The L115Ax family guide

Is there really any need to present the L115A3 ? The .338 caliber bolt action rifle has been issued to the British army, including special forces, for nearly fifteen years. Based on the Arctic Warfare Super Magnum rifle made by Accuracy International, it has that distinctive older AI look to it.

But before the most wellknown, (or is it?), A3, there were the A1 and A2. Yeah, who would have thought that ?

This guide is meant to help you notice the different specific traits of each of these rifles and gather the needed parts when availlable. As an advance notice, most of the parts and replicas are now either at best out of stock or discontinued for years. So for you humble mortal that enters this realm : good luck ! Also, there is unfortunately no real cheap way of achieving these builds to completion at the moment.

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The basics

The AWSM has a different caliber than your usual AW rifle and AW rifle replica. Enlarged bolt, larger magazine and larger barrel are all part of the basics. Alas, in the airsoft world most of the AI rifle replicas are based around the AW, and that means 7,62 caliber traits.

For example, the Tanaka L96 « snyper », Tokyo Marui AWS, Well MB-01, Well MB-08, and Maruzen T96 all use 7.62 sized barrels, ejection ports and magazines when there’s one. So building an L115 using these requires to upscale all details. It’s not impossible, but it takes quite some work.

All except the last one, are a full replicas of the L115A2 out of the box but I’ll cover that later.

You can use the following table as a quick reference chart. The last three columns are here to help determine what’s in the realm of the feasible. When I mention « possible » it means you can build the L115 while keeping the original stock of the replica. For obvious reasons, if you need a folding one, get it directly it will save both time and money.

Replica	Barrel	Ejection port	Magazine	Muzzle	Folding stock	Receiver rail	L115A1	L115A2	L115A3
STAR AW338 gas	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
Ares AW338 gas	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
Ares AW338 / MSR006-7-8 spring powered	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
Well G96D gas [Ares gas copy]	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
S&T AW338 gas CNC [Ares gas copy]	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
S&T AW338 spring powered [MSR006/7/8 copy]	.338 flutted	.338	.338	Tactical A1-2	Yes	No	No	Yes	Possible
Ares/ASG AW338 spring powered SC-MSR006	Bull	.338	.338	None	Yes	Yes	No	Possible	Possible
Well MB.4403GBIP	.338 flutted	.338	7.62	Tactical A1-2	Yes	Yes	No	Possible	Possible
Cyma CM.703	7.62 suppressed	7.62	7.62	None	No	Yes	Possible	No	No
Cyma CM.706	.338 flutted	7.62	7.62	None	Yes	Yes	No	Possible	Possible
Well MB.08	.338 flutted	7.62	None	None	Yes	Yes	No	Possible	Possible
Well MB.01	Bull	7.62	None	None	No	Yes	Possible	No	No
Tokyo Marui AWS	7.62 suppressed	7.62	7.62	None	No	Yes	Possible	No	No
Maruzen T96	Bull	7.62	None	None	No	Yes	Possible	No	No
Tanaka L96 « snyper »	7.62	7.62	7.62	None	No	No	Possible	No	No
Tanaka L96 « snyper covert »	7.62 suppressed	7.62	7.62	None	No	No	Possible	No	No

The L115A1

I am pretty sure most people, if not all have never seen the L115A1, specially on the field. Photos are scarce, and most of what the Internet calls the A1 are in fact A2s. The only photographic evidence comes from either armouries or Operation Grapple in Bosnia during the 90s.

There is only one replica that used that older chassis : the G&G G960SV. But too bad, it’s an AICS clone, meaning the whole action replicates the Remington 700 and not the iconic AI. I’ve never seen that replica in real life, but the only other rifle that could possibly fit that chassis would be the Tanaka L96. That’s pure speculation though.

That moulded cheek rest is the defining part, but luckily it can be emulated by binning the adjustable cheek rest, making a bump from 3D printing/putty/wood. The simplest way would be to attach and camo it using sniper tape, making sure you hide the holes for the adjustment screws.

I’ve never seen an 11mm dovetail for sale on its own. One solution would be to cut down the RIS and keep just two parts where you’ll have your scope mount attached.

The barrel is flutted and comes with a muzzle brake with two side openings. Some have been spotted with the tactical version of the muzzle brake, sporting an extra threading for suppressor attachment. It’s an easy part to get, every 338 (except the cheap Ares/ASG SC-MSR-006) comes with one. Other airsoft manufacturers also made some. PDI and Well made some for the T96 and AWS types of replicas.

In terms of CES, the L115A1 came with a 18moa Accuracy International one piece scope mount for the 11mm dovetail. It’s their simplest model that attaches with screws. It’s most likely the AI-3027. All the 338 replicas come with one (albeit 0 moa but it’s OK), and there exists a lot of similar mounts on the market. Some are even really cheap.

Now the scope might be a problem depending on the era you’re going for. Late L115A1s got the L17A1 scope (jump to the L115A2 for details on this one), but I don’t know the one used on the earlier. The only photo I’ve seen shows an older S&B non adjustable scope. I think it’s a 10×42 but this would need more research.

Physically something akin to this 10×42 PMII :

Finally the issued bipod is the AI old usual steel VersaPod. Be aware that this model has the spigot integrated and undetachable from it. The only correct replica I’ve seen is made by Ares and comes with their replicas. They used to sell these as stand alone accessories, but it’s getty rarer on shops.

Conclusion

Replicas available :

None

A japanese airsofter did some of these mods to a Tokyo Marui AWS to turn it into an AWSM. He detailled what he did on his blog (written in japanese but the photos are pretty much self-explanatory) : http://me1ancholicange1.blog100.fc2.com/blog-category-16.html .

The L115A2

Unbeknownst to most people, the L115A2 has been part of some of the most iconic british sniper photos.

Contrary to Wikipedia’s mention, these are both L115A2 as per the folding stock on the bottom one.

The main difference is the now folding stock.

Which is an easy part to get as all 338 replicas come with it in the airsoft world. The difference to the real L115A2 being only they come with both adjustable cheek rests and the monopod, except for the cheap Ares AW338 SC-MSR006. That one only has the adjustable cheek piece.

Honestly it’s an easy mod, taking out the bipod and cheek and replacing them with a placeholder covered in sniper tape and voila.

Scope wise, the L17A1 is a Schmidt&Bender 3-12×50 PMII scope. It has that S&B distinctive shape where the turrets are close to front of the scope. I’ve found quite a good contender as a replica in the Spina Optics 2-12×44 scope although it’s smaller, has a different magnification ring and is 30mm body wide instead of 34. But nothing a good paintjob won’t hide.

The AI one piece scope mount is still here albeit this time with a short SIMRAD mount top ring. There’s no replica to my knowledge for this mount, but they can be found from time to time on the second hand market. Otherwise, a modified picatinny toped ring can look the part.

Conclusion

All these need to become an L115A2 is to modify the cheek rest and bin the rear monopod. Or hide them up under a ton of sniper tape and a paintjob. This is easiest of the L115 sniper rifle to replicate at this time.

The L115A3

Most likely the rifle you were reading this guide for. The A3 has been an icon of british marksmanship for more than a decade now as it started being issued by the end of 2007.

Let’s start with the good news shall we. Most of all AWSM replicas on the market have the correct foldable chassis, action and barrel. Also both Harris bipod and AI 6184 mount exists has replicas, the former being cheaply availlable everywhere and the latter being sold by Dave Custom Airsoft in the UK and Gunfire Airsoft within mainland Europe.

By order the AI threaded .338 muzzle brake, Ares-Amoeba and the PDI FTE muzzle brake.

The L24A1, or 2-25×56 Schmidt and Bender PMII scope, doesn’t exist as a replica. The best solution at the moment is to get a Vector Optics first generation Siegfried 3-12×50. It’s smaller but has most of the body correct, the magnification ring being different on the L24. Just like the L17 stand-in, a good paintjob will greatly help camoing the scope into the real one.

The STIC mounts and brackets are available for buying directly from any Accuracy International retaillers, although it will set you back half a grand. The only solution for these is waiting for someone to make a replica for it, either 3D printed or machined.

AI has discontinued its infamous AW stock panels for years now, which also affects their military sales. All the L115A3, although I’m sure there must be some exceptions there and there as always, now have the updated stock sides with the thumbhole upgrade. These need only minor alteration to fit on the Ares/Star replicas due to the internal chassis to be nearly on par to AI’s. Be advised that if you go through an AI distributor, the thumb hole is considered an upgrade and is often sold separatly. Also, the lower back end needs to be cut to be able to use the back monopod. The right colour for an L115A3 is FDE.

For the receiver rail, you can buy the real thing if you’re lucky enough or you can go to your ASG retailer, and ask for part UB79 for replica 17242 – AW338 sportline. That’s the only part worthwhile on the Ares SC-MSR-006. Now the rail is still shorter than the real thing, but it’s an easy job to lenghen it.

Last part is an easy one, while Cosine Indicators aren’t cheap, they’re pretty easy to make yourself. Indicators are quite cheap from asian retaillers, and the mount itself can be done by modifying a simple picatinny sling mount (or any easy to get picatinny accessory).

Conclusion

All these need some work to become an A3. The most difficult part being the picatinny rail for the receiver and the muzzle brake. The major drawback on this one is the pricetag on most items. It’s clearly not a cheap build if you want it to be on par with the real thing.

The L115A4

This is kind of a bonus part as there are no availlable replica on the market for the AX338 (looking at you ASG, Archwick and Ares, what are you waiting for ?). The L115A4 has been in use for almost a decade by special forces, and was supposed to get issued for the big army, but that update is still as late coming as ever.

Issued in FDE, the A4 was issued with the L24A1 scope, but with a different mount. It uses the one piece quick detach scope mount from Accuracy International in FDE. This is the same mount has used on the L118 familly and L2A1 rifles in the UKSF, albeit with a difference : the A4 mount has a 0 MOA cant. On the A4 the rail on the receiver is already canted.