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1st one I have ever seen - nice find!
REALLY good pictures, buckstix, especially of the double lug lockup!

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Wow..........that certainly is like rocking horse poo!
Never seen that before!
Amazing find Buckstix.
Will be a mission to get this one to work, the cadet has a reputation to be a problem child to shoot.

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Knibbs in his book The Golden the Century a history of BSA guns has a picture of this action in the chapter on the No 1 and No. 2 action pocket model. It is is only described as different style of bolt and trigger mechanism in the Pocket models.

The number 1 and No. 2 were the same thing just with different fitments for sights. There is mention of the these guns being available in 297/230 Morris.

Knibbs book is poorly edited and is difficult to extract information from. I would not be surprised if the book has information on the OP rifle, but it would require reading page by page to find it, if it is there.

There is no BSA guns listed using the X prefix for serial number.

If you read Knibbs cover to cover you might find reference to activities in 1907, A search of BSA patents might disclose something also.

I also went through the BSA catalogs and could not find anything this gun.

This website seems to indicate this is a Model 2. https://www.rifleman.org.uk/BSA_Model_2.html

That website is you best resource for research on your rifle.

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Buck ,

I thought at first glance that It might be a variation of the BSA light sporting rifle they made in .300 Extra Long (i.e. Sherwood) and .32-40.

That however used a Lee Enfield bolt in a simplified tubular receiver as did their .410” single shot.

Yours has a front locking bolt.

X01 appears to be someone’s (not necessarily BSA’s) prototype serial.

My guess is that the inventor of the action started with a .22 BSA War Office Pattern barrel and bored it out to take the .310 Cadet cartridge, then fitted it to his prototype action and modified the stock to fit.

I do not recognize the action and the P(ending) Patent mark does not necessarily mean that it was ever Patented.

It might have been made at Lithgow in Australia as the .310 Cadet was popular there.

The Australian government started producing FMJ .310 ammunition for Home Guard combat use when Japanese invasion seemed imminent.

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If British, then I thought they required all rifles to be proof tested. Have you had the barrel and action out of the stock to see if there are any proof, or other markings, on the bottom of the barrel or action?

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Hey Mate, nice find. I tell you something though, I do like that safety on the bolt like that. Surprised it’s not a more popular fitment on other makes and models. Does it only block the firing pin maybe and not the trigger? I guess it my be more complicated and or costly to make.
Regards
Steve

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Is it a single shot or does it have a magazine?

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I am sure the .32/40 was a misprint, meaning .32/20.

The .32/40 has a 2.13" long ctg. case with a 2.6" overall loaded length.

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Daryl S,

Nope, they were made in .32-40 as well as .300 Extra Long.

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Hello all,

Well, I finally received a response from a fellow on a different forum. He sent me this reference link.

https://www.rifleman.org.uk/War_Office_Pattern_Miniature_Rifle.html#Experimental_rifles

"A notable continuation of the the B.S.A. company's work on the War Office Miniature type rifle involved experimentation with a larger calibre capable action."

The last rifle shown at the bottom of that link looks like a "later" experimental version of my rifle. It has a 1908 barrel date and it has a patent number. Mine has an earlier 1907 barrel date and has a "P.Patent" marking. (pending patent)

That rifle has many similar features to my rifle.

Similar features include; center fire single shot action, similar barrel mounted 1905 rear site (with patent reference to my site), similar folding hood front site, same open exposed forward locking lugs, similar bolt handle mounted sliding safety, similar single-loading sprung 'raceway' slightly below the bore-line, and a similar action body designed to afford the mounting of an aperture sight at the rear of the receiver.

research for additional information will continue.

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Buckstix
That article actually refers to 'your' rifle
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We have been made aware of another similar B.S.A. made rifle, apparently in .310" Cadet calibre, that carries the serial number "X01" on both the action and the left side of the butt-stock beside the BSA piled rifles cartouche.

This is an earlier example, with patent pending,
and with the barrel being dated 1907.

The rifle has possibly been later 'sporterised', as the fore-end finishes where the middle barrel-band would probably have been, and a bedding screw with a sling-swivel has been fitted about an inch-and-a-half back from that point.

The fore-sight is identical apart from the spring-loaded hood locking button not being present.

This earlier rifle also has a gas vent on the left-hand-side just behind the receiver ring. This vent is not present on the NFC's rifle.


The arrangement of the safety varies between the two rifles, in that this earlier model has the slide catch at the rear of the bolt-handle rather than on top. The patent for this 'in handle' system is approximated in patent no. 13,170 catalogued for 1908, although the application shows as being on 13th, November 1907.
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Buckstix
That article actually refers to 'your' rifle

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