So I guess I’ll have to say that I’m playing with my guns this weekend.
Care to hazard a guess at what arrived via the delivery truck yesterday? Care to guess again what has my undivided attention this morning?
Ahh, yes. I am now the happy owner of a JLD PTR-91 in .308 Winchester.
I had to pick it up from the FFL I did the transfer through and then go immediately to work. I only got a chance to ogle it for a few minutes at the store, seeing as how I was very short on time, and then had to spend 12 hours at work not being able to even look at it. Very frustrating.
But now I’m home and I’ve taken it apart and put it back together, and fiddled with this and that, and have come to two conclusions:
1. It needs new rear wood
2. I need to buy more ammo because this thing looks at though it is going to rock.
The previous owner replaced the cracked plastic stock with some wood off of a CETME that looks as though it was used to break rocks. Also, the threaded inserts which attach the wood to the buffer plate in the front of the rear stock are a little loose, which will be somewhat disconcerting to shoot on Saturday, I’m quite sure.
I’ve been looking at my “stock options” and have decided to stick with a non-retracting/folding piece. I am also looking at having to find a stock with a bit of extra length as it seems that I am built larger than what the designers were planning for.
That leads me to either have to have something customized in wood or, if I can find one for a decent price, purchase what I’ve seen called a “Namibian” stock, like this one.
It is an FAL shaped stock that fits on HK’s. With an extra inch in length already built in and it also being more accepting of the inch-and-a-half thick aftermarket recoil pads than the narrow factory HK furniture, this looks to be just the ticket.
The front wood is a gorgeous piece of hardwood that I cannot believe came matched with the rear piece. However, it will probably have to go as well. You see, I want a bipod, and the only way to get a decent one is to go with the wide forearm furniture, probably also in black, that accepts the sturdy factory bipod.
The rifle came with a surplus leather sling and cleaning kit, as well as a red dot optic and mount, and seven 20rd mags. The leather sling and cleaning kit are going into a box, the scope mount is going into the aluminum pile because it’s a B-Square and the BSA 30mm red dot may just end up on one of my 22s. I haven’t decided yet.
The mags are all aluminum; five are real HK manufacture and two are Rhinemetal made. The previous owner said that a couple of them like to try and double feed the last two rounds, so that’ll be one of the tasks I’ll have set for the range trip tomorrow.
All in all, I’m just about having a difficult time containing myself about the rifle and I cannot wait until I can get it out and functioning in that loverly battle rifle sort of way.
I haven’t function tested it yet, but I am willing to say that so far, this may be one instance where you CAN buy happiness. For $935 (shipping included).
By the time I’m done with this thing, you all will be experts in HK accessories. And I’ll be broke.
That’s some pretty wood. Really makes the HK look handsome, which is saying a lot. 🙂
What’s the twist? If it will like my humble Black Hills 168- or 175-grain Match loads, you should bring it with you this Spring….
Need a stock….hmmmm. I happen to have a spare for my CETME. The CETME’s previous owner decided to put some G3 green plastic furniture on it, but he included the original wood CETME furniture (including buffer) in the deal, as he couldn’t use it anymore. It’s original military, is slotted for side-mount of sling, has the sling retaining pins, and a fresh rubber buttplate. There’s not a ding on it, looks new.
Let’s talk up a trade!
First-born son OK?Welcome to the PTR club, Phil.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
Also, Phil, I saw a Hesse FAL that had the bipod somehow faired into the forend. My CETME came with a clamp-on-the-barrel bipod, but since it is a MUCH lighter rifle than the FAL, I took it off to keep it that way. It’s in the go-to-hell kit, and can be put back on in a couple minutes.
So what did you decide to name it?
Everybody needs a .308 battle rifle!
Congrats, Phil. If there is one weak point of the PTR, it’s the stock furniture (no pun intended). I replaced the original front end with a wide British HK guard, and bipod, then found out I’d dropped below the US parts count. To get the parts count back, I got the trigger, sear and hammer from JLD, and had Mr. Bill Springfield do a trigger job for me. He’s got a good reputation on the G3/PTR triggers. Lucky for me, he lives here in town, I got the trigger pack back in a couple of hours. If you’re interested, here’s his email address:
[email protected]
G3 Furniture ain’t cheap. I got the handguard at Top Notch Accessories, I just checked, looks like he’s out. I’d still like to get a replacement stock. I found the bipod on sale at Cheaper Than Dirt.
Thank you all for your comments. Let me see if I can answer some of your questions.
It’s a 1-12 twist, so the 168s are probably going to be all it’ll like. I’ll be testing out 150gr stuff in the meantime. It will be coming with me this spring (announcement coming shortly) so long as I can find a scope I like for it.
Thanks for the offer RD, but I’ve got the stock fixed up to be quite usable (update tomorrow). I’d dump that barrel mounted bipod and look for a different one as using it will very likely change your POI.
As for a name, I haven’t quite made that decision yet. I’ll have to shoot it before I decide it’s character.
Thank you –B and NMM1AFAN.
Thanks for reminding me about the whole ‘parts count’ BS, Darrel. I keep forgetting that I have to think about such things. However, I am going to find a way to put a Smith Ent. Vortex brake on it, so that’ll be one way to increase the ‘parts count’. I’ll also be buying second trigger group in the near future and sending that off to Mr. Springfield for work. When I get that one back, I’ll send this one to him as well.
Thanks again guys. I’ll keep you all updated.
Congrats! I’m sure you’ll love it.
Shoot a couple of 20 round mags through that thing and then feel the heat coming off of the barrel. You may change your mind about wanting a plastic stock 🙂 The wide plastic is better in that regard.
Cheaper Than Dirt has quite a bit of G3 stuff, including furniture. Most of it is used though, but cheap, so you could buy a few sets and pick and choose the best parts.
I lost my stock JLD black furniture in favor of OD green stuff, I like the different look. Wide black forearms are getting very hard to find, I don’t know anywhere that stocks them any longer. JLD makes it’s aluminum versions, which do look very good if you omit the rails. There’s a guy on hkweaponsystems.com selling new wide green stocks for a pretty good price if you’re interested.
Also, +1 on the Springfield trigger job. Money very well spent!
And unless you like the waffle-iron-shoulder look, don’t try a collapsible stock 🙂
“I am going to find a way to put a Smith Ent. Vortex brake on it, so that’ll be one way to increase the ‘parts count’”
Yes, but. The rule is a less than 10 imported parts.* Since it doesn’t look like you’ve got any muzzle device on there now, adding a US one isn’t going to decrease the number of imported parts. (If there were a foreign-made one on there, then swapping it with a US-made one or removing it would bring down the foreign parts count.)
*there’s a list of what parts count.
Phil, You reload, don’t you? If you want to take your brass home, be sure to get an attachment that deflects the brass. I never got one for my HK, and sold it before I moved out of country in 1981, so can’t give a testimonial, but apparently it will
1) dump the brass at your feet, rather than 20+ feet away
2) keep the gun from putting a big divot in the side of the brass.
Sorry if this is all obvious, but you did not mention it.
Thankee for the partsloc tips, Tom.
And thankee for the parts count verification Aughtsix. I thought it was the other way around. This complicates things, but I’ll find a workaround.
MNTY, I’ve heard of those but haven’t sourced them yet. You wouldn’t happen to have a name or something?
Nice!
I ran 100 rds through mine in fairly short order, the gun got so hot the original narrow plastic handguard warped. I like the wide one much better. The one I got at Top Notch even had the groove molded in where the HK bipod slips into place. The bipod was a ProMag, as I recall, CTD had them on sale. The aluminum rail handguards at JLD are pricey.
Mine has digested every ammo I’ve thrown at it. It loves the South African surplus, unfortunately it appears to have dried up. Some commenters on the gun forums say the UN leaned on SA to stop sales of the stuff.
Phil, it seems to be called a “port buffer”, don’t confuse it with a “brass deflector”.