HK43: The 5.56mm "Paramilitary" Rifle
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- čas přidán 7. 03. 2024
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Before the H&K 90 series of rifles - the civilian semiautomatic versions - existed, there was the 40-series; the paramilitary rifles. Originally intended for German reservist purchase, the HK41 and HK43 were G3 and HK33 rifles made in semiautomatic only configuration. In the early 1970s, these were fairly easy for a German member of the armed forces to purchase, and keep at home for training or recreational shooting. They were also imported in small umbers into the US, with additional changes made to the receiver and bolt carrier to meet ATF standards for not being easily convertible into machine guns. By the mid 1970s, however, German laws changed, and the process to purchase on of these rifle in Germany became onerous enough that H&K dropped them from production. In their place came the HK 91 and 93 (as well as 94), more specifically designed to meet American import regulations - but identical to the 40 series in practical terms.
Thanks to Select Fire Weaponry of Waukesha, Wisconsin for loaning me this rare rifle to film!
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Scaled down battle rifles are so uniquely beautiful.
9mm FAL 🤣
AR-15, Mini-14, HK33, SG 540, etc.
Mini-14?
I dont know, but with shoes for example, the same form sometimes works marvellously in one size, and just doesnt, in a different.
I can imagine same things with guns, where the battle rifle one works, and the assault rifle doesnt.
Especially considering that not everything can be just scaled down by the same percentage, as your eyes and hands and fingers stay the same, as does the aiming device.
Scale most things down 7% but keep others at 100%? Fked up form.
Ammosexuality can be cured
I worked with a guy who got into guns because he saw an HK91 ad in a Playboy magazine in the 80's.
Most of the items exported from "Germany" at the time were labeled as "West Germany".
It was an interesting choice or H&K to just say "Made in Germany".
Thought exactly the same ... very interesting indeed. I wonder what made them do this.
@@residentgeardo: Heckler & Koch is located in swabian town Oberndorf am Neckar. The members of swabian tribe are known for being , sparsam/ geizig ' ( don't know english word), which means, , we swabians like to not spending money. To stamp/ engrave only , Germany ' instead ,West Germany ' saves time and Money! :-)))
@@brittakriep2938 sounds plausible! 😆
@@residentgeardo : For the case, you visit Oberndorf am Neckar, visit the Schwedenbau ( swedisch building). There is both the Waffenmuseum ( weapons museum) with products of Heckler & Koch, Mauser ( including Königlich Württembergische Waffenmanufaktur) and Feinwerkbau, and Heimatmuseum ( Museum of homeregion ) showing spear Tips and sword Blades of allemanic Warriors..
@@residentgeardo It might be related to increased exports from East Germany. With Honecker taking over in the 70s, the GDR became focused on attaining hard foreign currency by trading with the West.
Originally, "Made in Germany" might have been synonymous with "Made in West Germany", but at some point they would have feared the association with low-quality wares like the infamous _Trabant_ car.
Ironically, the stuff that the West imported from the GDR often tended to be what were considered luxury goods in the East, and still high-quality by Western standards. For example, people who had relatives in the West would often ask them for women's hosiery - what they usually didn't know was that there was a good chance that their gift was actually "Made in GDR".
The aesthetics of this rifle are on point 👌🏼
It's the MPFiiiive.
Its pure old school gun smut
Of course they are, it's a classic HK.
Meh, just an HK variant nothing special here really.
Except the welds look like dawg 💩
In the C.I.P. standard, unlike SAAMI, no distinction is made between 5.56 Nato and .223 rem. All rifles built according to C.I.P. can safely shoot 5.56 Nato and .223. The chambers and barrels are all made to 5.56 Nato specs. Countries where it is used C.I.P: Germany, Belgium, Chile, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Russia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Arab Emirates
And thanks for the nice foto at the IWA Ian =)
I have the HK93 1982 dated, Ian please run a few drills with this at the range 😮
Can I touch it?
@@Gliese380 you can find a Century Arms and PTR for half the price 😅💸
@@Darth-Nihilus1Shooting Sight is making a very nice HK trigger pack. I have one in my PTR 32.
DITTO on the HK-93.
@@dbmail545 that’s a good rifle!
Really gorgeous rifle.
it's fascinating to delve into the history of firearms like the HK43, a true gem from the paramilitary rifle era. The transition from the HK41 and HK43 to the HK91 and HK93 underscores the ever-changing landscape of gun regulations and import standards.
PTR-63 will be something of a comeback for these.
Back when H&K remembered civilians and less-funded military/paramilitary personnel exist, although to be fair it's not like their government or the ATF make it easy for anybody.
H&K hasn't forgotten, politicians just never forgave them for resisting the ban and punished them ever since whenever they try to enter the American civilian market.
No idea what makes you think they forgot about the "less funded" militaries since they've gotten in trouble repeatedly for supplying them while skirting the law.
HK has facilities in America, they may not be able to import their German products but there’s no reason they can’t release American built guns that currently aren’t available on the civilian market.
@@chemistryofquestionablequa6252 Im not 100% sure on this, but if its a gun build under licence, which i assume is the case with anything h&k manufactured in the us, the company still has to adhere to certain regulations to make sure the products dont end up in the wrong hands ( like weapons that the german government considers "military-only" that may be legal to buy in the US otherwise not ending up in the hands of civilians ). Maybe they just dont want to bother with that.
They sell pretty much everything on the European market. I don't complain that American manufacturers hate me when I can't get some of your American products over here.
Its written HK...there is no & between...
I remember back in the early 80s going to a gun show where a dealer had both a HK 91 and a HK 93 for sale. I thought I really wanted the HK93 but my friend convinced me that the power and range of the HK91 would be more advantageous in a SHTF scenario. There was also lots of 7.62 surplus ammo for cheap on the market as most NATO countries were switching to the 5.56. If I'd of had the money I would have bought both but I went for the HK91. Served me well for many years.
Back when this country still had a sense of humour, I had a nice HK 41.
The biggest notable difference was the barrel.
It was "conventionally" rifled *; NOT the classic "polygonal" style. And NOT chrome-lined.
Next, the barrel was a "bit " longer and the muzzle was "plain", ho muzzle device or even a thread to retain one. The barrel was basically turned parallel from the front-sight post to the muzzle and given a "conventional" crown.
NO thumb notches on the carrier and a basic-looking carrier, all round.
The rear-sight only had a series of round apertures, no "open" notch.
It also had the very nifty scope system with its tall, QD claw setup. This mount has a clearance through it so that the aperture sights were still usable. The short eye relief of the scope literally "left a mark" on the one occasion I tried to use the "iron" option tracking a feral pig coming my way at spreed.
About the only "issue" I ever had was that the over-moulded plastic "grippy-bit" on the cocking handle fell off and thereafter It carried on with a hand-moulded blob of fiber-reinforced automotive body-putty ; crude but effective. That rifle put a LOT of feral pork on the deck. Ultra-reliable when used with good ammo and basic cleaning.
Tip for users who have inadvertently "collapsed" the bolt-head back to the carrier:
Instead of raising a sweat, simply reverse the assembly and push it "smartly" backwards into the receiver. This will relocate the bolt-head without dramas.
The "issue" cleaning kit was a cool item in itself: A nifty "olive-green" plastic box contoured to"follow the diameter of the average soldier's leg (Anyone can do a "flat" cleaning kit box). In it were the usual Teutonic METAL "pull-through" and an assortment of jags, lubes and some space for patches. Then, there was the "magic" screwdriver that is needed to PROPERLY perform rear-sight adjustments; a piece of gear deserving an episode of "Forgotten Accessories".
All I have left are the memories and a few photos
Our local PD was issued the HK93 back in the 80’s and surprisingly it only lasted a couple years and was replaced with AR-15s because of reliability issues. No kidding.
Same reason given that the army never adopted it.
The roller-delayed system seems a bit more finicky about ammunition than the Stoner system. My 7.62x39 PTR 32 definitely prefers full-power mil-spec ammo.
@@dbmail545exactly my thought. 556NATO and .223 are mostly interchangeable, but they do have different projectile weight and powderload.
especially with HK guns some require very specific forces or gas amounts to operate perfectly. if those are not met, being too low or too high, you get material damage when used for a long time.
edit: luckily, Ian made a video about that topic czcams.com/video/-fmcdaAOkY4/video.html
German engineering. My dad told me Mercedes replaced the throttle cable with a 17 piece mechanical assembly. My Dad, "That's 16 more things to break."
@DeadSomething the German WW2 strategy was small batches of hyper engineered weapons that, through Aryan Magic, would compensate for lack of numbers. us & Soviet was a few models cheaply produced in massive numbers. We know who was right. but the Germans have never ditched the hyper engineering.
Im impressed, Ian actually pronounced Waukesha correctly!! Usually non local people really butcher that one.
I was wondering about that. I've always heard it pronounced wa-kee-sha, not walk-sha.
@@illuminatus3125 to my ears it sounds more like wok-e-sha. Said quickly without any emphasis on any certain part. Although some locals say it like there's a lite w at the end like wok-e-shaw, but they are in the minority.
Just wanted to Thank Ian for his super Personality which he showed last Sunday at IWA!! That Photo get´s framed!
What a gorgeous rifle! The HK33 is my favourite of the G3 family, it just feels so well proportioned. :D
I like the reviews of rifles I actually have ammo for the best. Thanks Ian.
Ah yes, the G3 but scaled down for child soldiers !
One of my favorite guns, but still rather heavy.
For babies. Because the G3 has already been used by child soldiers 💀
NATO compliance for ammunition . I love the G3 but it’s not a lot of fun to carry all day. You boys stick with trains and models…
Just like the army's love of the M 16.
@curlybill3966 Even with the new Spuhr furniture the G3 is a pain to carry for long durations (at least at my age) I'm very much looking forward to the new Sako built Ak24 that will replace it.
Video enjoyed. Thank you Ian.
That's a cool rifle. I like it. Have always liked this H&K form factor.
50 years old and still a beauty😊
I don't think Ian is 50
@@MainelyMoto207 Nice try, I referred to the rifle😂
@@HenrykGutmann-kr9tn it's ok, we all know Ian is a beauty. No shame
Looks like the G3,which was pretty heavy.
Paramilitary contractors is a good one,back in 1974 they were still called mercenaries.
Now they’re “private military contractors” lol. One of the oldest professions in the world.
Not really the same! A mercenary fights for Money ( and often looting), a Warrior fights for honour ( and often looting), a soldier Fights for honour ( and Money). Those ,Paramiltary' groups can be armed personal of civilian Administration with Combatant Status, semiofficial armed oranisations, fighting in war with Combatant Status, but also dubious levies with No real official Combatant Status.
I'm wondering if you made this comment before watching this video? Because he clearly explains the context behind the paramilitary market this was geared towards.
@@brittakriep2938"A mercenary fights merely for money. It's not the money that bugs me, it's the merely."-high school teacher, Miami, FL
@@hurricane567 : Mercenaries exist for more than 2000 Years. In former days, for example Landsknecht era, Most of this mercennaries , in addition to their wage (?) , in german Sold, they often plundered a lot. I don't know current situation.
Always learn something new on this channel.
Very intriguing ian
Love that rifle! Design wise, its beautifull.
I think I'm in love with this man.
HK93 ?
MY FRIEND HAD BOTH THE 91 AND 93 WITH THE RETRACTABLE STOCK IN 1980 ...😮
I have both the HK retractable buttstock and the Turkish clone of it. Makes an already heavy gun even heavier.
hell yeah brother
TY Ian. It's got the perfect system-No gas. ;)
I’ve loved this gun every since I watched The Thing. That’s no dog!!! 🐶
Bow wow wow
Here I was thinking HK43 was a misprint of 93 all these all years !
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮 I thought all of those HK 43 were scraped!!! Glad to see that there's some here in the States!!! What I can't be happy to see I'm wrong!??
Take it to the range, Ian!
🎵I see an HK and I want to paint it black!🎶
🎵No colours anymore, I want them to turn black.🎶
LOL! I love it! I have a G3, and it is indeed "painted black."
Thanks again Ian
I own and run all kinds of different calibers and types of guns these days.
Back when I was a little kid in the 1970’s when these first came into the US I was still growing up around all veterans from the Spanish American War, a guy that chased Poncho Vehia across the desert, WWI, WWII and Korea veterans and they did not care for the 223 really at all, they said if it wasn’t 30 caliber it wasn’t worth having. My cousin had an SP1 bought surplus in 1973 and none of them liked it, the veterans ran 1903 Springfields, M1 Garand’s, 30 Carbines and 1911’s.
So when I had the chance to run and gun in Afghanistan in June of 81 I ran a South African made G3 and M1 Garand to start out with.
Thanks again Ian you have brought us yet another really interesting gun that I too would love to have.
Honestly, 7.62 nato or .30-06 were more lethal and effective at range. But there is a reason that the majority of the world switched to an intermediate cartridge. But old dogs prefer what they KNOW works, and are a lot less likely to experiment or mess with what works. And if they have survived war to the point they got old, they may just have a point to make.
In other words, don't dismiss the veterans, they've been there, and their experience is not to be dismissed lightly.
That is a gorgeous rifle, ive always favored the HK battle rifles/Spanish (cetme, G3, etc) id love to own one of those.
HK making a rifle for the civilian market?! That is rare!
Not back b4 wokeness took Europe
This was one of the first airsoft guns I had, it seemed rare, never seen one again. It was call the G?? something. It was only slightly shorter than the one shown here, but identical in markings and design. Even the mags, crazy.
Thanks for providing us with useful insight of the HK43 Ian. The G3 and its variants may have been rather heavy for soldiers to carry around but they were nonetheless very good German firearms.
select fire is a great store, love going there when i'm in town
Wow HK43 '' I thought it was the HK33 ''👀'' Great Video Ian 💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
I have two H-K43's that my dad bought in 1975. along with a 41. They are great rifles, it's a shame they got discontinued.
Excellent
Waukesha Wisconsin is less then 3 hours from my home. I own an HK-94!
Its mine lol
Thanks,Enjoyed, Sure looked like a Trip lever in the FCG.
I have a few HK 33 rifles I like them
Buen video 👍
I remember seeing an advertisement in Guns and Ammo magazine in 1983 for this rifle . I had 9ften wondered about them.
When I was in college I bought one of these at an old school gun shop in College Ave. less that a mile from a UC Berkeley campus. Different times. If I remember right the Colt shorty AR15 was $250 and the HK was $295, but much cooler. Spare mags were impossible to come by but at least surplus 5.56 was cheap! About a year later I traded it for a near mint 1950's Gold Cup in .38 Super. I still have that one. A couple years ago I looked at what these sell for and 'holy cow'!
Also, if I remember correctly, mine had green furniture and the skinny (tropical?) handguard and the flash hider was spot welded on. There was even a letter from ATF about that last bit.
Hell yeah WI represent!
At 8:38, Ian states that "the auto sear and trip lever are gone." I can clearly see the trip lever. With the trip surface on the bottom of the carrier milled off, the trip lever has nothing to activate the trip lever.
Scott
It's always so weird hearing Ian talk about one of my local stores. I literally saw this thing last weekend I'm pretty sure 😂
Ooohhh! I want it! Gimme gimme gimme!!!
Nice rifle.
Interesting differences to the fixed stock G3 that had the buffer in the stock and a pinned trigger group (the MP5 also had a pin holding the trigger group)
And a nice mix of languages. The german police MP5 trigger had S (Sicher/Safe) and E (Einzelfeuer - single shot) with F (Feuerstoss, actuall full auto) on the G3 as the third dent (Also called Entladen / Unload and Frieden / Peace if the Spiess and Officers where not around)
Thatcher mains gonna recognize this one
I bought an HK-93 on an impulse back in the late '80's. Looked cool. Shot OK...not so great trigger but I really liked the diopter sights. Mangled brass and got dirtier than any rifle I'd ever seen so cleaning was not fun. Got rid of it because I could not find magazines in bulk and the ones that were available were SO expensive it was ridiculous. Traded it in for an HK-91 just to see how they compared and found about the same good and bad then got rid of it. About three months after it went away the flood of surplus magazines hit the US and I was kicking myself because the main reason I had to dump it was the $100+ per mag when I had it turned into $5-7 per mag and I'd have stocked up and kept the rifle. Oh well...good times.
In 1976 I bought a new HK43. I came with a single 20 and magazines simply not available. A few months later I was at the shop and they had two 25's for $75 each. I only paid $295 for the rifle!
nice
In a perfect word, Germany adopts the HK33 instead of the G36. Man these guns are sexy.
HELL YEA GOOD SHOP FROM MY TOWN
The HK 93 was the rifle the sheriff (Brian Dennehy)shot and nicked Rambo on the side of his head in the movie..
I would love to see a video on the HR T223, availability and scheduling permitting.
Carried the HK53 carbine, which is like this but with shorter barrel and sliding stock. Our version had an in built mag light in the fore grip and clipped together twin 25 round magazines which made it very front heavy. You needed hands like a gorrila to reach the selector with your thumb and it had a very sharp recoil impulse. Not my favourite.
if you're in wisconsin you should 100 percent go to the House on the Rock, they have a great old gun collection
Never had experience of the G33 but loved the G3. To my mind the weapon the FAL could have been.
Waukesha Wisconsin? That's right down the road
I missed a chance to get one of these for 650 usd, was getting my first gun and didn't know what it was at the time...
The Kal. Was in the weapon like that because its is the abbreviation for Kaliber which means caliber in German.
I had a Vector V93. It was a magnificent rifle - I sold it after Sandy Hook for a grip-full of cash to an Alaskan fellow.
I think about that rifle every day. I miss it.
WISCONSIN MENTIONED! SWELL WITH BEER, CHEESE, PACKERS, GUNS, AND PRIDE!
sweet a new HK rifle being covered
I drive through Waukesha on my way to and from work every day.
i got here fast...... i shouldn't even be awake rn
Say what you want about HK, but you'll never mistake one of their firearms for being manufactured by anyone else.
I like their HuK Logo. Heckler und Koch
This might be the most beautiful rifle I have ever seen. Too bad I'm not allowed to own one.
So, I'm not even a gun guy and this kinda background is fascinating to me.
Ptr needs to make this
The PTR 63 is in development and expected to release this year. The same rifle with a 16" barrel and uses AR magazines. They will have AR fire control groups.They are made on Portuguese G3 tooling and take HK parts (if you can afford them).
Niiiiiiiiiiiice.
I'm also 3/74 production date, but Austria not Germany.
So, I guess that makes me a Steyr prototype. 😁
"we marked it .233, as was the style at the time"
Hey Ian! Great video as always :). Gotta love hk roller delays. Ive been trying to research military ak drum magazines and just…woah. Hella confusing. Figuring out which type from which country and what the differences between copies are, calibers, and god forbid, caliber conversions. For example, no drums (at least russian) were made for the ak74. But the rpk16 uses a virtually identical looking drum to the akm drums. Why is there no difference in curvature like standard mags with 7.62 vs 5.45? I heard that Norinco made drums in different calibers, but trying to tie it all together is a mess. Thanks for reading, love your vids.
CIP doesn't differentiate between 5.56 & 223 like SAAMI does. It's all the same cartridge in Europe. Safe for one. Safe for both.
Ian you're in my home state!!!! Hello!!!!
HK33, HK43, HK93, HK53
MP5, HK94
Question Ian if you please. Does the HK-43 and HK-93 have a fluted (mangle your brass) chamber???
Neat gun and there are very few bad ones. I will still take my AR derivative over all others.
Waukesha REPRESENT! Im from there :D
Is the SACO company the same one that manufactured the M-60?
So does that mean theyre potentially full auto hk lowers registered for shelf uppers. Or it would have to be removed to convert
Gotta love HK's, Hunter Killers😈
OG Zombies HK21, my personal fav
Burt Gummer from Tremors, his favorite gun is the HK91, which he had to send back to Reba McEntire in the second movie!😂👍
it's marked as .223 because selling 5.56 mm (military) ammunition is illegal in Germany, I guess they didn't bother to re mark them for Export
Ah yes, the G3, but scaled down for dwarven warriors
You know the sad thing is that the roller system was made and designed for an intermediate cartridge and relly shines with them….. but they were were the least sold product for hk…..
Interesting the markings say, made in Germany not west Germany.
...most West German markings of the times were "Made in Germany" and East German markings were "Made in GDR" ("German Democratic Republic" English for "DDR") the West-German thing was less common. greetings from Germany....
Has a video on the Periscope rifle happened yet?
Malaysia and Thailand adopted the HK33, with HK even managed to sell a license in the late 60s for Malaysia to produce their own HK33 rifles. However, manufacturing issues meant that there was a struggle to meet the license requirements--not that it was a big deal since the Malaysian military hated the things; it was heavy for a 5.56 rifle and it didn't perform so well in the jungle. It was so bad that Malaysia launched a special procurement in 1976 for M16A1 rifles. Malaysia was already familiar with the M16, having been one of the first customers of the Colt AR-15 back in 1959 when they were known as Malaya.
Therefore, the HK33 was relegated to reservists before being phased out and then broken down into parts. Many of these parts kits came to the US, and that is how people can make HK33 or HK93 clones (Henry of 9 Hole Review has a short of a clone example made from Malaysian parts). Thailand still have their HK33s though they are now seem in reservist roles and police.
I'm curious what Thailand thought of them if Malaysia hated the rifle. One thing that surprised me after living in Thailand for over 1 year is, While Thailand has its jungle areas too a large part of Thailand is actually semi arid, Isan in particular is allot of flat open dry grasslands. I wonder if that climate difference may have changed their opinion somewhat.
@@-Zevin- I do think lower quality locally made parts played a factor, and it was enough to throw them from frontline service. Malaysia was actually facing an insurgency at that time, an asymmetric war that lasted until the 80s, so they needed more reliable guns and more of them generally. This also includes getting quite a bit of Beretta AR70 rifles in the late 70s/early 80s--instead of going back to the HK33.
I have an HK-93 and it is a heavy boy. While it is not the best by today's standards, it is high quality. I have a PTR-91 and even though it shoots perfectly fine, when you close the bolt, it sounds like you dropped a bag of wrenches. When closing the bolt on the HK-93, it sounds more like the deadbolt closing on your front door (a sliding "click"). I guess I need to get an HK-91 to compare....
It's always a little weird to think that the paddle release on most G3 derivatives is so much more obviously visible, and yet that's just a more easily-reached backup for the button release.
Why does the fire control group have a sear trip on it? ...if it's semi auto? @7:39
Yep, I saw that too...🙄