There have been some really excellent reference pics coming out from ex-SAS Kevin Charles-Thompson’s Instagram. He has a book due in 2021, which I’d imagine is going to be very interesting; presumably following his life from SAS trooper to motivational speaker/evangelist as the title suggests – so not the usual.

The star of the photo we’re looking at today, however, is Sep:

Of much less importance but still noteworthy is the L119A2 in the pic.

1. Aimpoint 3XMAG-1 with FlipMount Ring and TwistMount Base

It’s not the first open source UKSF reference pic which shows an Aimpoint T2 with an Aimpoint’s 3XMAG-1 (check out the Newcastle pics for that).

We first saw the Aimpoint 3XMAG-1 in public in the Newcastle images of December 2018 (the very same year the previous version was discontinued)

But it’s a very clean ID and we can also identify the Aimpoint FlipMount Ring with TwistMount base (again, same as the Newcastle pics).

RS Aimpoint T2 with 3XMAG-1, FlipMount Ring and TwistMount base
RS Aimpoint 3XMAG-1 being removed from TwistMount base
RS Aimpoint TwistMount Base
Reptile House L119A2 replica based on the Systema PTW with HAO monolithic upper kit – read about the current iteration

Why point it out, given that it’s a widely issued piece of kit? Most UKSF pics show the legacy version of the magnifier – the 3XMAG; discontinued in 2018.

So that helps us date the pic as relatively modern.

Legacy 3XMAG discontinued by Aimpoint in 2018
The UKSF with General Miller pic, showing the legacy 3XMAG – read more here

2. QD Sling Swivel

The L119A2’s sling swivel QD mount is also curious. Mounted on the A2’s picatinny stub, I’d guess it’s either the GG&G version or the Colt Canada type which is part of the basic A2 package (assuming the two items are different – they could be the same thing, as Colt Canada has a habit of licensing products – or rebadging ones they supply but don’t make themselves).

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