An AR-15 Based SA80/L85 Bullpup Repro: the AKB-23 | SHOT Show 2025

I want one. I know the L85 is shit hut ever since bf3/28 days later i always wantsd it

0:01 Wonder if Alex was asking James to invest in his new company.

Is it an accurate reproduction, or does it actually run?

I absolutely LOVE the SA80 L85 jokes. We always called it "the Civil Servant"– never works and impossible to fire.

But in all seriousness, the L85(A3) is a fantastic rifle–reliable, accurate, lots of rail space. It had to be rebuilt by H&K to get there, but its there.

See this is almost exactly what we want. If they can make it a shell, where from the outside it looks exactly like a L85 or a FAMAS, that's all that matters. You can use the internals of another gun that's cheaper and easier to get

They had the unique opportunity to get rid of a major design flaw the L85 has by taking away this extended, sharp, lip around the magwell which always scratches the pulse area of my wrist – but they havent. The truly went for the same hate as the original L85. Unusable POS rifle which cut me open the very first and only time I was using this son of a b1tch.

When I was Deployed to OIF , I came across the UK Royal Marie's, they hated the L85 . They claimed it had more issues than a little bit!
😮
But In my opinion, Is love to have One 😂❤

Wow they have made a SA80 that actually works.

Yup! Been looking for something exactly like this!!

Make it an LSW?

Left hand eject,left hand eject

You can tell James was up late dedicating lots of time to product research

I've never understood why people like these things so much lol they're butt-ugly and pretty terrible even for bullpup standards

UK MOD: why is the L85 terrible?
Sterling: it just cant be made, anyone would have screwes it up.
Some american gun nerd: _______

BRN180 upper on a lower that doesnt have a buffer tube.
TFB: AR15 based

That is ultimate stretch of the term "technically true" while being not really true.

Now slap a 24" bull barrel, bipod mount, FRT trigger and a 100rnd drum on that joker and make an L86 LSW

But why?

L85A1…😶🤔

Im going BROKE this year

So its a BRN upper but looks like an SA80. so it will actually work unlike the real POS nice.

How to turn an abomination of a rifle into an even greater abomination.

So does anyone make a 24" bufferless upper? Something like that Klein one with the bipod on the end of the barrel, but bufferless. Don't think I've ever seen something like the BRN-180 or FM15 with a rifle length gas system. The L85 LSW is the cool one and the only kind I'd be interested in for making my own at home version.

So based

The SA80 is an abortion given form with guts made out of cheese held together with jam, an utter pos.

The L85 looks cool but has major reliability problems. The British military hated them.

The SA-80 maybe the worst assault rifle of all time

its nice…its giving me battlefield 3 vibes

Part of me wanted to know was he serious or was the intro just for shyts n giggles?

L85’s are pieces of shit but god damn they’re a vibe

Shot show hasn’t impressed me for years. Oh another AR15, how cool 🙄 or some crap gun like the one you did a review on lol bullpup oooohhhh aaaahhhh lol

"You can do all kinds of crazy things if you wanted to." FAMAS.

Take my money! I want one. We need more videos and range videos of this too.

So cool

These Democrats shouldn’t be allowed in the building

Ahh yes. I always wanted to model my AR-15 after the worst assault rifle ever made.

Still an improvement over the actual L85

Reeves looks differnt….you got a new haircut?

Sad/cool to think there’s a company out there that makes a reliable L85 just for the fun of it. I wonder if the original designers feel like crap seeing this.

I could hear the distaste of the price in James "Mhmmmm"

I personally think those rifles are ugly as sin.

This actually seems well thought out. Spencer sounds like a talented engineer

I don’t like that i love it … and want one … neither does my wallet

If this AKB-23 works, then it's better than an actual L85/L85A1 and still has the retro L85 looks. I see this as a win.

Will they be offered in left hand version, unlike the British Army SA-80 / L85 orginals?

A major failure of the British Bullpups, when they ignored how many British Military Personnel and UK Population.

Are Left Handed People, around or between 10 to 15 percent !

Also a very famous British Serviceman, plus just happens to be His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales!

Or Prince William, whomis now the first inline to be the Next King of The United Kingdom and Commonwealth, also is Colonel-in-Chief of many British Army Regiment.

Let alone a Senior British Army Officer, a Senior Royal Air Force Officer and a Senior Royal Navy Officer too.

Maybe Prince William has the right to wear a Senior Royal Marines Officers uniform too.

However, the British MoD and UK Government, could not provide the future King while serving in HM Forces, a left-handed assault rifle to fire?

Narrow minded thinking, on the part of some British Ministry of Defence Senior Civil Servants or Defence Secretary plus Defence Ministers too.

Buy a service rifle, for everyone in the UK Military, where 10 to 15 percent of UK forces could fire the service rifle left handed!

Cries in left hand. Man I want this but I can't live with brass hitting my chin haha

Watch the british army replace their current rifles with this

Alex is gonna steal it and sell it for cheesecake