SA80 " The Reluctant Rifle"

[huntervixen]

Morning all,

I finally got me a copy of "The last Enfield" yesterday, started reading at 5.30pm and put the book down a 2am!

I thought the 1960's TSR2 saga was bad...It pails into gray when compared to this classically British F**k up!

What a fascinating and indeed horrifying account of how not to procure service firearms, I carried on through the book looking for a glimmer of good news....didn't find any!

A truly sorry tale of Government incompetence, brazen Industrial espionage and "yes men" officers who were quite happy to let young soldiers go to war with defective crap so they could carry on climbing the greasy pole...absoluly disgraceful behavior!

The book finishes in mid 2003, when the A2 was still in it's infancy, so I was wondering if anyone here could bring me up to speed on the last ten years....I almost hesitate to ask, but how does the A2 fair today??

Highly recommended read to anyone interested in Service firearms guys...great book.

[saddler]

WHAT dou you mean, you JUST got a copy??

Down & give me 50 press-ups - and get yer bloody hair cut!!

NOW ya gotta try to find the EM-2 book by Dugelby - makes the SA80 balls-up look like a happy clappy day at the beach with mater & pater by comparison!!
Reckon on about 2-5 years & a couple of hundred quid....

Good luck

[huntervixen]

Hi Saddler,

It has been on my wish list for a while now...just ordered "The fal Rifle, classic edition", all 3 volumes bound together, costing me a lot, but it's nearly unavailable now, so the price will sky rocket when supplies are exhausted...can't wait!

[SevenSixTwo]

Out of interest, does the book mention the confidence/reliability trials in Oman in which it handed the 'AK' (and other service rifles) their MRBF asses on a plate?

[Tower75]

I've never heard of it, but I do like a bit o' gun readings, I do.

Is it one of those rare beasts of a book, where it's only about 120 pages long, but £250.00 from Amazon Marketplace?

[Blackstuff]

I've never heard of it, but I do like a bit o' gun readings, I do.

Is it one of those rare beasts of a book, where it's only about 120 pages long, but £250.00 from Amazon Marketplace?

£56 on Amazon, £35 here;

http://www.ds-solutions.co.uk/product_i ... ucts_id=73

[huntervixen]

Out of interest, does the book mention the confidence/reliability trials in Oman in which it handed the 'AK' (and other service rifles) their MRBF asses on a plate?

All the various trials from the prototype batches to Service A1/A2 versions are covered in mind boggling detail.

A truly amazing book that leaves no stone unturned, the only thing that stopped the author at times was the dreaded Official Secrets Act, that "conveniently for some" blocked his access to some of the information.

That aside, fantastic book guys...highly embarrassing for any of the L85 decision makers still about.

[Tower75]

sign92

[huntervixen]

So any recent or current L85A2 users care to comment on how it works today?

Without contravening the official Secrets Act of coarse...afterall there might be Taliban "morse tappers" tuning in!

[Sim G]

Allegedly, now one of the best service rifles, not available!

And come it's replacement, we'll order off the shelf, no facility to make our own military's rifle..... sickening, absolutely sickening....

Short rope and a long lamp post would be far too good for some of these!