PTR Industries
https://ptr91.com/
What do you do when you have a pile of HK91 mags you don’t know what to do with? Build a gun company that needs them! That is basically the story behind PTR Industries.
The gun itself, in all of its configurations, is about as reliable a .308 battle rifle as you’ll find. I have had rifles in this design since the 80s when Century Arms first brought in CETME rifles from Spain, which is where that design originally appeared. To this day PTR Industries is involved with the current CETMEs that Century sells, and I have one in for review now actually.
If you are not familiar with the HK-91, it is a roller lock action, not a gas system, so you don’t see them pick up the problems with fouling that you’ll find in a gas rifle, whether it be an FN FAL or an AR-15. The HK-91 doesn’t suffer any of them. It just runs and runs and runs.
You do pay for it a bit with recoil and muzzle rise. You are essentially shooting a fixed breech gun with a delayed unlocking of the action. It doesn’t kick like a deer rifle of the same weight, but it isn’t far off either. Much like a Benelli vs. a Beretta gas shotgun, the Benelli will beat the heck out of you shooting all afternoon, whereas the gas gun will feel much softer, an HK-91 is not fun to shoot at length, as opposed to a gas .308 AR design, an FAL, or even an M1A.
But who the hell can afford to shoot .308 all afternoon anyway?
Way back in ’85, you could by either a 91 or 93 for 399 from HK. I bought my 91 then. Besides being a bit heavy, it shoots straighter than just about any other semi auto rifle. The recoil isn’t bad at all and it has never failed to operate, not even once. It doesn’t care what mix of ammunition you put in it and will run after being submerged in water and sand. It is one of the best designed roller lock rifles made and has earned a well deserved place among this type of rifle. Mine has had thousands and thousands of rounds through it and still holds MOA accuracy. If this new one copied the old, they will be just fine.
Well, mostly. Even an HK roller locked can foul.
And the price for that roller locked mechanism is weight.
My HK93 weighs significantly more than my AR. and that slamming weight can be annoying when shooting.
I’ll never part with my HK, but it ain’t as great as touted by many.
One other thing it does do. It shoots anything in caliber.
The HK roller locks are very reliable in that they don’t seem to care about the ammo, unlike many AR platforms.
Why not just integrate a compensator?