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HK-G36
G36 G36K
G36C Caliber 5.56x45mm (.223 Rem) The Heckler and Koch G-36 assault rifle was born as the HK-50 project in early 1990s. The reason behind that project was that the Bundeswehr (the German army), after the cancellation of the G11 and G41 projects, was left with an outdated G3 rifle and no modern rifle compatible with the current NATO standards at hands. So, the famous company Heckler & Koch set out to develop a new assault rifle for the both German army and for export. The new rifle was a flexible, affordable and extremely reliable design. It seems that HK succeeded in every respect with the G36. The new 5.56mm assault rifle was adopted by the Bundeswehr in 1995, and in 999 the Spanish adopted the slightly different export version, the G36E, as its standard infantry rifle. The G36 also found its way into the hands of various law enforcement agencies worldwide, including British police and some US police departments. So far there have been very few complaints about this rifle, and a lot of good revives and opinions. In fact, one of the few complaints about G36 is the overheating of the handguards during the sustained fire and the loose of zero of the built in scope on some G36KE rifles, used by US police. Otherwise it is a really fine rifle, accurate, reliable, simple in operation & maintenance, and available in a wide variety of versions - from the short-barreled Commando (some even said that it's a submachine gun) G36C up to a standard G36 rifle, and the MG36 squad automatic (light machine gun). The G36, in severely modified form, also is used as a "kinetic energy" part of the US XM-29 OICW weapon. It also appears that in this form it also can be adopted by US Army as the separate XM-8 light assault rifle, to replace in the near future Colt M4 carbines, which are now in service with US military. Technical description. The receiver and most of the external parts of the G36 are made from reinforced polymers, with steel inserts where appropriate. The operating system appears to be a modification of the older American Armalite AR-18 rifle, with its short stroke gas piston, located above the barrel, square-shaped bolt carrier and the typical rotating bolt with 7 locking lugs. Of course, there also are many differences from the AR-18. The bolt carrier rides on a single guide rod, with the return spring around it. The charging handle is attached to the top of the bolt carrier and can be rotated to the left or to the right. When not in use, the charging handle aligns itself with the axis of the weapon under the pressure of its spring, and reciprocates with the bolt group at the top of the receiver. The gas block is fitted with a self-adjustable gas valve, that expels all the used gases forward, away from the shooter. The ejection window is located at the right side of the receiver and features a spent cases deflector to propel the ejected cases away from the face of the left-handed shooter. All the major parts are assembled on the receiver using cross- pins, so the rifle can be disassembled and reassembled without any tools. The typical HK trigger unit is assembled in a separate plastic housing, integral with the pistol grip and the trigger guard. Thanks to this feature, a wide variety of firing mode combinations can be used on any rifle, simply by installing the appropriate trigger unit. Standard options are single shots, full automatic fire, 2 or 3 round bursts in any reasonable combinations. The default version is the single shots + 2 rounds burst + full auto. The ambidextrous fire selector lever also serves as a safety switch. The 36 is fed from a proprietary 30-round box magazine, made from translucent plastic. All magazines have special studs on their sides, so two or three magazines can be clipped together for faster reloading. The magazine housings of the G36 are made as separate parts, so the G36 can be easily adjusted to the various magazine interfaces. The magazine release catch is located just behind the magazine in the G3 or AK-47 style, rather than on the side of the magazine housing (M16-style). A 100-round Beta-C dual drum magazine of US origins also can be used (these magazines are standard for the MG36 squad automatic versions of the G36). A side-folding, sturdy skeletonized butt stock is standard on all G36 rifles. It folds to the right side and does not interfere with rifle operation when folded. The standard sighting equipment of the G36 consists of TWO scopes - one 3.5X telescope sight below, with the second 1X red-dot sight above it. The sights are completely independent, with the former suitable for long range accurate shooting, and the latter suitable for the fast target acquisition at short ranges. Both sights are built into the plastic carrying handle. The export versions of the G36 are available with a single 1.5X telescope sight, with emergency open sights molded into the top of the carrying handle. The subcompact G36K Commando version is available with an integral Picatinny-type scope and accessory rail instead of a carrying handle and standard sights. The standard G36 rifles can be fitted with an HK AG36 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher. It also can be fitted with a bayonet. Interestingly enough, the G36 uses an AK-74-type bayonet, which are left from the now non-existent NVA (East Germany Army) stocks Experience one TODAY at Midwest Gun and Range! Check back often as we frequently add new Machine Guns! |
