dating your BSA Martini miniature

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triggerman42

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I found a formula online for dating the old BSA Martini .22s.
It estimated a yearly production of 3000 rifles , and a starting year of 1912.
Divide your rifles serial number by 3000 , and then add 1912 to that number.
I tried it with my BSA Martini no.12 , and came up with a manufacture year of 1922.
I do believe this to fairly accurate , in my case.
Anybody else heard of this method? It is stated this is just a theory , and may be quite inaccurate.
I thought it was kind of neat though !
 
I prefer dating my CZ 452 Varmint, We go to the next town over on Monday nights for some fun.
Sometimes It's a double date, & I bring along my Smith Model 41, Or Kidd Barreled Ruger 10/22. :)
I am really just using them, but don't worry, It's all platonic.

Seriously though. It's a nifty formula, & should get people pretty close I would think.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
 
Here's the link you want: http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Dating your rifle.htm
For anything prior to 1921, your formula may get you close, but the following is what you want for 1921 and later:
From 1921 to 1951 Figure 1 (see link) applies, and for firearms proved between mid 1921 and mid 1922 the code letter is A.
The Marks will be found on the bottom surface of the barrel under the front stock.
Lest they were confused with other characters, I and Q were not utilised, so the date letters to 1941 were as follows
1922/23 - B; 1923/24 - C; 1924/25 - D; 1925/26 - E; 1926/27 - F; 1927/28 - G; 1928/29 - H; 1929/30 - J; 1930/31 - K; 1931/32 - L; 1932/33 - M; 1933/34 - N; 1934/35 - O; 1935/36 - P; 1936/37 - R; 1937/38 - S; 1938/39 - T; 1939/40 - U; 1940/41 - V.
The alphabet was restarted several years post-war in 1950 with A, but now each letter change was made at the beginning of the year. The mark was modified to that shown in Figure II (see link), with D to the left representing 1953, and the B to the right identifying the Birmingham Proof House. The number below identified the inspector.
Thus the year codes have hitherto been understood to be 1950 - A; 1951 - B; 1952 - C; 1953 - D; 1954 - E; 1955 - F; 1956 - G; 1957 - H; 1958 - J; and so on through to 1974 - Z; ................ we also believed that Q was then used in this series for 1965.
 
I tried this method on my 1927 Martini s/n 377xx and came up with 1924. So close within a few years. If you go looking under the fore end, be sure to have a very strong magnifying glass or loupe handy. The date markings are VERY small and get lost among other larger markings.
 
Get's you in the ballpark I guess. It's a good way for a quick check on a gun your unfamiliar with . Like a gun at a gun show, or a gun on a web page. It's close enough to narrow things down considerably, without removing wood , or playing too much with a gun that isn't yours. It's not exact , but it's close enough to merit remembering. I think . What was I talking about ?
 
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triggerman42 said:
Get's you in the ballpark I guess. It's a good way for a quick check on a gun your unfamiliar with . Like a gun at a gun show, or a gun on a web page. It's close enough to narrow things down considerably, without removing wood , or playing too much with a gun that isn't yours. It's not exact , but it's close enough to merit remembering. I think . What was I talking about ?
Click to expand...

:):)
 
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