L42A1 Condition Question.

[chosenman]

My slings just look pretty in the chest occasionally being fitted for a photo I would never consider using one. Its also worth noting how many L42's are cosmetically poor but still have outstanding barrels. They spent a lot of time in NI being bounced off walls, rested on the top of sanger walls without firing a shot as well as countless exercises where one or two shots might be fired during a two/three week period the rest of the time its home would be a bench seat in the back of a FV432, or bundled under the L37 gunner with the rest of the section weapons with a bungee around them all. So, the next time your looking at your L42 and are wondering how that scrape down the barrel or nick in the wood got there the above are just a few insights to the life of your L42.

[Peter Laidler]

It's true that plenty of the rifles at the units didn't get a lot of shooting done (NI excepted of course) but at the training bases they were mercilessly flogged! You'd occasionally get a perfect barrel on an otherwise perfectly set up rifle that just wouldn't group. Mind you, likewise, you'd get a sewer pipe barrel that grouped like a dream. It was the L42 that spelled the end of multiple barrel gauges for that reason. The .297 must run freely under its own weight. It must group according to the EMER and CHS too. If it did all of those then even if it looked as rough as guts it was acceptable. (Apart from the usual rejects such as bulges and severe cuts of course)

[Strangely Brown]

They spent a lot of time in NI being bounced off walls, rested on the top of sanger walls without firing a shot as well as countless exercises where one or two shots might be fired during a two/three week period the rest of the time its home would be a bench seat in the back of a FV432, or bundled under the L37 gunner with the rest of the section weapons with a bungee around them all. So, the next time your looking at your L42 and are wondering how that scrape down the barrel or nick in the wood got there the above are just a few insights to the life of your L42.

We had one trapped between the hinge of a pig door in 1973, the lad who's weapon it was told me of this a weeks ago when I asked him if could remember the serial number of his L42. When he stopped laughing regarding the serial number he recounted how somebody had slammed the door shut (or tried to!) with the barrel pointing out.
I can now just recall the incident, for the rest of the tour IIRC he carried a non zeroed L1A1.
I believe in the 4 month tour as they were in those days there was only one range day (pipe range) to zero weapons and get shot of rounds which you could pull the bullet off with your fingers after so many loads and unloads.

[Gil Boyd]

Yes mate that is correct. Ballykinler ranges...............for the L42's certainly in PARA Battalions, which were only ever issued when we copped South Armagh, never had them in the cities, as they stood out too much from the crowd!!!!!! May have been different for other Regiments of course.

[Frederick303]

very interesting post. Thanks to all who posted. I have seen two incomplete rifles in my time, both Navy arms imports and wondered what the story was.

[Surpmil]

And all this while there were hundreds of No4(T)s in hardly used condition floating around the world markets, selling for $500 or less. While Mr. Moon was making stock sets for ENVOYS and Parker Hale had the Italians making all kinds of stocks for their sporter refurbs at what must have been very reasonable rates, considering the prices the rifles sold at.

A fibreglass handguard would have put a stop to the chipping, but then so would a wider band and groove.

There's a story around here of a German fellow who said, "I have worked in your [depot] for six months and I cannot understand how we lost the war".