#MR556

The HK416 is known for running without fail in all sorts of environments. This is why so many military and police forces have adopted the gun. It’s also known for being noticeably heavier than some other systems. Giving two new handguard options to HK416/MR556 owners (including one to save some weight), Strike Industries has released their new GRIDLOK handguards for the HK416/MR556/M27 IAR.

Our Photo Of The Day is in flames! You’re looking at the latest  Heckler & Koch MR556A1 upper. The caliber is 5.56 x 45 mm with a barrel profile with 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 7″. The sight radius is 14.60″ but you can of course use the Picatinny rail to mount a red dot or a riflescope. Two great optic choices are either the Aimpoint CompM5s red dot sight or the Schmidt & Bender 1-8×24 PM II ShortDot Dual CC scope . This H&K deserves something more than just the iron sights, at least that’s my opinion.

We have been following the development of the Bundeswehr’s ongoing efforts to procure a rifle for some time, now it has emerged that C.G. Haenel’s headquarters in Suhl have been visited by investigators on the orders of the Dusseldorf Regional Court. Investigators have reportedly moved to secure evidence for the patent infringement case between Haenel and Heckler & Koch.

Mekanix, a company based in Mølnbukt, Norway, have developed a handguard and a gas block that fits the Heckler & Koch`s MR223/HK416/MR556 rifles. They seem to have a lot of time at hand to develop new and clever solutions.

With the Heckler & Koch MR223 A3 (European version) being virtually impossible to source in Europe as the Heckler & Koch factory has chosen to focus on finishing Military and Law Enforcement orders it is interesting to see the MR556A1 Upper Receiver Kit on offer in the US webshop.

If you recall, The Firearm Blog broke the news back in March that Brownells was importing HK416 components. They first offered their HK417 parts for sale back in early September. Well now they will be selling their HK416 parts as well as offering their newly manufactured parts up for pre-order on Veteran’s Day, Monday November 12. Their 416 profile lowers, the BRN-4, will also be up for pre-order.

The French importer of Heckler & Koch in France, RUAG Defence, have announced that they are going to sell two civilian versions of the HK416F.

Heckler & Koch 416 “assault rifle lower receivers” are for sale in Germany.

The H&K MR556 rifle is essentially a 416 without select-fire capability, but this video showcases an MR556 that has been brought up to near 416 specs. With a chopped barrel and a few other modifications, the gun could fool all but the most discerning onlookers. So, how does it shoot?

In October, I traveled out to see my co-writer Alex C. to collect data on the weights of different long guns and some of their components. Over that weekend, I weighed 58 rifles and submachine guns, and numerous magazines, bolts, bolt carriers, and other miscellaneous items. The purpose of this was not only to collate a general list of the weights of different weapons, but to be able to enhance the accuracy of a previous spreadsheet I’d produced showing the loaded “combat” weights of different rifles; that being available at this link.

Strike Industries is a great outfit that really knows how to make use of all the machine tools at their disposal. They produce some truly spectacular pieces of gear for shooters of all types and I have yet to evaluate a piece I have not been thoroughly impressed with.

“HKGuns” sent us these gorgeous photos of his Heckler & Koch HK MR556A1 Competition. The Competition models features a new 14″ handguard, a Magpul CTR stock and a very nifty-looking Operators Suppressor Systems (OSS) compensator.

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.

An enthusiast entrepreneurial gun dealer from Luxemburg, WI has listed a H&K MR556 (the semi-auto H&K 416) on Gun Broker with a Buy Now price of $2,995. He admits that he will not receive delivery of the rifle until next month.

H&K fans rejoice. The HK416 / HK417 piston driven AR-15 derivatives are finally coming in a semi-automatic form for civilians. The civilian 5.56x45mm HK416 is called the MR556 and the 7.62x51mm HK417 civilian equivalent is the MR762. They are expected to arrive in late 2009.