By HKPRO 1/15/98 (Updated slightly 2/99 and 11/2001)

Duncan Long is a prolific writer who specializes in the kinds of books that are on sale at gun shows. Not real high quality, but he really filled a niche with this book, and was very astute marketing on his part. There are tons of us HK fans out there, and we all want to read about our favorite guns. Just not much to read. So this is the most widely available book, and it really is good overall. He does a great job of explaining how American LEGAL machine gun ownership works, and examples of the main Class II manufacturers' wares.

I am less than impressed with the editing and typesetting in this work.

Bear in mind that most of what Duncan writes about in this book is taken directly from HK catalogs and promotional literature that was provided to him by HK.   This post is to point out some of the factual errors that I am aware of.  I won't get them all, and I may be wrong myself. Be forewarned. If anyone who discovers any errors on my part can correct me, I would appreciate it greatly. I publish this not to try to dissuade you from buying Duncan's book. All in all it is a must have for a serious HK aficionado.   Where possible, I will add facts that I think are interesting too.

Here goes:

The picture on the cover is an HK53A3, taken directly from a folio brochure. These folio brochures are available for most all HK weapons, but are fairly rare in America. I have most of them.  Page 2, Column 2, paragraph 3 spells names wrong: Says Theordor Koch, should be Theodor (The German spelling for Theodore) It is Alex, not Alexs Seidel, also. Same mistake in the city as stated below.

Page 3, the caption of the factory picture should spell the city where HK is located as: "Oberndorf am Neckar."  Oberndorf on the Neckar (River). It is not one word. Your P7s and P9s' say Oberndorf/N on the slide. This is the above, abbreviated.

Page 8, Column 1, paragraph 2. "SARCO imported semiauto versions..." It is SACO, not SARCO. Two distinct and different companies.

Page 17, paragraph 1. "Though a red marker..." It is actually white.

Page 17, column 2, paragraph 2: "The 'three position group' is similar to the Navy..." HK actually calls these the 0-1-3 group and 0-1-2 groups now.

Page 19, captions: If Duncan establishes that the old style SEF group is that with a metal housing and removable plastic grip, then the second picture down's caption is wrong. "Known as the 'SEF group' this newer version of the trigger assembly has the grip and frame molded into one unit..." This picture is clearly of a metal SEF housing, and the grip is one of two separate parts.

Bottom picture page 19: Big mistake. He shouldn't even call this the newer style SEF frame. These are ambidextrous frames. "It appears that this was just a transitional style and it is seldom seen on any of Heckler and Koch guns." This is a G41 trigger group, and is ALWAYS seen on the G41. It was never offered any other way.   Granted, the G41 is now defunct, but Long has no idea about this. Note: If the group had TWO holes in the rear for pushpins, it would be either for an HK21E or HK23E belt fed machine gun.

Both feature the non front pushpin insertion point. (See page 51 for great shot of this point)

Page 20. All the above appears to be a miscaption, since the identical caption is under the right group for this comment. Here, it is true. But how would you ever know?

Page 20, paragraph 2. ...,or automatic (a number of red bullets inside an open ended rectangle)..." It is always seven bullets. (Though true when I originally wrote this, it is not true of the new HK UMP .45 CAL SMG. The full auto selector markings on the UMP have four red bullets in an open ended box.  The G36 pictogram selector markings have five bullets in an open ended red box for the full auto selection. 2/11/99)

Page 2, bottom caption. Second sentence of the caption: "The assembly eliminates barrel flex and helps keep the front sight from rotating on the barrel." I don't know where he got this, and I don't have any specific information from HK to refute it. But nonetheless, I get the feeling that he just made it up. I do understand how the barrel is pressed into the receiver, and do know that the cocking tube does not actually contact the front sight assembly. Look REAL close at your rifles. The cocking tube moves slightly. The pin in the receiver and the fact that the barrels are pressed in under tons of pressure is what keeps the front sight from turning.

Eliminates barrel flex? This is not possible. Barrel flex can never be ELIMINATED, perhaps changed, but not eliminated. You be the judge. Does this make sense to you?

Page 23, the most infamous comment of them all in this entire book: The upper caption: "Many G3 stocks have a mysterious "dohicky" on the left side of the handguard. This loop stamping is actually a hook designed to allow troops in the field to hang their rifles from nails protruding from walls--a very useful field expedient."

NOT TRUE!

By the way, for an unknown reason this photo is reversed. As you can tell, he refers to the LEFT side of the handguard, and this is clearly the right. See how the cocking handle groove is also on the right?  This clip is for the three point sling. It is the optional attachment point for the middle buckle that slides freely along the sling when it is on the gun. Clipping this buckle to Duncan's "dohicky" allows troops to position their rifles at port arms, using the sling and not their arms. (See illustration of this on page 105, top right photo.)  Perfect for parades and reviews, etc. HK has confirmed for me that this is not true, and the hole is for driving the rivet into the forearm. You COULD hang your expensive rifle from a nail on a wall. Would you?

Page 24, lower left caption. Rear sight photo. "Numbers indicate ranges in meters." Should read HUNDREDS of meters. Minor point.

Page 26, Column 1, paragraph 3: "...when the guns were imported and sold by SARCO and later Heckler & Koch, Inc." Again, SACO, not SARCO.

Page 28, Column 1, paragraph 3: "Like other models in the G3 series, the HK21 uses a roller-block lock up rather than gas operation. Should read roller-LOCK. Could be a typo, or maybe the publisher did not want the line to read "roller lock lock up." Same paragraph, BIG error: "Unlike the standard G3 and later machine guns in the series, The HK21 fires from an open bolt in the automatic mode (like the earlier CETME Modelo 58.) This is completely untrue. I don't know about the CETME. I am not a student of Spanish firearms. However, the HK21 series is closed bolt functioning, period.

Very next paragraph: "The HK23 came with an adaptor kit that allowed it to be converted to use the G3 magazine." No, should be "an HK33 magazine."

Last paragraph on page 28: "The MK21E (Export) version..." Must be a typo. Should be "HK21E".

Page 29, column 2, last paragraph: "(A linkless box feed mechanism is also available for the .223/5.56mmNATO version of this rifle...)" While I don't doubt that HK is capable of producing something like this, I have never seen it referred to in any bonafide company literature. I don't think it exists, or more importantly, Duncan incorrectly describes it as being something that it is not, later when describing the GR6 Belt fed MG. I will make this distinction clearer later. (2/99--It does in fact exist, and there has been very little written about it, but there is a picture in the 1999 issue of Special Weapons for Military and Police that shows a picture of the HK73, and clearly a very unusual box that is captioned as a linkless feed system.  

Page 31, column 2: These two paragraphs are purely supposition on Duncan's part about sniper preference.  I would submit that REAL snipers are RARELY ever in the need for suppressive fire if they are doing their jobs correctly, and are most always going to prefer the bolt to the semiauto. What he asserts is what companies like HK try to even market for, that is the school of thought that emphasizes the second and subsequent shots as more important than the first. This is purely my opinion.

Page 32, Column 2, paragraph 2: "The PSG1 sniper rifle comes with a tripod on which the shooter can rest the foregrip of the rifle with the tripod's top fitting into one of several rails cut into the lower side of theforegrip."

While the cuts are there, they are for a BIPOD, and not the precision tripod, manufactured by a company named Garbini. The tripod top is a large U shape that does not fit into anything.

P. 32. Second column:  "The trigger has a light pull with an overtravel boot."  There is no overtravel boot on the MSG90 or PSG1.  He is referring to the allen screw that holds the wide trigger shoe on the trigger itself.

Page 33, Column 1, Paragraph 1: "Originally the PSG-1 had walnut furniture; most production models use plastic." Could be true, but I have never seen any such information. Column 2 Paragraph 2: "The scope mount system of the MSG90 accepts STANAG equipment and is adjustable for cheek height and length of pull."  Obviously, bad editing. He is referring to the stock as being adjustable for cheek height, etc.

Last paragraph on P.33 and first on page 34. Duncan theorizes that special belt feds with scopes and accurized barrels that have semiauto capability make "a multi-role sniper rifle and might be the shape ofthings to come in the near future on the modern battleground." Pure conjecture.

Page 35, Caption: "MSG3 with G3-style handguard, G3 style front and rear sights for emergency use if the scope is damaged." ONLY if you first remove the scope from the gun. This STANAG scope mount does not allow open sight usage when the scope is on the gun. A minor point, but since he used the word emergency', I would think that needs to be clarified.

Pages 40 and 41. All captioned photos. Several are wrong. Page 40, bottom: "Vollmer Model 11' with short barrel and old style SEF trigger group." You can read the receiver on this gun. Clearly a Model 51.

Remember, the Model 11 is box fed version of the belt fed 21. On guns from HK, the box feed is removable.  On the Vollmer model 11s, the box feed is permanent. Next page, top caption: "Vollmer standard Model 11 in its sniper rifle attire. Trigger group shown here is newer SEF style with "erector set' ribs on its side." This entire caption is wrong. I can considerably speed things up here by putting the right caption with the rightpicture, but there are still errors beyond that!

Top caption goes with middle picture.

Bottom caption goes with top picture.

You would then assume that the middle caption goes with bottom picture, except that the bottom picture is of a model 21, belt fed, not a standard model 11. Then there is the typo of, "old-style DEF..." Should be SEF.

Page 42, caption. Almost fine except they meant to type"HK21" instead of "KK21."

Page 47, Column 1, paragraph 2: "As one might expect, this gun makes a noticeable flash and noise signature that are only slightly abated, even with the new duck-bill, open ended flash hider..." This is simply not true. I have fired both versions, and the four prong flash hider almost completely eliminates muzzle flash. One big boomer though. Next paragraph: "Two models of handguards are available for the HK53...slimline and newer guns most often displayed with the "target" handguard with the appearance of the handguards being nearly identical to those of the MP5 guns."  "Target" is the wrong name for this handguard. Should be "wide" forearm.

Page 47, Column 2, paragraph 2: "Recently a new and yet undesignated version of the HK53 has been added to the Heckler and Koch lineup that is capable of firing standard .223 (book says 2.23 but I amnitpicking)/5.56mm cartridges or frangible ammunition that has limited penetration/greater wounding potential." This is not a correction but a clarification. This is a frangible ammunition adapter that is available for all HK53s. Put it on the front of the gun and you are good to go with frangible. It is not a special 53 model.

Page 51, captions: More bad typing. The closeup of the G41 receiver is captioned, "Close view of the right side of the G451 receiver. G41. Next is a toughie. No one except a real HK junkie would get this: "German soldier with G41-TGS." This is not a German soldier, but Günter Schäfer, an HK engineer, who is frequently seen in HK literature demonstrating the guns "in the field."

Page 52, Column 1, paragraph 2: "The G41 has a number of accessories available for it including scope mounts, bipod and bayonet (all standard Heckler & Koch designs that fit other of their G3 rifles.)" No they won't!

The G41 scope mount and bipod are NOT compatible with the G3, HK33 53, 91, 93 etc. The scope mount IS compatible with the HK21E and 23E belt feds, but that is it. Bipod is unique to that gun. G41 is no longer produced, by the way.  He corrects this error with a caption on page 99.

Page 54, Column 2, paragraph 5: "F.J. Vollmer & Company also offers several models of chopped HK-94s revamped and artfully refinished to HK53 specifications..." HK94s are not chopped to make HK53s, HK93s are.

Page 55, only paragraph. Duncan can't predict the future, but the G11 rifle died shortly after this book was written.

Page 57, Chapter 4. 7.62x39 caliber rifles. Suffice it to say that the literature is there to prove HK intended to make them, and Duncan is essentially right about most of this page. The guns exist in literature, and I don't have a definitive answer, but I don't think there has EVER been a factory HK32 of any variant on this side of the ocean. I don't know that one has ever been seen anywhere. Interesting!

Page 64 Caption. Appears to be the accidental combination of two captions. Most of this caption belongs on page 69.  Also, of the photographs of the guns on page 64, the fixed stock MP5 at the top is labeled as an MP5A2, when the presence of the burst group indicates that it should be labeled MP5A4.

Page 66 bottom caption. I don't know how Duncan tells early from late versions of the HK94, but the one on page 66 has no optional barrel shroud and forward grip. Got it right on the next page, though.

Page 67, caption, bottom: MP5SD22(Center) Another typo! Fire the typesetter! MP5SD2!

Remember, when correctly designating the SD series by which stock it has, the "A" is omitted. It is not "MP5SDA2 or MP5SDA3." It is "MP5SD2" and MP5SD3."

Page 70, column 1, paragraph 2: "These new trigger group guns were first designated with an N' suffix which has since been replaced by an A4' and A5' suffix." Not true. All still exist. N for Navy, and A4 and A5 for fixed and retractable stock guns that have burst groups on them.

Page 71, line drawing caption: This gun exists, as the SMG2, and is covered extensively and correctly by Frank James in "Project 64."

Page 72, first column, at the bottom, dealing with SD variants:  MP5SD4 (Fixed stock, silencer), MP5SD5, (retracting stock, silencer), and MP5SD6 (stockless buttcap, silencer.)  These are reversed.  The MP5SD4 is stockless buttcap, SD5 is fixed stock, and SD6 is retractable stock.  All feature the silencer, thus the "SD" designation.

Page 76, Column 1, first line: "Jonathan Arthur Ciener also created and registered a number of auto sears just before the machine gun ban of 1989." The machine gun ban was in May, 1986, not 1989.

Page 79, bottom caption: Press photo showing the MP5K-PDW in use by an air crewman..." That's no aircrewman! That's Jim Schatz, head of fed ops at HK Inc., in Sterling.

Page 83, column 1, paragraph 2: Another typo--"MP5SK's silenced barrel..." MP5SD!

Page 83, column 2, titled "Bayonets." This whole paragraph is ridiculous, and appears to have been pulled from the nether regions of the anal cavity...

Page 86, caption. "HK23A1 on HK tripod..." That is obviously .308 ammo, and therefore the gun is really an HK21A1.

Page 87, column 1, paragraph 1: Commentary about how using an ejection port buffer puts most of your brass in a neat little pile, except for the occasional flyer, asserted at about "97 percent" of the time. Yeah right. You HK rifle owners out there sound off! The brass may be in a little pile, but that pile is in Vancouver!

Page 90, Column 1, paragraph 2: "A grenade launcher attachment that replaces the flash hider on MP5 guns is available from HK; this unit is easily screwed into place on the newer guns having flash hiders." Huh? The grenade launcher, pictured on the next page, is quick detach, just like the flash hider. How do you put the grenade launcher on over the flash hider??

P. 104 Column 2, Paragraph 4:  "The best solution is to fire heavy subsonic 9mm bullets from one of the silenced MP5SD submachine guns."   NO, NO, NO.  The worst thing in the world is to fire subsonice ammuniton in an MP5SD.  The barrel ports drop the speed of supersonic rounds for you, by about 200 fps.  Putting subsonic ammunition in an SD makes it not only unreliable, but the world's most expensive .380.  The mv for subsonic would be about 700 fps.  This is true for muzzle mounted suppressors on standard MP5s, but NOT the SD.

P.105, Picture of an MP5K with no sights and a 4-position trigger group.  The caption reads, "Vollmer Model MP5K shown in its A1 version with the more recently designed 4-position Group."  If the gun has no sights and the 4-position group, its designation would be MP5K A5, not MP5K A1.

P. 105 "STOCKS"  "...(with most stocks being interchangeable with those designed for the MP5 series of guns--except K models.)"   Not true.  While they will fit, the buffer system in the rifle series stocks is not the same for the MP5 series.

P. 106.  Stock Photo is for an HK 93/33/53, not MP5.  Note convex buttpad.  Photo of buttcap is only for MP5, not HK33.

P. 108, first paragraph.  "And for much the same reason, the weight of pull necessary to trip the trigger is also rather high to U.S. tastes.   Can someone tell me the organization in the U.S. dedicated to heavy trigger pulls?   It is to pass drop tests, not because Americans like heavy trigger pulls.

P. 109, top of page:  "--fire assemblies shouldn't be placed on semiauto guns since the bolt carrier won't accomodate the auto-fire parts."   Nonsense.  The statement may be good legal advice for someone without NFA registration, but to say that the bolt carrier won't accomodate the parts shows no understanding of the function principles of the HK series.

Well that is about it. Whew! This took some time. I did not realize how many problems that there actually were with this book. I glossed over all the aftermarket accessories in the back, and did not mess with the section on lasers either. I probably missed some things, but I am worn out.

What depresses me about all the errors in this book is that there are so many of you, and those of you  who are reading this and taking it for granted as being right.

Ownership of HK firearms has made me appreciate the excellence in engineering that is present at that company.  I know that even if you only own one HK firearm, you are still enamored with the company, and want to know more. I think Duncan sold the many of these books.   He saw my comments and agreed with them. He mostly blamed, and probably rightly so, the editors who wanted to throw the book together and make some money. Duncan is a great guy and a good sport.  My intent here is to strive for factual accuracy, and not to denigrate Duncan Long.

I still recommend the book. There is so little information out there, that I guess even incorrect information is better than no information.

Thanks for reading!

--HKPRO