ARES L85A3

KEEPING THINGS INTERNATIONALLY ROUNDED-OUT, BILL TAKES A LOOK AT A GREAT NEW AIRSOFT REPLICA FROM ARES THAT IS NOW THE “MEAT AND VEG” OF UK FORCES, THE L85A3 AND MAKES A CASE AS TO WHY MORE UK AIRSOFTERS - AND THOSE THAT RUN A “BRITINSPIRED” LOADOUT AROUND THE WORLD - SHOULD BE LOOKING AT THIS MODEL AND HOW ARES HAVE BROUGHT THINGS FULLY UP TO DATE!

The SA80/L85 is what we in the airsoft world refer to as a “marmite gun”, as just like the spread you either love it or hate it! In airsoft terms, the bullpup configuration gives little benefit over that of any other AEG or GBB (albeit that it does have a long inner barrel for its overall length) and, just like the real thing, the airsoft versions of the L85 have suffered from all manner of niggly problems over the years. The fire selector is in an odd place, the magazine release of the A1 could be activated just by knocking it against a pouch resulting in a dropped magazine (trust me, I know this to be true!) and the old EBB versions were frankly atrocious, stripping their piston almost unfailingly in the first game you took it to!

However, the L85 was the “future weapon” of my childhood, with the EM1 and 2 and the 4.85x49mm XL-series of bullpup rifles being seen in comic books in the hands of the British soldier of the “year 2000”. By the time the “SA80” came into service in 1985 many young men like me had grown up seeing this configuration in both comic strips and movies, as the Steyr AUG, another classic bullpup military rifle, entered service in 1978 and was extremely popular with film companies who wanted to appear modern and up to date.