BSA Majestic or CF2?

[Cervus elaphus]

This is being touted as a BSA Majestic Deluxe but it doesn't look like any Majestic that I've knowledge of.
with a dark fore-end cap and no Schnabel it looks more like a CF2. What say knowledgeable ones?

 

[Sarg]

Yes that is a BSA CF2 for sure from the bolt shroud & double angle of the fore-end tip, the Monarch was after the Majestic .

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Yes that is a BSA CF2 for sure from the bolt shroud & double angle of the fore-end tip, the Monarch was after the Majestic .

Thanks Sarg, I thought that was the case. I owned both, a BSA majestic (30-06) and Monarch (243). Should I tell Cabelas they have mislabeled their BSA?. BTW that particular 30-06 might be a good restoration buy, clean down & oil the woodwork, rebarrel or reblue depending on the state of the bore, check the action for wear, headspace etc, another recoil pad, scope. The rifle looks like it's been well used. mmmmm
p.s. the Majestic has a jewelled bolt, this one doesn't

 

[Sarg]

Haha Cabelas Firearm Department is renowned for misinformation of all types but have at helping them .
I don't think a CF2 is worth messing with really, I love the Old Majestic & Monarch but they have had their day, parts are hard to find if needing repair, I remember the early ones broke firing pins & the bolt safety's wear badly.
I have had many many of them, only just sold a BSA Hunter in .222 Rem & just before that one in .22 Hornet which is one (if not the only) 22 Hornet to work from a normal internal magazine as opposed to a Clip magazine .

I see a guy here selling a BSA Majestic Emperor in .458Win, I have always wanted one of them, if only they built them on the early control feed action .

 

[sestoppelman]

Yeah, dont bother telling them, they dont care. BSA's are like Parker Hales, a lot of different models and few of the guns are actually marked with model.
I have an older BSA coming next week, a 50's model when they still used a Mauser extractor and have heard them called all manner of things, but the proper name is Hunter or Royal.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Yeah, dont bother telling them, they dont care. BSA's are like Parker Hales, a lot of different models and few of the guns are actually marked with model.
I have an older BSA coming next week, a 50's model when they still used a Mauser extractor and have heard them called all manner of things, but the proper name is Hunter or Royal.

I remember the hunter, my shooting mate had one in .308 but I opted for the fancy Majestic instead. Hunter was a plain Jane but shot well.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Yeah, dont bother telling them, they dont care. BSA's are like Parker Hales, a lot of different models and few of the guns are actually marked with model.
I have an older BSA coming next week, a 50's model when they still used a Mauser extractor and have heard them called all manner of things, but the proper name is Hunter or Royal.

Haha Cabelas Firearm Department is renowned for misinformation of all types but have at helping them .
I don't think a CF2 is worth messing with really, I love the Old Majestic & Monarch but they have had their day, parts are hard to find if needing repair, I remember the early ones broke firing pins & the bolt safety's wear badly.
I have had many many of them, only just sold a BSA Hunter in .222 Rem & just before that one in .22 Hornet which is one (if not the only) 22 Hornet to work from a normal internal magazine as opposed to a Clip magazine .

I see a guy here selling a BSA Majestic Emperor in .458Win, I have always wanted one of them, if only they built them on the early control feed action .

I think Pakistan have stopped making them. You could pick up an accurate copy on the Afghanistan border but I wouldn't want to fire one.

 

[Cervus elaphus]

Yeah, dont bother telling them, they dont care. BSA's are like Parker Hales, a lot of different models and few of the guns are actually marked with model.
I have an older BSA coming next week, a 50's model when they still used a Mauser extractor and have heard them called all manner of things, but the proper name is Hunter or Royal.

The 50's model you're getting is well worth having although the Majestic model I had was push-feed, I never had a feeding problem with it. The bolt used to wobble around like a standing passenger in a bus going around a tight corner, but once the bolt knob went down it was like the Bank of England main vault.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thanks Sarg, I thought that was the case. I owned both, a BSA majestic (30-06) and Monarch (243). Should I tell Cabelas they have mislabeled their BSA?. BTW that particular 30-06 might be a good restoration buy, clean down & oil the woodwork, rebarrel or reblue depending on the state of the bore, check the action for wear, headspace etc, another recoil pad, scope. The rifle looks like it's been well used. mmmmm
p.s. the Majestic has a jewelled bolt, this one doesn't

@Cervus elaphas
If the barrel turns out to be rs I can see it making a nice Whelen or 9.3x62.
Bob

 

[Cervus elaphus]

@Cervus elaphas
If the barrel turns out to be rs I can see it making a nice Whelen or 9.3x62.
Bob

Ream it out to a 35 Whelan? Would the action be strong enough to handle the pressure of the 30-06 parent case?
otherwise is seems on paper to be a fair upgrade

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Ream it out to a 35 Whelan? Would the action be strong enough to handle the pressure of the 30-06 parent case?
otherwise is seems on paper to be a fair upgrade

@Cervus elaphas
More than strong enough. If my memory serves me correctly it was also chambered for the 270win and the 308. Both these cases operate at the 62,000 psi Mark so in answer yes the others operate at 55 to 60,000 psi Mark
Bob

 

[Cervus elaphus]

@Cervus elaphas
More than strong enough. If my memory serves me correctly it was also chambered for the 270win and the 308. Both these cases operate at the 62,000 psi Mark so in answer yes the others operate at 55 to 60,000 psi Mark
Bob

Yep, that series included the 270 & 308

 

[Professor Mawla]

That is a Birmingham Small Arms ( BSA ) Model CF2 . Perhaps , you may find these book pages to be of some use to you . For the purposes of easily identifying Birmingham Small Arms rifles . Birmingham Small Arms only made control round feed rifles as part of their “ Royal “ line from 1957 to 1959 . However , even these were inferior to original Mauser Model 98 actions because they employed a two piece striker ( as opposed to the solid one piece striker which is present on the Mauser Model 98 action ) .

 

[Sarg]

Nice work @Professor Mawla very good of you to post that up, did you see they have labeled a early Hunter/Royal action as a Majestic near the top ?

​

 

[Cervus elaphus]

That is a Birmingham Small Arms ( BSA ) Model CF2 . Perhaps , you may find these book pages to be of some use to you . For the purposes of easily identifying Birmingham Small Arms rifles . Birmingham Small Arms only made control round feed rifles as part of their “ Royal “ line from 1957 to 1959 . However , even these were inferior to original Mauser Model 98 actions because they employed a two piece striker ( as opposed to the solid one piece striker which is present on the Mauser Model 98 action ) .View attachment 395404View attachment 395416View attachment 395417View attachment 395405View attachment 395406View attachment 395407View attachment 395408View attachment 395409View attachment 395410View attachment 395411View attachment 395412View attachment 395413View attachment 395414View attachment 395415

Thanks for that wealth of info Prof, very useful to me. The Majestic featherweight I used was push-feed but never failed to feed properly from the staggered mag. The bolt in the open position flopped around like a stranded fish. My friend had a .308 Hunter which was CRF.

 

[Professor Mawla]

Thanks for that wealth of info Prof, very useful to me. The Majestic featherweight I used was push-feed but never failed to feed properly from the staggered mag. The bolt in the open position flopped around like a stranded fish. My friend had a .308 Hunter which was CRF.

@Cervus elaphus
You are most welcome . The Birmingham Small Arms Majestic rifles never had any extraction problems , whatsoever . An acquaintance of mine by the name of Mr. Richard Harland ( author of “ Ndlovu : The Art Of Hunting The African Elephant “ ) actually purchased a Birmingham Small Arms Majestic in .458 Winchester Magnum as his first large game rifle . He also owns another Birmingham Small Arms Majestic in .458 Winchester Magnum , which was given to him by the late Paul Grobler ( Richard’s mentor and the gentleman credited with shooting the largest number of African elephants ) . Paul Grobler originally owned that Birmingham Small Arms Majestic rifle and used it ( with 500 grain Winchester Super Speed round nosed steel jacketed solid factory loads ) to successfully take out more than 5000 African elephants .

However, the Birmingham Small Arms Majestic rifles ( at least the ones in .458 Winchester Magnum ) have one very serious issue . The magazine floor plate release catch is prone to springing open due to recoil ( due to a relatively weak coil spring ) . Paul Grobler had this misfortune happen to him once ( in the midst of a herd of tuskless cow elephants , no less ) and then had his gunsmith permanently screw shut the floor plate of his .458 Winchester Magnum ( in order to render the magazine floor plate inoperable ) . My close personal friend , John Coleman ( a retired South African professional hunter with more than six decades of dangerous game hunting experience ) actually nearly lost his life once due to a similar mishap which occurred with his Birmingham Small Arms Majestic ( also a .458 Winchester Magnum ) . John had to contend with a livestock killing lioness in 1960 , and he had to engage her in close quarters with his .458 Winchester Magnum . Unfortunately ; the magazine floor plate popped open after the first shot , causing the three remaining rounds to drop out onto the ground . The lioness mauled John extremely badly and he needed almost two dozen stitches in order to reattach his left ear . Had his tracker not shot the lioness to death with John’s .30-06 Springfield , he would have perished . John then sold the Birmingham Small Arms Majestic , once he got ahold of a pre 64 Winchester Model 70 “ African “ in .458 Winchester Magnum ( which a client gifted him in 1961 ) . When using a Birmingham Small Arms Majestic in .458 Winchester Magnum to hunt dangerous game , I will always advise the operator to have a gunsmith put a pin through the magazine floor plate release catch ( which is located inside the trigger bow ) .

Interestingly enough , John still owns and uses a control round feed Birmingham Small Arms Regent rifle in 7x57 mm Mauser for hunting bush buck and impala .

 

[sestoppelman]

I hope the OP does not mind my adding to this thread. I received my BSA Royal/Hunter in 7x57 today, it would be the same rifle the Professor references just above.
Condition is a bit rough, bore maybe a 7 of 10, throat looks a little worn, but muzzle is tight and thats what usually counts.
Couple of interesting things. They use a screw to grab the front of the trigger guard that comes down from inside as shown in my pic. Never have seen that before. Wood in the trigger well was cracked though I find that in almost all old rifles and some newer ones!
It also had for a scope base a Redfield that I assumed was some std base that some clever machinist made to fit this receiver but in fact it was std offering from Redfield made for these rifles! Its a clever item, see pic.
It has 3 leaf sights, all matching numbers, no other stock issues other than being old and checkering nearly all wore off, still has BSA buttplate and pistol grip cap, and I suppose original old style swivels. Headspace is very tight and new brass needs to be sized down to chamber easily, otherwise it takes much force to close the bolt all the way, that seems odd indeed but not insurmountable, thats what sizing dies are made for right? Once they have been fired in the chamber they should be fine.
Will get some rounds made up and hopefully get it to the range soon.
I have some Parker Hale rings which are meant for the BSA rifles but looks like I have two rear rings as both have the recoil stud. Suppose I can use them if I either grind off or punch out the stud on one as the front receiver is not meant to use the stud. Otherwise I can put the Redfield back on, but I was hoping to use the PH rings, we shall see.

 

[Professor Mawla]

I hope the OP does not mind my adding to this thread. I received my BSA Royal/Hunter in 7x57 today, it would be the same rifle the Professor references just above.
Condition is a bit rough, bore maybe a 7 of 10, throat looks a little worn, but muzzle is tight and thats what usually counts.
Couple of interesting things. They use a screw to grab the front of the trigger guard that comes down from inside as shown in my pic. Never have seen that before. Wood in the trigger well was cracked though I find that in almost all old rifles and some newer ones!
It also had for a scope base a Redfield that I assumed was some std base that some clever machinist made to fit this receiver but in fact it was std offering from Redfield made for these rifles! Its a clever item, see pic.
It has 3 leaf sights, all matching numbers, no other stock issues other than being old and checkering nearly all wore off, still has BSA buttplate and pistol grip cap, and I suppose original old style swivels. Headspace is very tight and new brass needs to be sized down to chamber easily, otherwise it takes much force to close the bolt all the way, that seems odd indeed but not insurmountable, thats what sizing dies are made for right? Once they have been fired in the chamber they should be fine.
Will get some rounds made up and hopefully get it to the range soon.
I have some Parker Hale rings which are meant for the BSA rifles but looks like I have two rear rings as both have the recoil stud. Suppose I can use them if I either grind off or punch out the stud on one as the front receiver is not meant to use the stud. Otherwise I can put the Redfield back on, but I was hoping to use the PH rings, we shall see.
View attachment 395447View attachment 395448View attachment 395449View attachment 395450View attachment 395451View attachment 395452View attachment 395453

@sestoppelman
Here is John’s Birmingham Small Arms 7x57 mm Mauser .

His stock cracked near the wrist and he had it repaired with liquid steel epoxy . I tried to repeatedly convince him to have the rifle re-stocked . However , he is adamant to retain the original stock . Magnificently accurate , that rifle is .

 

[fourfive8]

@Professor Mawla,
Thanks for the insight into those rifles! That it very wise advice about pinning the release latch on any DG rifle that has a floor plate that may open unintentionally! Not hard to do, depending on design. Drill a small hole through to fit a roll or tension type cross pin that will not come out and will block the function of the latch. And thanks for including the personal insights of John Coleman. I have always enjoyed and respected his wisdom.

 

[sestoppelman]

@Professor Mawla,
Thanks for the insight into those rifles! That it very wise advice about pinning the release latch on any DG rifle that has a floor plate that may open unintentionally! Not hard to do, depending on design. Drill a small hole through to fit a roll or tension type cross pin that will not come out and will block the function of the latch. And thanks for including the personal insights of John Coleman. I have always enjoyed and respected his wisdom.

Spitting image of my rifle. Neat.