Boys Anti Tank Gun

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agentcq

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Anyone have or shoot these? I have seen a few for sale at the Collectors Source (none currently in stock).

Any good source for parts, ammo, mags or a replacement barrel?

I heard you can convert 50 BMG brass by fire forming?

Any info would be appreciated. Seems like an interesting firearm. Most were Canadian made, but the Germans used captured models and the Finnish used these against the Russians (supplied by Lend Lease programs and the by the Germans). Disney also made an interesting propaganda video for the Boys which can be seen on YouTube.

I guess it wasn't great against German tanks but worked well against early Russian tanks.
 
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Bullet diameter is .562".

Brass can be made simply by opening-out the mouth of a .50BMG empty to accommodate the new slug. Your cases now need a hedspacing belt. Make the belts from brass plumber's pipe on a lathe, lightly knurl the base of the BMG brass just forward of the extractor groove and use low-temp (400 F) silver-bearing solder to attach the headspacing belt. No other alterations necssary.

Be prepared for serious recoil. Toes up OFF the ground when firing from prone position. Do NOT brace against a rock or a wall or anything; you NEED to recoil with the gun.

Boys puts out 44% MORE muzzle energy than a .50BMG. Does it at lower pressure, too.

You can hard-cast bullets from wheelweight metal if you don't run them too fast. Make a mould by clamping two pieces of steel or aluminum stock in your drilling-vise, use a half-inch drill to start, making the hole between the pieces, finish with a 9/16 drill. Sprue plate easy to make.

Hope this helps.
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shot a few hundred+ rounds through one . very very fun to watch stuff disintigrate. i learned the hard way as Smellie says "toes off the ground and dont brace against anything" very lottsa recoil. was great fun would do it again in a heartbeat
 
My first one was in .55, but I was shooting it faster than I was acquiring ammo. I was finding maybe 3 to 5 rounds per year, with one large purchase of 48 rounds that kept me going for a while.

I am on my second one now, but it has been converted to .50 bmg for ease of ammo acquisition and cost. I bought them as window dressing for my Bren gun carriers.

Accessories for them can be hard to find. Here is mine with some of the niice to haves.
DSCF0013.jpg
 
Collectors source had a couple recently, but there are only about 50 in Canada according to the online registry. If you are lucky, you might find one at yesteryears prices of $3500, but these days expect to pay from $6K to 9K. Even in the US they are up in that area of pricing.

Unless you are a real fanatic for the historical rifles (I know I am) then you may want to satisfy yourself with a Styer HS50 or one of the other 50 cals on the market. Far more accurate, repair parts are easier to source, and they have less kick.
 
shootemup said:
Great info. Hoping to acquire a Boyd's AT rifle myself to go with the Bren Gun Carrier...
Click to expand...
Funny I've been looki ng for a Bren Gun Carrier to go with my Boys.
Bought one of the Collector's Source ones. It will need a new barrel before it can be fired, so I've been looking at rebarreling to .50DTc so I won't have to alter anything other than barrel. Too many projects, not enough time or money.
 
Doug at Ellwood Epps has made a new barrel for a mk. 1 "boys" rifle. In .50 bmg. You can not tell the difference. So you can shoot it cheap, and save your old barrel.
 
Excellent info! I will phone Ellwood tommorow.

I have eyed them out at the $6000-9000 price range. Recently, I was given the chance to pick one up for $3500 but the barrel needs to be replaced or repaired (getting mixed info from different gun smiths about whether a barrel that has been drilled can be repaired or not - easier to just replace the barrel if you can find one).

Even as a display gun it is probably worth the $3500 but I don't like paper weights. With current values this price point gives me some room to play with in order to aquire parts/gunsmithing.

I would like to keep it in the traditional calibre but if going to the 50 BMG makes it work and makes ammo easier to find so be it.
 
Cocking the PIAT generally was a 2-man op. One guy stood the Projector on its butt and the other guy jumped on the cocking-arm.

As mentioned, after that it was a semi-auto single-shot. Firing bar went up into the tail end of the bomb and fired its propellant charge. When the charge went, the bomb went one direction and the expanding gas forced the firing-bar back at the same time. Basically, it was a man-portable spigot mortar. You can see one firing in the bridge scene in "A Bridge Too Far". Hollow-charge bomb on the beast, whereas the Boys depended on that Gawdawful huge bullet.

Still, the Boys Rifle was pretty much state-of-the-art about 1937, but that was right when Tanks started up-armouring seriously. Boys was obsolete for the intended purpose by mid-1942 but was in use until the end of he War as an anti-materiel weapon and for some long-range sniping. With fresh ammunition, it could be quite accurate.

Ammunition was made in Canada during WW2, but it all used huge Berdan primers. If you have a Boys' Rifle today, your best bet is handloading: good, FRESH, ACCURATE ammo beats out the 70-year-old stuff any day. Should be possible to mod a set of the LEE Precision .50BMG dies to handle the Boys' round: ream out the neck and enough room for the headspacing belt.

Really, I have NO idea why nobody has modded the Browning M-2HB to handle the Boys' round. With a 44% increase in sheer horsepower, almost TRIPLE the AP range on test and LOWER pressures, it ought to be a lead-pipe cinch. I have tried to interest the DND in such, but they can't even be bothered returning a letter......... even after Inky HANDED the proposal to the Minister personally. I guess they all have massive erections when they think about those 15mm Steyr Anti-Materiel Weapons at 12 only grand apiece, even though the M-2 would pack the same wallop and still be FA when they need it..........

Ahhhh, Government!
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