Cadet rifle

From Airsoft Community Wiki

The L98A1 Cadet General Purpose Rifle (also known as the Ensign) or GP for short is the cadet version of the British Army's L85 assault rifle.

Although cadets can fire any weapon under the correct supervision it was decided to procure a "safer" weapon for general cadet use which mimics to a great extent the current issue rifle of the British Army.

The GP is purpose built version of the L85a1 rifle. Changes include:

• No gas parts. The rifle is bolt action (single action ie. it must be cocked for each shot).
• Removal of the change lever (otherwise known as fire selector) and intermediate sears within the Trigger Mechanism Housing (TMH).
• No flash hider, this prevents the fitment of the bayonet, an item not included in the equipment scales or training in the Cadet Forces (RFCA Policy).
• Due to it not having a flashhider the rifle can not fit a blank firing attatchment (BFA) so the minimum safety distance when using blank cartridges is 50 metres (10m with a BFA).
• More ergonomic cocking handle which is moved to the front of the receiver by use of an extension arm, which is easier to cock than the L85a1 type.

The cocking handle used on the L98A1 would be impractical on the L85 because the extra movement created when firing would create unnecessary strain on the firing mechanism lowering the life of the rifle, the movement would also create extra recoil making the weapon less accurate.

Alongside the L98A1 Cadet GP is the Mk8 .22 Cadet rifle. Based on the famous Lee Enfield .303 (used by the British Army before the intoduction of the SLR) but chambered for the much smaller .22 caliber round. The Mk8 is the basic shooting rifle used by many cadets and a full Mk8 Weapons Handling test is required before being allowed to shoot the L98A1. The thrid rifle used by cadet forces is the L81A2 Target rifle which is a 7.62 bolt action target rifle which is used on long range cadet shoots.

Current development plans for cadet shooting involve the full retirement of the Mk 8 .22, L98A1 (5.56) and the L81A2 (7.62). The L98A2 will replace the A1 varient, a .22 conversion kit will also be available for the L98A2.