The Firearm Blog

Another new gun on display at DSEi was this H&K HK416 sub-carbine / PDW. What is very interesting about this gun is the buttstock and upper receiver design.

New H&K Sub-Carbine

It has a much shortened buffer tube and a collapsible stock in the H&K G3 / MP5 style.

A regular HK416 carbine

This firearm appears to be positioned in direct competition to the Sub-Compact Weapon (SCW) that Colt is developing. The SCW features a similarly shortened buffer tube.

Colt SCW. Photo by SMGLee.

I think the H&K design is much more elegant. The H&K stock pull straight out, while the Colt stock must be unfolded out and then down before it can be adjusted for length.

A close-up of the H&K Stock.

Now if H&K would just stop hating us and start selling this nifty upper to us civilians!

Big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photo.

UPDATE:

REMOV has kindly provided me with these photos that he took of the new H&K. The gun has a 9.3" barrel.

Many thanks REMOV!

UPDATE: The Tactical Wire got it wrong. Production was not halted.
Tactical Wire claims that significant problems with the HK416 have been uncovered and production has been halted:

The Tactical Wire has learned from very reliable sources that the US military has encountered significant problems with H&K Model 416s in combat conditions. HK has suspended production pending an internal investigation and inspection of that weapon system.

Very interesting if true. I previously reported that Norwegian soldiers were having problems with their HK416s.

Thanks to Ed Friedman for alerting me to this.

UPDATE: In response to jdun1911: I don’t think this is an Aprils fools joke:

In my recent article about the Norwegian H416 rifle, Mauken, a Norwegian soldier, posted a link to this article at aftenposten.no (I have translated it into english using google):

Soldiers may have been sick of the military’s new rifle

Army turns the alarm after a number of officers and soldiers have health problems after the shooting with the military’s new standard rifle, “HK 416″.

Gun are heirs to AG3, and is about to be phased in for all Armed Forces branches. Some departments, including the Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan, has had the gun in about a year, writes Dagbladet.no.

Hærstaben have been in three different concern from messages incidents where about 40 skyttere have experienced various health problems. It has been reported that strong discomfort in the chest, neck and munnhule after the shooting, unpleasant cough for several hours after the shooting, nausea, fever, headache, joint and cold svetting after the shooting.

Chief of Staff in hærstaben, Brigadier Rune Jakobsen, have now initiated full investigation to find out what it evokes the most serious problems. It has already been initiated medical examinations of the involved personnel.

One of the main theories in the military is now working on the basis that it is the gunpowder gas from the ammo, and not the weapon, which causes problems. HK 416 uses a smaller caliber, and thus a different type than the old munitions AG3.

Norway has been using the H&K G3 which is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. The HK416 that is being adopted is an AR-15 derivative and chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO.

H&K G3 rifle. Photo from Wikipedia.

It is not uncommon for an ammunition producing country to develop a new powder specifically optimized for the a new cartridge / rifle combination when it is adopted by the nations’ armed forces. It is possible that this powder used in the Norwegian 5.56mm ammunition is toxic. Maybe the lubricant they are using reacts badly with the gas from the powder? Maybe plastic parts are melting and releasing a toxic vapor? It will be interesting to see how this story develops.

Thanks to Mauken for the link.

Tanfo, a Norwegian soldier, reports at the ar15.com forum that they have been having problems with their new HK416 rifles.

Norwegian configured HK416 with suppressor.

One of the problems is that the piston system locks up if the gun is taken outdoors from a warm building when the humidity in the air freezes in the Norwegian arctic conditions. The C8 (Colt Canada full-auto AR-15) that is used by the Norwegian special forces also has this problem but can be fixed in a much more timely manner than the HK416.

Apparently the gas regulator, which that controls the amount of gas flowing into the gas piston system, often switches modes during firing. The gun will not function properly if set to the suppressor mode if a suppressor is not being used.

HK416 Gas regulator

I imagine the Norwegian will have these problems sorted out in the next few years. It does seem odd that they did not identify the problems before purchasing the rifles.

Many thanks to Jay for the link.

H&K fans rejoice. The HK416 / HK417 piston driven AR-15 derivatives are finally coming in a semi-automatic form for civilians. The civilian 5.56×45mm HK416 is called the MR556 and the 7.62×51mm HK417 civilian equivalent is the MR762. They are expected to arrive in late 2009.

5.56×45mm MR 556

From HK:

A direct descendent of the HK416, the MR556 is a semi-automatic rifle developed by Heckler & Koch as a premium level commercial/civilian firearm. Like the HK416, the MR556 is a major product improvement of conventional AR-type carbines and rifles.

Using the HK-proprietary gas piston system found on the HK416 and G36, the MR556 does not introduce propellant gases and carbon fouling back into the rifle’s interior, making it the most reliable of any AR-type firearm.

The MR556 will be produced at Heckler & Koch’s new manufacturing facility at Newington, New Hampshire from American and German made components. To conform to German export regulations, certain design changes made in the MR556 prevents the rifle’s upper receiver from being used on other AR-style firearms.

So in other words this is not an AR-15 and in theory would not be banned as a named rifle on AWB 2.0.

Specs for the MR 556

Caliber: 5.56 x 45 mm NATO
Length, maximum (stock extended): 37.68″
Length, minimum (stock retracted): 33.90″
Overall width: 3.07″
Height: 9.45″
Barrel Length : 16.5″
weight (without magazine): 8.60 lb
Trigger pull : 7.64 lb
Barrel Profile: 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 7 in
Sight radius : 14.60″

Oddly enough both models are being shipping with 10 round magazines … AWB 2.0 fears?

7.62×51mm MR 762

Specs for the MR 762
Length, maximum (stock extended) : 39.10″
Length, minimum (stock retracted) : 35.94″
Overall width: 3.23″
Height : 8.36″
Barrel Length: 16.6″
Weight (without magazine): 9.60 lb
Trigger pull: 7.64 lb
Barrel Profile: 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 12 in
Sight radius: 16.14″

I will update this page as more information becomes available.

Earlier this year the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced they will be switching from the G3 7.62mm rifle to the HK416. The Turkish government owned arms and ordnance manufacturer MKEK will be producing the rifle under license from Heckler & Koch.

The H&K G3 battle rifle has been phased out in many countries and replaced with assault rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges. Along with the H&K G3, MKEK also produces the a variety of H&K MP5 models so the move to another H&K rifle is not surprising. Norway is also replacing the G3 with the HK416.

An important Turkish guy holding the Mehmetçik-1.Photo from worldaffairsboard.com

The pistol grip and stock look different to most of the HK416 photos on the internet. The wikipedia page has a photo with “HK416N” markings and the same configuration. The photo is marked for deletion from Wikipedia and there are few other references to the “HK416N” on google.

HK416N markings. Photo from Wikipedia.

Mehmetçik-1 markings

I cannot see any other differences between the Mehmetçik-1 and the HK416N other than the MKEK markings. The only different I have read about on a couple of forums is that MKEK are using different manufacturing techniques and different metals than H&K, which I take to mean a slightly different aluminum and steel alloys, which is not surprising.

The scope pictured above is the Elcan SpecterOS34x scope which well known for its use on the Canadian Diemaco C7/C8. The grenade launcher is the H&K AG416.

The Turkish Wikipedia page says the rifle will be manufactured in four different models. A Sub-carbine (10.5″ barrel), Carbine (14.5″ barrel), Rifle (16.5″ barrel) and “Distance” (Sniper/Marksmen, 20″ barrel).

Below is a video of a press conference with that important Turkish guy showing off the weapons and looking out of his depth:

By all accounts the HK416 is a great rifle combining the best of the AR-15 platform with the benefits of a gas piston system.

Turkey has also adopted a new sniper rifle that I cannot identify. Anyone know what it is? See the below photo.

UPDATE: Alcibiades, correctly identified it as the 7.62×51mm JNG 90, also made by MKEK.

Mehmetçik-1 and JNG 90 sniper rifle. Photo from worldaffairsboard.com

Hat Tip: GunPundit

This animation shows how both the 416 and M4 operate and explains the differences between the M4/M16/AR15 direct-gas impingement system and the H&K 416 piston system.

View the animation here. Below is a screenshot.

The ArmyTimes has written about how the army is stuck with the M16/M4 while spec ops are moving to the H&K 416:

Delta Force worked with a gun maker to come up with a better weapon. The 416 is now considered in many circles to be the best carbine in the world, but the regular Army is sticking with the M4 and M16.

Members of the elite unit linked up with German arms maker Heckler & Koch, which replaced the M4’s gas system with one that experts say significantly reduces malfunctions while increasing parts life. After exhaustive tests with the help of Delta, the H&K 416 was ready in 2004.

Members of the elite commando unit – formally known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta – have been carrying it in combat ever since.

The 416 is now considered in many circles to be the best carbine in the world – a weapon that combines the solid handling, accuracy and familiarity of the M4 with the famed dependability of the rugged AK47.

For the foreseeable future, however, the Army is sticking with the M4 and M16 for regular forces.

More here.