Is it worth waiting?

[500grains]

Is it worth waiting for the alleged civilian introduction of the HK 416 gas piston gun, called the MR556 for civilians? They say fall 2009 availability at retail of $2K, but I am thinking it would be more like summer 2010 until we see them in quantities at reasonable prices.



http://www.hk-usa.com/-images/products/mr556/mr556_lg.jpg

The mr556

A direct descendent of the HK416, the MR556 is a semi-automatic rifle developed by Heckler & Koch as a premium level commercial/civilian firearm. Like the HK416, the MR556 is a major product improvement of conventional AR-type carbines and rifles.

Using the HK-proprietary gas piston system found on the HK416 and G36, the MR556 does not introduce propellant gases and carbon fouling back into the rifle's interior, making it the most reliable of any AR-type firearm.

The MR556 will be produced at Heckler & Koch's new manufacturing facility at Newington, New Hampshire from American and German made components. To conform to German export regulations, certain design changes made in the MR556 prevents the rifle's upper receiver from being used on other AR-style firearms.

The MR556 uses many of the assemblies and accessories originally developed for the HK416 series arms including the HK free-floating four-quadrant rail system/handguard. This system allows all current accessories, sights, lights, and aimers used on M4/M16-type weapons to be fitted to the MR556. The HK rail system can be installed and removed without tools and returns to zero when reinstalled.

Like the famous HK416, the MR556 uses a barrel produced by Heckler & Koch's famous cold hammer forging process. The highest quality steel is used in this unique manufacturing process producing a barrel that provides superior accuracy for more than 20,000 rounds with minimal degradation of accuracy and muzzle velocity.

Projected availability of the MR556 in the USA is late 2009.

Dimensions
Length, maximum (stock extended) 37.68 in.
Length, minimum (stock retracted) 33.90 in.
Overall Width 3.07 in.
Height 9.45 in.
Barrel Length 16.5 in.
Weight
Rifle (without magazine) 8.60 lb.
Magazine (empty 10 round magazine) .31 lb
Other Specifications
Magazine capacity 10 or 20 rounds
Trigger Pull 7.64 lb
Barrel Profile 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 1 in 7 in
Sight Radius 14.60 in.
Sights various mechanical or optical sights
Dimensions
Length, maximum (stock extended) 957 mm
Length, minimum (stock retracted) 861 mm
Overall Width 78 mm
Height 240 mm
Barrel Length 419 mm
Weight
Rifle (without magazine) 3.9 kg
Magazine (empty 10 round magazine) 140 g
Other Specifications
Magazine capacity 10 or 20 rounds
Trigger Pull 3.47 kg
Barrel Profile 6 lands & grooves, right twist, 25 mm 178 mm
Sight Radius 371 mm
Sights various mechanical or optical sights

[Ziptie]

I would say emphatically NO. H&K has nothing to offer that an American company cannot and does not surpass already. Top-notch marketing strategies do not equate to quality in the least. Ask yourself this: would you be interested in having an H&K AR for the sake of having something not many people have, or have you seen something in the engineering and execution of the design that so many others have not? As far as I'm concerned, H&K can keep their glossy brochures with backwards bullets, and I'll keep my American firearms.

Zip

[DRich]

This part of the description kills the interest for me:
To conform to German export regulations, certain design changes made in the MR556 prevents the rifle's upper receiver from being used on other AR-style firearms.

Of course, this probably means you can't install a standard AR15 upper on the HK lower, as well. And I'm sure the HK proprietary uppers are not inexpensive. I like AR's for their versatility and this one doesn't seem very versatile.

I love my P7's and I'm learning to appreciate my HK45...but otherwise, I'm not interested in the company's other offerings.

[thopkins22]

You should explain yourself better. Do you own an AR already? Worth waiting over other piston guns? Worth waiting instead of buying a quality direct impingement gun?

[500grains]

Yes, I own gas impingement guns. Should I put future buying on hold, waiting for the HK? Or get something like a Spike's gas piston gun?

(or maybe just buy ammo...)

[500grains]

another option:

S&W new gas piston gun

CMMG gas piston gun

[decodeddiesel]

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=24647&highlight=MR556

[DRich]

another option:

S&W new gas piston gun

CMMG gas piston gun

Any particular reason you want a piston gun? I've had two and sold them both after I finally realized they offer me no real advantage over my DI guns and are more problematic to fix when issues do occur.

And the "easier to clean" argument just makes me shake my head.

[rob_s]

Is it worth waiting

no
..........

[C4IGrant]

Not to me, but then again, I have no use for a piston gun.


C4

[Submariner]

Not to me, but then again, I have no use for a piston gun.


C4

That pretty much closes this thread.:D

[Iraqgunz]

I would spend my money elsewhere unless you must have it. Get more mags, ammo and take some more classes.

[markm]

I eagerly await the death of the piston fad!

[hatt]

I eagerly await the death of the piston fad!By then the DI/piston hybrid guns will be out.:p

[Hunter Rose]

Yes, I own gas impingement guns. Should I put future buying on hold, waiting for the HK? Or get something like a Spike's gas piston gun?

another option:

S&W new gas piston gun

CMMG gas piston gun

Based off these responses, if you want a piston gun I would say definitely wait for the HK. It is basically the only piston AR that has been battle proven. HK has been doing much better lately with bringing product to market, but I would still guess the late 2009 estimate will be more like early to mid 2010 at the earliest.

What's your planned use for the HK? If it's just for self defense, training/classes it's advantage over a correctly set up direct impingement AR is marginal if not non-existent (as others have stated).

The HK does have the CDI factor though!:p

[NetJunkie]

If you want a piston gun buy an LMT for less money with better support and options. If the piston fad dies you can just do a 2 minute barrel swap on the LMT and have a great DI gun as well.

[mattpittinger]

Is it worth waiting

no....no it's not

[BT2012]

It's not worth the wait. Rather, treat it as another new AR in the market when it does come out.

[Killjoy]

All good advice here...don't bother waiting unless you have a real woody for HK stuff, its not the proverbial "phase-plasma rifle in a 40 watt range".

On a different note, their proprietary lower is really going to put a dent in sales.

[SWATcop556]

I don't see anything that piston gun does that I can't do with my DI guns. The fact that I cant swap uppers and lowers raises the "suck factor" even higher.

I personally wouldn't wait. :cool:

[alpha.kilo]

I have shot two of the current piston offerings, the LWRC and the POF. Both get just as dirty as my DI guns; they just get dirty in different places. The bolt and carrier run cooler on a piston gun. That is all I can see as the main difference between the two platforms. And I supposed cooler is always better. With a suppressed gun, both DI and piston get filthy equally in my experience.


I believe that the current evolution and configuration of the M4 carbine, such as the Colt 6920 or a N4 Noveske, is the pinnacle of the DI design. Reliable, ergonomic, dependable, light and accurate. What started out as the wrong solution to the Vietnam problem has evolved into the state of the art tactical carbine, IMHO.


My honest advice is that if you have 2K for a new carbine, keep an eye on the Noveske web site, and when he offers ANY complete rifle to the public, jump on it. You won't be dissapointed.

[Thermodyn]

If you want a piston gun buy an LMT for less money with better support and options. If the piston fad dies you can just do a 2 minute barrel swap on the LMT and have a great DI gun as well.

This is sage advice if you must have a piston gun. I'd stick with DI, as it is a great system and has ubiquitous logistical support. Giving up compatibility with the AR platform due to a proprietary receiver design is, well... just ghey!