hi guys just wondered if anybody here has one of these rifles.for those who arent aware these are cadet versions of the british sa80 which have been imported in small numbers to canada.id be interested to know if anyone here has one so step up and post please
L98a1
- Thread starter bluestratus
- Start date
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
Yep. But I bought mine in the UK.
My understanding was that an importer in Canada imported about 20, but they were all then re-exported back to the UK. All the ones knocking about in Canada (except for mine) as far as I know are 12(3). Those were imported by a dealer in BC who converted them. There might be some other L98A1s in private hands in Canada, because they put them in the FRT, but I've never heard of any.
Even in the UK the L98A1 is hard to find, I've only ever come across five or six for sale. A very small number of cadet forces at large schools actually bought their own, and those very rarely come on the market, the RO rifle club had a few and those were sold off when the factory was closed. Mine is the one they used at arms expos on the stand. There a few others that were bought by dealers, but RO would only sell to prohibited weapon dealers, so obviously they tended to buy the selective-fire version.
What I'm waiting for is the surplus sell-off, they made 380,000 but the regular force size is now only 200,000. The MoD won't sell the surplus A1s at the moment, but they will eventually. Since the barrels can't be imported into the US anymore, that means they'll probably be sold as scrap unless some enterprising person in another country buys some up and puts a semi-auto lower on them.
To be honest, if you get your hands on an L98A1 it's basically a wall-hanger because spare parts are non-existent. That's why I want them to sell off the SA80s surplus!
There was a big scandal a few years back where it turned out some dealer was giving kickbacks to the MoD and he got all the surplus contracts, so the MoD now won't sell surplus guns, only ammo, so that's a big sticking point but they've got to get rid of the SA80s somehow.
Presumably the L98A1 at some point will be replaced, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. The law was amended in 1996 so that cadets can use service weapons, so a lot of them now go to military bases and shoot there with the real deal, but they still have to keep their L98A1s.
My understanding was that an importer in Canada imported about 20, but they were all then re-exported back to the UK. All the ones knocking about in Canada (except for mine) as far as I know are 12(3). Those were imported by a dealer in BC who converted them. There might be some other L98A1s in private hands in Canada, because they put them in the FRT, but I've never heard of any.
Even in the UK the L98A1 is hard to find, I've only ever come across five or six for sale. A very small number of cadet forces at large schools actually bought their own, and those very rarely come on the market, the RO rifle club had a few and those were sold off when the factory was closed. Mine is the one they used at arms expos on the stand. There a few others that were bought by dealers, but RO would only sell to prohibited weapon dealers, so obviously they tended to buy the selective-fire version.
What I'm waiting for is the surplus sell-off, they made 380,000 but the regular force size is now only 200,000. The MoD won't sell the surplus A1s at the moment, but they will eventually. Since the barrels can't be imported into the US anymore, that means they'll probably be sold as scrap unless some enterprising person in another country buys some up and puts a semi-auto lower on them.
To be honest, if you get your hands on an L98A1 it's basically a wall-hanger because spare parts are non-existent. That's why I want them to sell off the SA80s surplus!
There was a big scandal a few years back where it turned out some dealer was giving kickbacks to the MoD and he got all the surplus contracts, so the MoD now won't sell surplus guns, only ammo, so that's a big sticking point but they've got to get rid of the SA80s somehow.
Presumably the L98A1 at some point will be replaced, but I doubt it will happen anytime soon. The law was amended in 1996 so that cadets can use service weapons, so a lot of them now go to military bases and shoot there with the real deal, but they still have to keep their L98A1s.
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