Enfield L85A1: Perhaps the Worst Modern Military Rifle

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The L85A1 (part of the SA80 small arms family) was adopted by the British military in 1985 as a new generation of small arms to replace the L1A1 FAL (one quick note, where "A1" indicates a revision in American designations, it is simply the first iteration in British ones - there was no "L85"). As a bullpup rifle, the L85A1 was intended to replace both the FAL and Sterling SMG, similar to the French replacing the MAS 49/56 and MAT 49 with the FAMAS.
Unfortunately, the L85A1 had massive problems of both reliability and durability. They were kept pretty much hidden until Desert Storm, when it became unavoidably clear that the weapon was seriously flawed. The UK government denied the problems for several years, until finally contracting with H&K (then owned by Royal Ordnance) to redesign and rebuild the rifles. The result, after changes to virtually every part of the rifle, was the L85A2 - a much better rifle that will be tainted with its predecessor's reputation regardless.
Mechanically, the L85A1 and A2 are basically copies of the Armalite AR-180, with a multi-lug rotating bolt and a short stroke gas piston. It feeds from STANAG magazines, and it universally fitted with the heavy but rugged SUSAT optical sight.
Thanks to the Institute of Military Technology for allowing me to have access to this rifle (which is extremely rare in the US) and bring it to you! Check them out at:
www.instmiltech.com

[@penhullwolf5070]

We Brits are a fair minded people. The A1 was designed to give the enemy a sporting chance.

[@BunnyUK]

Penhull Wolf Britons

[@Will831100]

@@BunnyUK
Nah. I'm a Brit. You'll hear that from others too.

[@proonguice8386]

Thats funny 👍🏻

[@Mogmogs]

like a gent.

[@gaz3602]

@@BunnyUK as a brit we never call ourselves britons

[@laurenbastin8849]

makes sense the L85 can only be used with your right hand
Thatcher hated the left.

[@apexinstinct]

😂

[@p.atrick.]

@@Slingr_ Margaret thatcher lmao

[@jedsimpkin6688]

lol

[@laurenbastin8849]

HellsAiden yeah not that Thatcher (though probably also that Thatcher too he’s a massive Maggie fanboy)

[@Destroyer2150]

No wonder people hated that bitch...

[@fuzzypanda1684]

I think it's a rule that every military must, at some point in time, adopt a terrible standard issue weapon and force its soldiers to use it for an unacceptably long period of time.

[@stuglife5514]

So this is the British equivalent to the M-14 basically. Nice

[@stuglife5514]

@Quo Hium I was over exaggerating to an extent

[@visassess8607]

Yeah that's scary. You're expected to go into combat and your main fighting tool doesn't even work.

[@Osama-Bon-Jovi-01]

@@visassess8607 the sa80 works just fine

[@mythgreatbritain]

Like the M16

[@supereldinho]

A fun anecdote: one time, during his trip to England, Mikhail Kalashnikov actually met with the gun's designers who showed it to him and asked him what he thought of it. He could only shake his head and, after explaining that he made the AK47 on the principle that even a complete idiot could operate it, took one more look at this thing and said "Going by this you must have very clever soldiers."
Ouch.

[@blinthepannkek6173]

Emotional damage

[@shayamaddex996]

Kalashnikov sees an AR-15: "Nice rifle"
Kalashnikov sees an SA-80: "Is pizdec"

[@Philush97]

​​@@shayamaddex996 *chuynia

[@Joseph-mw2rl]

Actually he said: What the cyka blyat

[@adiamond563]

@@shayamaddex996 what about the g36

[@gabrielfraser2109]

Laugh all you like, this rifle saved my uncle's life, and he went on to have a long, successful career in the Iraqi military.
Edit: Half of the replies are just people calling me an idiot because they didn't get the joke. If you're about to call me an idiot, read it again, slowly and carefully.

[@Narcan885]

Thanks for nothing

[@11jerans]

Holy shit, this comment is fucking hilarious

[@highjumpstudios2384]

Fear not. I laugh, endlessly

[@ianfinrir8724]

They got us in the first half, not gonna lie

[@blaiseailey3563]

Hahaha

[@DrKerbis]

I've heard the L85A1 called the Civil Servant because it doesn't work and it can't be fired.

[@thenoobcannon9830]

you sir! made my day.

[@RJM1011]

LOL !

[@robertallen9472]

Chuck Nugget ayy...
the entire social services team in the UK...

[@RJM1011]

Robert Allen I'll drink to that for New Year ! Thank you. :)

[@robertallen9472]

Richard Maunder np mate, I've been stuck with them for the past two years trying to get back to living with my mum, hope you haven't had the same BS

[@notactuallytesco]

the bolt retaining pin, by pure coincidence, is the perfect size to be released using the aglet on a shoelace

[@ericmcconnaughey2782]

I wonder what The Question would say about that.

[@ianfinrir8724]

@@ericmcconnaughey2782 He told us that aglets were sinister, and we refused to listen!

[@moekitsune]

A-G-L-E-T, don't forget it!

[@nickparkison977]

It's like someone tried a make an AUG out of sheet metal in their basement.

[@JoeTheNarrator]

tbh everything except the bolt , gas block and barrel were some form of sheet metal

[@LeleiTheTigress]

I mean, that's just standard British procedure, the Sten was pretty much an MP28/Launchester made out of sheet metal

[@airborne293]

I hear a Scottish man running full speed at me with a sledgehammer

[@AC-ly4ho]

wait hol up slej has a L85A2 not A1

[@excoto2298]

Skyfracture shut up

[@wolfsquad1532]

They all look the same really

[@gripen777]

i thought i heard a british man running full speed at me with an emp nade

[@user-yz1xt5cq8i]

EXCOTO why? What did he do. He just corrected a common error.

[@Paul_Hardy]

This rifle is the UK government in the form of a firearm.

[@willbrown3694]

This is so accurate I am ashamed.

[@terminator1199]

Jams all the time and can't do jack shit.

[@foxy30087077]

😂

[@samanvithveeravelli7512]

Lol
Lol

[@dylanhaugen3739]

I don't even wanna know what the U.S. government would be, one of those handmade guns that blows up in your face half the time and hurts you more than anyone else?

[@toxicman9128]

**touches this gun**
**immediately washes hands**

[@rosshind6369]

I fired these on ranges with the cadets. Initially i assumed we'd been given special 'training guns' that jammed all the time so you could practice releasing the jam. As i recall the ones i fired jammed every 10 to 20 rounds. Partly for that reason I didn't join the services. I figured that if the government think this is an acceptable bit of kit, and they're that unconcerned about the lives of the troops, what else would they take the mickey with. Armed force with guns that don't work took the biscuit. It was more important imo fir them to admit that they'd made a mistake than save face. The consensus we had was that they should have gone with the m16.

[@mikegrove4571]

Stoppages were caused by poor maintenance, once the rifle was cleaned and oiled, stoppages were rare, regular lubrication was a must, especially when providing close support (Must admit, I much preferred my GPMG for fire power but the LA85A1 for weight)

[@karlbassett8485]

@@mikegrove4571 The cadet version was single shot only, and had to be manually cocked after every shot. And unlike the old #8 rifle the bolt wasn't in a nice easy to reach place for easy cocking. It was way to the rear, and needed a lot of force, so a early teen cadet would obviously struggle. And you had to pull it back swiftly until it hit the stop and let it loose to fly forward. If you slowly struggle to pull it back, reached the stop and then sort of let it go it would jam. I was a range instructor and would have to go from cadet to cadet unjamming these things virtually non stop.

[@Snugggg]

Same experience with the minimi. Thought it was a special “training gun” we were given. Nope, they all jammed.

[@JoeTheNarrator]

oh i was straight up trained on a funtional one when i was in the cadets

[@Falaksno1fan]

@@JoeTheNarrator my rifle in the cadets has never jammed ive shot over 145 rounds

[@jackmeholff7353]

But it does 47 damage

[@llamalord3055]

Next to get acog oof?

[@WhosYourPoPo]

It's a great gun... in all the shooting games!

[@benbutler8201]

But that's the L85A2, the shotgun is better anyway

[@vega8698]

@Dodo The Donkey you're taking the piss

[@mcstriker]

The best weapon is easily Sledge's hammer.

[@Nooziterp1]

In it's early days the L85 was known by some as the 'civil servant' because it didn't work and couldn't be fired.

[@starcorpvncj]

Good one. Same the world over.

[@Zlonk7]

I mean ofc it didn't work in the early days in the early days it was made in a factory that was falling apart and nobody knew how to clean it correctly. They did a test in Oman where they got the dustiest firing range they could find, plowed around to kick up more dust and fly helicopters around to simulate brownouts and you know what happened? It performed better than the m16s they had

[@Ranamon9132]

@@Zlonk7 Jesus dude. How many fucking times do you wanna reply and say basically the same thing? Nearly every comment thread youre saying the same thing.

[@Zlonk7]

@@Ranamon9132 im covid positive so I'm sitting at home and have nothing better to do

[@sEaNoYeAh]

Ironic given the British civil service is world famous for actually being good all things considered.

[@yourmanjimbo1302]

In STALKER the lore is that the British army has adopted the G36 meaning the L85 found its way into the hands of the people of the zone. If you equip it, even in near perfect condition, it jams every 10 shots lol

[@battlesheep2552]

Still made a pretty good midgame DMR

[@yourmanjimbo1302]

@@battlesheep2552 but at that point you can get the LR-300 which is way better

[@themonolithian]

I love the L85

[@plantelo]

You made me check on STALKER:SOC and it turns out it was on sale on Steam and now I have bought it. Hope you're happy >:(

[@yourmanjimbo1302]

@@plantelo I’m a big stalker fan (did a video on it a while back) so yes I’m happy

[@visassess8607]

This is actually terrifying. You're expected to go into combat and your main weapon is unreliable.

[@ke6ziu]

We had the same problem when the M-16 was first fielded... with the majority of the problems corrected, it became a fairly good rifle. I carried an M16A2 for several years (When I became an NCO, I stayed with my A2; I had that choice, plus I knew the guys in the armoury...), and refused the M4! First, it's too short, and, the stock is useless for close combat! If I get close enough to go to bayonets, I want a rifle with a buttstock that will fracture jaws, and skulls... can't exactly do that with an M4 collapsible stock!

[@hulmad]

@@ke6ziu what do you think of this new Spear thing? New and proprietary ammunition seems like an extraordinarily bad call.

[@hulmad]

@@ke6ziu if that's what you're looking for carry a fuckin warhammer. Not like a fantasy one. It's 2022 a long enough titanium framing hammer would do 🤷‍♂️

[@ke6ziu]

@@hulmad, wtf are you on about?

[@hulmad]

@@ke6ziu you said you want a heavy butt stock for smashing. Why not carry something built for the purpose of smashing. Plus you have a hammer 🤣

[@hiddentreasure2161]

The reason why we made this gun is actually because we would immediately drop it for an akm then watch clueless insurgents pick up the weapon and try to use it in a firefight

[@xxspringz564]

Big brain plays

[@eric97909]

Ima do what’s called a pro Royal Marine move

[@deeznoots6241]

The Afghanis would probably prefer to keep their century old lever action and bolt action rifles

[@bruensal7182]

@Noddiga norpan nigga he did a fucking joke

[@forwarddiscipline]

@@bruensal7182 are you black? Also, did you not see that dude was also making a joke? Are you joking? Wtf?

[@Jaytheradical]

"Now, taking the rifle apart is fairly simple: You just shake it hard enough, really."

[@Fred_the_1996]

100,000 subscribers with no Videos
Just drink tea near it and it will melt...

[@AndyG2276]

100,000 subscribers with no Videos I was gonna say, it was 50/50 just loading a magazine resulted in the thing falling apart. I swear inclement weather could result in a jamb. I bloody hated these things.

[@kostelskibuk9444]

😂😂😂😂😂👍

[@Grimmwoldds]

@@Fred_the_1996 Melts in proximity to tea? I think that's the American export model.

[@Fred_the_1996]

@@Grimmwoldds Maybe it's the russian version, there it's cold...

[@tianxiu]

As I was a kid, I looked at the picture and admired the British soldier holding that cool gun. How wrong I was.

[@Dreyno]

Yes. He was British.

[@ArcticVXR1]

@@Dreyno bla bla bla

[@airplanemaniacgaming7877]

@@ArcticVXR1 careful, he might try to send the IRA after you for that!

[@geedee1264]

they loved this weapon too cuz it kept jamming on the brits

[@captainjames4649]

@@geedee1264 the british army had FALs during the troubles

[@00die00991]

My dad was in the last generation to use the L1A1. After he left he had to do reservist training and during the range day they were handed these as the new rifle. No one there had used one before and the range officer didnt know how it worked or disassembled. When fired he said it was a total joke and everyone asked for their FALs back.

[@mickyj-tw4fq]

Totaly agree, I was royal anglian back in the eighties and carried the slr, Fired the 80 once, hated it, weak and definitely not squadie proof, way too much plastic, and I hated the bull pup design.

[@maninabush8449]

I know a guy who tried to shoot himself with one in Deepcut Barracks years ago, the weapon didn't fire and he had to spend the rest of night on guard duty knowing his rifle didn't work and he couldn't report the fault...

[@morgs456]

Lmao savage.

[@obama8934]

That would honestly suck

[@robertlavington1433]

Deepcut, what a shithole of a place. Can anyone remember that fat prick of provo sergeant?

[@cockpiss9260]

LMAO, fucking deid! Unlike that sentry.

[@andytheyiddoyidforlife7686]

Hence we all know SCUM NCO's and their killing squads executed recruits at Pirbright and Deepcut!!! They covered it up as we wouldnt send our kids to fight for them otherwise! Betrayed by our own! Facts matter!

[@Treblaine]

"You are, without a doubt, the worst rifle I've ever heard of." "Ah, but you have heard of me!"

[@drftr7735]

Treblaine nice little pirates of the Caribbean nod there m8

[@franksworld9922]

@@drftr7735 indeed

[@Canni666]

Just like me in school 😂

[@Treblaine]

@TJ Murphy th-cam.com/video/C5kGCwJ25Yc/w-d-xo.html

[@Christopher-po8pt]

haha worst ever, though that belonged to the Chauchat?

[@peterb2272]

I was there when it came into service. Problems I had: 1. Loosing mags and getting charged for it. We used to have Sgts follow running solders on the range to pick up their magazines. 2. Plastic melting when you apply insect repellent. 3. Burnt wrists when the hot cartridges got deflected down your sleeve. 4. If you put the gas plug in rotated 180 degrees, you could never get it out ever again. 5. after a few mags you burnt your hand on the front sling mount...which is pretty much exactly where you had to put your had when holding the weapon. 6. Every so often the cocking handle fell out. 7. Spring not strong enough to load the cartridge properly so you had to 'forward assist' when loading.
The very best thing about it was the scope. You could take an untrained soldier and they could hit a target at 300m first time firing the weapon. As far as we were concerned you could throw the shit away and replace it with anything you liked, as long as it came with the SUSAT. The weird sling worked brilliantly as well.

[@rockyl9120]

Watching you take the SA80 apart was a trip down memory lane for sure to when I was once a serving infantry soldier (23 years ago!). I remember the LSW variant being even worse for stoppages!

[@snowwalrus1851]

How to disassemble the SA-80: Fire it on full auto, and then just pick up all the pieces that fell off it.

[@Zlonk7]

I mean if you got one that wasn't manufactured in a factory with old ass machinery and an inexperienced workforce ( like most sa 80s made after the 80s and before the 2000s) this isn't really feasible

[@homijbhabha8860]

@@Zlonk7 I am pretty sure every ordinance factory owned by the MOD is shit, their lunch breaks are probably 3 hours.

[@Zlonk7]

@@homijbhabha8860 the specific one I'm talking about was an Enfield factory that was going to be closed in a year bu somebody decided to make ALL of the SA80 A1s for cost efficiency or something but from all i heard the ones built with working machines were more reliable than M16s in hot dry dusty conditions and functioned quite well. Also they were accurate as hell like the A1 models

[@stevenrfg0456]

I mean ur not wrong I did cadets for 3 years nd ma old mate zac he was a corporal nd he was teachin us how to fire it properly I can’t remember so we will say that but he fired 6 or 7 rounds nd the front sling point fell of nd the hand guard cracked down the middle

[@RUTGERMORTENSEN]

I can relate

[@justintimeboi31]

I find it ironic that many bad guns in real life are usually the best in games.

[@mrkennerz]

You're almost definitely thinking of the A2.... I've never seen the A1 in a video game

[@justintimeboi31]

@@mrkennerz yeah, you're right. I thought the one from Battlefield 3 was an A1

[@ABRAXAS829]

well to be fair, in the game(s) world, they are probably are made better with better quality manufacturing and flaws mitigated.

[@user-mj4pp9hi3p]

@@mrkennerz you could see this rifles in S.T.A.L.K.E.R series. And yes, they are shitty there. That is a main reason why they even added them, it was the most crappy NATO rifle in game.

[@MG-og6ql]

@@user-mj4pp9hi3p I don't agree with you as it's the only NATO side AR which can change its caliber from 5.56*45 into 5.45*39, which means you can carry less ammo as salvage them from other human or zombie corpses.

[@michaelmacdowall4228]

Ian is very gracious in his presentation. Trying to complement where he can but by the end you can almost hear how how badly he wants to give a big sign and conclude by saying “it’s all junk”.
Gotta Love forgotten weapons and the knowledge Ian brings to every breakdown.
Thank you for your content and Keep up the good work!

[@Caffeine_Addict_2020]

Compliment

[@mathewjones5520]

Points to note, we would not use a "cartridge" to remove the firing pin retaining pin, we use the combination tool that was also used for daily cleaning

[@Fishfire140]

Glad I'm not the only one who was saying "no you don't!" Lol

[@leinadj12ify]

We were told never to use ammunition as tools full stop - the combi tool was pretty good for all usual tasks

[@mathewjones5520]

@@leinadj12ify well that goes without saying....or so i thought

[@nellyprice]

Bootlace trick looked fancy too. But yup spare combi tool in a pocket

[@firestarteronyoutube5542]

@@leinadj12ify *is
we still use it (in cadet force) and its very handy for everything

[@ionikre]

british soldiers in battlefield like:
"hey mate do you have another trigger? mine dropped somewhere"
"here last one. you got spare barrel?"
"nope. i'll saw it half for ya"

[@peanutbutter5402]

"Hey mate, got an upper receiver?mine blew up"
"No. Throw the gun,its more accurate and reliable"

[@misterthegeoff9767]

and this is why the British army still practices bayonet drill :)

[@charliefoxmusic8744]

That's Very untrue, have you Never seen the M16 and M4? They probably jam more than the L85. I've used the L98A2 in my cadet force for multiple years and it's never ever broke on my watch nor jammed, and my brother that's been deployed to Afghan twice has never had it jam or brake. So why don't you stop saying shit you don't understand.
Edit: The L98A2 is basically the A1 without a modification. It's the Cadet GP rifle, not the L85A2...

[@peanutbutter5402]

@@charliefoxmusic8744 dude, the A2 is a good rifle. But the A1 is shit

[@Schimml0rd]

@@charliefoxmusic8744 did u realize this video is about a1? 😅

[@robertlehnert4148]

What genius did it take to make a bullpup 5. 56 that was HEAVIER than the 7.62 battle rifle it replaced?

[@stephen7571]

Obviously an inept person who has no concept of sensibility, or perhaps he didn’t care because he would not be lumbered with it.

[@bobbyjohnson7069]

The same idiots that ignored the fact that the British empire was made with functional firearms and hard men!
When you forget your culture is a GUN culture ( like the US and Canada) you create garbage like the L85a1/2
Funny that the UK special forces use M4 variants ( M4a1, C-8, HK416) as well as the British Police forces

[@deadlyviper_]

@@bobbyjohnson7069 SAS actually use the L119A1/A2, still technically an M4 variant as it's based off the AR-15

[@WYLad2024]

@@deadlyviper_ SAS don't use British guns, it's because if they are KIA or captured the UK government can have operational deniability.

[@deadlyviper_]

@@WYLad2024 If you're talking about what I just said, it's literally on their website
Edit: that weapon is also manufactured in canada

[@ShornDunlevy]

I know British soldiers who who served while the FN-FAL was the standard weapon and they were NOT pleased with the L85A1 when it arrived.
Although not officially sanctioned, soldiers were buying larger capacity magazines for the FN-FAL and I'm informed that a few people in UK special forces undertook the 'Rhodesian Modification' which made the British 'SLR' full auto.
Objectively, I don't know how many soldiers could make practical use of the (much) longer effective range of the SLR but they all told me that it gave them confidence in being to stand off and shoot, especially against an enemy toting a similarly long-range weapon.

[@Jonsse]

Having done my Finnish Military service with an RK62 and later watching this channel occasionally I've realized I was lead to a false sense of reliability of assault rifles. Not all are equal and the AK and it's inspirations are quite exceptional rifles.

[@BlatentlyFakeName]

But very unaccurate. Can't have everything :D

[@foxy126pl6]

@@BlatentlyFakeName not as bad as people think. About 10% less accurate than the us M4 rifle. Which is still really accepable, and you will be able to hit human sized tagets at up to 300 meters

[@ralk7048]

@@BlatentlyFakeName Think a former US soldier on a game gun review actually claimed that he felt the real-life AK system is accurate out to 400m and the perception of its inaccuracy isn't really that prominent. And that he's had to use one he found while on a mission and had no problems with it. He even specifically trained himself since he was young in using the AK system because he expected it to be the one firearm system that is ubiquitous to conflicts around the world.

[@bigtrillmiles]

I recently left the military and during my service I used the AK in it's multiple variant forms. During some joint missions with NATO and US forces we would get together in organized environments and just go about our firearms. There is a great deal of respect and appreciation towards what I'd say is the most iconic firearm in human history.
Just the reliability alone is massively attractive but coupled with the power and accuracy it's a dream to handle although there is a general misconception that the AK is not capable of reliably engaging at range that might just be due to how popular culture shows the gun.
Cheers!

[@jasoncarswell7458]

Ehhhhhh.... watch DownRangeTV's dust test videos. You're still carrying some old assumptions.

[@MightyElo]

L85A1 - "Oh Lord! Everyone hates me!"
M16 - "First time?"

[@noddytiddlywinks6873]

errrr yes we HATE it

[@thehumanmechanismmk2545]

MightyElosan By NO means did “everyone” hate the M-16. Thoughts on it were mixed at worst, but then it became loved once the a1 and cleaning kits were issued.

[@drmaulana2600]

@@thehumanmechanismmk2545 same as L85 when the A2 version is came out

[@ConstantineJoseph]

The M16A1 was fantastic. Full auto Cadillac of a rifle. Ex singaporean military here, the M16 although had some jams but were easily remedied and had a high accuracy and high rate of fire

[@dwizzleusa4202]

Not everyone hate the m16. Soldiers were led to believe that it didn't need clean or oil. They use to clean gun with kerosene to take off oil crazy. After the gun started to get oil and they changed gun powder no problems great gun m16.

[@JustAnotherUser565]

Y’know in the Movie ‘28 Days Later’ L85A1 was quite prominent and it made me say “Wow, it actually makes more sense that the British Army would be overrun while using these”. Funny enough, there was a scene that it ended up jamming on one of the soldiers.

[@danmorris8594]

Was thinking about that movie while watching this too

[@iakkubczechino2825]

@@danmorris8594 me too

[@danmorris8594]

@@iakkubczechino2825 their battle rifles might suck but they did/do have the best woodland camouflage

[@ogfloatzel4025]

@@danmorris8594 I would hope so. It doesn't have the best chances in a head on fight

[@sleepyrasta14820]

28 days later is a good movie

[@beartactical458]

A wonderful upload and thank you for going to the effort of making all of these.
I thoroughly enjoy watching these as I have fired several in the forces myself….

[@FlashHawk4]

MoD: "So, what parts of this rifle CAN we keep?"
H&K: "Uhhh...well, the flash hider, I guess?"

[@andyniblock43]

Once referred to as the Civil Servant, it doesn’t work and you can’t fire it.

[@ToHellOrUtopia]

Lmfaooooo

[@eval_is_evil]

Ahahahah brilliant

[@callumlittle5171]

I find it easy to use

[@deaconsyxx322]

Funny because it’s true!

[@thatdumbass8962]

Reminds me of American cops

[@Dreadnought_Toaster]

I know an ex BAF guy who was issued an L85 in Desert Storm. His first engagement with it he goes to fire and the firing pin snaps. He goes back to the vehicle, swaps the firing pin, returns to the unit. Shoulders rifle, pulls the trigger and the firing pin snapped again.

[@Zlonk7]

That's what happens when you make guns in a factory that is basically falling apart with old ass machinery seasonal workers and the workers who aren't inexperienced know they're gonna lose their job because the factory is shutting down.

[@BigboiiTone]

Yea and my uncle was special forces in East Timor

[@swagdog3943]

Oh yeah, did you hear about the recruitment of captain America to the u.s marines as well

[@Zlonk7]

@@swagdog3943 i mean this could've honestly happened with the first batch of l85s which were made in such poor conditions it is literally unbelievable. The first models had parts falling off and the gun rating like a can filled with paperclips. Later models were much much better and worked properly, even doing better than the M16 in some cases

[@MrHowardMoon]

My father was in Desert Storm and he jumped over a ditch and his magazine fell out. The L85A1 was awful, but the A2 fixed the issues and according to sources in the military, the A3 is really good.

[@lowfatmofat2152]

3 months into my Parachute Regiment basic training 1985 we switched from the SLR (FAL) 7.62 to SA80A1with SUSAT optics, the SLR was night and day the daddy.

[@duartesimoes508]

There is a very interesting book about this rifle published by Osprey Publishing, available in the "Weapon" Series. Worth buying, actually the fact that it was a troublesome rifle makes its history rather more interesting! You will learn that there was nothing inherently wrong with its design, the rifle was simply shoddily made and every part was poorly finished. HK came to the rescue and eventually turned the SA-80 into a good rifle, at a huge financial cost. But read the book, you'll enjoy every page as much as this video. 😀

[@ThePaulv12]

I did the maths, it was only 460 pounds ea to fix 200,000 of the effing things.

[@christopherdean1326]

There was one thing I heard of that was an inherent problem. The original trigger was heavy enough that, if the rifle was dropped on its butt, the weight of the trigger would overcome the spring and release the sear, firing the weapon.

[@old_seadog]

If you look carefully inside the various bits, you see the makers marks of Lego, Duplo & Early Learning Centre.

[@grahamb5930]

You missed Palitoy......

[@iapetusmccool]

If it was made by/from Lego, it would probably be more robust.

[@emperorfaiz]

Even Lego Duplo is far more reliable and it's made for toddlers.

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

I'm sure if they tried, LEGO could probably make a decent rifle.

[@old_seadog]

@@LonelySpaceDetective It would probably be much more reliable.

[@Boxscot49]

Damn video games fooled me into thinking this gun was good

[@theinstitute1324]

They do that with a lot of guns, really. Lesion's SMG? Ian has a vid on that too, the CS/LS2. Also not great.

[@os8mm178]

A2 that you’re thinking of

[@laurenbastin8849]

yeah it’s a different, improved model designed to better than the A1 - he literally talks about it in the video

[@danielmcfarland-lawson6477]

In the mobile game Natural Born Soldier, the L85 is a an absolute BEAST

[@theinstitute1324]

@@laurenbastin8849 Keyword is improved. But there are still many problems with the gun inherent to the design: It still doesn't do great in extreme temperatures, it still has a lot of places for dirt and dust ingress, it still has a horrid trigger for a bullpup, and it has ZERO capability to be swapped to a left-handed configuration - which almost every single modern Bullpup rifle has with VERY few exceptions since a bullpup held in the wrong hand can throw casings right at your body or down your shirt. The L85 may be a formidable rifle now, but it is not the quality, well thought-out and designed AUG or Tavor. I'd say the L85 in nigh any iteration is just about as good as the QBZ with higher quality materials.

[@rhannay39]

I trained on these when they first came out. I'm so glad I never had to use it in combat. If you look at the magazine release at 10:42 you can see that this one has a modified release. The bump behind the release pivot makes it harder to accidently release the mag. Direct pressure would push on the bump behind the pivot. It took a deliberate press on the ridged forward part of the release to drop the mag.

[@SteveSalisbury]

I used to shoot the L98 cadet version of this a lot as a cadet in the UK. The nostalgia is real with this video.

[@mark4lev]

We had a guy from the mod come out with some infantry to demo the cadet version as we were one of the first to fire it. The guy said with a totally straight face…..‘ unfortunately a different company was contracted to build the single shot cadet version, so it’s not built to the same standard as the army sa80!!!.’ (No I’m not). Takes some special skills to construct a lower quality sa80.

[@lniko333]

I can just imagine a British soldier meeting eye to eye with an insurgent with a clear advantage just to have the gun jam on the first round and get shot with a 10 year old uncleaned AKM.
Edit: I structured my sentence wrong. I meant the AKM was not cleaned for 10 years not that it was 10 years old. Sorry for the mistake boys hope this clears it up.

[@Solid_Gravy]

Your discord sucks ass

[@connor6461]

We have bayonets ya fucking W E E B and we use them

[@beefedupkronks4371]

@@connor6461 which one moves faster, bayonet or bullet?

[@timwilliamson1967]

Which is why basic training with the L85A2 includes forward assist after making ready.

[@GenMaj_Knight]

@@beefedupkronks4371 To be fair, OP did say the Brit would have a "clear advantage."

[@tw1n109]

The gun is so bad the SAS was like
“Nope we ain’t using it”

[@boimeme.]

SAS looks at this gun: _pukes_
SAS looking at the MP5: _smiles_

[@rufus501st9]

Venomade Cocktail *DEUTSCHE QUALITÄT*

[@boimeme.]

@@rufus501st9 *JA*

[@jameshibberd5134]

@@boimeme. pretty sure special forces can pick their weapon of choice. No wonder they wanted to do the hk slap

[@boimeme.]

@@jameshibberd5134 Afcorse.I mean they used it in that opertaion that involved a embasy (i forgot name of operation, i think maybe "operation Nimrod")

[@adamwilson2227]

As a former army dude. It always cracked me up seeing this in a British soldiers hands overseas. No disrespect

[@zappautomationltd]

I was in the armored core in the 1990s and took part in a modification program with the REME to add a cover for the mag release, so this modification was prior to the HK program.

[@myrddrral]

The STALKER series explicitly emphasizes its fragility, lack of durability, unreliability, and lack of precision both after the first shot (due to recoil) and once it heats up.
So even videogames picked up on its rep.

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

Well, some of them anyway, as the comments sections points out how this *isn't* the case in another popular game.

[@HeartTribe]

Cool!

[@Overqualification]

@@LonelySpaceDetective another *Modern* game

[@baskapat5239]

Not to mention it weights 5kg, I would rather pick AN94 or HK G36.

[@whoami1449]

Only reason i would ever picked this up in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is the scope. The moment i found any scope for any other weapon i toss it away.

[@SouthernFriedCyanide]

There's also the matter of the British Army standard issue bug repellant actually melting all the plastic on it....that was an interesting thing to hear about haha

[@joeh651]

Yup, can verify!
I think it was more the potency of the bug rep more than anything else…

[@mattheweast4392]

I heard that certain camouflage paints could have the same effect.
I sure that aiming the weapon only to notice that the cheek guard is melting inspired nothing but confidence in Her Majesty's troops.

[@Chungus581]

And the Blowpipe being so bad the Mujahideen didn’t even use the ones they were given after every single one missed. Then in the Falklands over 200 were fired by both sides only for 2 planes to actually be taken down.

[@HRHMANSOUR]

If you used the issued repellent then you didn't deserve to have working equipment you lowlife

[@BashingBambi]

The issue mosquito repellent actually ate through the magazine housing on my AR15

[@-Hesco]

H&K being owned by royal ordinance back in the day makes so much sense. Adds clarity to why they “hired” HK to rework the guns.

[@Miclantechupi]

I used this weapon for 18 years in the Navy and we never had any problems with it. in fact the RN kept using the A1 for a decade after Army units went over to the A2. In fairness this was probably because we operated them in an essentially clean environment and didn't cover them in sand and mud.
In fact rhe only notable problem I can remember is that the issue insect repellent caused the plastic furniture to melt. 😂

[@DepressyDuck]

In Air Cadets, we were told “There is 1 difference between the A1 and the A2. The A2 works.”

[@richieb7692]

When we used them in cadets, no one ever got through a 10 round mag, without at least one jam or misfire.
They were bloody horrible to use.

[@theroboticpotato]

We use the a1 to give other countries a chance against us

[@thebritishpanda6545]

@@theroboticpotato because they know they are doomed if we dont 🤣

[@callumhiggins8755]

RichieB76 l98s are better

[@Josh-se2sj]

@RichieB76 that'd be down to poor use (usually from poor cocking action), as you fire the GP single shot variant in cadets, not the actual L98A1

[@pocahontas6171]

“It just works.” - Todd Howard’s comment on L85

[@MausOfTheHouse]

Sweet little lies

[@katkrasher]

Jojo?!?!

[@roboactive]

It works just as well as Fallout 76.

[@remington-7008]

sounds like somthing mitten squad would say

[@nathanrandomized3593]

LoL

[@TheN1ghtbr1nger]

The A1 was absolutely shocking. I struggle to remember a time I emptied a single mag without a stoppage, usually an ejected case being launched back into the breach. When H&K made the A2 however it was a fantastic weapon!

[@Sneakyboson]

I find it incredibly hard to believe this passed military trials.

[@JurijFedorov]

I did. Spectacularly even. The "bribe the top commander" trials that is.

[@Treblaine]

The rifle was made to be adopted, it was not allowed to fail the trials, it had to be adopted for a "pump and dump" scheme to increase the perceived value of Enfield.

[@AndrewGivens]

I've *heard* that the very first examples were not as poor as the first full production batch was. Whether or not that's actually true?

[@SCP-hu8hm]

H&K: what's wrong with the A1?
British army: *yes*

[@justaregularguy4435]

SCP 096

[@dimwitsixtytwelve]

SCP 049

[@s.ballert]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@prizm3268]

SCP 682

[@ttvsleetz8926]

SCP 999

[@ironwolf56]

US - We've designed a mass-produced rifle sure to drive our infantry crazy
UK - Hold my pint

[@tygerb1982]

There is a time for tea, there is also a time for a pint!

[@laurenbastin8849]

yeah we drink pints more than tea

[@peanutbutter5402]

US: HOLY SHIT! M16 JAMMED!
UK:BLOODY HELL! L85A1 JUST BLEW UP!
soviet union: *laughs in AKM*

[@laurenbastin8849]

Jeffro 2000 correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the AKs appeal in its simplicity and easily manufacturable nature rather than its actual quality as a weapon

[@peanutbutter5402]

@Jeffro 2000 i have worked with an AR. In my experience as a soldier, reliability of a weapon outdoes anything else. ARs are fancy, and relatively unreliable.they have a relatively high probability to jam in full auto fire even in their M4A1 configuration. The AK really quiet deserves its fame

[@notmyname3681]

This is no Forgotten Weapon; it is universally remembered and hated by all who used it.

[@yuio823]

Maybe the British soldiers should switch to the Taiwan-US co-produced WOLF A1 "hunting purpose" rifles that fire the M855 ammo, at least according to many public tests the WOLF A1 rifles are pretty good either in terms of reliability or shooting accuracy

[@alexswan9061]

i have fond memories of disassembling a sa80a1 on exercise and pulled the rear cross pin out to far and launched the guide rods into a river

[@CFMLEAP]

I was doing a weapons familiarisation course and I managed to do that. The rod flew across the room and hit my mate in the head.

[@LtBdoesStuff]

apply safety, remove the magazine, cock the rifle and engage the holding open catch. Take rifle and shake it until obstruction clear. put the magasine back on, release the bolt, forward assist, take off the safety and carry on firing. simple

[@Zebsterr]

I shit you not, I was waiting for the host to do it when he started pulling it apart. Sadly he knows his shit and there was no entertainment :(

[@blakesheppard4313]

One exercise my mate forgets to put his hand over the but and nearly takes some girls eye out she had stitches for like 6 or 7 weeks

[@KumaBean]

🤣👌

[@dodgy_jammer281]

I remember going through basic and having to take this apart, watching the bolt fly out the back if you didn’t put your thumb over it was brilliant, saw it hit my mate and bounce of his helmet

[@danny1229c]

The spring rods yes mate been a long time but if i remember you could stop it if you took it apart cocked ? Its still kinda nice in a sentimental way seeing the old girl again tho

[@ieeeshan]

@@danny1229c the rear retaining pin has 2 degrees of 'out'. all the way out (2 clicks) and your springs ping out and across the room. one click out and it'll hold your springs in while letting you remove the TMH.
course it's easier to just pop your thumb over the back.

[@robertwoodliff2536]

@@danny1229c old girl....., with a bit of an STD?

[@danny1229c]

@@ieeeshan easier said than done when most of them were so stiff you had to bang them out with a multitool

[@CL-vz6ch]

You were meant to cup the end as you pulled the pin out. Or you could pull it quickly and catch the recoil rod assy as it popped up into the air.

[@drjamespotter]

Never had a stoppage with an A1, but had plenty of bits fall off them and one which had a burr on the receiver slot which sliced your index finder when you cocked it. One could not hit a barn door as the rear iron sight had 3 mm play in it.

[@alanrooney2887]

I have to disagree on accuracy. I never failed to hit less than 72/80 on an APWT using the L85A1 with iron sights. Funnily like you I never had a stoppage either :). The original cleaning was to lather it in ouil, then it was a dry clean, but I found the best way was to oil all the parts and then use a dry rag/cloth to take the oil off an leave a thin coating instead. The really funny part was the 'idea' that parts were interchangeable....lol, but the tolerances were so large, if you got a gas plug at the big end of tolerance and the foresight block hole was at the low end, the plug would just not go in :)

[@slammerf16]

I guess I was lucky with mine. It had the mag release shroud and was reliable. They did feel cheap and rattled a lot, especially if you had a lighter and some smokes in the pistol grip!
The best way to use them was dirty. Once they had a mag through them and a bit of carbon in the works they worked fine. The only jams I ever had were a couple of stovepipes which were easily dealt with by pulling the case out and a quick forward assist.
No, it wasn't the correct drill but it was far quicker than the whole mag off, check the chamber palaver which wasn't ever necessary (for me at least).
The good news was that a Muppet could shoot one of these, especially with the SUSAT. They were super accurate to 300 and pretty decent to 500 as long as it wasn't too windy.
Overall though, the best part of this weapon was the sling, whoever designed that was dead on.

[@zongtaoli7721]

I heard someone said:” fooking laser sights”

[@arandomguy8619]

*sledgehammer noises*

[@AndyWGaming]

Sniperboi9000 *EMP Was thrown*

[@xLaze]

Unmaned drones

[@subliminalmindfuck454]

xLaze GPS Satellites

[@arandomguy8619]

@@subliminalmindfuck454 fooking laser sights

[@averyoriginalname1379]

"So an AUG, L85A1, and FAMAS walk into a bar..."

[@TheMrDemonized]

Into a BAR

[@themeddite2935]

The AUG accidentally goes full auto, the L85A1 falls apart, and the FAMAS shoots all its ammo

[@maxim6088]

@@themeddite2935 and the FAMAS surrenders

[@mr.bobcyndaquil4214]

@@maxim6088 only because he knew someone from GIGN would come by with his big iron and liberate him

[@georgeaustoc9063]

And I hope they kill the L85

[@gregwhates5948]

Genuine story - 4 weapons were considered to replace the A1. M16, C7, AUG and G36. In trials the M16 came out in last place, AUG was rejected by the military top brass as looking too foreign (you couldn't make it up!). G36 and C7 were best and it all came down to price. Eventually, the money was never made available as it was deemed more important to save face and fix the rifle. C7 / C8 have now snuck in and are becoming more common with specialist units.

[@jbloun911]

Colt Canada is just making American ARs north of the border to save on labor costs. Rifle patents, engineering and specs are not from the maple leaf people. Colt is an American company.

[@DecSteele]

This guy could talk about paper and I would still be captivated

[@bodiee2532]

Declan Steele I mean, even paper fires better than this piece of junk

[@makotoyuki2199]

Declan Steele I bet he could talk about a printer and it’s still sound epic

[@harbl99]

He does book reviews, so...

[@xxspringz564]

Lol same

[@hali666]

"So whats your favourite gun?"
"The ones that go pew pew"
"So everything but the SA80?"

[@saiksthefox3544]

Or the War Machine. That thing haunts me in my bo2 zombies experience.

[@epauletshark3793]

What about the guns that go "bang!" "Thunk" and "BOOM!"

[@whiteeagle9769]

@@saiksthefox3544 Only good when you toss it into the pack a punch

[@saiksthefox3544]

@@whiteeagle9769 This is true

[@j4ff4c3ks1]

And the Breda 30

[@bmyattuk]

Yes, its truly astonishing that if you go to a factory, tell them to build a rifle, and tell all the workers that theyre getting laid off after the order is fulfilled, you dont get a quality final product.

[@alanrose4827]

As an engineer I was asked to comment on it in the early 1980s, I found 27 flaws from a cutaway drawing, later Hundgunner magazine wrote about 32 flaws having tried some, of course we were ignored! You missed the melting plastic and pop-open upper barrel sleave, burned hands. etc.

[@user-xg8yy7yl1d]

I swear this thing seems like they designed the aesthetics first and then just built around it

[@Sheridan2LT]

O gee oh my, it's not a pretty looking gun-- go fuck yurself aye

[@SalveSandWonk]

That definition also fits the Tvor bullpup.

[@sleepypotato7183]

It’s obvious the designer is a high noble that has top reputation and good background with zero practical experience :/ it’s definitely politics.

[@billythepigeon7345]

But it's fugly.

[@benhaver9737]

If that’s the case they failed on both points. I think the things ugly as sin

[@lewisbenzie845]

Here's the story: The British Government want to sell off the state-run
weapons factory: RSAF (Royal Small Arms Factory) Enfield. But RSAF has
no orders on the books. It's not doing any business. No private
companies are interested. Conveniently, the British government decide
Her Majesty's Armed Forces need a new rifle. RSAF has an excellent design
for a bullpup assault rifle. This design has been around - in various
versions - since the Enfield EM-2 of the late 1940's/early 50's. Every
time it looked like being adopted, the army chose a different calibre.
The EM-2 was .280 - but NATO decided to go with 7.62mm. Then they
updated the design (as the L64) in 4.85mm - but NATO decided to go with
5.56mm. When the government expressed interest in a new rifle, the
government contract cost of an M16 was around $300. RSAF announced that
they could supply their new rifle for $150, by constructing it from
inexpensive stamped metal parts. No other manufacturer could compete
with that. RSAF got the contract. Suddenly, with it's production lines
busy and big orders on the books, RSAF is attractive to buyers. It is
bought by BAe. (Of course it is... as the British government's
'preferred provider', BAe pretty much gets whatever it wants in the UK.)
But BAe has zero interest in keeping RSAF going. It announces that
RSAF will complete the contract, then BAe will close the factory and
sell off the land. Meanwhile, there are problems with the rifles. The
thing is - the original design was never meant to be manufactured from
stamped metal parts. It was intended to be a fully-machined weapon.
The components do not fit properly. They are too flimsy and easily
broken. Nobody at RSAF cares. They know that as soon as the last rifle
rolls off the line, they're out of a job anyway. The rifles are bodged
together as best as possible and shipped off for evaluation. BAe
collects the money for the SA80 contract. That's payday number one. The
British army conducts 'trials' on their new rifle - they call it the
L85. Good News, everyone - they announce the rifle performs superbly!
The L85 is issued. BAe closes RSAF and sells off the assets. That's
payday number two. Then they develop the land, and sell it off. Payday
number three. Meanwhile, reports are coming in of problems with the
rifle. Troops in the field are experiencing catastrophic failures and
stoppages. Foreign militaries who conduct trials on the SA80/L85 find
very different results from the British Army tests. In fact, overseas
trials are so bad that there is zero foreign interest in the gun. In
the UK, any force which has independent control over their own budget
chooses to buy the C7/C8 rifle instead: that's the Canadian-built
version of the M16. That includes the SAS, SBS, Para Pathfinders, and
(until they recently lost their independent purchasing ability) the
Military Police and Royal Marines. Basically anybody who gets a choice
- chooses to AVOID the L85. Eventually, problems with the rifle cannot
be ignored any longer. The weapons are withdrawn from service, shipped
off to Heckler & Koch in Germany, and heavily rebuilt. At the
time, Heckler & Koch was owned by: BAe. That's payday number four
from this deal. The rebuilt weapons are reissued - with a name change -
as the L85A2. They undergo trials with the British military. Good News,
everyone! The new, new rifles perform superbly! The cost of the
original weapons - the withdrawal from service - and the rebuild
program - mean that the final cost of each "$150 rifle" was actually
around $2,000. In all fairness, the rebuilt weapons have performed
well. They're (now) reliable, and are have class-leading accuracy. They
still have some drawbacks. The L85A2 is notably heavier than it's
competitors, does not offer ambidextrous controls, and because of it's
ejection action, can only be fired from the right shoulder. Which
means, if you're in cover, you can't just lean your left eye &
shoulder out to fire - you have to expose your entire chest & head.
Also - no matter how good you think the rifle is - it's a design
dead-end. The production line is closed, the machinery sold off. The
L85 will come to the end of it's useable life, and be replaced with
something else. There won't be an "A3". Hope that helps!
Source(s): Here's what the British Army "rumour service" has to
say: www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/SA-80

[@titytitmk2738]

>There won't be an "A3"
Erm...what? The L85A3 was announced in 2015 and will be in service within the next 3-5 years.

[@Turgz]

Titytit Mk2 You do know that the A3's plans is to simply lengthen the service life of existing SA80 rifles?

[@RobertDecker417]

Titytit Mk2 The A2 is one of the most reliable rifles in the world

[@manchurianatlarge]

lol in other words, the physical embodiment of peak-military industrial complex. I imagine we'll look fondly back at the F-35 Lightning in a similar fashion in 30 years' time.

[@tbrasc0]

That's very interesting. Was their any truth to rumour that many of the components were also manufactured from recycled materials? Which may explain some of the fragility.

[@cojuk7]

I never had a stoppage with the A2 variant, oh and your dust cover is open!!!

[@stevecoombs8409]

I signed up 1976 so my 1st weapon was the SLR kinda liked it .Did fire the .303 and that was slow but accurate .The SLR was too long for close quarter battle ,but if your enemy thought to hide behind even a 2ft wall shucks .At first I wasn't impressed with the cocking lever being on the right ! But you get used to it ......on the SA80 .....:rarely fired it in automatic .Check out Op Grapple 1 .We were there before the Cheshires or the Wessex ,nuffin written about our exploits .I did find myself in Sarejevo ,and came across the French Foreign Legion guarding the Airport . This weapon saved my Life ,no stoppages but I guess in desert conditions ......a different story.

[@alanwatts8239]

L85A1
rarity: legendarily bad
rate of fire: 630 (-620 if in desert environment)
caliber: 5.56 NATO
damage: 92 million pounds
perks: looks cool

[@MrBlack75922]

Is it better than mosin bolt??

[@plaguedoctor4411]

It looks gross man wdym

[@alanwatts8239]

@@musikalniyfanboichik AR 15 looks just as much of a toy as the L8 then.

[@Michael-bg3cu]

@@alanwatts8239 not even bro

[@brianj.841]

@@alanwatts8239 I believe the early plastic parts were made by Mattel, same as barbie dolls. Not sure about later models.

[@blackhawk4ful]

Meanwhile, at the HK headquarters, and engineer looks an L85 in a table:
walks around the table: "nein" strips a piece of the rifle
keeps walking around: "nein" strips another piece
does another round and stops:
"NEIN, NEIN, NEIN,NEIN,NEIN,NEIN,NEIN, NEIN,NEIN, NEIN, NEIN,NEIN,NEIN,NEIN,NEIN,NEIN," only the receiver is left
edit: i already explained but some people truly felt attacked over this gun's initial quality so ill explain the joke, is a reference to inglourious bastards when hitler yells nein (no in german) a lot, so please knock it off (btw thanks for all the likes)

[@ToxicSkull0]

Wtf is this comment

[@jameshibberd5134]

The reason we made the A1 so bad is because we knew hk would step in and help us, which means...
S L A P T I M E

[@necrobynerton7384]

I laff

[@therubicon]

Das ist richtig!!

[@jameshibberd5134]

@@emprahsfinest7092 yeah germany really took a turn for the better.

[@unizero_]

I _think_ this is the model my RAF CCF friends use in marching; well, it's a cadet model with the full-auto disabled, a cover over the scope, and I can't remember if they put cement down the barrel or not. Anyway, one of those friends asked if the school armory had live ammo, and the answer was yes.

[@ryanparker7258]

Ian the first thing I spotted was the front sling loop is on the wrong side of the rifle, second the magazine release catch was sorted out by putting on a shroud but the most annoying thing with the L85A1 was after stripping and assembling a few times was it rattled a lot and there was nothing you could do about it as it rattled when on patrol and trying to stop it was tiring on your hands and arms. On the upside I was a member of the first British Army battalion to use it on operations. The A2 which you also mentioned was heavier than the A1 by a couple of pounds. Apart from that another great video. Quick question have you done a video on the L1A1 and on the range with it? Many thanks from a British Army veteran. 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@gilanbarona9814]

I was once part of a rifle evaluation team for the Philippine Army. One of the weapons we evaluated was this L85a1 as a possible rifle for our Scout Ranger Regiment, which specialises in jungle warfare, or for our special forces. A Ranger team took it into the jungle warfare training centre in Tanay, well east of Manila in the rugged Sierra Madre mountains. They came back after three days into what was meant to be a month long patrol. The rifle had literally fallen apart. Needless to say, we stayed with the M 16 and ordered Steyr AUGs as supplementary rifles.

[@mambojambo7306]

Ya wana. Get the l85a2 my man its well better can handle all sorts of weather and terrain made by hechlor and koch

[@reimuhakurei2123]

thats because peenoise are really stronk rifle broke xd

[@philippinecircularflag2023]

Hell yeah 😎

[@finnthehuman6214]

@@reimuhakurei2123 stfu weeb trash.

[@spencerkimllido7327]

@@finnthehuman6214 no u

[@theramblingyorkshireman7877]

No mention that the cheap grade plastic would react with the standard issue insect repellent and melt!

[@dansaunders1655]

"Sir, my gun's melted" is the most phenomenally pathetic excuse I ever had the privilege of hearing.

[@MB-fe6ly]

Modernwarfare Dickson I’ve shot the a2, and have never had that problem in any position

[@breewaldenwomanizerforlife9341]

@@dansaunders1655 what

[@dansaunders1655]

@@breewaldenwomanizerforlife9341 subscribe to hbomberguy

[@Earthstar_Review]

DEET is a disturbing substance.

[@mikeyoung1363]

I used it 1991 to 1995. We hated it. It was a dust and grit magnet. So many jams, even after cleaning. On the range, on exercise. Always jamming. I thank god I never had to use it operationally.

[@Uajd-hb1qs]

I used these in the cadets and basic training with the RAF. I didn’t really think they were overly bad and they always hold a special place in my heart but now that I remember, we only ever were allowed to fire them in semi auto and not at too quick of a pace. I assumed it was for safety…. It was so they would jam wasn’t it…

[@DD-gz6zj]

You haven’t been in a combat situation, these weapons were the ultimate gamble of dead mans click.

[@Uajd-hb1qs]

@@DD-gz6zj Not a nice feeling for these things now

[@woden_the_wanderer]

Instead of shouting "STOPPAGE" if the weapon jammed or "MAGAZINE" whenever you ran out of ammo. ......
Us Brits used to shout ""WEAPON FELL APART" as this weapon disintegrated like a 1000 year old viking broadsword pulled out of peat bog as we simply ran into a new position and get onto our belt buckles

[@233kosta]

The awkward moment when the CHEAP airsoft replicas are more reliable than the real gun...

[@datalt7873]

Because clearly an airsoft gun functions like a real firearm.

[@233kosta]

@@datalt7873 That's just it! It doesn't, it somehow functions better :P
It's _not supposed to be_ more reliable or durable!

[@datalt7873]

@@233kosta So something that has plastic internals and a plastic shell that shoots plastic bb's at a very low velocity is a lot more reliable? Why arn't all firearms like that!

[@233kosta]

@@datalt7873 Actually they're mostly made of pot metal which is much worse than most polymers.
They are also built to a cost. Aggressively so. The primary design goal is to look the part. Function and reliability are typically a "nice to have".

[@datalt7873]

@@233kosta Well you said "Cheap airsoft" so we are comparing some Springer that can be purchased at a Walmart for about $15, sometimes coming with attachments like a painted red dot, and comparing that to a real firearm. Pretty sure a cheap Springer is less reliable for a soldier to use in combat/dress than an actual firearm.

[@gatorwhiskers9011]

It would have been nice to see the A2 with it, and have a visual on some of the internal changes.

[@Women_Rock]

Bullpup rifles have always looked like some sci-fi movie larp for modern militaries to me. I remember even as a child, I had GI Joe toys with miniature Steyr AUGs and I didn’t believe they actually existed in real life.

[@TsiolkovskySportingLocks]

When these were introduced I went from being a qualified marksman on the FN FAL to being unable to hit barn door in one easy move. Why? Because I was left handed and left eye dominant .... sign!

[@davidbanan.]

... Yeah, great move england

[@atinofspam3433]

Of all the faults, i cant understand why its right handed only.
Surely they could literally just mirror some of the parts to make a left handed version?
The AUG and Famas are both ambi bullpups. The desertech MDR is an albi bullpup. Being a bullpup is not an excuse for not making it ambidextrous. The only real solution the british army have at the moment is the Combat Shotgun and L129a1 and the L119a1 and L119a2 are all ambidextrous so if you are trained as a marksman or a marine u can use an ambi gun.
Still its a stupid problem to have

[@leinadj12ify]

@@atinofspam3433 Enfield did make left handed prototypes but MoD didn't buy them. They thought it easier and cheaper just to make lefties shoot righty

[@HRHMANSOUR]

Or maybe it's because you were a shit shot and then made up a cock and bull story about being left dominant. The only thing dominant was the dominant lack of influence from a father figure in your life after you father left you at a young age.

[@kw9849]

@@atinofspam3433 The intention was to make a certain number of left-handed rifles and distribute them as required. But then they just didn't to save money.

[@andmos1001]

Ah, the civil servant. It is unusable, and you cant fire it

[@pedromiguel748]

I was hoping Ian would make that joke...
I've heard it somewhere else that Brits used to call the SA80 like that, because it was unreliable, never worked and you couldn't fire it...
Cracks me up every time.

[@johnevans388]

@@pedromiguel748 The joke actually is - Ah, like a civil servant. It's unusable, and you cant fire it.'

[@somnius2519]

That joke's more effective than the gun itself will ever be.

[@lunchpin403]

The joke is "doesn't work and you can't fire it" not unusable

[@dragzgaming]

the joke is... none of you have probably ever fired it and taking the word of a American that also never fired it lol i fired it in cadets and all the brits loved it back then

[@Zeyr01]

I mean we didn't call it the civil servant for nothing. It doesn't work and can't be fired.

[@bigmal1690]

I still don't know how it got through the army's testing trails, and what was it being tested against, the problem we had with in normal conditions like walking around the streets of Ulster and parts basically falling of it was bad enough, can't imagine carrying it about a desert or in the snow

[@mikeforester3963]

5:56 At HK headquarters Oberndorf/Baden-Württemberg:
[head engineer] *Nein! Nein! Nein! Nein! Nein!* Alles raus! Alles neu!

[@MrGreghome]

Das was ein befel!

[@chedsalvia6270]

germans ultimately saved england

[@Ironforce7701]

Grüße von Oberndorf

[@mrijk1946]

FEGELEIN has du das gemacht bring mir die fegelein !

[@whw710]

the timestamp is 5:56 the irony

[@h8GW]

Now I know why I've never seen Captain Price carry one...

[@mrkennerz]

Well kid... Not only is he a fictional character, he's also depicitng an SAS Captain.... British special forces do not use British Army standard issue kit or weaponry

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

Your Dad no the sas used a American rifle not British

[@jackmoules159]

SAS Go To Weapon Is MP5

[@Phoenix-ps3zw]

@@mrkennerz r/woooosh

[@eyyze9897]

SAS uses foreign weapons such as H&K MP5, G3 so on from Germany, Austria, Belgium. Mainly Western European country’s is its variety.

[@thedgchannel4249]

A good summary, we so missed our SLRs!

[@emmacorcoran9974]

Haha. I had the misfortune to fire the Cadet GP version and the LSW Light support weapon (long stupid weapon, crow cannon,etc) the lsw's pretty accurate on semi auto mode..for the first 5 shots...

[@thepoonage100]

I was one of the Grenadier Guards who did the initial cold weather trials on the A2 out at Bolio Lake Alaska in 1997 (they do a mean burger in the canteen). We put thousands of rounds down the range with both the A1 and A2 and the difference in reliability was phenomenal. The A2 had a much lower stoppage rate than any of the other rifles it was tested against and night and day to the original.
Just not having the gas plug fly out after a few thousand rounds was a welcome upgrade compared to the A1, not to mention the beefed up recoil rod springs which meant you didn't have to forward assist constantly.

[@Crlarl]

Gas plug ejection is feature, not bug. When gun break, shoot gas plug at enemy. Is like... how you say... shit.

[@tinman3586]

Can you explain why the SAS had the choice of any weapon available and then skipped over the Enfield and went with the US M16?

[@Crlarl]

Tin Man
It's closer to the Canadian C7 than the US M16.

[@Jinjajamie]

Correct it was used in the Borneo Confrontation by the SAS, SBS. During the conflict the British captured early-model AR-15's from Indonesian troops, which had apparently been supplied to anti-government forces there by the CIA. This accelerated the process of getting M-16's.

[@Dagr8soldjer]

Tin Man I hear this all the fucking time and it is 100% incorrect. The SAS use whatever weapon suits their needs at the time. They used the mp5 most not the m16. I know it gets Americans off like crazy whenever they think that the SAS used an American weapon but the truth is that the British never had a weapon designed that was for the same purpose as the m16. How can the choose the British version if the British version didn't exist. The l85 competed with the m4 not the m16. The l85, just like the m4 would have been completely useless on the terrain that the SAS chose to use the m16 in. So to conclude, you can't imply that the L85 must be shit just because the SAS decided to go with an American weapon on certain operations instead of the L85 even though they both did different jobs.

[@d33b33]

09:40 "When HK redesigned the gun they replaced the [charging handle] with one that's kinda comma shaped. And the reason was, when it's fully cycled backwards, it acts as a shell deflector."
There's a famous exchange between a visiting US general, asking a British soldier about his L85A2, and getting a loud and unpolitical "It's a POS, Sir!".
The general, seeking some middle ground between the soldiers in front and the British brass behind him, racks the charging handle and remarks that, yes: that charging handle does cut into the hand a bit.
"Don't worry about that, Sir!" the soldier replies, "That'll break off soon!"

[@cowgoesmoo2]

LOL

[@yahsservant7509]

chuckles to self

[@carbon1255]

British soldiers may not have good equipment but their wit is razor sharp.

[@samkovisto3062]

That's hilarious. I cant even be mad at you about the coffee that sprayed out of my nose all over my phone screen

[@nejlaakyuz4025]

Carbon 12 British mainly fought using courage and wits, rifles are planes are just there to complement.

[@nellyprice]

I'm just glad you didn't break it whilst showing us.
Ahh happy memories of a SAA instructor

[@mrkristoff]

"Welcome to your yearly rifle test. Before we start are there any questions?"
"Yeah. What's the point?"

[@PhilSaint100]

I remember phase one training. Me "I'm left handed" the instructor "ha not anymore"
"You would normally do this with the tip of a cartridge" no, no you wouldn't.

[@martincarr1284]

Exactly. That's what your cleaning tool was for. You'd normally.do this with a round my arse what about cleaning after firing a fuck.load of blanks through it

[@jonathaniwachiw-toothill29]

Cleaning tool or bootlace

[@jackp492]

That's why I havnt joined, I don't think my squad mates want a kack handed lefty trying to cover them with this

[@georgejennery9264]

I’m left-handed as well, and once I went shooting and I was not thinking so I shot (with left hand shooting) and a hot shell went down my shirt😂 I’ve still got a massive burn mark 😂

[@endjfcar]

@@georgejennery9264 That.... ouch

[@slagged3713]

Why do I hear a brit yelling "FOOKING LAZER SIGHTS!"?

[@aye5264]

Foooking lazer sight needs a fookin charge again!!!!!!!!!!! Bastard

[@strynezh1649]

Haha I see you’re a man of good taste

[@gregbaranszky545]

*Focking lasa soyts*

[@ZacharySkan]

GPS satellites. Unmanned drones.
*fokin layzer sightes*

[@pearson935]

I'm sadly lost..