A Possible (Free) Solution To the G36 Issues from Strike Industries
One thing I love about the guys at Strike Industries is that when they come up with an idea they don’t think is worth commercializing, they release the idea for free to the internet. One of their engineers, Sam C., who is an H&K G36 fan, came up with a handguard/rail concept that could prevent the loss of zero that the German military claims happens when the H&K G36 heats up. They have allowed me to publish the design and told me that any manufacturers can use it royalty free (if any manufacturers want to confirm this or want more details about the design they can email info@strikeindustries.com).
Sam’s idea is a barrel clamp combined with a new handguard. The CAD render below shows the new parts and the clamps Sam designed. I have rendered the clamps differently to the rest of the handguard so you can see them better.
The lower half of the clamp slots into dovetails on the lower handguard and is bolted into place from the side of the lower handguard. The upper half of the clamp is bolted over the rifle barrel.
In this CAD render I have shown the barrel so you can see how it all fits together ….
Sam also designed an optional top rail cover which can be opened for easier access to the gas piston block.
There are two downsides to this rail. The first is that the barrel no longer free-floats. Because the free-floating system has accuracy problems I don’t see this as a disadvantage as long as the clamp system improves accuracy. The other disadvantage is that the SI rail is bulkier than the factory G36 rail and would be heavier with the relatively large clamps inside.
A big thanks to Strike Industries allowing us to share this design with you. Last week we reviewed one of their upcoming handguard designs. You can read the review here.
Our own Alex C. got hold of an H&K to see if he could replicate the accuracy issues. The video can be watched below …
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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My first post was only the "solution" to the moving impact point.
The theory of the German engineers which found the problem claimed that the extreme dispersion of the hot gun came from the Plastic around the trunnion going beyond the "glass-point". That mean the plastic goes rubber elastic and making the oszillation of the Barrel irregular.
To test this you can only cool as much as possible(The ARX160 ceramic sleeve solution is obviously not possible).
For that you can choose a solution like thist http://www.jprifles.com/buy...
>>>Thermal Dissipator™
Tests show that most heat resulting from sustained fire is developed in a 2- to 3-inch area in front of the chamber causing throat erosion and reduced accuracy over time, not to mention the problem of heat buildup in the hand guard itself that makes handling of the rifle difficult or impossible. Attaching this heat sink between the gas block and receiver will yield unparalleled heat dissipation by increasing the surface area under the hand guard by over 700% and providing more uniform barrel temperature under sustained fire.
The "K" has a 12.5" barrel. The issue was also concerning the more widely issued, longer barreled G36 (almost 19" long).