The British Army L119A2.

I'll go over some of the neat features as time allows.

Questions? Ask away!

I thought I saw a thread on this from you, already.  Did it get dumped?

No, thats my L119A1 thread.

L119A1 was the deal until this came along in 2015

Right on, very cool!

What rail?

Improved trigger?

Diemaco hammer forged barrel?

How many monies?

Where/how did you get it?

Differences between A1 and A2?  Are the differences worth it?

What are the single Picatinny slots next to the upper on the sides of the rail for?  Points to attach sling mounts?

Interesting to see they went with the Magpul ASAP plate. I have a love/hate/mostly hate relationship with that thing.

Yeah due to the location id def say for front sling mount.

i believe it's a monolithic upper so the rail and upper are one piece

is that a real 3rd pin

this is also a great looking carbine to clone but i think i'm going with an a1 clone , i like the old school stuff

IUR upper, it's a monolithic made by CC. There's two versions so far, a Danish contract that had a QD sling pocket at the rear of the handguard (either side) and the SAS contract as seen above. CANSOFCOM have been using the same model as the SAS contract.

Unknown trigger, though the pins lead me to believe Geiselle.

Barrels are either 15.7" or 11.5" with low profile carbine gas systems.

IF you were in Canada, you could find it upwards of $1300CDN. I've seen the Danish contract IUR's go for as low as $900CDN in private sales.

As far as differences, it's a freefloat one piece upper versus one that isn't. I'll let you judge the merits of each.

The Rail is a monolithic upper called the 'Improved Upper Receiver' or IUR by Colt Canada and it's actually based on LMT patented technology, hence the patent number you see on the side.
There are a few versions of similar rails such as the MRR and the Danish version, the UK version is somewhat unique in that it has the grenade launcher lug made especially for the HK 40mm launcher.
As far as I know (I could be wrong), none of the other countries that are using IUR type uppers have this lug because it stops an M203 being mounted and everyone else uses an M203 pattern 40mm.

The trigger issued on these guns is the Geissele SSF.

Yes it's a Diemaco CHF chrome lined barrel. It's exactly 10". There is also a 15.7" version but its far less common.

Not sure on monies, Canadians can buy the uppers, originally they were able to buy the Danish contract over-run for some ridiculous cheap price, then some UK contract over-runs were released for $1300 without BCG or charging handle.

I am doing some specialized research.

HUGE difference, look at my L119A1 thread for info on that gun. The L119A2 is to the A1 what the CQBR is to the Mk18 Mod 0.

It's hateful, I have NO idea why they went for this. In the old days they used to use single point slings and they were common for that. Then the British Army saw the light and they now use what we know as the VTAC sling. It's much better.

On the single 1913 slots on the side, actually no idea, the profile is such that it isn't in spec for a MIL-STD-1913 slot and as such not much fits, it's ever so slightly larger. For example the Magpul RSA doesn't fit there.

The Brits use a massive Colt Canada sling mount, you can see it under the rail in this picture, although you'll note his sling isnt attached to it. For some reason running a sling that far forward doesn't annoy the piss out of them.

I had thought the Brits used some kind of sheet-metal bullpup.  does this AR supercede that?  are they issueing this AR to all of their GI troops, or just SF?  just curious.

The L85 is their standard issue service rifle. The L119 is issued to British SOF.

I hear that. Manipulating the rifle is a pain in the ass with the rifle slung and front sling mount that far forward. (For me anyways)
Best I've found by far is the CQD mounts, end plate and front CQD mounted all the way rear to the receiver

British has SF which encompasses direction action groups, like our SOF. But they call them SF.

The L119A1 is issued to SF and Royal Marines. As far as I know only SF and the SF support Group get the L119A2.

You forgot to add the rest of the nomenclature. L85 POS.

L85POS A2*

You ain't lying. I became friends with a few British G.I.'s and talked to their buddies as well. Every single one of them fucking HATES that rifle. And rightfully so.

i just noticed the colt canada charging handle latch

is it just a standard handle with the colt canada latch ?

is this an ambi latch ?

It is ambi. If you see that little lever behind it on the ejection side of the gun, you would squeeze that in with your thumb, and it pulls the opposite side latch open. Pretty cool yet simple little design.

I'm not sure if the CH body dimensions are exact to ours or not, but I can at least tell you they're either the same or too close to even matter.

Glad you created an A2 thread. I want that upper.

The CC handle specs are the same as a regular handle, but there's a cutout on the left side for the hook to fit.

While they're nice to use, we've had numerous instances of them catching on stuff and cracking or ripping the hook right off.

It does look pretty snaggy. I can only imagine how big of a pain in the ass with the rifle slung as a lefty. Even just the mount knob on a Comp M2 is bad, but that thing is essentially a hook lol

The ambi latch places too much stress on the roll pin, that’s why they were constantly breaking.  We now use a solid pin.

They’re too damn long.  I swap mine out for a regular latch whenever I’m issued a different rifle.

The solid pins are gone again. I spoke to colt, cost cutting because of the parent company.

Apparently the solid pins are expensive as they are double staked, the normal pins are in and done.

Also, I'll update this thread a ton more after SHOT.

I've got one of the 10" uppers sitting beside me on my desk (likely going to be used to build a copy of the Brits gun) - if anyone would like further details etc about the upper receiver, history etc. let me know! Happy to contribute as much as I can!

Why all the hate for the Masgpul ASAP? I like it...

Some interesting facts on the barrel and gas system:

10" heavy profile
Has anti corrosion coating up to the gas block. textured and black/ not sure what they used. Not a simple parkerizing.
Gas block is set screwed on with a heavier type screw, and is indexed by 2 slots on the gas block shoulder/ barrel.
Gas tube is straight, and can be removed from the front.
Batch and serialized in front of the gas block

1/7 CHF tapered bore

The Single 1913 slots are for sling points yes. The Danes went with QD , the Brits and Canadians went with a 1913 slot
There is also a grenade launcher lug on the bottom, which is actually a pain in the ass, its sharp and in the way when you want to just carry / manipulate the carbine at the magwell.

The charging handle latch catch has a steel insert to  negate wear on the receiver.

Just a note, there is a slip-on cover for the rail that mitigates any sharp edges.



Not often seen, but it exists.

IUR stands for Integrated Upper Receiver.

IURs post Dutch models had rails completely along all the sides of the hand guard, with those models being adopted by the RCMP. They also have a QD socket in a similar location to what you can see on the Danish models. I believe at the time, Colt US used the same forgings as they had had released their Advanced Colt Carbine.

Early versions of L119A2 upper were also acquired/used by CANSOFCOM (designated C8 IUR?) Of course there's some photos of these floating around both on Instagram, and I believe others from Larry Vickers. The largest difference between the L119A2 and the C8 IUR is of course the deletion of the grenade launcher recoil lug. The lug should not affect function of a rail mounted M203, but I'll have to confirm that.

Had to split this into two posts... character limit for new accounts. I digress.

Both the 10" and 15.7" were, like everyone is aware released to the public as well - they retailed for around $1800 (I don't recall the exact price) which included a bolt and carrier, along with the Colt Canada ambi charging handle.

From what I gather, individuals in the SAS (or whoever was issued these uppers) were each given both the 10" and 15.7", using whichever they deemed necessary depending on requirements. Obviously based on the photos that are floating around, it is the 10" that we actually see in use.

Indeed, the gas block is aligned to the barrel with two dually opposed protrusions that lock into matching cut-outs in the barrel. It is then retained with two set screws. The gas tube is straight (increasing gas tube life) and it is removable via the front of the gas block after taking out a socket head cap screw as mentioned above.

I'll post some close up photos of the receiver when I get a chance, and point out further details.

Here are some pictures of the L119A2 Upper.

This is the barrel.
Notice the barrel itself is marked with the magnetic particle testing 'MP' the maker 'CC' and a batch code.
The extension also has it's own batch code.
The part of the barrel behind the gas block also has some kind of coating on it


Here is a close up of the front markings.
The barrel is 10"


When equipped with a suppressor it is VERY over-gassed, here is why:


This is the upper, barrel and gas block. Notice the straight gas tube, this increases gas tube life


The barrel has two flats to ensure the gas block fits perfectly and cannot rotate off center. The gas block is held by two screws and is not pinned in place.


The grenade launcher lug has a screw that goes into the lug and actually ends up passing up through a slot in the barrel nut, preventing the barrel nut from coming lose. Interestingly this is an American screw, 8/32. I expected metric.


There is a heat shield inside of the rail, this gun gets surprisingly hot, so it is needed


Width of the barrel and the coating can be seen here


Colt Canada BCG. Ignore the key, I removed the OEM and replaced with a Rubber City Armory adjustable key


The Colt Canada Charging handle, note the ambi latch


Here you can see the NATO marking plus the forge mark, the interesting shaped pivot pin area and the hole for a roll pin just above the barrel nut


Here is how the ejection port cover is held in place


Another example of the Colt Canada superior engineering vs Colt USA, the CC upper has a steel insert for the charging handle


Bottom of upper showing no lower T markings, and holes to allow the gas block to be tightened in place.


Top of upper showing T markings


Colt Canada markings on the upper, plus the LMT patent number.


Front of upper


Small shelf built in to front of upper


Flash Hider is the Surefire FH556-216A, current production shown


Suppressor is the 556SA


Front cap of the suppressor

Pure class, what a stunning rifle

Gas port appears to be the same as the CQB-R.

How did you get an IUR in the US, and how the hell did you get the barrel off?

I might be picking up one of those 10" SAS uppers soon.

As someone mentioned earlier, those Dutch over runs could be had for about $900.  They retailed for $1,100 when they first came out, but I got a mil discount and paid $900. Then they had some "blemished" ones that sold for $600.  I should have grabbed an extra one.

For comparison, a few pics of a CANSOFCOM one I found recently:

Would be 100% importable without the barrel. I thought about doing it, since you don't need to be an importer for just parts. However, no idea on who in Canada could pull the barrel.

Ok, that makes sense.  I have heard one shop in Calgary I think offers that service because they fabricated a barrel nut wrench for the IURs.

I believe that is a question for Elucidate. All I will say is that he has an FFL where he is exempt from being blocked from importing ITAR items.

I have an idea on how Elucidate got the barrel off, but again, I'll let him answer that at his own discretion.

I was told by Elucidate that upper receivers are not importable under ITAR regulations. From experience, I thought that only applied to lower receivers (being one receiver) like a FAL receiver or an AK receiver. Apparently that is not the case. If ITAR didn't apply to uppers, you can bet your ass I would have imported an IUR in a heartbeat.

To answer some questions.

Colt Canada items are specifically blocked from being imported permanently under a US/Canada agreement for military products. This is so that they wouldn't damage each others ability to answer military contracts and so that the issues with one country wouldn't affect the other (Colt USA bankruptcy vs Colt Canada being healthy for example).

This means an IUR upper, or indeed any specific to Canada military parts can not be imported legally for resale etc.

Getting an ITAR exemption to this rule requires congressional review under the DDTC, so it literally is 'an act of congress'.

The upper itself is built to LMT's patent, so a consultant working for LMT for example, could bring an upper in on a temporary basis for R&D. But it will need to be temporary and returned to Colt after R&D has finished.

The barrel nut removal requires a special tool. Which is $800.

..... I take it you can't tell us how you got one.

Yes, for a pipe with the matching cuts to remove the barrel nut, it's ridiculously expensive.

An additional part of the agreement when Colt Canada was first seeking approval to sell products to the civilian/commercial market was that they would not sell to the US market.

Some really good ideas included in this firearm.  I especially like the steel insert for the charging handle latch - what a great idea.

I have posted information on Elucidate's L119A1 forum regarding the differences of the Colt ambidextrous safety/selector and a Colt Canada ambidextrous safety/selector. Since it is more relevant on the L119A2 forum because the L119A2 uses the ambi safety far more so than the L119A1. In fact, I think the only L119A1 used by the UK Royal Marines have Colt Canada ambi selectors on their rifles. The idea of this post for the L119A1 forum is to help people research what ambi selectors these rifles use, and to help people buy ambi selectors that is as close to the real thing for their clone builds. You can view the alternative ambi safeties links for your L119A1 clones on my post here. I don't think a guide on a clone build for a L119A2 is useful since you can't get an IUR anyway unless you either sneak it into the country (don't do that) or just get the whole rifle on loan with an ITAR R&D exempt FFL. I could have sworn I saw an IUR upper on Gunbroker at one point... I kept seeing old Google links to an old Gunbroker listing of an actual IUR. Obviously when I click on it, I get an error message...

I thought I would share some discoveries I have made with one of my collected Colt ambi safeties to my recently acquired Colt Canada ambi safeties. I cannot confirm, but I theorize that Diemaco made all their fire control groups in-house in the classic C7 days. I believe Diemaco rifles and early Colt Canada (mostly C7A2 and some early C8A3 rifles) used the contractor LW Schneider to make their lower receiver parts before switching to Schmid Tool for their parts as of recently. This change is notable, in the case of British Diemaco/CC rifles, from the L119A1 (LW) to the L119A2 (Schmid). Ambi safeties are much more notable on the L119A2 rifles with the new Gen.3 IURs. The Colt Canada safety is a take-off from a Colt Canada Enhanced Ambi lower receiver, which is used for the SA20 and SA15.7 series of rifles. Here is a comparison to a Colt ambi safety to a Colt Canada ambi safety (both made by Schmid Tool, note the "S" mark):

Top: Colt
Bottom: Colt Canada
(notice how the Canadian spec version uses a circular spacer of some kind to go right directly behind the right side short throw lever)



Notice the screws are different. On the left is Colt Canada, the screw threads are longer and the knurling on the head is more exaggerated as opposed to the Colt version. Colt is slightly smaller in length and has a yellowish rubber insert to ensure the screw doesn't back off without the use of blue Loctite. Both screws have the same thread pitch and are compatible with each other.



The screw heads themselves are different. The Allen socket on the Colt Canada on the left is traditionally with "sharp angles" while the Colt screw on the right, the socket is smooth rounded and slightly recessed. I'll update this post here with the correct allen head measurements. Apparently the Colt Canada screw is not metric. For both screws, you need a 3/32 inch allen key. I find this interesting because Elucidate explained on his L119A2 post that the grenade launcher lug on the Gen.3 IUR L119A2 uses a screw that is not metric as well...



Here are the right side short throw levers, the left being Colt and the right being Colt Canada. Two big differences. One is that Colt electro-pencils their cage code 13629, while Colt Canada has a higher step where it engages with the left side selector lever and rod. Where the higher step is recessed is where that round spacer goes to rest.



The back side: Colt left, Colt Canada right: The engagement "teeth" are dimensionally different as well. Colt is asymmetrical where one "tooth" is larger than the other, where as the Colt Canada is dimensionally the same on both sides.



With Colt Canada right side selector lever having the extra "step," this means the selector rod itself must be shallow if installed in the receiver. Sure enough, that's correct. On the left is Colt and the right is Colt Canada. On the Colt Canada selector, look how the "rod" or where the selector interfaces with the trigger, is shorter than the Colt ambi version.



This is an attempt to check compatibility. Placing the Colt cage coded lever on the Colt Canada selector base. Obviously it would not fit... The Colt Canada lever will fit on the Colt safety, obviously, but it is loose and not tightly fit.



The Canadian spec version is near impossible to get, and it is very uncommon to find a Colt ambi safety to be sold separately. The best bet is to get a Colt ambi safety take-off from Colt's newer LE6920 lowers with the "M4 CARBINE" roll mark (the new ones have a laser engraved QR code for manufacture tracking). They also can be installed on the LE6920 SOCOM series with the uber rare "M4A1 CARBINE," but yet again, nearly unobtainable. Spikes Tactical and BCM (and maybe Stag Arms) sells Schmid Tool ambi safeties with right side long throw levers unlike the short throw levers like the Colts (BCM uses a "star" marking instead of a "S" marking on Schmid Tool parts for their rifles).

Bump. Anything else worth adding in this thread?

What buffers are these guns using in CAN/UKSOF units?

HH As far as I have seen (H2)

That is correct. Here is a Colt Canada HH buffer.

Given the mask and eye protection are you sure that isnt an airsofter?

I see JTF2 is still using Ops Inc/Allen Engineering Cans.   Have any of the mono uppers turned up lately? I wouldn't mind building a JTF2 L119 using the AEM5 Can from my Mk12 Mod1 SPR.

I am thinking its real SAS, his upper is the IUR 10', and I am certain no airsoft companies have reproduced it yet.