Thread: L2A2?

L2A2 was the correct military designation for the standardised 7.62x51 ball cartridge as manufactured by CAC. Some over-run cases from when CAC lost the military contract in 1965 were used to load 150 grain .308 sporting loads which were sold in the colourful 'Deer & mountains' packets of the period. The L2A2 designation was for the ammo and has no relationship to any rifle. The primary word at the beginning of the description of a UK military item determines the category, eg; Cartridge 7.62mm L2A2, Rifle 7.62mm L1A1, Bayonet L2A1, etc. The L stands for Land Service, the first number is for the principal pattern (1 for original design, 2 for a major modification, etc), the A replaces the old Mark designation for minor modifications, the last number is the minor modification number.

Originally Posted by gundoc

L2A2 was the correct military designation for the standardised 7.62x51 ball cartridge as manufactured by CAC. Some over-run cases from when CAC lost the military contract in 1965 were used to load 150 grain .308 sporting loads which were sold in the colourful 'Deer & mountains' packets of the period. The L2A2 designation was for the ammo and has no relationship to any rifle. The primary word at the beginning of the description of a UK military item determines the category, eg; Cartridge 7.62mm L2A2, Rifle 7.62mm L1A1, Bayonet L2A1, etc. The L stands for Land Service, the first number is for the principal pattern (1 for original design, 2 for a major modification, etc), the A replaces the old Mark designation for minor modifications, the last number is the minor modification number.

@gundoc, your response is much appreciated!
BTW ‘back in the day’ some of my mates reckoned L2A2 ammo was originally designed for use in machine guns!