Quote:
Originally Posted by perardua
British cadet forces have Lee Enfields chambered for .22 rounds for target shooting, and up until recently had the L98 Cadet Rifle, a bolt action (and utterly useless) version of the L85. The thinking behind the L98 was that a bolt action rifle would be less attractive to possible theft, and harder for a cadet to do damage with than a sem-automatic weapon, should they make some kind of mistake. Despite what some people seem to think, no regular, unless they are former cadets or serving as an instructor or liasion with cadets, should ever have the misfortune of being in the same room as one of these weapons. Still, at the bare minimum they could be cannibalised for parts for L85s, as there is a reasonable amount of compatibility.
However, in real life the L98 has been replaced with a version of the L85 limited to semi-automatic fire only, the idea being that it is actually safer as this weapon can be fitted with a blank firing attachment, and not having to re-cock the weapon (with an awkwardly placed and designed cocking handle) each time means that more control can be maintained over the weapon. This weapon would also be more attractive in a Twilight scenario.
|
Ah, the L98 - what a truly horrendous piece of
When I started with the cadets we used the .303 Mk 4 Lee Enfield, which I really loved, but in fairness it was a bit of a handful for a 12 year old
We also used the L81A1, which was a variant of the Parker Hale M82 (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Hale_M82)
Personally I really like the L81A1, despite ARRSE's damning view of it here
http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/L81A2_Cadet_Target_Rifle
In fairness, I'd have been using it before they discovered any of the problems, and I was comparing it directly to the L98, but I did like it, and unlike the L98 I could pretty much hit anything I pointed it at - I'm pretty happy that I managed to rank second in Northern Ireland with it, consistently shooting 2" groups at 600 yards with ring sights. The L98 on the other hand I could barely hit a barn wall with, even if I was inside the barn
When did they convert the .303 to .22? We occasionally used a .22 rifle, but I've no idea what type it was. And I should point out that I left the cadets way back in '92 so I've no idea what happened after that, plus things may have been a wee bit different here in NI.