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Wouldn't have been an easy task at all, you'd need the zeroing book and ammo diary (if I remember correctly) for every PDF unit between 1960 and 1990 (including overseas) and every RDF unit between 1990 and 2002 (dates are approx). Then you'd need to look at all the issues of security ammo and operational ammo (which won't give weapon numbers). And it would all be paper based.
It wouldnt have been that hard a task- firstly ignore every operational Unit and that brings it down to the likes of ECIF- SM- Clancy Bk Coy-McKee Bks Coy etc. then figure out which Unit would have the least reason to draw weapons, and I would imagine that would only be for ARPs- this would bring the number of FNs down to about less than a 1,000- next look for the highest serial numbers and whittle it down even more.
that would take 2 young lts and a CQ about a forthnight at the most.
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I cant see who would want a few thousand 50 year old FN rifles.
They should of used the FN's as ceremonial rifles instead of wasting Steyr's and kept the old Steyr arms drill as the new drill is painfully shit.
The FN spotter rifles wont see much use, they're a low cost solution that filled a gap. A Steyr will still be a spotters weapon of choice.
The Steyr can be used for line throwing, its what the Australians use or just buy a few pneumatic line throwers which are already in use in the DF.
It wouldnt have been that hard a task- firstly ignore every operational Unit and that brings it down to the likes of ECIF- SM- Clancy Bk Coy-McKee Bks Coy etc. then figure out which Unit would have the least reason to draw weapons, and I would imagine that would only be for ARPs- this would bring the number of FNs down to about less than a 1,000- next look for the highest serial numbers and whittle it down even more.
that would take 2 young lts and a CQ about a forthnight at the most.
Not a bad idea... So long as the rifle spent all its life in the unit
Wouldn't have been an easy task at all, you'd need the zeroing book and ammo diary (if I remember correctly) for every PDF unit between 1960 and 1990 (including overseas) and every RDF unit between 1990 and 2002 (dates are approx). Then you'd need to look at all the issues of security ammo and operational ammo (which won't give weapon numbers). And it would all be paper based.
On the contrary,The Plastic butt ones only went on issue to the Reserve in 1995!, withdrawn five years later, when the weapons were being returned after being withdrawn from use they were graded based on the condition. There were never more than a few hundred of the dutch ones, we had 10. numbers were sequential and they were only used for competition shooting.
Issue records from stores the would shop the dates used dates used...hey presto 10 almost new rifles.!
Every Quartermaster worth his salt had this information to hand
I know when 3 cav took its Mk 3 Brens on charge they had only fired 750 rds per gun and were only issued to the unit in the mid eighties.The SQMS showed me all the logs one year during a winter camp.
By the time they were retired they had no more than 5000 rds per gun fired...and that was on record.
We had a gustav that had never been fired.....purposely.
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On the contrary,The Plastic butt ones only went on issue to the Reserve in 1995!, withdrawn five years later, when the weapons were being returned after being withdrawn from use they were graded based on the condition. There were never more than a few hundred of the dutch ones, we had 10. numbers were sequential and they were only used for competition shooting.
Issue records from stores the would shop the dates used dates used...hey presto 10 almost new rifles.!
Every Quartermaster worth his salt had this information to hand
I know when 3 cav took its Mk 3 Brens on charge they had only fired 750 rds per gun and were only issued to the unit in the mid eighties.The SQMS showed me all the logs one year during a winter camp.
By the time they were retired they had no more than 5000 rds per gun fired...and that was on record.
We had a gustav that had never been fired.....purposely.
Did you SQ have the records of rounds fired prior to them being issued to your unit (they could have been issued to 5 units before that)?
There was no requirement to document the number of rounds fired, there was with the Vickers, 84 and I assume arty & mortars. So you can't rely on that
On the contrary,The Plastic butt ones only went on issue to the Reserve in 1995...
Never saw one in my time using it, TBH, only the wooden butt ones
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Did you SQ have the records of rounds fired prior to them being issued to your unit (they could have been issued to 5 units before that)?
They were taken on charge brand new , never fired.
as for the Brens, they came with the information and it was continued.
What has security duties got to do with anythings you could name the pole in the DF who have intentionally( legally) fired a round while carrying out security duties in the past 25 years!
To have unused weapons in storage wouldn't be unusal, In 1985 in Haulbowline there was a rack of No 4 lee Enfields, unused in stores.
The FNs in the magazine of Eithne only saw the light of day when they were been put in and taken out and probably for ARPs and were almost brand new on issue.The only serious barrel wear on them was from cleaning!
On my gunnery course we took a Oerlikon from Stores still in the manufacturers packing grease never even fully assembled.
You under estimate the army, remember thse rfles were all bought and paid for at some point, there is record of what batch came from where and when and what unit was issued them and when they were struck off charge.
I saw weapons been written off as unsafe on the range as the bore was worn out, but again a lot of Reserve units were economic with their FNs, especially those with higher numbers which were newer. Take a corps unit who probably fired one arp per year, over the 11 years the FN was in service with the FCA/RDF...peanuts in terms of rounds.
It would not be a difficult task to replace barrels on the FN...I for one lament the move away from the 7.62...much more capable round and very few as trouble free as the FN. DSA continues to make new rifles.
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