A few years have passed since January 2015 when this very article was first published, both in English and Spanish, in the webpage Breach-Bang-Clear in two parts (first part, second part). We are fully posting it again here because it hasn’t got obsolete. If you are or have been an HK G36 user, maybe you are familiar with many things commented in this article, and you even agree them [you can find the Spanish version of this article here].
In 1999 Spanish Armed Forces adopted the HK G36 as its issued rifle, replacing the awful CETME L. Since then other countries joined the list of end users, but only a few Armed Forces adopted it in numbers. Is that a clue?
HK G36 was, and still is, a superb rifle, but in my humble opinion it has a few shortcomings that make me dislike it. Currently there are better choices, even from the same manufacturer, like the HK 416 A5, that solve the shortcomings I find in the G36. I guess even HK recognized those shortcomings and that’s why the new G36 models include some improvements. Of course, even with shortcomings the G36 is a better rifle than I am a shooter, but if I could I would choose another rifle for combat.
No doubt the G36 is one of the most reliable rifles in the world, thanks to its short stroke piston driven action, and it seems that HK was aware of that when using the same piston action in the 416 (in fact, it is said pistons are interchangeable between G36 and 416). But G36 is not the only reliable rifle. You can find AR-15s as reliable as the G36, even with direct impingement actions. But, no complaints about G36 reliability.
As far as accuracy, I have no complaints either. I am quite sure the G36 is more accurate than I am. However, some complaints have come from German soldiers deployed in Afghanistan about it’s accuracy when it gets hot after a few rounds (you can read more about it in Internet). It seems to be that the plastic (polymer) receiver could be the problem, because when the rifle gets hot the joint between barrel and receiver, aka trunnion, gets soft. Maybe that’s just a design flaw without a solution. Anyway, I don’t think that’s a big problem, though other rifles don’t suffer from that illness (another clue?).puedes leer más sobre este asunto [maybe there is a reason you don’t find many rifle designs built with polymer].
«Trunnion».
Concerning the trigger group and grip, I don’t have too much to say. The grip is improvable, but it’s not one of my main concerns. The trigger group is not a match one, but I think it’s enough for me and I am not a shooter who would benefit from a better trigger group. None of these are serious problems.
The big shortcomings of the G36 comes from the carry handle with the integrated scope and back up iron sights (BUIS). The carry handle covers the upper receiver, from the stock to the handguard, so there is no upper rail available to mount any other scope different from the integrated one. It wouldn’t mind too much if the integrated scope and BUIS were good ones, but that’s not the case.
Depending on the G36 version, you will find different scopes. In the HK G36 E issued in the Spanish Armed Forces you can find two scopes that differ only in magnification factor: 1.5x (mostly in the Spanish Army) and 3x (in the Spanish Marine Corps). That scope is not easy to aim with, and besides it’s not one of the best choices for combat: you have to perfectly align your eye to aim, otherwise you will see nothing but black. The reticle is not illuminated, so it gets invisible when background is dark (and that happens often); aiming is not as fast as you would like in combat; inexplicably, the reticle has hold-off marks for 200, 400, 600 and 800 meters (really? in a 5.56 NATO rifle? with a 1.5x or 3x scope?). In summary, it’s a poor scope.
Re BUIS, you have a front and rear sight in the carry handle, without any adjustment capability, neither windage nor elevation. These BUIS are part of the carry handle, they are made of the same plastic, and the sight radius is really very short. For close distance (within 25 meters) these BUIS are enough, and quite useful. In fact, they are your best and maybe only option within that distance. But when distance is farther these BUIS are not effective.
Fortunately, that problem can be easily, but expensively, solved by replacing the carry handle with an upper rail from one of the few available manufactures, such as Brügger&Thomet or Spuhr. And that’s precisely what HK has done in the new models, as you can see in the pictures from its webpage. Currently HK includes the upper rail both in the military and civilian versions of the G36, instead of the former carry handle. I don’t know how much price will have been increased because of that, if it has changed. G36 price would be an interesting data to compare with the HK 416 A5. I guess prices are closer now than before, so the choice is easier.
But even with an upper rail, sight radius for BUIS is short, though at least now you have the chance to use good quality folding adjustable steel BUIS and choose any scope you like.
As in other rifles, the upper rail is made of aluminum, th “less essential” components of the G36 are made of glass fiber reinforced plastic, as HK states in its webpage. Polymer construction is one of the main features of this rifle. According to the technical data from the HK webpage, the weight for the weapon (3,630 grams) seems to be the same now with the upper rail than before with the carry handle. I guess there are differences but HK hasn’t changed the original technical data.
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