The BSA company was actually founded in 1861 in Birmingham, England. The company was started by 14 local gunsmiths who were members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association. These 14 gunsmiths formed the BSA company (which stands for Birmingham Small Arms Company) in order to supply the English government with arms. Throughout history, BSA has been participating in the production and sale of a number of various products including firearms, air guns, military vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, and civilian vehicles. Several of these different business lines have now been sold off and BSA formed the optics side of their business in 1996.
The BSA Optics department has developed several rifle scope models for most any need and budget. BSA sells a number of assorted rifle scope models, including styles for:
* Air rifles
* Rimfires
* Centerfire
* Tactical
* BDC models (Sweet series)
As BSA has gained a share in the scope industry, they have continued to expand their line of rifle scopes. Their most popular style is the "Sweet" series which was one of the first mainstream rifle scopes to offer this technology at an affordable price. Prior to the BSA Sweet series, the BDC technology was only available expensive rifle scopes used for tactical or law enforcement. The Sweet series features BDC scopes that are designed around a specific round like a .22, 17 HMR, and .223, 270, and 30-06. The scopes have built-in bullet drop adjustments that are built on the round itself and the bullet weight.
Will BSA be the top selection for every hunter or shooter? No, it won't. But, for the cost minded individuals who want fairly good performance for under $150 then the BSA is certainly a possibility. One of my favorite squirrel rifles is topped with a BSA and I wouldn't trade that rifle/scope combo for anything in the world.
