Heckler & Koch HK417

Heckler & Koch HK417
Type	Battle rifle
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	Norway
Production history
Manufacturer	Heckler & Koch
Variants	Assaulter (12" barrel), Recce (16" barrel), Sniper (20" barrel)
Specifications
Weight	3.87 kg (12 inch barrel), 4.05 kg (16 inch barrel), 4.23 kg (20 inch barrel)
Length	805 / 885 mm (12" barrel, stock collapsed/extended), 905 / 985 mm (16" barrel, stock collapsed/extended), 1005 / 1085 mm (20" barrel, stock collapsed/extended)
Barrel length	305 mm (12 in), 406 mm (16 in), 508 mm (20 in)
Cartridge	7.62 x 51 mm NATO
Action	Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Feed system	10 or 20 round detachable box magazine

The HK417 is designed and manufactured in Germany by Heckler & Koch and is an up-scaled version of the HK416, designed to chamber the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO (.308 Winchester) round. Like the HK416, the HK417 is a gas-operated, short-stroke piston design, which is claimed to be more reliable ^{[citation needed]} than the original direct impingement operation of the AR-10 design due to less fouling in the receiver. The early prototype HK417 utilized 20-round magazines from the H&K G3 rifle family, which did not feature a bolt hold-open device. Later prototypes, however, switched to a polymer magazine with bolt hold-open. The magazine is similar to the G36 series transparent magazine, except without the pins for holding more than one magazine together.

The HK417 is designed more for use as a "designated marksman" rifle than an assault rifle, with its increased cost, accuracy, decreased rate of fire and magazine capacity.

The HK417 comes in three variants (all in 7.62 x 51 mm NATO):

• HK417 12" 'Assaulter' Model

• HK417 16" 'Recce' Model

• HK417 20" 'Sniper' Model

Operators

• The Norwegian Army has recently bought a number of the HK417^[1], and will mainly be used as a sniper rifle.^[2]

External links

• HK417 product page
• HKPRO page on HK417
• Review of HK416, 5.56x45mm version of this rifle, comparison to M-16/M-4 direct impingement system

References

AR-15 variants
AR-10 • AR-15 • M16/A1/A2/A3/A4 • M4/A1 Carbine • Diemaco C7, C8 • Colt Commando, XM177, CAR-15 • Colt 9mm SMG • Bushmaster M4 • HK416 • HK417 • M468 • M231 FPW • SDM-R • SAM-R • Mark 11 'SWS' / SR-25 • XM110 SASS • Mark 12 'SPR' • SEAL Recon Rifle • Mark 18 'CQBR' • Ares Shrike • La France M16K • SR-47 • Colt Automatic Rifle / CAR

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