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I was mildly interested there for a few seconds, thought that the post was about a new 310 Cadet rifle.

Deep disappointment.

saddler wrote:EXACTLY

& I'm sure a dedicated SA80-22 would not be THAT difficult to make.

We had conversion kits but (I am told) these were withdrawn, something to do with A1/A2 compatibility.....

Apparently we are getting them back.

I am not sure what (if anything) they do to clean the lead/wax out of the bores afterwards, but when you consider that on the L98s its a 2MOA click (50mm per click at 100) then it seems a bit academic.

They very specifically want a small bore target rifle to wean them onto live and competitive shooting early. Many units dont use the air rifles. They can be a pain and the No8s are simpler to use.

A company I was dealing with a few years ago made a 22lr SA80 that was virtually identical so as to allow cheap indoor training and general 22 shooting.
We supplied a load of SA80 22LR magazines and some kits. The idea was to pass them on to RFCA or MoD as a training rifle as well as to civvies to feed the military look-a-like market.
They had working prototypes but after sending all the parts back I haven't heard much more from them since.
Perhaps I should give the engineers a call.

Hmm, I'd be interested in a .22lr SA80 clone. I'm guessing its unlikely to ever come to market though :(