I was only ever issued a couple of 8L series. Not much really because they were held for the rifle team use. Just because they were new. Not extraordinarily accurate. Most of my rifles were much earlier series. I'm sure they had the lightening cut. It was right under the carry handle when it folded. Some things changed like the charger cutout inside the receiver for the thumb, but the cut we're discussing was there. I'm sure of it. I understand the earlier version had a bit different cut but are you only concerned about the simple cutout? Or the presence of a cutout period?