doesn't see to effect it due to the large diameter barrel and the small hole.

The first rifle was bought new in the late 1960s from a dealer in Dingwall the second was bought second hand over 15 years ago and is my range gun if I want to show off and express my fondness for the .222" round.

I also have a 1950s BSA short action Hunter in .22 Hornet and this is a very fine rifle as well and my go to field rifle. High quality build finish with nice wood. In fact I am on the lookout for another short action Hunter preferable shot out that I can have re-barrelled to .17 Hornet to keep the .22 Hornet company.

I have two Parker Hales 98 actioned rifles one in .270 which again is a sub minute rifle with 110 gn bullets, too slow a twist for the heavier ones, the other one is a 1200 superclip 10 round box magazine in .308" again an excellent shooter but prone to barrel heating after a few shots also it doesn't get that much use as I am no fan of the .308".

I also have a third PH again in .270 which I intend to use as a cast bullet only rifle just as soon as I can find a decent paint stripper to remove the varnish so I can oil the stock.

I will go to the BSAs before the PHs as I find the Mauser actions clunky and awkward to use.

Either make will give you excellent service so long as you buy one configured for your needs, as is true with all second hand rifles regardless of manufacture they will have been used so need to be inspected so as to assess wear and usage. Buy these guns with as much confidence as you would any other, it is their usage that tells not from whence they came. Field guns can show much external use but hide fine barrels and accuracy as many field rifles are carried a lot and shot a little.

These guns have to be the best bargains out there as the are too old to be considered sexy by the shooting fashionistas and still too young to be considered collectable by the haute connoisseur's of firearms.

The fact that I have a few that I shoot regularly and with complete satisfaction is testament to my appreciation of these guns.

[Laurie]

I also have a 1950s BSA short action Hunter in .22 Hornet and this is a very fine rifle as well and my go to field rifle. High quality build finish with nice wood. In fact I am on the lookout for another short action Hunter preferable shot out that I can have re-barrelled to .17 Hornet to keep the .22 Hornet company.

I have a 7X57 'Hunter' from the next production lot, the first ones made with the medium length action. (Odd! Everybody else says 7X57 needs a 'long action' and also odd to us today that 7mm Mauser was chosen ahead of 308 Win, but I gather many of the production lot were exported to New Zealand and other Commonwealth countries where there was a demand for rifles in the chambering.) They really are nice rifles. It would appear BSA was trying to compete in key export markets with top grade American production rifles, primarily the Winchester Mod 70 - but if so, apparently failed and had to downgrade the specs and reduce machining operations to match P-H type prices.

As an example of how cheap these rifles can be, I bought it off a lad in Northumberland who'd been advertising it for weeks on another (deerstalking) forum with no takers, sold complete for £350 with a refurbished period 4.5-10X45 (I think) Pecar variable on it, same as chosen by many police forces for their 1960s Enforcers and which you see the occasional advert for asking for the same money just for this scope alone. (Whether they actual get the price, or even find a buyer though ..... ?)

[Laurie]

There is a third budget option from this period that can give great bargains today, if it is a purely sporting rifle you're after - the Brno ZKK series, a reworked Mauser system action. The ZKK600 was the long action version for 270, 7X64, 30-06 etc, the 601 the short model for 243, 308 and suchlike. Some have superb timber on them, and a number were specified with a single set-trigger. My 270 example I had a few years back had the set trigger and the factory fitted East German (the old communist GDR of Walther Ulbricht) 'Jena' 4X scope, an old Zeiss derived design. I can't remember what I paid - under £200 anyway, and it shot remarkably well indeed.

(The scope in the pic isn't the Jena, but a Weaver CKT15 target scope I put on it for a bit of range testing and load development.)

[dromia]

Pecars are desirable scopes still and sell well, I have quiet few as I have been collecting them over the years for the very day, which is close, when my eyes give out and iron sights are not an option. I got my last one an ex-police 4-10 six months ago for £100, that was a bargain though as they average about £250 and are sought after.

These scopes are robust, with very good glass, proper reticle choice, accurate repeatable click adjustment. If you only need up to 12x magnification which is more than suitable for most uses other than bench rest and extreme long range then they along with the BSA/PH rifles have to be some of the best buys out there for proven, accurate and reliable kit.