The Heckler & Koch Page

(Pronounced : HECK-LER & KOKE) "The Worlds Most Reliable Assault Weapon"

Heres some info on H &K's PSG-1 high precision marksman's rifle. In 1972, members of the Black September terrorist group attacked the Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. The initial terrorist assault killed two athletes outright, and nine others were taken hostage. After more than eighteen hours of tense negotiations with German authorities, the terrorists and their hostages were allowed to leave for a military airbase via helicopter. There, a commandeered Lufthansa jetliner stood ready to fly them out of the country. When the terrorists set down on the airfield tarmac, five marksman from the Munich police force opened fire, as airport authorities simultaneously doused all of the lights on the field, leaving the ambush site illuminated only by ambient moonlight and airplane landing lights. The police snipers, who were armed with bolt action rifles and lacked even the most rudimentary night vision equipment, were not quick enough to eliminate all of the terrorists, and several of the Palistinians survived the initial barrage long enough to seek hard cover. In the firefight that ensued, all nine of the hostages were killed, as were five of the terrorists and one German policeman. This tragic incident, later dubbed the "Munich Massacre", was broadcast live to an international television audience. This event prompted many countries to rethink their entire approach to combating international terrorism, as well as inducing the German government to establish a full-time, dedicated counter-terrorism force, the GSG9.
The "Munich Massacre" was also the driving force behind HK's development of a new semiautomatic marksman's rifle, the PSG1. This rifle was designed to do one thing and one thing only; deliver accurate fire to a distant target repeatedly, consistently, and, if required, swiftly. Although designed primarily with law enforcement and security applications in mind, the PSG1 has won acceptance among a handful of elite long range competition shooters and specialized long distance hunters. Every piece and component on a PSG1 is precision engineered to do just that; the barrel, the receiver, the telescopoic sight, and the trigger are all measured, calibrated, and manufactured to within the strictest dimensional tolerances. The Barrel The PSG1 utilizes a heavy, free-floating, cold hammer forged barrel with special polygonal rifling and no taper. The barrel is 24 inches long, and the interior of the bore itself is entirely chrome plated to combat the "cutting" affects of hot propellant gases. To further prolong barrel life, a special "hybrid" rifling is used to impart spin to the bullet. This rifling is a mix of some of the traits commonly associated with both polygonal and conventional rifling, hence the name "hybrid". While the rifling is formed in a fashion similar to that of a polygonal bore, the PSG1's rifling exhibits a more distinctive "land" profile than a standard polygonal bore to ensure that the bullet is grasped firmly by the rifling and spun at the proper rate to ensure excellent shot-to shot accuracy. The hybrid rifling begins just foward of the chamber itself, which allows the bullet of a chambered round to actually touch the rifling! This has the affect of stabilizing the bullet immediately from the time a round is fired; there is no "lag time" where the bullet travels for a certain distance unstabilized before it slams into the barrel's rifling (thereby upsetting its path), as commonly occurs in rifles where there is a considerable gap between the end of the chamber and the commencement of the barrel's rifling. These special characteristics of the barrel yield a rifle that is not only accurate, but durable as well; the PSG1 was designed to meet specifications that required a minimum barrel life of 10,000 rounds. In point of fact, in-house shooting tests by HK ballistic technicians and engineers have produced PSG1s that have exceeded 20,000 rounds without noticeable degradation in accuracy.
Reinforced Receiver The receiver of the PSG1, while quite similar to that of the HK 91, has some differences that set it apart. Immediately noticable are the two heavy reinforcing ribs welded onto both sides of the receiver right over the two "slide rails" that protrude into the interior of the receiver and provide a bearing surface for the bolt assembly to recoil on. These reinforcing ribs give an additional level of stiffness to the stamped steel structure of the receiver, and also help to support the weight of the barrel/receiver interface; on the PSG1, almost 3" of the barrel are fitted into the receiver, using a special welded "step". This step is then transfixed by a massive crosspin to help secure the press fitted barrel. This heavy and elaborate interface between barrel and receiver provides an exceptionally stable platform from which bullets are launched, and it also helps to stabilize the harmonic vibrations in the barrel which can throw a bullet off of its intended trajectory if not consistent. The steel shell of the receiver itself is nitro-carburized ( in a process similar to what is done to the USP pistol slides ) to increase surface hardness and to provide yet another level of accuracy enhancing reinforcement. The nitro-carburizing process also helps to prevent the sort of finish damage to the gun that rough handling can sometimes produce.
The end result of all this strengthening and reinforcing is a receiver that mates bank-vault tight to the heavy barrel, producing the highest level of accuracy. The barrel and receiver assembly are virtually locked together tight enough so that, just like the operating parts in a glass bedded bolt action rifle, there is minimal movement or play. This allows the roller-locked action of the PSG1 to return and lock up consistently shot after shot after shot. Additional Features Carefully fitted onto this barrel and receiver assembly are more precision crafted components; the welded scope mount, the adjustable wooden handgrip, and the fully adjustable buttstock. All of these parts were designed specifically for attachment to the PSG1, ensuring that all of the components work together as an ergonomically correct whole, rather than as the sum of some motley assortment of parts assembled and modified into one unit. The fixed scope mount locks a Hensoldt 6x42 telescopic sight firmly to the receiver to prevent any recoil induced movement of the scope or base which can have catastrophic effects on the down range accuracy. The scope is equipped with built-in range settings for .308 ammunition, as well as an illuminated reticle activated by a fingertip control. The scope, too, is made specifically for this rifle; in fact, Hensoldt does not even sell this scope on the commercial market. It is made only for the PSG1! The illuminated reticle is designed for low light situations; during these situations, the illuminated reticle allows the shooter to take aim at a target that might otherwise be "lost" in the field of view of any other scope.
The adjustable wooden handgrip houses the adjustable PSG1 trigger mechanism, which specially honed to provide a crisp trigger pull. The HK factory sets the trigger mechanism to break at no lighter than 2 pounds and no heavier than 3.3 pounds, with most of the production guns breaking at 3 pounds even. The trigger pull is not only light, but also clean, with very little slack or take-up; the precise feel of the trigger is aided by the increased bearing surface provided by the wide trigger shoe. The "match grade" trigger pull, however, in no way compromises safety; a loaded, cocked, and off-safe PSG1 can pass a drop test from 1.5 meters without the gun discharging! The buttstock of the rifle is also completely adjustable; the cheekpiece adjusts in the vertical plane, while the buttplate moves forward and rearward to adjust the lenght of pull. The buttplate also has a cant adjustment that allows the angle of contact between the shooter's shoulder and the buttplate to be varied. All of the moveable parts of the buttstock are controlled by a single key that unlocks the cheekpiece and buttplate to be adjusted, and then locks them down again once the desired firing postion is achieved. This key then stores in the body of the buttstock itself, where it is both secure and immediately accessible. The range of adjustments provided by the handgrip and the buttstock allow the gun to be configured to fit the individual shooter, giving him a rifle that actually feels like an extention of his body. This "custom fit" enhances the accuracy potential of the shooter by allowing him to concentrate on the actual mechanics of shooting, rather than forcing him to try to hold the rifle in the "correct" firing position.
The Bottom Line Performance, as might be expected from a $10,000 rifle, is exemplary! Independent tests conducted by two firearms periodicals proved the worth of the PSG1 in its role as a long range wonder. One magazine ( Combat Arms, Summer 1984, page 50) performed test shoots that produced 100 yard groups of .470 inches, 400 yard groups of 1.75 inches, and 600 yard groups of 4.25 inches. Another test shoot done by the NRA's American Rifleman in June, 1985 produced 100 yard groups of .250 inches, and 200 and 300 yard groups of 1.1 and 1.975 inches respectively. All of these groups were shot with factory ammunition, not specially formulated handloads! This kind of performance puts the lie to the old "shooters' tale" that a semi auto rifle cannot be expected to shoot as well a a bolt action one. The special features included in a PSG1 reflect the fact that HK set out to design the most accurate semiautomatic marksman's rifle, regardless of price. Features such as the silent bolt closure device ( forward assist ), the Anschutz T-way built into the forearm, and the full complement of accessories shipped with each rifle are ample proof that no expense was spared in wringing the last bit of accuracy out of the PSG1. This is a rifle for the marksman who will not, or cannot, settle for equipment that is second best. Preicision engineering does not come cheap, but for those willing to pay the price, it does provide a certain peace of mind. Heckler and Koch PSG-1 Sniper Rifle Caliber: .308 Magazine capacity: 5 round or 20 round detachable box System of Operation: Roller locked, delayed blowback Barrel length: 25.6" Rifling: Polygonal Twists: 12" RH Overall Length: 47.5" Weight: 17.8 lbs. Finish: Matte black, phosphated Stock: Matte black, fixed, high impact plastic, adjustable for length, pivoting butt cap, vertically adjustable cheek piece, target-type pistol grip with adjustable palm shelf. Trigger: Adjustable for pull, removable from pistol grip. Sight: Hensolt 6x42 Telescopic w/ reticle illumination. Why is the family of Heckler & Koch (pronounced HECK-LER & KOKE) rifles the best rifles in the world , well I will tell you. The main reason why they are the best is that they are NOT GAS OPERATED. This means that there is no Gas Tubes , Gas Ports , holes in the barrel that gas bleeds back to cycle the bolt , as in the AK47 family of rifles and the AR15/M16 family and an assortment of others. The way that the HK's rifles work is that they use a Recoil operated delayed roller locked bolt system. All of them use the same principle. The HK weapons available in the US consists of the HK-91 (7.62 Nato) HK-93 (5.56 Nato) and HK-94 (9mm Nato). All these rifles share common features, namely, the locking system consists of a roller locked inertial bolt, which operates as a delayed direct blow back action. Also the chambers of all these rifles contains shallow flutes starting just ahead of the web of the case, and ending just in front of the case mouth. The supposed function of these flutes is to 1) reduce case adhesion to the chamber walls, thus preventing the rapidly moving bolt from tearing off the case head, and 2) assisting is very positive extraction even if the extractor is missing, as the trapped gasses in the flutes blows the case out of the chamber. ( Rip the extractor out of your AK47 or M16 and see if it will function.) Since these rifles are not gas actions, they are very tolerant of variations in cartridge pressure and loads, they function quite well with high intensity and low intensity loadings. The HK's family of rifles are very expensive, but they are the most reliable firearms if you can afford them. You can throw them in a lake , run them over , freeze them , fill them with dirt , piss on them , do what the hell you want , but let me tell you from experience , they are the most rugged , accurate , can take the most abuse , easy to clean , easy to take down , rifle in the world.
hk94sup

"IN A WORLD OF COMPROMISE , SOME DON'T"

Click Here To E-Mail The The Semi Auto Page

Back Home - AK47 - AR15 - AUG - BENELLI - FAL - H&K - SIG - UZI - AUG - RUGER 10/22 - HANDGUNS - IMAGES - AMMUNITION - MAGAZINES - ROBS RANTING & RAVING PAGE! - "COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT" - LINKS -