Originally posted by Retseh
Just the latest attempt to turn the SA80A2 into a rifle.
The SA80A2 is a decent weapon. It out performs almost any foreign in-service IW with regards to reliability. Those who run it down have probably never
fired one and/or are using reports or experience or the A1, which was a bit dodgy to say the least.
I confess I have never fired one,
Thought so.
but I have fired the Steyr AUG and the French FAMAS, and have only handled an SA80 - they all felt very similar, in that they were butt heavy,
especially the SA80 - which was very unwieldy and rattled quite noticably, I also managed to drop the magazine by accidentally brushing the release
catch against my body.
You obviously don't like the ergonomics of bullpup rifles. Most people are either love/hate about them. The rattling you report suggests that it was
an A1 you handled, as the TMH pins on some of these were a bit loose on contact with the main body, particularly the rear ones. Not really an issue
now. As for the mags dropping, again this was a problem for the very early A1s that had no mag release guard. the later A1s and all A2s have a guard
over the mag release, so again not a problem.
ts should just go back to the L1A1 with a 16 inch barrel and an Aimpoint or ACOG - I can't help but feel it would serve them better,
especially in Afghanistan in spite of the heavy ammo.
Why would a 7.62mm weapon with a 16" barrel serve us better? We're not having any significant stopping or range issues. The A2 is doing the job very
nicely, thanks very much. This is probably because we have decent length barrels on our standard issue weapons, as opposed to 14.5" ones as per the
M4.
The heavy ammo is a serious issue in the environments we're dealing with. A 16" barrel on a SLR will make rapid fire difficult to control, which is
potentially life threatening at close quarters such as those in the Green Zone. The SA80A2 on the other hand allows for rapid snap shooting at close
range due to the short overall length, and accurate shot placement at ranges in excess of 400m when required.