HK SL8 223Rem semi auto information

packas

Recenlty purchased a HK SL8 in 223Rem (see attached pic). Got licence no problem. Currently waiting on importation documents so I can bring it in from Germany. I've been promised it next week. The only experience I have with them is what I can gleam from the net. Anyone got any personal experience of using one? I intend to use it for paper punching and trying to dust clays and mad ranges.

civdef

All I can say is - feck.....

Away Team

Lucky bugger!!!!

I can only dream of owning one of those…

'Civilian' version of the G-36 assault rifle. They are very popular in Europe and are great shooters, VERY accurate!

You will have a grin from ear to ear when you get to use it… it's very much the 'Cadillac' of Semi Auto target rifles.

Jimbo

Sparks

Gerry Kelly would know, he's shot one in Germany.
From the CDPC website:

INTERNATIONAL RIFLE COMPETITION HELD AT ALSFELD GERMANY
ON THE 27th OF NOVEMBER 2004

Also on my recent visit to Germany while staying in the town of Marburg I was invited to participate in the International Rifle Competition at Alsfeld on the 27th of November 2004 as a member of the Old Comrades Association rifle team, I accepted the offer without hesitation as one should. Prior to the event we were informed that we would be firing the M16 A2 rifle 5.56 x45 calibre NATO I thought hey this is good as I have had some experience with the Ml6 A2, but to our surprise on our arrival at the ranges we discovered we were firing the semi-automatic commercial model of the HK36 known as the SL8 in Calibre 5.56 x45 NATO, we also discovered we were competing against International Military & Police shooting teams from all over Europe, the Guys said ***: in German what the hell lets compete so we did. It was a timed practice at a range of 300 meters so I fired my practice not letting the team down, it was decided by a majority vote of the team members after the shoot that the results should not be published, except at the request of the German Government.

HK SL8 5.56 x45


My Best Position


Some of the Opposition

Flattop 15

Good on yer!!! You DO realise you have now set a precedent for opening the door for large calibre semi autos to be brought in here??Well, I guess I can go and give my FAO a convincing arguement to allow my MAK90 in
Anyways the SL8 is as said the civvie version of the G36.Like anything HK an exellent weapon design.Apart from that godawful PC grey "stock"which INMHO sucks big time.Shot one and as a southpaw, thumbhole stocks are just...GAH!!!
Check out www.SL8.de, for all sorts of goodies to turn it into a more user friendly black rifle.

preilly79

i'll second that, all i can say is feck!

i have never shot a rifle before and always assumed that it was nigh on impossible to get a shooting license in ireland .... maybe im wrong.

could somebody do me favour and explain what is necessary to gain a license needed to import one of these things, where can you shoot it, and what restrictions to owning one apply.

sorry for the newbie questions, but i find the idea of owning a HK intriguing

thanks in advance for your replies

Flattop 15

could somebody do me favour and explain what is necessary to gain a license needed to import one of these things, where can you shoot it, and what restrictions to owning one apply.

Check out the previous threads on the board for what you need on firearms ownership here.

sorry for the newbie questions, but i find the idea of owning a HK intriguing

Well, it's a first for us as well .So lets not jump to conclusions that this will be a free for all on semis,[not that it shouldn't be].Maybe the more that apply for these might make them more acceptable. :rolleyes:

Away Team

links…

http://www.sl-8.de/index.html

http://www.sl-8.de/MFD/mfd.html

Rew

Thats a very nice looking rifle... very jealous...

oldzed

Packas , if you got a licence for it well done , I think you are in for a severe problem trying to get an import licence for it , The chances of justice issuing for this are non exixtent, they are not even issuing for the little walther g22 at the moment never mind anything bigger. Best of luck in your endeavour, Ill be bringing over my m1a from the states if you get this , but im not getting my hopes up yet.

Flattop 15

OldZed,
Wouldnt this be coming back to the old chestnut debate we have had here RE the Garda approving a lic and the dept of Justice supposedly then issuing the import cert without any further ado?I thought that was now supposedly the norm.Or has this changed around again like the weather?What is as of now the actual status with this?Can anyone from DOJ,or the shooting organisations comment??
I get the impression that with the handguns and possibly now the rifles,it will be on a personal level of importation,but I very much doubt we will ever see well stocked gunshops with a good selection of new handguns and semi autos on the racks.As it seems DOJ is stalling any dealer size imports,could I be wrong??

oldzed

I have been thinking more on this and looking up the eu import stuff again , I think it might be possible to go get it yourself with the license and an article 7 if and its a big if the dealer in the eu will hand it over to you . I suspect they will look for an article 11 ( import licence from doj) and I dont think they will give them out . Now the route most of got our pistols in through ,The northern ireland route wont be open I think as semi auto centrefire rifles are section 5 in northern Ireland and the uk and there are very few dealers in the uk and ni that are allowed handle section 5 stuff and I dont know would the dti let them export it either. im going to dig a bit more and talk to a few people and see what i can find out.

packas

All,

Here's the latest. The Superintendant has to issue me an Article 7 for the importation because I have a licence. This is clearly stated in SI 362 9 (2)(a)(ii). Basically it says that " document stating that the holder of the firearm certificate has the consent of the competent authority of the State, for so long as the certificate remains in force, to any purchase or acquisition by him in another Member State of any firearm or ammunition to which the certificate relates; and an application for the issue of a document falling within clause (i) or (ii) may be made at the same time as an application for a firearm certificate or at any time subsequently while the certificate remains in force"


That's an Article 7 as stated in Directive 91/477. As the gun is Category B firearm no Article 11 from DOJ is needed.

I was talking to DOJ about it and they confirm this. All you need for a Cat. B firearm to import from a EU country is an Article 7 once you posses a Firearm Cert for it. I have this in writing from them. The Dealer in Germany I bought it from will post gun to me with the licence and article 7. No problem at all. It's perfectly legal.
The whole problem is that the dealers in the North are insisting on DOJ invlovment. DOJ confirms that they should not need to be involved. However I hear that the DTI are considering releasing guns from the norht on article 7's soon. Stay tuned.

Also the delaer in Germany I got the HK from is very helpful and has good English. Let me know if anyone wants his details. I'll mail them to you!

I'm also thinking of purchasing my next pistol in Germany. A Kimber TLE/RL II. Once I get the details I'll be selling my Glock. I will post details of that if anyone's interested. I've had some trigger work done to it and installed MMC tritium sights. Nice gun. But for me I think I'd prefer a heavy classic 1911 with crisp trigger.

civdef

I'm buying a pistol from Germany also (once the licence goes through). I initially tried to buy through a dealer in this state, then from NI. Both times I got messed around, and the prices were a hell of a lot higher than they are from Germany.

I used to work in the trade, so know messing when I see it.

Rew

How much is it coming to (rifle and shipping)?

packas

What type of pistol are you buying? Are you importing it on an Article 7? I'm trying to buy a Kimber stainless TLE/RL II. Got two prices in north. One was €1700 and one was €1400. Guess which one I'm going with ????


I bought the HK SL8 for 1020Euro. Almost new. New they're 1400Euro. Scope then is another few hundred I think. Comes with HK scope as well and 2 ten shot mags.
EU export Documents from Germany = €30
shipping =€45

Also attached is blurb on Glock that will eb for sale in two months if anyone interested.

Away Team

Oberland Arms in Germany are very helpful and do a good range of firearms at decent prices… I've always found Frank to be very helpful.

http://www.oberlandarms.com/index.php?category=Kimber&id=P&page=#produkt

http://www.oberlandarms.com/index.php?category=&id=0&page=internationalorder

Flattop 15

Second you on Oberland Away team.If you ever get a chance to check out their rifles,the tolerances between uppers nd lowers which are made from one piece of steel have to be seen to be belived.
Packas
So if I understand this right.You could collect the firearm then with your EU firearms pass in person and return home with it,thusly negating the import cert need?

packas

This is how I will get the SL8.

The shop in Germany will post the Rifle to me once I send them a copy of my Irish licence and Article 7. They are looking after their own export paperwork (which cost me €30)

Capall86

Are any of those sites in english? as i have no german whatsoever!

Flattop 15

Try www.HK.De for the Heckler stuff.I think the oberland site has an english section as well.

Away Team

Capall86 wrote:

Are any of those sites in english? as i have no german whatsoever!

Use google to translate the page for you…

http://www.google.co.uk/language_tools?hl=en

And paste in the page url.

Don't be worried about contacting german companies by phone, email, or fax, most Germans speak english.


Jimbo

packas

Hi all.

Got a call from DHL. They have the rifle in their local depot. picking it up at 8.30am tomorrow morning. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow. I've even got a 30 shot magazine for it. Now that it's so easy to import with a licence and Article 7 I hope Irish firearms dealers take note and become competitive in their pricing. To be honest I'd prefer to buy locally but sometimes the prices give you no choice.

also... Does anyone have any difficulty in trying to get hold of Oberlandarms over email. They seem to be ignoring my requests for a price on a Kimber???

Sparks

Neat! Any chance of a few photos of the beast packas?

Flattop 15

To be honest I'd prefer to buy locally but sometimes the prices give you no choice.

Could you even get that type of rifle here?

also... Does anyone have any difficulty in trying to get hold of Oberlandarms over email. They seem to be ignoring my requests for a price on a Kimber???

[/QUOTE]
Best to ring them.If you get an answering machine it means that they might be away from the company on a selling tour.Keep at it they WILL answer ,just remember they are a pretty small operation.

packas

Thanks for the advice regarding Oberlandarms.

I will post some pics of the SL8 next week. I don't have a digital camera. I will borrow one. It looks pretty tame with the flush fitting 10 shot mag. However when you slam in the 30 round mag it looks a totally different animal altogether. Not something for the range I'd say. Great for ploughing fields I reckon !!!!

macnas

Best of luck with the new rifle............ there's no smilie for envy

Ammoman

It looks very futuristic , how does it shoot ?

packas

Hi all,

Pic of my SL8 attached. Great rifle. THe onyl other semi auto I've shot is a Colt hBar AR-15. The SL8 is a Rolls Royce in comparison in my view. Very ergonomic. Nice trigger. Not as "loose" as the AR. The magazine is a 30 round mag. HK don't sell 30 round mags for the SL8 (they are G36 mags) to the public. The mag is a modified Steyr AUG mag that I sourced in Germany. Fits and functions perfectly. The scope is the same style as the G36. The ranging reticle is designed for ranging human targets from 200m to 800m and also for gauging lead on running targets. Will be fun on foxes !!! Only shot it to 100m so far. Only getting over the thrill of shooting a semi auto centrefire so I can't say too much on accuracy yet. Need some bench time in Midlands range at weekend for that.

packas

Sorry about picture. It's reversed (obviously from the reversed "HK" and F). But I think you get the idea of how she looks.

Rew

Heres the reticle info for the HK scope (its animated so give it a sec):



Did you get the 1.5x or the 3x scope? Intresing that the Styer mag can be modified to fit, would have thought a G36 mag was as easy to pick up as a styer one. Any idea what the modifaction is to the mag?

BTW is your SL8 new or 2nd hand?

I fixed your photo, see attached.

Rovi

packas wrote:

Sorry about picture. It's reversed (obviously from the reversed "HK" and F). But I think you get the idea of how she looks.

<Rovi seethes with envy>
I suppose it's all right, if you like that sort of thing.






Seriously packas, congratulations of your acquisition.
You'll definitely have a queue of admirers at Midland

I took the liberty of flipping (and shrinking and cropping) your image, I hope that's okay?-


I bet you had the left-handed guys' attention there for a while!



Here's a little something I picked up last night-


It doesn't have quite the 'cool' of yours, but at least it's BLACK!


.

Sparks

How does she group Rovi? (And is that your actual one?)

Rew

AFAIK if you buy an SL8 new they are black:



http://www.heckler-kochjs.de/default.php?dat=Y29tcG9uZW50PW5ld3MmYWN0aW9uPXNob3cmeElEPW5ld3NMaXN0JmxhbmdJRD0xJmhlYWRlclBpYz1oZWFkZXJfYWt0dWVsbGVzLmpwZyZwYXJhbUF1dG9SdW49dHJ1ZQ==

Rovi

Sparks wrote:

How does she group Rovi? (And is that your actual one?)

That's it, on my kitchen table

Groups?
I have no idea!
I went out and threw a few magazines worth down the 100 yard range, and I hit some of the things I was aiming at, so that's all the testing it's had so far.
In fairness, the scope is so far out it's funny (about a FOOT high and to the left at 20 yards!!!), so I was just playing around using the open sights.

I'm not expecting heavy barrelled bolt action target rifle accuracy here, if it can consistently hit clay pigeon sized targets at 100 yards, I'll be happy.
This is a FUN gun, I have a Sako for the (semi-)serious stuff.
It'll serve its time plinking and frightening rabbits.
I'll drag out the bench over the weekend and set it up properly.

Rew wrote:

AFAIK if you buy an SL8 new they are black

Thanks Rew, take away the ONE thing I have over packas' gorgeous new rifle!

You're a pal!






.

packas

I tried to get one in pink but the dull grey was all they had

Seriously though initially the colour did put me off (for about 3 seconds)

I got the 3x scope on mine. Not as clear as my Zeiss hunting scope but I don't think I'll be sneaking around the woods at dawn with the SL8 looking for bambi & the family !! The rifle is second hand. Rifle and scope cost €1000. It's in mint condition. Not bad price considering new they're almost €1500 without the scope. If I was buying new I'd definately go for black as it matches the colour of my Glock 22

I've no idea how the Steyr mag is modified as I've never got a good look at a Steyr mag. Although I've been tempted to ask the bank cash escort army dudes for a look as they were outside a local AIB the other week

Never shot the Steyr either. A friend of mine is a cop and he says they're crap. Still begging him for a go of the UZI !!!!!

As soon as I do some serious bench work I'll post a picture of the holes (hopefully they won't look like a shotgun target)

Rew

packas wrote:

I got the 3x scope on mine. Not as clear as my Zeiss hunting scope

They are a fairly standard military scope. Not great, better the a Styer one though.

I've no idea how the Steyr mag is modified as I've never got a good look at a Steyr mag.

There isn't much to mod on a steyr mag, the only thing I can think of is that a few bits have bee shaved down. Post a pic of the top of it and ill have a look.

Never shot the Steyr either. A friend of mine is a cop and he says they're crap. Still begging him for a go of the UZI !!!!!

I have, they are verry good rifle, I wouldn't be going by anythig the cops say about it. The spotter in an army sniper team uses a Steyr with a better scope (better then the 1.5x default one) and they are extremely accurate with them. The Army did well (2nd or 3rd over all) in a sniper competion in Canada a few months back. One of the sub competions they won durging it was for shooting the Steyr as far as I remember.

Flattop 15

packas wrote:

Hi all,

Pic of my SL8 attached. Great rifle. THe onyl other semi auto I've shot is a Colt hBar AR-15. The SL8 is a Rolls Royce in comparison in my view. Very ergonomic. Nice trigger. Not as "loose" as the AR. The magazine is a 30 round mag. HK don't sell 30 round mags for the SL8 (they are G36 mags) to the public

.

Thats funny in the US they all complain about the horrible stiff trigger pull on all the HK rifles!Maybe you have to be "German" to appreciate it
If you really want 30 rounders and genuineG36 HK mags, I can source them for you in Germany.They are available to the public,via ex bundeswehr supplies ,just HKs policy not to sell them openly to the public.
Anyways congrats in getting it in,and wishing you much enjoyment and safe shooting with your new "baby"

packas

Flattop,

Thanks for the offer. May be in touch with you. But for the moment I'm ok.

What about other accessories for the SL8 i.e. foreend with bipod, folding stock etc.. I know they can be got but not sure where. WOuld love a shorther rail too. The long rail with the short small scope looks a little stupid. Although if I did get any of those I'd probably have a rifle with two colours grey & black

Rew

Going by the HK website u will have to change the frontend to get the bi-pod. The shorter rails look like their avaiable via any HK dealer. I reckon the newer SL8's take the bi-pod without changing anything.

www.heckler-kochjs.de (german language only)

As sombody else already posted http://www.sl-8.de/ have most of the conversion parts.

Flattop 15

SNAP! the abovementioned sight is your only man.
Had a look re the foreend,you proably wont be able to fit it to the grey thingy...er..stock without changing the rear part as well.[No great loss IMO].Or you can get some black HK paint system and repaint the grey stock,[advertised on site] The mags are available,[even a beta C mag of 120 rnds at 500 euros or thereabouts :eek:] The std 30s are Expensive 150euros :eek: and have removeable blockers to make them hunting and target shooting legal.
Thats the one thing about HK that kills it .PRICE!!! for everything.They are indeed fine quality,but next to SIG semi auto rifles[The Maybach, if HK is the Rolls Royce of rifles ]They are the second most expensive rifles out there.Still,if you have the silver star,or the spirt of victory ,the rampant bull or the rearing horse on your bonnet. Or in our case the HK logo You really needent ask the price of things.

BTW meant to ask,as I cant remember.Does the sL8 eject and throw it's brass very violently away,like it was going for the olympic long distance throw??And does it still have the case striations?{IE does the ejected brass have faint spiral grooves on it?]The old HK 91/G3 were well known for this.They chucked their brass somthing like 20 meters on ejection,and groved the empties due to their wide delayed roller block system.

Rew

Dont think the main body or stock has to be changed to fit a new front