old Belgian .22

stevebc

stevebc

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I have a single-shot belgian .22: "Ancien Establissements Pieper-Herstal patented Jan 12 1909. .22L" Also marked "Bayard" below a stamp of a knight on horseback. I think I read somewhere that this company went on to become FN. Anyway, the thing was in pieces. It was given to my dad by a guy who wanted to get rid of it. He'd been using some sort of low-powered round in it to shoot mice and such in his barn. Dad took it apart, but somehow the pieces got separated over time, and in the process of inventorying my dad's collection, I found myself with some leftover odds and sods that looked like they might go together... long story short, I managed to re-assemble it, but with a different machine bolt on the end of the bolt assembly: the one I found that belongs was stripped. I'm not familiar with this rifle- it has a bolt release rather like the slide release on an semi-automatic pistol, and the narrowest slot for loading I've ever seen. It's not your usual bolt-action- you pull the knurled piece on the end of the bolt assembly back to #### it, press the bolt release, and fire. There's no extractor, either. There is a sort of small screwdriver piece that screws into the bottom of the stock, just ahead of the butt- maybe thats to pry the case out with... Almost looks like a semi-auto, but it's single shot. The oddest thing (to me, anyway) is that the barrel is a bayonet type fitting: you lift a spring clip, turn the barrel 90 degrees, and pull to remove. It has the slimmest one-piece stock I've ever seen, either. Makes the old Cooey look heavy, lol.
I haven't fired this, not sure if it's safe to do so, with that non-standard machine bolt I used. I'm not encouraged by that barrel design, either, but it's a sweet looking rifle, so I'll keep it in the safe until I get up the nerve to fire it. Maybe a really long string to the trigger? :) I'd love to hear from anyone familiar with these rifles.

ps- I'd post a pic, but it seems I'm not allowed to...yet?
 
Does it look something like this?
BayardModelDePose22.jpg
 
Bayard used to make some fancy semi-auto pistols around the time of the first War and they can be worth good money, I think the .22s values would be in a shooter only.
 
stevebc said:
He'd been using some sort of low-powered round in it to shoot mice and such in his barn.
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I have fired 22 short and long out of mine, I never tried long rifle.

There's no extractor, either.
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The rifle was designed to allow the case to blow back into the loading ramp after firing. Some 22 short rounds do not have enough power to overcome the spring tension in the bolt and have to be extracted manually, I never had a problem with 22 long.

There is a sort of small screwdriver piece that screws into the bottom of the stock, just ahead of the butt. The oddest thing (to me, anyway) is that the barrel is a bayonet type fitting.
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This is a takedown rifle that breaks down into the receiver, barrel and stock. That small screwdriver piece is the takedown screw.

I'm not encouraged by that barrel design, either
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Don't worry about this, it is a very solid design that is quite over-engineered.

My Bayard was given to me years ago as a parts gun (that's why it has no sights) and was supposed to have been used as a gallery gun. I have never been able to find a lot of history on them nor have I been able to find a source of parts.
They don't have any real collector value except as a curiosity.
 
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Many thanks, MudPuppy- I kinda thought it looked like a blowback design. I think I'll examine that machine bolt I used again, and if it looks good, give it a try come spring. I just love the light weight and slim design- you could fire this thing one handed, easy.
 
Update on my Bayard- I had a gunsmith in Kamloops make a new machine bolt for it, put it all together and took it to the range a couple of weekends back. I managed to get 4 .22 shorts thru it before it jammed. The bolt release worked, but the bolt only went forward about halfway before stopping. I disassembled it and found the firing pin was fractured. Not broken all the way thru, but enough to cause the pin to move outboard from the bolt and jam. I'm sorry to say I didn't examine the pin before firing it, so I couldn't say whether it was already fractured before I fired it.
I have no sentimental attachment for this rifle, so if I don't find a cheap parts rifle or just a used pin at the Kamloops Gun Show in April, I'll likely try to flog it here if anyone is interested. (Guess I'll have to get into the EE :) )
 
SteveBC- The previous owner fired BuzzBees (sp) a low powered birdkilling round through it. The eector worked with these rounds, in fact the shells were ejected so far, they were clearing the roof of his truck! I share in your mistrust of it though, it seems so spindly that it could come apart. Better to get rid of it and play with something more robust.
RF
 
Updated: I looked up this thread to respond to another fellow, and realized I didn't come back to this:

A few years back at the Kamloops gun show, I came across a really beat up version of my rifle, and I picked it up for $40 as a parts gun. Since I was unable to take it apart then and there to see if it had an intact firing pin, I just bought it on hope...

... but it did indeed have a good firing pin, and it has worked like a charm ever since. I still use only .22 shorts, and have found it to be very accurate at 50 meters even with the simple iron sights.
 
stevebc said:
Update on my Bayard- I had a gunsmith in Kamloops make a new machine bolt for it, put it all together and took it to the range a couple of weekends back. I managed to get 4 .22 shorts thru it before it jammed. The bolt release worked, but the bolt only went forward about halfway before stopping. I disassembled it and found the firing pin was fractured. Not broken all the way thru, but enough to cause the pin to move outboard from the bolt and jam. I'm sorry to say I didn't examine the pin before firing it, so I couldn't say whether it was already fractured before I fired it.
I have no sentimental attachment for this rifle, so if I don't find a cheap parts rifle or just a used pin at the Kamloops Gun Show in April, I'll likely try to flog it here if anyone is interested. (Guess I'll have to get into the EE :) )
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Hi Stevebc
Don’t know if you will read this as this one of your old threads, but I have the same rifle. Did you find a replacement firing pin for it or did you get rid of it at the Kamloops gun show?
Did you ask the gunsmith if he could make one or repair it? I live in Ashcroft and like to find a smith to repair mine as it a family heirloom

Regards kb.
 
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