At 12:08 AM -0700 12/29/97, Jim Choate wrote:

Hi,

I finaly got around to doing some research on Tim's claim regarding H&K's G3 being a 5.56 round while the various folks I have been talking to refer to it as a 7.62.

Tim's claim that the 7.62 (.308) is actualy the HK-91/G1 and not the G3 is correct. The confusion comes from the fact that a few years ago the German

Thanks, Jim, for checking and acknowledging this graciously. (I do agree with some that weapons arcania is somewhat off-topic for CPs, but I felt I had to write something when Jim initially corrected my HK-91 usage.)

H&K 91/G1 is 7.62 (.308) (old standard issue) H&K 93/G3 is 5.56 (.223) FN/G3 is 7.62 (.308) (current standard issue)

My suggested rifle *is* the H&K 91/G1 which is .308 and the local gun shop says used they run in the $1500 to $3000 range. New ones aren't imported.

Though Springfield and Argentine versions, with "thumbhole stocks," have been available for about $900. These take all the HK-91 accessories, including magazines. I came close to buying an HK-91 back in the early 80s, when they were still under $500. But I never did, and have not been much tempted to get one of the SAR-9 or suchlike now. For short range (under 200 yards), an AR-15 variant does fine, and for long-range, my Remington Varmint rifle will take care, hopefully, of any two-legged varmints that wander into range. I haven't seen Jim's reaction to my point about bolt-action rifles still being far and away the favored weapon for sniping. Neither an AR-15 variant nor an HK variant are advised for long-range shots (though either will of course be capable of such shots...it's just that one wants the absolute best precsion, and cycling rate is largely immaterial). As for television, hey, just last night there was a "SWAT situation" in "The X Files." And while most of the SWAT members were carrying CAR-15s and such, the marksmen on rooftops, the "snipers," were racking the bolts on bolt actions. Probably Remingtons PSS rifles, in real life, though the Prop Department no doubt hands out whatever they have handy. --Tim May The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, ComSec 3DES: 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^2,976,221 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."