I did a lot of shooting as a lad with a BSA Monarch .243 bought new by my Dad in 1973... he was tossing up between the Monarch and the Brno ZKK601... competitors at the time.

He preferred the fit and finish of the BSA... but I think quality was very patchy in those days.

If you got a 'good one' not made on a Monday or a Friday all was well... they even came with a test target. Triggers on the Monarch were often terribly creepy, not as good as the later CF2. A decent smith could get them vastly improved.

They were very smooth but pretty heavy as I recall... the Tikka M55/M65's were a similar price but lighter, had better triggers, and were more accurate out of the box. The Sako L579 and L61R held the top of the market but were considerably more expensive...

BSA's have a small but enthusiastic following here in Australia too... seems they are being 'rediscovered' as they only sell for about $500 and are often scoped too!

Here's some BSA advertising from the late 1960's and early 70's: