SA80 " The Reluctant Rifle"

[DL.]

As an addition, I can add that I had an L85A1 in Belize that suffered from a broken firing pin during a live firing platoon attack.
I can also confirm that rearlugs is right,that the instruction for the L85A2 was to oil it in theatre, however it was lightly oiled, and not on the bolt face.

[Sandgroper]

I always follow the old adage that a good soldier should be like a rifle, spotlessly clean and lightly oiled.

I'd be careful - someone might take you up on that!

[Jnadreth]

I always follow the old adage that a good soldier should be like a rifle, spotlessly clean and lightly oiled.

I'd be careful - someone might take you up on that!

*Expects Drill Sergeant Scotsgun any second* :lol:

[DL.]

I always follow the old adage that a good soldier should be like a rifle, spotlessly clean and lightly oiled.

I'd be careful - someone might take you up on that!

*Expects Drill Sergeant Scotsgun any second* :lol:

I expect so too, when you gain 'Hat' status, watch out for an online rollocking! :lol:

[Scotsgun]

Does that mean that someone that has fired a few rounds in action becomes a weapons expert. And knows more about weapons and how to clean shoot and maintain them than the ones that design them for example......

Isn't that exactly the case with the A1 - after the design was slashed and cut in order to cut costs, the faults in the rifle issued were found by those who actually used it and in some cases bodges were done to rectify? Pretty much the same thing happened with the M16A1 which failed in Vietnam and the HK33 by the Turks.

Cleaning them - remember the bollox spouted with the A1? So easy to clean that you could take it into the shower. No more bluebell matches - aye right.

Belize - Aye, rifles literally fell apart. Just something else to deal with when the kit was rotting off your back. We were warned to keep that foul mossy repelant away from the rifle plastics but I can't remember anyone trying it, to see 'what if?' Unusual with squaddie mentality.

Norway - we'd seal them in a plastic bag and bury them in a shallow hole outside the tent. If took in the tent, condensation would form inside, freeze again when back outside and jam.

DS - I wish!

[pe4king]

I can remember the A1 in Belize in 89, the first modification to stop the mags falling out was a shroud GLUED around the mag release catch, top notch stuff :goodjob:

[Strangely Brown]

Blah, blah, blah.....

I'm not as polite as Sandgroper. Stop talking bollox :55:

Read all the dumbf you want. The difference is that some have actually used them in action.

I actually know Rearlugs, if you only knew what a t*@t you have just made of yourself Scotsgun!

[saddler]

Does that mean that someone that has fired a few rounds in action becomes a weapons expert. And knows more about weapons and how to clean shoot and maintain them than the ones that design them for example......

Pretty much the same thing happened with the M16A1 which failed in Vietnam...

or the M16, perhaps?
(The problems highlighted on initial issue leading to the A1 modifications & a few other changes: no cleaning kits had been issued, for example!)

This thread takes the name of the Collector Grade publication that covers the SA80 story.

They also publish a very very detailed book on the AR15 design, "The Black Rifle". Unlike the SA80 book though, they also had enough extra information to recently publish a companion 2nd volume "Black Rifle II" which covers the post A2 updates & the M4 designs.

[Deepsea]

Wow guys some amount of crap hats on here weapons in bin bags ,yes you would have been so far back into trap one they would have fed you with a catapult, glad you were not in my platoon. must have been good for covering fire .

For all the other wannabees or could have been's ,the SA,80 worked fine in the desert conditions if you stripped the weapon of all the old by boiling a load of water to get all the oil off of it ,then use pencil graphite on the working parts , it doesn't pick up sand and crap.

Oh yes so did the SLR with the same preparation, it is bad practices the cause poor weapon handling stoppages etc .

There's not a weapon made that is squaddy proof and never likely to be cheap and cheerful .

There's far to many Walter Mittys in the military world these days, that would all love to think the know about weapons and conditions it certainly shows on this thread there are many that require some service time behind a weapon .

[ordnance]

Isn't that exactly the case with the A1 - after the design was slashed and cut in order to cut costs

Yes just thought of that after i posted. The designers of the SA/80 obviously hadn't a clue what they were doing. My point was that you don't have to be in the army to know your way around firearms. I am sure the designers in H/K had no battle field experience but managed to make the SA,80 a have decent rifle. PS That shows you haw good they are.