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Legacy Member
Yes, the Bulleted Blank 'Masher' types I worked on. Has a vertical hole drilled to one side. & a pin fitted to prevent it unscrewing during firing. I can only recall that much later Barrels & you will remember this too. 7.62mm LMG barrels that were selected for blank firing. Had an E.M.E.R Instruction, to drill right through the barrel transversely. Fit a nut & bolt & stake the bolt shank ends. To prevent the nut unscrewing. & then paint the front 8" or so, Bright yellow, Paint' Heat' Resisting. Or as you say Paint, bright Yellow, High visability, Armourers Bicycle, Theft preventing, High Profile Colour!...
For those that are not familiar with this Modification. The bolt acted as a 'Choke' to restrict the flow of gas down the barrel. To a point where it slowed it, enough for some of the Gas to be tapped off. To drive/ cycle the action.
Later on in service. A detachable Blank Firing Attachment was introduced. So that the guns 'Normal' Barrel. Could be used on exercises for blank firing. The amount of blanks used on exercises, was deemed insufficient. To wear the barrel to any detrimental degree. 
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12-17-2014 03:45 AM
# ADS
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It's funny how you remember all of this crap isn't it? At 27 Command, one of the senior rank 'office wallah's' came in and asked for his bike frame to be sent through the system and to be painted a semi-gloss (but not satin) black. You did this by leaving the sunkorite unstirred and then painting a couple of thin coats so it went through the oven and came out quite shiny. If he'd been a half decent bloke, that could have been done. But as he'd stopped a little '..........take Friday afternoon off' wheeze a month or so earlier, it didn't work out like that. At the end of a busy day in the paint bay, bead blasting, phosphating and painting hundreds of BFA's, the instructions were rather mixed up. His bike frame and forks ended up bright yellow!
But alls well that ends well and to be honest, after he'd calmed down and turned down the painters suggestion that he would camouflage it with some khaki camo. pattern next time he was painting mortar base plates, he re-assembled it, it looked quite nice!
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Legacy Member
You old Bren gunners out there, ever hear or know of a left handed soldier being able to effectively use the Bren gun ? I am a south paw by the way 
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Hundreds of them. They do it in a similar way that cack-handers use the SA80/L85. You learn to shoot it right handed. There are two ways that the Army teach their cack-handers to shoot right handed. The easy way......... Or the hard way. But whichever way you opt for, you WILL learn
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Legacy Member
I don't think a leftie would ever make the mistake of shooting an L85 in the left shoulder a second time.
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Legacy Member
Basic Really, You can only Shoot a Bren/ LMG right handed. Why?.................Because the sights are on the LEFT!!!!!!......
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I've probably told this before but when I went on a pre introductory shoot with the then 'new' L86 LSW (said to indicate 'leaves squaddies worried' although there were other phrases to describe it), I made the mistake of firing the first burst with me left hand over the top pf the 'butt' as you would with an L4/Bren that we were replacing. The trouble was that my fingers were in the path of the cocking handle. And yes, it did hurt the little finger nail was torn away and it did bleed. And yes, I did get my own back on the safety supervisor some time later!
Are L86's still in the system BP?
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Legacy Member
I think there are some but the ones that are left aren't in use. I know there are some on the SAT ranges or should I now call it the dismounted trainer or what ever it's called. They were the guns deactivated in the 90's and then modified to operate like the real gun using computers, lasers and CO2 to operate the gun. I would like to know why they were deactivated (And proofed by Birmingham PH) when they must have messed with the deactivation to place lasers in the barrels etc. Its a shame they will never be sold off.
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Legacy Member
Originally Posted by
Brit plumber
I think there are some but the ones that are left aren't in use. I know there are some on the SAT ranges or should I now call it the dismounted trainer or what ever it's called. They were the guns deactivated in the 90's and then modified to operate like the real gun using computers, lasers and CO2 to operate the gun. I would like to know why they were deactivated (And proofed by Birmingham PH) when they must have messed with the deactivation to place lasers in the barrels etc. Its a shame they will never be sold off.
I was informed (By a collegue in service) that the eventual fate of the LSW's. Was that they were to be converted into Semi-Auto Only's, (Some remaining as LSW's. Most to be converted into rifles) to go to the Cadet force units. So that they were not scrapped, & at least went on to provide a useful/ supplementary life to this Arm. Cadets are always at the bottom of the scale equipment & weapon wise. So my thoughts were, this was at least something sensible that the M.O.D had sanctioned? How true this is, I cannot tell you.
BP, I have one the L85A1 SAT Trainer rifles in my collection. The barrel is SOLID steel & it has the Air Piston & some electrical gubbins still in place. The Air feed tube is also present. I have a notion to rig up some sort of air operated system with small diameter pipes & actuator switch to operate the Air to attempt to get it 'Working again...Time is always against Me these days though. & the reality is, it will probably not happen! but the spirit is willing!......
The internals of the trigger Mech housing, bear no relation to it's real firing big brother though. & it could not be modified to fire live.
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I have seen plenty of former LSW trigger mech housings and presumably upper bodies converted into L98A2 Cadet GP rifles with a small plate/weld over the former rear grip bolt hole. Also, some of the former L98A1 Cadet GP trigger mech housings are now in service as the base for new L85A2's. You can only tell them now by the little bar-out line through the L98 A1 that used to be on some of them.
I don't have any dealings with them/my sons former school CCF any more but they're more than happy with the semi-auto rifle. They do have 3 LSW A2's now though.
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