Germany’s Heckler & Koch has been around for decades and needs little introduction in the firearms world. They’ve introduced lots of classic firearms that are easily recognizable. When we hear of H&K, the image that pops into many people’s minds is the famed MP-5. And with good reason—for a long time, it was the world’s foremost submachine gun.
H&K made a massive splash when the British SAS assaulted the Iranian Embassy in London to rescue hostages and kill five terrorists. That was during Operation Nimrod, which took place on 5 May 1980, and was televised all over the world. From that point forward, most firearms enthusiasts dreamed of owning an MP-5.
Over the years, H&K has introduced many high-quality and cool weapons systems.
G36
Heckler & Koch invented the G36 to fulfill a need for the German military. A host of other countries have also adopted it for use because of its reliability (including police and military units in the United Kingdom and Spain).
The standard G36 weighs 8 pounds and has a barrel length of 18.9 inches. The overall length is 39.45 inches with the stock folded, and 29.72 inches with the stock retracted. The stock has an adjustable cheekpiece, which is a nice option. There are various rails for mounting optics, lights, and other accouterments.
It was designed in the early 1990s to replace the G3 (the civilian version is known as the HK91), which was a 7.62 NATO battle rifle. The G3 is a fine rifle, but it’s heavy. And the trend of the time was to move away from the 7.62 NATO round to the 5.56 NATO. Despite that, lots of people still love the G3 with its tank-like construction, reliability, and accuracy. The G36 officially replaced the G3 in 1997. It looks more like a space gun than an infantry rifle with its futuristic design.
Operation
The G36 is gas operated, with a closed rotary bolt, and feeds from a 30-round magazine (made from translucent plastic) or a 100-round drum. It can fire semi and fully automatically. The gas system is a short-stroke piston system, from which HK later developed its HK416 weapons system. There is a bolt hold open for when the last round is fired. The cyclic rate of fire in full auto is 750 rounds per minute. It is reported to be very controllable on full auto fire because of its low mass bolt and straight-line stock design.
The rifle utilizes a large amount of plastic to keep the weight down, with the obvious components necessary being made of steel. The receiver housing, stock, magazine well, handguard, firing mechanism, selector, carry handle, and other parts, are made from a carbon fiber reinforced polyamide. As for the sights, the G36 uses a 3x telescopic sight. The main reticle is designed for use at 200 meters, and it also has crosshairs for 400, 600, and 800 meters. For closer range, there is also a reflex sight designed for 100 meters. This sight features an illuminated reticle; in the daylight, it is powered by ambient light, while at night, it uses a battery.
In The Field
Units using the G36 in the field in Afghanistan began reporting that the rifle would overheat after a couple hundred rapidly fired rounds during firefights. They claimed that accuracy would drastically degrade when the rifle heats up. This is certainly a detriment in the heat of battle.
As expected, a number of different versions were made. These include a compact and carbine version, as well as a Squad Automatic Weapon. The SAW version features a heavy barrel to better deal with the heat of sustained fire.
The SL8
Heckler & Koch is well known for introducing civilian versions of their military rifles for those here in the United States who have a voracious hunger for such firearms. Enter the SL8, which is the civilian-legal version of the G36.
The HK SL8 is chambered in 5.56mm, with an overall length of 38.6 inches. The barrel length is 20.8 inches and is cold hammer forged with a recessed crown. The empty weight of the rifle is 8.6 pounds. Trigger pull is rated at 4.5 pounds.
The stock is of the adjustable variety, and it is of thumbhole configuration, which will undoubtedly please the more restrictive states. It also ships with 10-round magazines and does not have a flash suppressor. The optics rail allows for the mounting of optics and a match trigger also adorns this rifle.
Aside from the appearance, the SL8’s core is pretty much that of a G36.
Magazines
Rather than use the G36’s double-stack magazines, the SL8 utilizes proprietary, single-stack magazines that are limited to ten rounds. That, combined with the other neutered features, is likely the main reason that sales of this rifle have not been very brisk here in the United States. Plus, people can (and do) buy AR-15s of various configurations, which have an astonishing availability of standard-capacity magazines.
Barrel
The SL8’s barrel is medium-heavy weight, which takes away from the lightweight and mobile feel that the G36 has. It gives the SL8 more of a target/varmint-type rifle feel, which many shooters might not be looking for in a copy of the G36. Instead of the G36’s 18.9-inch barrel, the SL8 has one that is longer at 20.8 inches. Again, this takes away from the G36 look and feel.
Other Factors
The HK SL8 requires an Allen wrench to field strip. Spare parts are difficult to locate, and when they can be located, the prices are…well, typical H&K (exorbitantly high).
Accuracy is reported to be quite good, with the rifle being a 1/2-minute of angle (MOA) shooter. Reportedly, the SL8 works well for varmint hunting and long-range shooting.
The SL8 Overall
By all reports, if you expect the SL8 to be a semi-auto version of the G36, you are in for a disappointment. There are enough changes to the civilian rifle that its appearance and feel are significantly different than its military counterpart. It’s heavier and not as agile as the G36. Also, SL8 magazines are different than the military’s G36 mags, so surplus magazines will not work and civilian magazines are expensive and hard to find.
SL8 accuracy is extremely good, even reportedly better than the military G36. If you’re an H&K die-hard enthusiast, you might need to have one. I’m a long-time enthusiast, but the changes to the SL8 are profound enough that I won’t be plunking my dollars down to buy one.
The retail price of the HK SL8, at the time of this writing, is $1,789.00.
