43 Commando (Royal Marines) gets Colt C8's

[Slater]

Think maybe that the L85A2 is slowly losing ground?:

"A high-profile UK Royal Marine unit has been re-equipped with the Colt Canada C8 carbine to enhance its ability to protect the Royal Navy's nuclear deterrent submarine base and nuclear weapon convoys.

The move makes the unit the first British non-special forces unit to completely drop the bullpup L85A2 (SA80) rifle used by the rest of the regular forces. Various UK special forces units already use the C8, which is designated the L119 in British service."

http://www.janes.com/article/58501/u...80-for-colt-c8

[soulezoo]

"Reduced ricochet and collateral damage"....

Brilliant!

[Firefly]

Makes sense.

Honestly don't see why they still use the SA80.

[SteyrAUG]

Makes sense.

Honestly don't see why they still use the SA80.

Brits are notoriously cheap and will give their military equipment that you wouldn't expect a Boy Scout troop to depend upon, especially true when the Labour Party is in power which is most of the time in that quasi socialist country.

They knew the SA80/L85 series was screwed when HK couldn't even really fix them 100%. About the only good thing to come of that was the maritime magazine. HK did a band aid fix and they were designated the L85A2 and they are pretty much just running the life expectancy out of their inventory.

That is really the only reason they waited to adopt a Colt M4 type carbine. And even having done that, they will still stick some guard / reserve or police unit with those old L85s until they can't cobble together mix and match guns anymore.

[Firefly]

I'd sooner they tote FALs than that SA80.

[Crow Hunter]

Think maybe that the L85A2 is slowly losing ground?:

"A high-profile UK Royal Marine unit has been re-equipped with the Colt Canada C8 carbine to enhance its ability to protect the Royal Navy's nuclear deterrent submarine base and nuclear weapon convoys.

The move makes the unit the first British non-special forces unit to completely drop the bullpup L85A2 (SA80) rifle used by the rest of the regular forces. Various UK special forces units already use the C8, which is designated the L119 in British service."

http://www.janes.com/article/58501/u...80-for-colt-c8

Wonder why they didn't equip with some other type of bullpup?

There are several other designs on the market. Why choose an "old" design like the C8?

Why not the Tavor or AUG or F2000 or some such?

This is a somewhat rhetorical question as I have owned and shot several bullpups and hated them and would vastly prefer a C8 but I also wasn't raised/trained on bullpups rifles like I assume the Brits were.

Plus, why didn't they go with some of the newer AR pattern designs?

Is it just because they could easily get the L119?

[crusader377]

My thoughts are in bold.

Wonder why they didn't equip with some other type of bullpup?

I think bullpups are on their way out in general. Their are simply too many tradeoffs in terms of weapon handling to get the slightly shorter rifle in a bullpup.

There are several other designs on the market. Why choose an "old" design like the C8?
The C8 is already in service with British Special Forces. Also the C8 is still a very solid design despite being a little dated. It has proven very reliable in service.

Why not the Tavor or AUG or F2000 or some such?

Answered in question 1.

This is a somewhat rhetorical question as I have owned and shot several bullpups and hated them and would vastly prefer a C8 but I also wasn't raised/trained on bullpups rifles like I assume the Brits were.

I think the training issue is overrated. The AR is a very easy platform to learn and highly capable soldiers like Royal Marines will have no problem transitioning quickly.
Plus, why didn't they go with some of the newer AR pattern designs?

Is it just because they could easily get the L119?

Again the C8 is a very proven and available rifle. On top of that I have a hard time thinking of a AR pattern rifle that is overwhelmingly better than a C8 for actual combat use.

[chuckman]

A long time ago, 2001ish, we were cross-training with Royal Marines. Outstanding guys, could drink like fish. Anyway they loved shooting our M4s, said how much they would like to have them instead of what they had. I have no clue what they had but they didn't care for them.

[R0N]

"Reduced ricochet and collateral damage"....

Brilliant!

Having been a service' policy lead and knowing the weapons used to guard the American Tridents (Brits rent their's from the US and follow US surety policy) this not an actual requirement for the security forces

[SteyrAUG]

I'd sooner they tote FALs than that SA80.

Wrong caliber, big and heavy. I'd hate to have to run into some of those community complexes with a rifle that big. Also their L1A1 has no select fire capability.