I just bought this rifle and don't know too much about it. On one side it says "made by the birmingham small arms co ltd" and "bsa" below the trade mark logo. on the other side it says "commonwealth of australia"

It has .357 MAG on the top flat of the barrel, color case buttplate, color case lever, very nice sights with a ramp front sight and a sling swivel only on the stock.

The bluing is excellent and the color case is very good. I paid 200 for it, is that a good price? I can't wait to shoot it, even though the trigger pull is pretty rough and I'll try to post pics. Who made this and when? Is it something totally custom or was this a production item? Thanks.....Scott

Its a .310 BSA Martini cadet rebarrelled into .357 magnum
They were originally a training rifle.

Roger

quote:

Originally posted by yumastepside:
Its a .310 BSA Martini cadet rebarrelled into .357 magnum
They were originally a training rifle.

Roger

And a nice little carbine it is too! Should be a fun gun! Well worth the $200.00 pricetag.

Actually, looking at the pictures, it appears that the original barrel was bored out, shortened, and with a new fron sight. The stocks appear to be the original ones, refinished, and with the forestock cut back to match the barrel. The original front swivel was on a barrel band that was located near the muzzle end of the forestock before it was shortened. The rear sight is the original one. These were built by BSA in England as training rifles for Australian cadets, and are very well made and strong. $200 is an excellent price for the rifle, as an action alone in good shape is worth a bit more than that in the United States.

Have fun with it, and if you decide to sell and are in the United States, let me know!

Dave

Thank you all for the replies, I can't wait to try it out. So the case colored lever and buttplate are original? During what time frame were these made?

loud-n-boomer, how far north are you? I'm just outside Redding...........Scott

Scott,

Cadets were made in the early 1900s, pre-WW1. Yours was imported by a firm in Chicago (Klein's Sporting Goods, IIRC) in the early to mid 1950s. They sorted the Cadets by bore size & condition. Some were rechambered for 32-20 WCF & some for 32 Winchester Special. Those with bad bores were rebored to .357. Some were sold "as is" for parts or as collectors. They stripped some & sold the actions, also.

Waterman, who lives at the west end of Hwy 36.

Scott, I think you got one heck of a deal. Would make a great small game rifle and deer if you got close. The rear sight is a marvel of old world technology. Adjustable for both windage and elevation. Love the case colored buttplate. Frank

That is very nice, and it would make a cool woodsey carry rifle, for sure. Random thought: a scout mount could be made to fit the rear sight base if your eyes are like mine.

I have a cadet, a .22 with an Eric Johnson barrel that I would like to have done in .218, perhaps.

I own two of those rear sights which I bought just to fondle and appreciate. I've wondered if the rear notch couldn't be replaced/converted with an aperture to make a classy peep sight, mounted closer to the receiver.

There's an adjustable/multi-aperture sight made for those rifles that fits on the tang against the rear of the receiver, also.



For two bills you stole that thing; very unique, and, obviously of quality and practical.