Posted on 07/05/2002 2:24:39 PM PDT by 45Auto
Soldiers in Afghanistan have reported three faults with the army's new SA80-A2 rifles, the Ministry of Defence say.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon has told troops he would investigate claims the weapon misfires badly, the same problem suffered by the gun it replaced.
Armed forces minister Adam Ingram told shadow defence secretary Bernard Jenkin that three formal equipment failure reports had been filed from Afghanistan.
He said: "The SA80-A2 is operating in a very difficult environment in Afghanistan with both dusty conditions and extremes of temperature.
"In an operational environment any concerns are treated very seriously and a specialist team on the ground is investigating these reports as a matter of urgency."
The original SA80 was suspended from the Nato Nominated Weapon List in 1997 after soldiers experienced problems such as jamming in extreme weather.
Following a £92 million modification programme, the revised weapon was declared one of the best in the world by the MOD and was introduced earlier than planned for use by troops in Afghanistan.
Nope! There are many guns I own and many more that I wish to own. However, if I needed to go into combat, I'd want my trusted AK-47 and my M1911A1 as my sidearm. There is nothing better.
Yer not gonna win a war if the weapon can't hit what you aim it at.
OTOH, the best weapon ain't gonna help if you're not trained to use it proficiently.
There's some sound logic behind the Civiliam Marksmanship Program.
Well, deep down inside, we all know that it would be way more expensive to build than, say, an M-16. But it is very reliable and a work of art in its own way. I know, work of art doesn't cut it, but reliability certainly is a factor. Ask a few of the folks that got the earlier version of the M-16 what they thought of it. I know its a much improved rifle now, but those early ones, particularly when you're being shot at, are hard to forget.
That's not to say that I wouldn't have an AR - its pretty handy and easy to shoot. Its just that the caliber isn't all that powerful. There's a reason that hunters call the .223 a varmint caliber. :^)
That is a fact.
I am old enought that I was trained on the Lee Enfield Bren, Sten, Browning 9mm semi-auto pistol and 38 cal S&W revolver.
The current standard Canadian light infantry rifle is the C7A1 which is a more rugged version of the M16A1E1.
But my first love is the Lee Enfield.
My first rifle was a 22 Cooey but I didn't have it long before my my dad confiscated it when he caught me using it to try to ring a church bell (in a steeple, from the ground).
My FNFAL is my combat arm.
My Garand is my competition arm.
My AR-15 is shiny and pretty.
My Uzi pisses off antigun people.
In the sh*t I would go to my FNFAL and my Glock model 34. (With that Glock I can put a new forehead on a man at 75 yards with no real effort).
I have one of these, an Ishapore from 1963. Simple, rugged, with very accessible parts due to the open-to-the-sky breech. Fairly accurate as well. (Sure wish I knew what was supposed to be in this plastic tube hidden in the butt compartment, though.)
"The old Department of Civilian Marksmanship is the only government program I ever liked. Now that it's the CMP, prices have gone up but you can continue to buy whatever is available which, at the moment, isn't much. I found out that I may be one of the last ones who will receive a 1903A3 because I think they're all gone.
My opinion of the Garand is that there are too many things that can go wrong that effect accuracy. Anyone liking the rifle should do it for nostalgia, but they're delusional if it's anything else.
The M-14 is a fine weapon but I don't want to carry it too far.
The early M16's killed a lot of our guys. The latest ones are as fine a rifle as we can get. I wish the cartridge was a little bigger.
I wish they would have redesigned the butt plate on the FN-FAL. The thing can hurt. I'm not sure of the accuracy.
We should have adopted the AR-10 in 6.5.
That would be the mystery tube.
6.5 is a nice, mathematical dead-center middle-of-the-road compromise between the .223 advocates and the 30 cal. traditionalists.
I prefer the oomph of the .308 myself, but for a compromise I'd pick the .243 Winchester -- just 'cause I like the sound of the name -- and you can still tag a deer with it, something I wouldn't use a .223 for.
"That would be the mystery tube."
Haven't seen it, but that ought to be it.
BTW, the way I was taught was to leave the magazine in place and to reload from the top without taking it out. The magazine is made removable for cleaning purposes only.
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