With the seeming saturation in the Canadian market for otherwise impossible to obtain, genuine HK G36 rifles, this thread is intended to educate our community on what to expect when handling this awesome firearm, and what EXACTLY you will be getting on certain 'discounted' inventory being held by certain dealers including those on this forum who are deleting posts that run counter to free information and education. This is, in no way, meant to be detrimental to any business venture and to cause any lost sales - it it merely for the dissemination of accumulated knowledge from our community. I invite anyone with greater expertise than I to contribute/correct. This thread will also not be addressing converted SL8s. Those are easy enough to spot - just look for the stock adapter block.
If you are at all familiar with Heckler & Koch, they are predominantly a military contractor and very rarely export their military models for commercial sale outside of Germany. The G36 is entirely unavailable in the U.S.; and the few movie and grey market guns in Canada that are true original G36s built by HK from their Oberndorf plant number maybe less than 20. German laws further address the barrel and bolt of any firearm as the defining components of a firearm, versus the receiver. Surplus 'free parts kits' can therefore be bought overseas - any decent Google-fu will return prices of around 800 euros for such a kit, sans barrel and bolt.
Recently, a couple of retailers have been selling G36s as "genuine" and making accuracy/durability claims with aftermarket barrels and bolts. While a good option for folks to get in on these rifles, this is currently being done with serious price skimming, combined with misinformation to boost profit margins. Business is business, however consumers should be aware of what they are getting; and I personally dislike being gooned and no one should be throwing money away despite one's financial position. Talk of "if you can afford to buy it you can afford to loose it" is plain silly.
The difference between an "Oberndorf-Real" and, say, "Mississauga-Assembled" G35 is as follows:
1. There are HK date codes and German eagle proof marks on the barrel.
There is some debate as to whether if the 2 letter code on the barrel is indeed a date of manufacture. But they should be there. And the eagle. HK uses a cold hammer forged process with French steel. They are expensive for good reason.
2. There is a HK German eagle proof mark on the bolt.
Depending on the year of manufacture, the bolt can also have a date code and serial number. Serials numbers were added by HK to meet with Euro Laws. Original G36 and SL8 don’t have serials on the bolt, current ones do. There is no risk with USA made repro bolts - but it's not HK tested.
3. The serial number on the receiver matches the serial number on the FCG.
Original lowers don’t have serial numbers or date codes, no Eagle either. Later due to Euro Laws, serials and date codes were added to lowers. For anything not made in the early 2000's, your FCG should match your receiver. Otherwise you've essentially got a less than electro-penciled Lee Enfield or K98.
Obendorf-Real examples never shipped with a basic manual, and all literature is supplied to the government/police agency separately. Usually owners/collectors add a copy of the “Red Book” and this is kind of rare. There is also no official HK hard case for the G36.
Indeed, sport shooters generally won't care, particularly if you're pinging paper/gongs/coyotes. But there are lots of other tools for this. For true HK lineage and genealogy, be aware of Mississauga-Assembled examples which will not hold value over time, particularly with the skimming practices witnessed of late.
Some other very good resources on G36s in our forum:
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...43-The-Truth-Behind-the-Great-G36-Controversy
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1673143-HK-SL8-243-G36-FAQ-Mods-And-Info
Best.
If you are at all familiar with Heckler & Koch, they are predominantly a military contractor and very rarely export their military models for commercial sale outside of Germany. The G36 is entirely unavailable in the U.S.; and the few movie and grey market guns in Canada that are true original G36s built by HK from their Oberndorf plant number maybe less than 20. German laws further address the barrel and bolt of any firearm as the defining components of a firearm, versus the receiver. Surplus 'free parts kits' can therefore be bought overseas - any decent Google-fu will return prices of around 800 euros for such a kit, sans barrel and bolt.
Recently, a couple of retailers have been selling G36s as "genuine" and making accuracy/durability claims with aftermarket barrels and bolts. While a good option for folks to get in on these rifles, this is currently being done with serious price skimming, combined with misinformation to boost profit margins. Business is business, however consumers should be aware of what they are getting; and I personally dislike being gooned and no one should be throwing money away despite one's financial position. Talk of "if you can afford to buy it you can afford to loose it" is plain silly.
The difference between an "Oberndorf-Real" and, say, "Mississauga-Assembled" G35 is as follows:
1. There are HK date codes and German eagle proof marks on the barrel.
There is some debate as to whether if the 2 letter code on the barrel is indeed a date of manufacture. But they should be there. And the eagle. HK uses a cold hammer forged process with French steel. They are expensive for good reason.
2. There is a HK German eagle proof mark on the bolt.
Depending on the year of manufacture, the bolt can also have a date code and serial number. Serials numbers were added by HK to meet with Euro Laws. Original G36 and SL8 don’t have serials on the bolt, current ones do. There is no risk with USA made repro bolts - but it's not HK tested.
3. The serial number on the receiver matches the serial number on the FCG.
Original lowers don’t have serial numbers or date codes, no Eagle either. Later due to Euro Laws, serials and date codes were added to lowers. For anything not made in the early 2000's, your FCG should match your receiver. Otherwise you've essentially got a less than electro-penciled Lee Enfield or K98.
Obendorf-Real examples never shipped with a basic manual, and all literature is supplied to the government/police agency separately. Usually owners/collectors add a copy of the “Red Book” and this is kind of rare. There is also no official HK hard case for the G36.
Indeed, sport shooters generally won't care, particularly if you're pinging paper/gongs/coyotes. But there are lots of other tools for this. For true HK lineage and genealogy, be aware of Mississauga-Assembled examples which will not hold value over time, particularly with the skimming practices witnessed of late.
Some other very good resources on G36s in our forum:
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...43-The-Truth-Behind-the-Great-G36-Controversy
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1673143-HK-SL8-243-G36-FAQ-Mods-And-Info
Best.
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