Heckler & Koch HK417
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| Heckler & Koch HK417 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Battle rifle |
| Place of origin |  Germany |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Norway |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Heckler & Koch |
| Variants | Assaulter (12" barrel - standard) Recce (16" barrel - standard and accurized) Sniper (20" barrel - accurized) |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 3.87 kg (12 inch barrel), 4.05 kg (16 inch barrel), 4.23 kg (20 inch barrel) |
| Length | 805 / 885 mm (12" barrel, stock collapsed/extended), 905 / 985 mm (16" barrel, stock collapsed/extended), 1005 / 1085 mm (20" barrel, stock collapsed/extended) |
| Barrel length | 305 mm (12 in) standard, 406 mm (16 in) standard, 406 mm (16 in) accurized 508 mm (20 in) accurized |
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| Cartridge | 7.62x51mm NATO |
| Action | Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
| Feed system | 10 or 20 round detachable box magazine (Optional 50 round drum magazine) |
The HK417 is an Assault rifle/battle rifle/designated marksman rifle designed and manufactured in Germany by Heckler & Koch. It is chambered for the 7.62x51mm NATO (.308 Winchester) round. Similar in internal design to the HK416, the HK417 is a gas-operated, short-stroke piston design, which is claimed to be more reliable than the original direct impingement operation of the AR-10 design due to less fouling in the receiver.[1] The early prototype HK417 utilized 20-round magazines from the H&K G3 rifle family, which did not feature a bolt hold-open device. Later prototypes, however, switched to a polymer magazine with bolt hold-open. The magazine is similar to the G36 series transparent magazine, except without the pins for holding more than one magazine together.
In addition, a well proven 50-round, low profile drum magazine developed by HK for the HK21E machine gun can be fitted to the HK417 for use in support and sustained fire applications.
The HK417 is designed more for use as a "designated marksman" rifle than an assault rifle, with its increased cost, accuracy, decreased rate of fire and magazine capacity although fully automatic fire is selectable.
However the HK417 12" 'Assault' Model is more competitive against for instance the LWRC SRT and even the HK416 because it is the only weapon of roughly the same size and weight as it's competitors that can fire the more powerful 7.62x51mm NATO round.
The HK417 comes in three variants (all in 7.62x51mm NATO):
- HK417 12" 'Assaulter' Model - 12" standard barrel
- HK417 16" 'Recce' Model - 16" standard and accurized barrels
- HK417 20" 'Sniper' Model - 20" accurized barrel
Accurized barrels provide 1 MOA accuracy (with proper ammunition)
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[edit] Related Weapons
The HK416 is a smaller version of the HK417 chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO round. The HK416 is designed for military and law enforcement use. The HK417 and HK416 have a relationship similar to the AR-10 and AR-15.
[edit] Operators
Albania - The Albanian Army has recently bought a limited number of HK417, in use with Schmidt & Bender riflescope, for special operations purpose.
Netherlands - The Netherlands Army Korps Commandotroepen has acquired a number of HK417s and will mainly use them as designated marksman rifles.
Norway - The Norwegian Army has recently bought a number of the HK417[2], and will mainly be used as a marksman rifle.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Newer carbines outperform M4 in dust test
- ^ Offisersbladet nr. 3, May 2007: Heckler & Koch 416: Vårt nye håndvåpen
- ^ http://www.mil.no/hv/start/article.jhtml?articleID=140199 Forsvarsnett: Fagkurs I, Skarpskytter
[edit] External links
- Official page
- HKPRO page on HK417
- Heckler & Koch HK417 assault rifle at the Modern Firearms & Ammunition site
- Review of HK416, 5.56x45mm version of this rifle, comparison to M-16/M-4 direct impingement system
- HK417 with 50 round magazine
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