The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Blackstuff wrote:Forgive my ignorance but what is the actual purpose of this rifle? Is it literally just to teach the basics of marksmanship?

I would've though a .22lr SA80 A3 would give the same and a more natural progression to cadets going into the full services

Generally, it is to teach the basics of skill at arms (rifle handling) and marksmanship principles (shooting).

I think cadets started with the No8 just after WWII because the service arm of the time was the No4 and it was a good tool to familiarise the cadets with the bigger calibre version, all the controls and sight picture etc were virtually the same. As the standard rifle changed to SLR/L85 etc .22lr wasn't used as widely as a training aid for the military (although 22 barrels and bolts were available for the SLR and the 22 insert for the L85) the .22lr initial training rifle stayed the same for the cadets, maybe there wasn't the funding or the time to change things, it is not just the rifle that would be changed, all the manuals and staff would need to be trained as well and that all adds to the costs. These calibre conversions were rarely issued to the cadets as they had the No8 if they wanted to shoot indoors (and besides the 22 kits for the L98 were/are notoriously unreliable you'd be better off with the No8)

Yes, what the cadets really need is a reliable .22 version of the current rifle, whatever that is at the time.

Mattnall wrote:The No8 as a training rifle to replicate the No4 it was great for adults but as a starter rifle for kids from the age of 12 it was totally wrong. It was way too heavy and the dimensions were too long.

Pah..... kids of today

At that age I was learning on a selection of 1880-1900 dated Martini-Henry's converted to .22RF

Mattnall wrote:

Blackstuff wrote:Forgive my ignorance but what is the actual purpose of this rifle? Is it literally just to teach the basics of marksmanship?

I would've though a .22lr SA80 A3 would give the same and a more natural progression to cadets going into the full services

Generally, it is to teach the basics of skill at arms (rifle handling) and marksmanship principles (shooting).

I think cadets started with the No8 just after WWII because the service arm of the time was the No4 and it was a good tool to familiarise the cadets with the bigger calibre version, all the controls and sight picture etc were virtually the same. As the standard rifle changed to SLR/L85 etc .22lr wasn't used as widely as a training aid for the military (although 22 barrels and bolts were available for the SLR and the 22 insert for the L85) the .22lr initial training rifle stayed the same for the cadets, maybe there wasn't the funding or the time to change things, it is not just the rifle that would be changed, all the manuals and staff would need to be trained as well and that all adds to the costs. These calibre conversions were rarely issued to the cadets as they had the No8 if they wanted to shoot indoors (and besides the 22 kits for the L98 were/are notoriously unreliable you'd be better off with the No8)

Yes, what the cadets really need is a reliable .22 version of the current rifle, whatever that is at the time.

Thanks for the info

I don't think I could express my disappointment in human language if I'd joined the cadets and I was passed one of those to 'train' with!

Is this so the children of snowflakes aren’t being handed machine guns?

safetyfirst wrote:Is this so the children of snowflakes aren’t being handed machine guns?

I don't know about snowflake kids, but the cadets get self loading full-bore rifles and full-auto too.
Are you allowed these S5 weapons or are you protected from these dangerous items as well?

The current service rifle equivalent for cadets is the L98A2 in 5.56mm
It is shot with iron sights only. Typically distances of 25 to 300 meters
They get changes to shoot in various positions: Prone, Kneeling, Seated, Firing pits (Upright unsupported is very limited for safety reasons)
There is a 22lr conversion kit

Difference to L85
The main difference between the GP and the SA80 IW (Individual Weapon) is that the GP is a straight pull manually-operated rifle that is semi automatic only. the change lever ha also been removed however small holes at the rear end of the rifle can still be seen where the change lever should have been positioned had it been used in the armed forces rather than the cadet forces

The cadets do not have access to full auto weapons.
They may however on special controlled occasions be shown or demonstrated full auto weapons

http://atc.wikia.com/wiki/L98A2_Cadet_GP_Rifle

Whatever happened to the cadet gp rifle?

the running man wrote:Whatever happened to the cadet gp rifle?

The L98A2 is the current version of the cadet gp rifle, replacing the straight-pull non-self-loading rifle (L98A1?) a few years ago.

EagerNoSkill wrote: The cadets do not have access to full auto weapons.
They may however on special controlled occasions be shown or demonstrated full auto weapons

Things must have changed in the few years since I left as we had LSWs in the armoury, but they were just bringing in the A2 so may have pulled all the LSWs.

Just found this:
light-support-weapon-lsw - for senior cadets.

Mattnall wrote:

EagerNoSkill wrote: The cadets do not have access to full auto weapons.
They may however on special controlled occasions be shown or demonstrated full auto weapons

Things must have changed in the few years since I left as we had LSWs in the armoury, but they were just bringing in the A2 so may have pulled all the LSWs.

Just found this:
light-support-weapon-lsw - for senior cadets.

ETA: Just spoke to the current local Cadet Company Shooting Officer, they still have L86s available at County/Brigade Level for the cadets to use.