The G36 (Bundeswehr Spec) - The modern symbol of a unified Germany; feat. the TommyBuilt T36 clone

This episode was brought to you by Slate Black Industries. For M-LOK grips and accessories, visit slateblackindustries.com. 1990, Heckler & Koch engineers planned on setting the new benchmark for service rifles. Lightweight, dual-optic capable, ambidextrous for the new combined armed forces. But was it truly the greatest? Does it really lose zero when heated up? We investigate. Welcome back to Ninehole Reviews. Today we look at the German Bundeswehr Spec G36 clone by Tommybilt Tactical. This is a very close representation of the performance since it uses majority German parts except for the receiver, fire control group, trunnion and piston. So the year was 1990 and the wall fell. The former enemies of East and West Germany were now one. It was no longer the Bundesrepublik's G3 versus the Demokratische Republik's MPI KM AK-74 clone. The new Bundeswehr needed a rifle when the conglomerate of German manufacturers just blew all of its money on researching for space magic, as we now know as a G11 caseless ammunition rifle. And the Bundeswehr had no funds to produce. And they needed something fast. It was this point when H&K submitted the HK50 design soon after competing against the Austrian Steyr AUG in trials. And the HK50 actually won. Production started in 1996 for the new Gewehr 36. This rifle took the standard NATO 5.56 cartridge, has clear magazines that couple together for easy ammunition management, folds up into a short package, is extremely lightweight due to its polymer construction, had dual optics, both red dot and magnified bullet drop compensation from 200-800 meters, is fully ambidextrous without needing to switch out parts, the charging handle flips left or right for ambidextrous operations and clicks to lock as a forward assist if needed, and is easy to disassemble and requires no tools for maintenance. Extra ports atop the carry handle serve as an access location for a specialised night vision scope. The short stroke piston rifle breaks down into its basic components with removing pins. Trigger components break out for easy maintenance. The AR-18 short stroke piston system easily cams out for cleaning. So we took the rifle out for a standard accuracy test. Of the two different types of ammunition we shot, we got 2.45 MOA 9-hole groups with a SIG 55-grain 5.56mm cartridge. With IMI 55-grain M193, we got actually a 1.86 group of, if you include the outlier, then 3.3 MOA. On our practical accuracy test, we were actually able to clear 500 yards with only 24 rounds in the wild wind, so it appears to be an accurate rifle even in sustained fire. We did a heat test on the rifle, and after firing a brisk 60 rounds, we laid 4 very fast 9-shot groups into the target with less than seconds between shots. Despite the scope being difficult to use, all shots landed on the target. We observed an average group size of 3.12 MOA, with 2.3 MOA being the best and 3.6 MOA being the worst, with a plus or minus 0.8 MOA shift from the centreline. This translates to a potential 8.5 inch shift at 500 yards. This is well within the margin of error for a torso or a headshot at that distance. We don't think there really is a heat shift, but rather the optic was a low resolution optic with a narrow field of view, which likely contributed to the margin of error. So what about up close? I think this particular platform is pretty darn cool. It's super lightweight, very light for a full-sized firearm. I really like that actually, and the recoil impulse wasn't all that bad as a result of having a very light gun, in part because of the caliber we're shooting, but also because with the forend the way this is, I'm able to get a very normal, standard, modern grip despite the design being fairly old. One other point of conversation is the optic. Now, the dual optic here has the red dot function up on top, so you're having to kind crane your neck up rather high, so it's another situation where I'm taking a chin weld on the stock. The other thing that's not super awesome is that the field of view through this optic is super, super tight. Again, this is 1x, it's a red dot up top, but I'm only able to see about maybe the alpha and some of the Charlie zone through the optic based on the field of view. I'm actually having to really use my left eye to see the target and superimpose that dot via a standard kind of two eyes open approach to shooting, and as you can see, it works just fine. It's just something that you have to be aware of. You know, this is functional, but at the same time, you know, from the 90s to where we are today, I mean, it's testament to the level of development that's taken place in optics, red dots, holographic sites, but you know, in the last 20 to 30 years. Although the G36 checks every single box on the paper, how does it actually stack up with these space age features? So let's break it down. The good, it's accurate, it's light, it's highly reliable, and it looks cool. Well, I suppose to some. The bad, the nine and a half pound polymer trigger is stiff. The charging handle is slow to access, and the optics are usable, but definitely inferior to contemporary options such as LPBOs or ACOGs. While you can change optics out, then the Picatinny rail makes it difficult for the hand to access the charging handle, and then you could potentially end up with a ridiculous height overbore situation. The ergonomics are not quite the same as the AR or AK systems that a large amount of shooters train on, so more range time is absolutely required. While it was deleted on the Bundeswehr version, certain versions bold hold open release in front of the trigger could invite some negligent discharges. And the magazines are known to be fragile, but Magpul does make a G36 PMAG. Finally, the German Ministry of Defense announced in 2015 that the Bundeswehr will replace all G36 rifles on the basis that they have heat issues. While we did not see any of this evidence in our testing, Ian from Forgotten Weapons did a very good summary with interviews from a source within. The G36 is a perfectly effective rifle within the criteria that it was designed for. I'm Ian McCollum. The German government have never actually done a formal scientific study. The news headline is, if you get in a gunfight with a G36, it will get very hot, you will no longer be able to hit people. One of the officers over came to the conclusion, when the sun was out, the rifles would heat up, but only on one side. Point of impact would shift. Also, complaints coming in in Afghanistan, the guns aren't accurate, can't hit anything, and they're not happy with them. From a factual perspective, dump a bunch of ammo, will its group size increase? Yes, yes, yes. It will on every rifle. The G36's group size, better than many rifles, far, far from the worst. You have a situation that is easily misinterpreted by people who aren't educated about what they're looking at, or people who have an agenda. These are issues with media reports and even bureaucratic level officers who are very far removed from mechanics of firearms technology. So, the G36 is a pretty darn good rifle. If this was a legitimate problem, we would know about it from more sources than just since 2012. Frankly, the courts found HK was correct. Rifle is good, meets military spec. There are some people, politically and bureaucratically, who don't like HK, found this opportunity to pick and choose the results and the data, to use them to hurt HK. There was also push that the German army is rejecting the G36. They're going to replace it. And there is a tender in place to replace the G36. None of the rifles in the trial have been able to meet the accuracy requirements. When they get hot, huh. There are only two companies still involved in this German rifle trial. One of them is HK, and then Haenel-Merkel. The chances of them winning it, I think, are like zero. Thanks for watching. The G36 seems to be a weapon designed by engineers with an abundance of creativity, but perhaps lack the feedback from combat troops. The rifle itself checks many blocks on paper, but failed in some basic ergonomics, scope compatibility and usability criteria, which could have been corrected if given the development it deserves, rather than ultimately meeting its demise with a politically driven motive to cancellation HK's contract. It is truly a shame that a weapon system with such potential was never further developed with good feedback from the field. But it ultimately makes sense that H&K would take the heart of the G36, the short-stroke gas piston, and transplant it into one of the world's most popular weapon systems that's received more development than its creator ever envisioned, to create the next generation product, the HK416. We want to give a special thanks to Ian from Forgotten Weapons for allowing us to use his footage, and encourage you to visit his channel for more in-depth dives into the G36. And as a note, this example is headed to Arizona for a terrestrial reliability test, so keep an eye out. We'd also like to thank Stephen for sending us this example of German weapons development. We truly thank you for supporting the channel. Take care, and we'll see you on the range.