American-Made L85 Rifle Reproductions Put to the Test

For decades, the only way to get your hands on Britain's SA80/L85 rifle was to join the British Army. In a video from Garand Thumb, the hosts sit down with Evan Murdoch, founder of Murdoch & Co., whose American-made semi-auto recreations of the L85A1 and L85A2 finally put this once-unobtainable rifle on US soil, legally and in running condition.

Snapshot

Murdoch explains that since the UK military destroys retired SA80 rifles rather than selling them as surplus, his company built these reproductions from scratch, engineering every stamping die with Royal Armouries and MOD cooperation to keep dimensions, markings, and furniture accurate. The Garand Thumb crew then runs the rifles through drills and distance shooting to see how the design holds up outside a museum case.

Key points

• Built, not imported: Murdoch says these are remanufactured from a blank slate using new tooling, not parts kits or surplus imports, since real British examples are never released to the public.
• Trigger feel: The hosts note the mil-spec L85 trigger runs 6.3 to 7 pounds, heavier than a typical AR-15 but still manageable in close-range drills like the Bill Drill and Mozambique.
• Action and ergonomics: Garand Thumb's host describes the SA80 cycling action as unusually smooth, comparing the feel to a 5.56 AK, and says this reproduction matches an original L85A1 he'd handled before.
• Distance performance: Shooting a 20-inch-barreled A2 configuration with an ACOG sight, the crew lands consistent hits out to roughly 300 and 550 yards, which they call well within the rifle's practical combat envelope.
• More variants coming: Murdoch confirms an L85A3 configuration is also in the works beyond the A1 and A2 shown in this video.

Quick take

This is a solid watch for anyone curious about an iconic service rifle that's historically been locked away from American shooters. Garand Thumb's testing is informal rather than exhaustive, but the combination of Murdoch's build background and real trigger time gives a useful first look at how these reproductions actually run.

Watch the full video: Garand Thumb