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When you go to the Falklands you (used to) do a 30 minute famil/conversion course on the Steyr rifle because that what the FIDF used - no one had any problems being anything less than proficient on it after half an hour.
When the Irish Army teams come over to do Cambrian Patrol they use L85âs instead of their Steyrs which they leave at home. They are proficient on them after half an hour - no dramas, no NDâs, no broken riflesâŚ
Itâs almost as if this stuff isnât remotely as difficult as some like to make it out as - though whether that because they are a bit speshul and actually do find it difficult, or because they are big timing saddos who want to make it look like witchcraft/nuclear physics so that others will think them clever, I donât knowâŚ
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Iâm afraid youâd have me down as a âsaddoâ because, well, my life used to depend on it and now itâs muscle memory.
P.S. I always thought we shouldâve had the Steyr AUG after seeing some Aussieâs clearing them in the armoury. Obviously, Iâm on the AR15 derivative bus now.
Agreed - but big difference to those proficient with other wpn systems compared to total novices.
I used to train / refresh personnel for stn shooting teams using 3 different wpns.
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Because we only do half a day of weapons training every two years, I see first hand how people whoâve only had that since Halton struggle: having to think through every drill, etc.
I always thought that would be me when the new weapon system comes in, so very relieved itâs going to be AR15 drills Iâm already familiar with and that weâre getting practise in with them in advance of the changeover.
Was going to highlight that in a similar way. If you know one type of IWS, then converting to a different one is easier than learning from scratch due to transferable skills and identical concepts.
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Donât tap forward anymore
The L85 Pamphlet says that because of the latest round of upgrades, a Forward assist is no longer required
Only problem is We donât have the A3 yetâŚ
We have so many stoppages
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The forward assist has supposedly not been necessary since the A2 upgrade in the early 2000s.
The new stoppage drills must help clear all those stoppages youâre having much more quickly though, right?
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Tbf I canât really tell the difference between the onws I was taught on the L98 in 202(2?), and Iâve not had a stoppage yet (other than empty mag)
and the fact we donât put on safe for stoppage drills I think is down to the whole combat aspect of it, is it same for you in the RAF reserves?
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It will be the same for reservists as all SP are taught using the SA80 pamphlet, rather than the L98 specific pamphlet.
The reason we apply the safety catch is because we arenât training for combat or lethality but for progression and practise to refine a skill, and so in the eyes of the SASC the safety becomes paramount of importance.
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Aye exactly as I thought,
Also you still havenât sent me your dissertation ya muppet
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Standby one, caller!
I knowâŚ..
From firing the prototype SA80 / LSW & a cut-down barrel version for APC use, L85 (had my âownâ + SUSAT) to the L98, I think I can manage. 
I need to tweak some of the trigger mechanisms of the L98s we get issued - the take-up / creep is dire! Before anyone panics, no disassembly of the mechanism or stoning of the sear (like the Gurkhas used to do!) - easy-peasy. 
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Was this the carbine version or a different variant?
Canât remember the exact details- got photos in a box somewhere.
It certainly had a much shorter barrel - & I think it had a non-standard vertical handgrip.
All the prototype versions were machined to very high standards - we (couple of DS + 10 baby officer cadets) fired thousands on rounds on one day on the range - not a single stoppage! No speed loaders either - thumbs ached for days!
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Aye I feel your pain, tried using my regular lighter after this Weekend Ex, immediatly went to get a simple push button one
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L22. Still kicking around in a few places.
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Tankies, AAC, Marines and drivers for IFVs love them, represent their low storage capacity and true last stand for those whose main job is to stay IN vehicles
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RM hated them, simply because they looked crap, and werenât AR-15 derivativesâŚ.
Others, who werenât so obsessed with how they looked, thought they were great once they went to war - they could put reasonably effective fire out to 400m+ which is a significant advance on the submachine guns that had been variously issued prior to the L22 coming into service.
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Apparently new Iranian boss man is even more aggressive than daddy and was the true string pullers behind the scenes.
So buckle in for the long run