British Army 7.62 mm L1A1 Boresighting Device

[nzl1a1collector]

With a big thanks to bigduke6 I've finally managed to get the Boresighting device for the L1A1 Rifle. Here's a display I did today with it. Instructions for boresighting are contained in the User Handbook and the 1975 edition of the Infantry Training Pamphlet.

The boresighting bracket is fitted to an American M2 Tripod.

Enjoy

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

That was the original incarnation of the device. I'm sure that Tankiue will chip and agree that the inserts were a load of trouble so......

The final version was similar but instead of the inserts etc etc, a sub calibre barrel was used and the TMH was lowered to allow visual access from the rear. All parallax was eliminated, the useless mirror and cropsswired muzzle plug were binned and everyone was happy. I seem to recall that the mirror device bit was soft soldered into an old shell case and it came from something else.

[Gil Boyd]

Nothing like a good old Land Rover rifle holder to hold it steady

[browningautorifle]

soft soldered

old Land Rover rifle holder

That would make it a precision instrument then?

[Peter Laidler]

Worth noting that the SUIT sight pouch was a very useful bit of kit. You could keep most things in it. Until recently we had a load of SUSATs stored in them. Yes, very useful. I don't remember the fasteners being like the pouch shown though.

Did you ever use the boresighter thing Gil?

[nzl1a1collector]

Now I'm going to have to get another set up so I can have the two versions side by side. At least I have a spare subcal barrel I can use.

Is there any paperwork covering the alterations for the Mk.2 boresighting setup?

The pouch is the very first version from the Pattern 72 nylon webbing. The sight fitted is the L2A1 SUIT Sight.

[Peter Laidler]

I'm not sure that it was called the Mk2 version. What happened was that the kit came as an assembly and replacement parts were not easily available so the kits fell by the wayside through lack of use. After that, there was a suggestion (called GEMS) doing the rounds that used a spent case with the primer and pocked bored out but you still got parallax at the muzzle. The sub-cal idea camwe on stream and the barrel was an available spare part via Ord so that's what we used thereafter.

Is that about right Tankie. Feel free to correct me re the sequences. The good thing about the kit was that you could do it in any 15m(?) distance/space such as a warm classroom

[tankhunter]

I'm not sure that it was called the Mk2 version. What happened was that the kit came as an assembly and replacement parts were not easily available so the kits fell by the wayside through lack of use. After that, there was a suggestion (called GEMS) doing the rounds that used a spent case with the primer and pocked bored out but you still got parallax at the muzzle. The sub-cal idea camwe on stream and the barrel was an available spare part via Ord so that's what we used thereafter.

Is that about right Tankie. Feel free to correct me re the sequences. The good thing about the kit was that you could do it in any 15m(?) distance/space such as a warm classroom

Sorry for the late response Peter. I knocked a cup of Coffee over my laptop a couple of weeks ago. & yes, it is buggered! Writing this on my newly delivered an hour ago. Laptop, via house & contents insurance!

Yes, you are quite correct with your comments above. When I left Warminster, there were TWO of these borsighting MkI aids. Sitting on the dexian shelving, in the Armourers Shop. They never left those shelves in the 2 years I was on attachment there!.........I have one in the Collection myself. Acquired approx. a year ago.

[bigduke6]

Nice display and certainly looks far better with the rest of the kit than on the top of my cupboard, can see you have been busy with the Brasso like you said.

Gil, the Land Rover SLR holders are still available seen two on ebay just before I sent it, I thought the leather on the holder let it down so had a look to see if you could get them.

[Gil Boyd]

Designed to hold your rifle in peacetime on rough roads, take it from me they were quickly binned from Landrovers in places like NI where if you were dicked as the driver, you cuddled it tighter than your wife and kept it very close at hand, especially in open topped L/R's with no doors either.

Peter,
the laserboresighters should be banned, they are pretty useless, under powered for use in daylight on a 25m range, but also loose inside their manufactured tubes which didn't help. Definately a Friday night job from Shenzhen valley
Went back to the old favourite 3' x 3' white sheet of paper