BSA CF2 6.5x55

canuck87

Well-Known Member
Greetings everybody, I'm new here and I'm from Canada (Greetings from the Commonwealth)

I'm interested in a modern 6.5x55 bolt action rifle and I stumbled across the BSA CF2 series.

I have a dealer that is selling for $460 CDN. I talked to him and the rifle is in good working condition, handling marks, some dings in the stock, bluing is good, comes with weaver bases, no front sight blade or rear sight blade (ramps and rear sight base present). The trigger guard and bottom metal have some wear however. Bore and crown are very good.

Seller's description: BSA CF2 in 6.5x55. Very good bore. Weaver bases. Open sights removed. Shows some handling marks. trigger guard shows wear on finish. Overall very good condition.

What can you tell me about this series of rifles? How do they compare to modern actions like the Tikka T3 or CZ 550 in this chambering? Will I be able to load hot 6.5x55 for this action? Any details will be of great help as there isn't much information on these rifles in N. America.

Pictures provided for your viewing. My other alternative is a Churchill Highlander in 6.5x55 imported by Kassner ($550). I believe they are now the Sabatti Rover 870 model. Which rifle do you recommend? For perspective, what do hunters in the UK think of BSA rifles and how much do these CF2 usually for in £?

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The only experiance I have with these rifles is a pal I stalk with has one in 7mm. Exellant bit of kit and shoots better than his ruger and his heym. If I could find one over here in 6.5x55 I'd jump on it.

Cheers. Matt.
 
There only about 400 of those 7x57 made. He should keep that one. What kind of groups and accuracy are we talking about with these rifles? Sub-MOA capable at 100 yards? Are the barrels free-floated?
 
His is the 7x64. Iv shot it at paper a few time and always 1 inch groups or less. I'm sure there could be a bit more accuracy squeezed out of it if he spent more time on his reloading but he's I throw I bit of powder in a case, stick a bullet on top and that will do kind of guy. And yes the barrels are free floating.

Matt.
 
1'' groups at 100 m? That's pretty decent, good enough for hunting.

How does the action feel when you cycle it? And the feeding from the magazine? How does the recoil feel due to the stock design?
 
The CF2 is a very well made rifle that is very reminiscent of Sako designs of that period with a nice non-rotating bolt guide rib (which i think is also shared with the Sabatti action), the primary difference being a plunger-type ejector as opposed to the Sako blade-type ejector. They are quite a heavy rifle, though - around the 8lb mark from memory. They are a fairly common rifle in my part of the world, and that rifle would typically sell around the $Au5-600 mark here. I would very happily own one. I think the BSA rifles are similar quality to the Finnish rifles of the period, but sell much cheaper secondhand.
 
Well I just bought it, hopefully it turns out as good as you guys are describing it! Any more info on this rifle? What were the design influences? It looks awfully similar to the Sako L61R Finnbear of the 60's, are they mechanically similar besides looking the same
 
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I use sabatti rover 870 in 6.5x55 and shot a lot of fallow and roe with it.its cheap second hand and shots well. see Reeves web site for new models
 
The actions are quite smooth due to the bolt guide rib. No 6.5x55 in an 8lb rifle is going to recoil much. The walnut was quite nice on these rifles, although the stock on the north american rifles was not to everybody's liking from a cosmetic perspective. I would certainly expect better than MOA from that rifle. It is chambered in an inherently accurate cartridge, has an extremely stiff and precisely costructed reciever, and BSA barrels had an excellent reputation. With a bit of sandpaper and oil, i think you will find that stock will refinish very nicely. Enjoy your new old british rifle.
 
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Thanks Brenneke for you insight.

I will get the Williams sights filled in to complete the look. Where to get the front sight hood?

Is this essentially a Sako L61R with a plunger ejector instead?
 
OK here we go ....................................... looking over the photos the bottom metal is alloy so it can be stripped back and re-painted with a suitable paint quite easily however I would check the screw seats as I have seen over zealous gorrillas who have damaged them by seriously over tightening the screws. Not a major problem I had a CF2 in 22/250 a few decades back with this problem so made a couple of top hat washers out of steel then counter bored the alloy bottom metal to accept them and cold blued the steel. Problem solved. I have never seen another with this problem but thought I would mention it.

The stock ............................. well that's an easy strip the finish off ............................ chemical paint stripper works .................... I use Nitromors ;) steam iron and wet cloth to raise those little dents and compressions. Bone the wood with a wooden handle like the round one found on suds brush. This helps lay the raised grain and gives the wood a sheen. A final wipe over with scotch brite pad. Wipe with a tack cloth then apply an oiled finish. One could clean out the chequering if one wished but the photos do not show how clean or clogged with grime it is.

An application or Alkanet Root (Red oil) would bring the grain out then one of the oiled stock finishes or BLO (Boiled Linseed Oil) applied over a period of days and rubbed in would complete the stock restoration.

The iron (Open Sights) on the CF2 are Williams Guide rear and the Willams ramp fore sight so parts should be easily obtained from Williams or from John Knibbs international.

OK the CF2 series of rifles was a slightly simplified rifle for BSA. It had a few less machining operations involved to appease the accountants. Only one action length instead of the two lengths of the Majestic series and the three lengths of the original Hunter then Royal line up. The bolt travel is set up for the cartridge length by the position of the machined notch in the underside of the bolt for the bolt stop which is part of the trigger group. This means that the bolt throw is optimised for the cartridge that the rifle was originally chambered for. The trigger is adjustable but will not go down to very light weights. I think about 3 lbs is about it. There is a double sett trigger set up that can fit the CF2 and Knibbs did have some still in stock last year.

The bolt has a rotating guide rib to help bolt smoothness. This is on the right had side, so outside of the bolt, however it can be rotated 180 degrees and put on the inside and the bolt works fine but it does show a small gap on the right of the bolt and action body in this position. My own CF2 in 7x57 came to me in this condition so I just pulled the bolt out rotated it into the correct position and it's been like that ever since. The bolt is I believe a one piece forging ;) no handles to ping off :stir:. Pretty trouble free although a member on here did have a broken ejector spring on his CF2. A new one was obtained from Knibbs I believe.

The barrels are hammer forged and have a good reputation for long life and precision grouping. MOA and under with suitable ammunition should not be a problem to achieve IMHO. However unlike previously stated the barrels WERE NOT FLOATED AT THE FACTORY ON THE SPORTING RIFLES. They have a fore tip pressure point in the stock. I believe the CFT had a floated barrel but that was also a single shot action with no aperture for a magazine in the action. The bottom of the action was solid for an ideal bedding area.

The action itself was machined from a solid block of steel. The top of the action is machined to the same profile as the Remington 700 to appease the American market and make scope mounting easy with a wide choice of mounts. I doubt many "Modern" actions are as smooth in operation as the CF2. The ones I own and have owned have been up there in this respect with the Mannlicher Schoenauer which is saying something :D oh yes I can compare as I own a pre 1924 Schoenauer Model 1903 as well.

The stocks on these by the way were supplied to BSA by SILE of Italy the same company which supplied the Parker-Hale stocks. This was after the same rotten accountants closed BSA's stocking shop down as BSA once made their own stocks. The Sile stamp is often found in the barrel channel unless one fo teh free floating zealots has been at it with a rasp or sand paper :doh: . There were 1796 made in 6.5x55. To date the rifle one can normally use the Birmingham Private View mark which is found by the proof marks:-

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View mark. On the CF2's the view mark can be in a circle or oval as this was the mark used from 1975-1984 which covered most of the CF2's production span.

Oh yes Knibbs book says that there were 389 CF2's made in 7x57 and this is mine:-

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As new but no box. Photo taken at Bisley when the deal was struck to purchase the rifle.

As for prices sorry I have no idea how Canadian prices are so cannot comment if it's good or bad. Sorry also the Churchill is an unknown model to me. Probably an export only? perhaps some can shed some light on them?

Hope that is of some use to you.
 
Thank you very much for your info. It has made me confident in my purchase. Will post pictures when it arrives. Are the stocks on these walnut?

Regarding scopes, I was thinking of using Leupold standard mounts and a Leupold VX-II 3-9x33mm. Do you think medium rings would clear the bolt on this rifle?
 
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On the similarity to the Sako - to my mind, yes i think you are very much getting an equivalent rifle. The design is similar, the construction is similar, and the quality is similar. I think the BSA is heavier, but there really is little to pick between the two rifles. Plunger ejector vs blade-type ejector, and one collar vs two collars for the guide rib. The main disadvantage of the BSA was that my this time they were just building on a long, 30-06 length reciever only - there wasn't a short action. Not a problem if you are looking at the 6.5x55, but i wouldn't be so enthusiastic about a CF2 in a short cartridge.
 
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The bolt handle is quite low but it will depend upon the diameter of the ocular housing (eye piece) some modern optics have very large ocular housings which made require higher mounts.

May I suggest you try these Leupold mounts:-

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Sorry but those are obviously on a P-H M98 actioned rifle but do show the mounts. They are Leupold Q/R lever operated mounts and do return to zero and I much prefer them to the Leupold Std mounts which are in fact I believe just the old Redfield Jnr design. Oh yes that's a Leupold Vari X 111 2.5-8 scope:-

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Yes there is a slight gap enough for a piece of paper to slide through bewtween the mount and the 6x42 S&B scope. I am not keen on those little tiny amounts of contact on those rear jam screws. The peg and cam on the Q/R's seem much better to me.

My own CF2's have Apel Roll off mounts on the 7x57 and Hilvers on the 270 Stutzen.
 
That's good to hear. Is there a manual or online PDF that I can get? I'm wondering if the bolt can be taken down for maintenance.

Are those low or medium rings? Standard Long action Rem 700 Leupold mounts will work right?
 
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I am the proud owner of a CF2 in 6.5 x 55 and I was playing about with Ramshot powder on Saturday I am in love again as I am every time I shoot it I am driving 120grn bullets at 3000 ft per sec and it kicks like being kissed by a virgin.
 
That's good to hear. Is there a manual or online PDF that I can get? I'm wondering if the bolt can be taken down for maintenance.

Are those low or medium rings? Standard Long action Rem 700 Leupold mounts will work right?

Sorry cannot recall which rings they are and cannot find the bubble pack right now. However looking in my old Leupold catalogue the mounts/bases are:-

Q/R Gloss 2 piece = 50049

Std 2 piece gloss = 50015

Std 1 piece gloss = 50003

You will probably need the step back rings to get the eye relief right. Both the rifles I showed are using the extended step back rings.
 
I am the proud owner of a CF2 in 6.5 x 55 and I was playing about with Ramshot powder on Saturday I am in love again as I am every time I shoot it I am driving 120grn bullets at 3000 ft per sec and it kicks like being kissed by a virgin.

:rofl: Oh dear ......................... oh dear. Does the Missus know how you feel?
 
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