BSA Monarch
- Category
- Rifle
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.83 kg
- Introduced
- 1965
About
What it is, and why it matters
The BSA Monarch is a bolt-action sporting rifle produced by the Birmingham Small Arms Company from the mid-1960s. A redesign of the earlier BSA Majestic, it used a controlled-round-feed Mauser-pattern action made in two lengths and chambered in five calibres, including the long-action .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. It paired a 22-inch barrel and a fully adjustable trigger with a sporter walnut stock, and was marketed both under BSA's own name and through the American mail-order house Herter's.
BSA built the Monarch and its Majestic predecessor for the American mail-order retailer Herter's, which sold the rifles under its own Monarch branding alongside BSA-marked guns.
Built in two action lengths: the long action covered .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield, while the medium action covered .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester and .222 Remington. Fitted with a spring-loaded internal magazine and hinged floorplate.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- BSA Guns (UK) Ltd
- Category
- Rifle
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1965 to 1974
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 559 mm
- Overall length
- 1080 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.83 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Bolt action
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 4
- Magazine
- Fixed box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Walnut
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 880 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 4515 J
- Effective range
- 365 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Controlled round feed
Adjustable trigger
Hinged floorplate
Sporter stock
Scope mount ready
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 2.83 kg | 3.40 kg | Among the lightest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 73 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 1080 mm | 1100 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 559 mm | 584 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 78 .30-06 Springfield rifles | 4 | 4 | Holds fewer rounds than about 60% |
Its place in the rankings
Answers
Questions about the BSA Monarch
How much does the BSA Monarch weigh?
The BSA Monarch weighs 2.83 kg (6.25 lb) empty. It is the 2nd lightest of 75 .30-06 Springfield rifles in the catalogue.
What caliber is the BSA Monarch?
The BSA Monarch is chambered in .30-06 Springfield.
How many rounds does the BSA Monarch hold?
The BSA Monarch holds 4 rounds, fed from a fixed box magazine.
How long is the BSA Monarch?
The BSA Monarch is 1080 mm (42.5 in) long overall, with a 559 mm (22.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the BSA Monarch?
The BSA Monarch is made by BSA Guns (UK) Ltd (United Kingdom).
When was the BSA Monarch introduced?
The BSA Monarch was introduced in 1965 and discontinued in 1974.
How does the BSA Monarch operate?
The BSA Monarch uses a bolt action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Civilian sport and hunting market
- United Kingdom
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/bsa-monarch' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "bsa-monarch", "name": "BSA Monarch", "manufacturer": { "id": "bsa", "name": "BSA Guns (UK) Ltd", "countryCode": "GB", "foundedYear": 1861, "website": "https://bsaguns.co.uk", "logoUrl": null, "description": "British manufacturer of air rifles, scopes, and shooting accessories with over 160 years of gunsmithing heritage.", "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "5c5fd5adcdb58a5c06cfa9afa502ba7c008d08d9cd9fe76c3812269343a10d2f" }, "category": { "id": "rifle", "name": "Rifle", "description": "Long-barreled firearms designed for accurate shooting" }, "country_of_origin": "GB", "year_introduced": 1965, "barrel_length_mm": 559, "weight_empty_g": 2835, "action_type": "bolt_action"}