#MR556A1

TV and film guns are always going to be popular collector’s items and while some of them are often creations directly from the bench of a deranged gunsmith, some prop movie guns are meant to be literal representations of real-world firearms. In this particular example on Gunbroker, we see an H&K MR556A1 SBR that is intended to resemble an HK416D that was used by the US Navy Seals during the raid on Bin Landen’s compound back in 2011. This firearm was converted for use with blanks by Point Blank Props’ for use during the filming of the movie Zero Dark Thirty, a Hollywood thriller based on the events surrounding the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. What’s cool about this particular collector’s item is that instead of its movie-ready black firing adapter configuration, this particular prop gun has been restored to work with live ammunition.

Built around the legendary HK416 platform, the Heckler & Koch MR556A1 is the newest variant available to the commercial market.  This newest model carries over tried and true features like HK’s short-stroke gas piston system with some new refinements like an M-LOK rail.  Built using a combination of both German and American parts I was curious to see how this new variant performed. H&K was kind enough to send over this review MR556A1 with an EOTech VUDU 1-6 in their new mount.

Really, Tom? Is that the best title you can come up with? SHOT is the place to put out your new products (if there is any place). I know, I know. My “title writing” muse is on vacation right now…

Alright so it is no secret that I am an H&K guy, and if you have followed my previous articles then you can definitely see that I have taken a liking to them over the years. Hell, the US Government will not let H&K import modern sporting rifles due to the ’89 import ban so I went out of my way to build a semi-automatic G36 clone out of an SL8 and even a title II UMP want-to-be out of a USC carbine. That being said, it came as a shock to me when I got selected to review the new H&K MR556A1. You see, the way us writers get selected to review products (when it comes to firearms) is done by rotation rather than intentional selection so I was thrilled when I got the word. I was also pleasantly surprised at how easy H&K was to deal with; I got in touch with a delightful H&K employee via e-mail and she had a shiny new MR556A1 rifle at my FFL within a week.