L96A1 manufacturer

[chosenman]

I seem to recall that only PARTS of the old L96 were sub contracted out. And this was said to be the problem. AI didn't have full control of the quality or the material or the machining and finish of the out-sourced material. Won't say any more because............ But the flaws proved to be, er........, catastrophic. So just make sure that if you own and shoot an L96, the serial number is suffixed by the letter C.

Notice how judicious I have been with my reply? Anyone else giving an answer ought to be as careful

Well, finally got to the bottom of the "C" gate. Back in November Peter dropped the above (to an L96 owner) bomb shell. I in turn checked my rifle and to my horror found there was no "C" suffix after the serial number. I enquired further to Peter and he replied:

Re: L96 "C" suffix
"It means that the rifle has had a new internal bolt locking ring made of tougher material, the body has been minutely crack tested and generally speaking, a new bolt fitted but not necessarily"

I in turn emailed Accuracy International who's response was impeccable, I received a call from them within the hour asking for several detailed pictures of the bolt, bolt shroud and firing pin. The pictures went and I received a mail from Dave Caig, founder member and design engineer of the L96 who confirmed the bolt had received the safety upgrade of which the "C" stamp signifies, however they were stumped as to why the stamp hadn't been applied. He understood my concerns and recommended, when convenient for the workshop to bring the rifle to them for a stripped inspection and test fire.

Monday just gone was that day, and what a day!!!!!!! I attended their Portsmouth facility whereby I got the full guided tour before arriving back at a technician's bench where my rifle was stripped. The rifle was most definitely the celebrity as everyone wanted to meet her and lay a hand on her as if she had heeling powers! A further treat was the arrival of Dave Walls, co founder of AI and design engineer of the L96. He made the trip especially to see the 44th rifle he personally built in his garage thirty years ago.

It was at this point it was explained how and why the original failures occurred. The original PM rifles were manufactured with a shorter firing pin which was concealed within the shroud at the back of the bolt. The firing pin was a component manufactured by the outsourced engineering company and made from an unsuitable steel. The failure occurred when the firing pin snapped at the rear within the shroud so undetectable by the firer. The spring in the bolt carried the firing pin forward of which then protruded from the face of the bolt. As the bolt picked up the new round of ammunition and pushed it into the chamber it detonated before the bolt handle could be locked.

Dave explained the first fifty rifles he produced were specifically for the Special Forces, my rifle being the 44th places it firmly in this batch and goes some way to maybe explaining the lack of the "C" if it was on operations somewhere.

The upgrade was quite simply the removal of the existing shroud & pin from the bolt and snapping the new one on, job done. No crack testing, no replacement bolt locking ring or new bolt. Peter, you were misinformed.

The test fire was done by an ex British sniper of some notoriety who, I am extremely honoured to have had behind the butt of my L96!!