Now thats a scope, Enfield L 42 IWS

[RJW NZ]

I just bumped into this at the Rifleman site, wow.
No eye relief there.

http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Enfield_Rifle_No.4.htm

I'm assuming thats infra red. Does anyone know how good the field of view looks?

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[jmoore]

I'm assuming thats infra red. Does anyone know how good the field of view looks?

You would assume wrongly! It's primarily a visible light intensifier. It will pick up infrared as well, but it's a passive scope that doesn't need an artificial lightsource for most outdoor work.

Here's an A/N PVS-1 view which is pretty much the same scope but different details in construction.

(Scope was on it's side when the photo was taken)




(I believe this was a daytime photo with the protective cover in place, hence the edge distortion.)



If you go to the old "L42 Photos" thread you should see some more pictures (or links) of the British version. (No views through the unit though!)

[jmoore]

Link here:

L42 Photos

Yah, Post #1 has a link to Brian B's Photobucket album, which has this picture within:



Have yet to search through the whole thing, but there you go. Peter Laidler's had some detailed discussion on the subject in the past several years in this forum as well.

ETA: see also Post #8 (Thanks, Ian Driver) and #28 (Thanks, Brian B).

I'm sure Badger will have some good linkage to the MKL and such. When he awakes!

[Peter Laidler]

There's a semi technical article about them in the Knowledge Library 'wot I writ' a couple of years ago.

As for the eye relief, well, to keep it short and quick you have to put your eye up to the neoprene/rubber ocular shutter in order to open the flap. But once you have, there is still an inch or so of eye relief inside the shutter to allow for recoil to take place. The IIW sight (shown) didn't have reputation for eye whacking!

Can anyone out there in forumland identify the bracket attached to the IIW sight in #3 above? Surpmil has the L42 / IIW sight interface mounting brackets and Brian at BDL has the user handbooks and training manuals. I think this is the only tech stuff out there

We had a load of the AN/PVS's originally but they were a bit of a handfull to zero as the zeroing mech was done on the mount braclet which made it a bit suspect but the RP SS20 type above had the zeroing mech internally on a moveable graticle plate. This made the sighst VERY expensive. Anyone know/ideas the auction price/value of these now

[jmoore]

Last IIW sight I remember for sale in the US was a few years back. Possibly the one in the MKL, but regardless it was with an L42a1. The whole deal was US$7000 give or take. I had just bought an L42a1 and was knee deep trying to scarf up Remington Lees and such, so it got away. Seem to remember it coming up twice, once about $1000 less than the other, but I didn't take notes.

The US A/N PVS scopes to which Peter Laidler refers are the A/N PVS-2 models. Rather more common than the -1 in my post above.

---------- Post added at 05:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:06 AM ----------

Can anyone out there in forumland identify the bracket attached to the IIW sight in #3 above?

This may be a good test of forumers' "search-fu" skills, as I think the question has been raised and answered previously.

[Longshaor]

Last IIW I saw (a couple months ago) was an L1A1, tested and guaranteed to work, complete with hard case and all accessories for 950 pounds.

Peter, how did you mount the AN/PVS-2 to the L42? The external T&E mechanism doesn't appear to be compatable with the L5A1 IWS mount - or am I doing something wrong?

[Peter Laidler]

Youre right Longshaor. the AN/PVS mounts weren't compatable so the sights couldn't be fitted to L42's. Even if you fitted an AN/PVS sight to the L42 IIW rail you couldn't zero it.

Someone told me ages ago that a lot(?) of ex Israeli British IIW Rank SS-20 sights came on the market in the 90's or so. So they're out there....... Mind you, if they've been used, the tubes will be getting old and tired now but the AN/PVS tubes are said to be interchangeable

As a matter of interest JM, are those drums on the top, infront of the battery housing and on the left side part of an internal zeroing mechanism that's fitted to the AN/PVs1

[jmoore]

As a matter of interest JM, are those drums on the top, infront of the battery housing and on the left side part of an internal zeroing mechanism that's fitted to the AN/PVs1

Yup, functionally, it's more akin to the Rank Pullen IIW than the A/N PVS-2. Even the electronic bits are different. The -2's tube is supposed to be an upgrade, but I've never been able to tell any practical difference. I don't have -2 currently, but maybe one day I'll do a pull apart to show the changes.

[jmoore]

AN/PVS-1 guts for PL's dining and dancing pleasure:

[Peter Laidler]

Looks pretty similar to the internals of a RP-IIW to me. Seems strange that the AN/PV 1 had an internally moving graticle plate while the -2 had the zeroing on the mount, just like our SUSAT sight. Thanks for that