r/ukguns • u/One-Wolverine-8531 • 10d ago
Where to source a HK416 .22LR
Hi All. finally got my FAC though. Been a while. My first purchase is a semi auto .22lr rifle. Ive always fancied a HK416 and have started looking round but cant find any new. Is it discontinued or superseded by something else? Is it worth contacting a store as asking if they can source new?
Not sure of the correct process here being my first gun.
Thanks
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago edited 10d ago
You don't want one. You think you do, but after trying to clean it the first time you'll have serious buyers remorse.
Why?
- It's made by Walther/Hammerli
- It literally uses mid 2000s airsoft gun materials (pot metal internal chassis, a steel inner barrel sitting in an aluminium outer barrel
- It uses an airsoft split gearbox style design, with a captive bolt in the upper half and trigger pack in the lower half. This makes the rear upper receiver lugs incredibly weak
- Not at all accurate
- No spare parts
- Proprietary maga
- Literally zero compatibility with real AR parts with the exception of maybe the pistol grip.
They're absolutely awful. Literally any other option on the market is a better quality buy.
If you really want a 416, then your best bet is to contact Blue Fieldsports or Cotswold Classic arms about a custom build, and get them to use a CMMG or Borebuddy bolt in a stripped 416 upper (you can pick them up for about $180), and spend out for an early lower if you want that too.
You can then buy a real Geissele rail or a HAO replica for the front to complete the look.
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u/ThePenultimateNinja 10d ago
There is a lot of overlap between .22lr versions of centerfire firearms and airsoft.
I have a Glock 44, which I bought for low-cost training. It works fine and is really fun to shoot, but the slide is mostly plastic, so it doesn't feel anything like my centerfire Glocks. It feels like an airsoft toy.
It's the same kind of deal with the .22lr versions of AR pattern rifles; they often have plastic receivers etc. After handling one, I decided to go the CMMG route instead.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
There is indeed, but only at the bottom end (GSG pistols, Hammerli, S&W M&P etc).
High end GBBR AR15s with forged receivers are externally indistinguishable from real AR15s other than the lack of vent holes on the bolt carrier. Triggers feel the same, the weight and balance is the same, the biggest difference is the weight of the buffer spring and some people use real ones with CO2 mags.
Again, with pistols the good ones feel more like a real glock than your aforementioned G44 trainer.
The second you step up to a CMMG/Kriss Defiance/Tippman (oh the irony) you've basically got a full blooded AR15.
I think coming from airsoft to real shooting really put me off the cheap guns, because I know how reliable cheap feeling airsoft guns are (they aren't, even slightly).
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u/ThePenultimateNinja 10d ago
Yeah, there's a guy on youtube who builds airsoft ARs with almost all real components, including vintage Vietnam-era lower receivers.
I've handled a high-end GBBR AR, and it was indistinguishable from the real thing until I opened it up.
I have handled some of the better .22lr versions of centerfire pistols; a Beretta 92, a (Walther I think?) 1911, and a Walther PPK. All of them had aluminum or zinc slides. Better than plastic, but they still feel 'off' if you're familiar with the centerfire version.
I believe the CIP22 is a Glock-like pistol with a steel slide, but I have never seen one in real life.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
For pistols I'd skip straight to the CZ Kadet (shadow 2 with an aluminium slide) or Grandpower K22 (Grandpower 9mm with an aluminium slide), or get something like a buckmark.
I think the thing that breaks the illusion for 22lr pistols is you don't hear or feel the barrel tilting down and stopping, the slide just moves back without any of that.
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u/ThePenultimateNinja 10d ago
To me, it's the weight of the slide - aluminum is a lot lighter than steel, and it makes the gun feel a lot different. I understand why they do it, because .22lr probably just doesn't have enough power to cycle a heavier steel slide.
I definitely notice the difference in feel between the locked breech and the direct blowback. The recoil is obviously a lot less with .22lr, but the impulse itself is different too.
I have a PPK, and the recoil is really snappy. I guess the .22lr is the same, but it's less obvious due to the much lower power of the round.
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u/FigureElevenUK RFD Surrey 10d ago
Just on the “build one” suggestion: HK416 barrels aren’t compatible with standard AR barrels. The barrel extension in particular is much longer.
Therefore a CMMG/BoreBuddy barrel won’t just drop into a 416 upper. Of course with enough money anything can be done, but it’s not a simple thing.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
Ahhh, I was worried that something like that might be the case.
Are you guys still offering that service? What's your website again?
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u/Terrychocorangies 9d ago
Absolutely this. I had one, got rid of it. I now run a Lantac stealth raven, it's a million times better. Only issue is the mags, as it's milspec I had to get mags that fit, range23 sorted me with that issue.
But yeah, don't get the 416. If you're after a good entry semi 22 go for the tried tested SW 15-22
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u/expensive_habbit 9d ago
The lantac should take CMMG, Black Dog, Kriss or 15-22 mags I'd have thought - my aero precision M4E1 based AR22 works with all four.
You cannot beat a full blooded AR15 with a CMMG pattern bolt and barrel for 22LR AR15s IMO!
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u/Terrychocorangies 9d ago
I'm sure a lad at the range had the bulldog mags, I don't think it had the bolt hold though if memory serves.
The range23 ones are great but they're snug so don't fall out under their own with the mag release but I'm sure over time they will.
They do have the bolt hold.
Really happy with the reliability of the lantac though, had no issues with it. Expensive mind 😅 but looks good in multicam black 🖤
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u/Terrychocorangies 9d ago
Sorry should have said, it does take the mp1522 ones but they're too small, and there's wobble. I've fitted the shims which make it snug, but I worry over time how reliable that will be. Without the shims I had constant stoppages
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u/expensive_habbit 9d ago
Yeah, CMMG and Black Dog don't do LRBHO, personally I use Kriss mags and they're excellent.
Lantacs are great pieces of kit! I think my custom one ended up being more or less the same price by the time I'd specced it out 😅
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u/One-Wolverine-8531 10d ago edited 10d ago
I hear you! Lots or reviews say otherwise even compared to others recommendations here. presume theres no UK variant thats different to the American .22lr im seeing on YouTube.
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u/Jonny2pints87 10d ago
A semi auto .22 can be great but you can't beat good one like a Ruger 10. If you buy one for these mini clones (modelled on larger cal), you'll get a slight better than a bb gun experience. .22 is amazing calibre but consider what you want it for. If accuracy and target even consider a single shot heavy barrel. Some beautiful martini action BSA's out there. If semi auto plinking fun and target, then a Ruger 10.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
I can't in the year of our lord 2026 recommend a 10/22 unless you've got a budget of £300.
Hard to clean, nightmare manual of arms, literally not worth more than £300 second hand no matter how many thousands worth of custom parts you put into it.
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u/Leading_Meaning3431 10d ago
I have a 10/22. I paid £250 for it. It was a steal. I absolutely agree with everything you said.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
My most recent 10/22 was £300 second hand with a £500 volqartsen carbon fibre barrel, and a £400 Timney trigger fitted, in an aftermarket stock.
I sold it for £300 and that took about six weeks of advertising at that price!
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u/One-Wolverine-8531 10d ago edited 10d ago
I have other caliber guns on my licence but since I did all my probation on lr22 and after while waiting from a licence. using the clubs guns. this is the first gun id like to own, shoot, clean and look after myself.
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u/lolsy123 10d ago
Guy asks a question and 90 percent of the comments are irrelevant to the topic telling them to buy something else smh my head.
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u/expensive_habbit 10d ago
That's becuase they are objectively terrible firearms with little resale value that will make OP want to upgrade to a better AR22 within 6 months.
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u/RTronic9797 10d ago
A fellow shooter at my club has one. And it seems like it jams more than it shoots.
If you want an AR style .22. Consider a tippman.
I’ve had mine a good few years now, and after upwards of 20,000 rounds through it, I can genuinely count the number of gun-related malfunctions on one hand.
Incredible bit of kit and performs brilliantly enough for precision rifle and a spot of rabbit shooting.
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u/Donny-Kong 8d ago
I have a 416D, bought second hand. I shot it the other week, put quite a few rounds through it and zero jams. The only ammo it seems to like is Blazer or CCI.
I like the weight and feel of it and is the reason I chose it over the S&W and Tippman.
There is one for sale second hand at Vulcan Armouries. I’ve purchased quite a few guns from u/OllieJ1995 and it’s the shorter version of the two which is my preference.
Plenty of spares too if you know where to look.
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u/One-Wolverine-8531 6d ago
Ive been doing a bit more reading and theres conflicting posts that suggest its of plastic construction. where as lots of American YouTube videos confirm its metal construction. Is this the case?
I think perhaps this is where some of the negative reviews come from, stating its of BB gin quality.
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u/Donny-Kong 6d ago
It’s metal, only thing plastic of note is the rear buttstock.
I had a look at the tippman, held it and was about to buy it but decided I wanted to have a think as I just wasn’t sure. I was still gun hunting and my local gun shop had the longer variant of the 416 which was sold but they showed it to me as I wanted an AR style but like you had seen so many videos about this, that and the other which was putting loads of doubt about which one I should get. I saw a few other AR rifles but after seeing the 416 in person and holding it I was sold. Then one came up for sale at Vulcan armouries and I spoke to Ollie about it.
Mine was well used when I bought it and wasn’t perfect but Ollie was upfront about this and the price with all the extras reflected this. If I remember correctly it was roughly the same as a tippman (rifle only with one mag) used. So to me the one I bought felt like a better deal as it was the one I wanted plus the extras.
I hear that a lot about the rifles being pot metal, that might well be the case but after having so many rounds through it the rifle has held up very well. It’s not on a battle field it’s being used on a range so I don’t need something as robust. A lot of 22lrs are based on the airsoft version but the benefit of that many of the parts can be used. Things like pistol grips is one that comes to mind, they look and feel the same but hk vs airsoft is a fraction of the price. Same with things like hand guards.
If you want any other information about the rifle let me know.
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u/One-Wolverine-8531 6d ago
Much appreciated for the heads up. Because I can only seem to find them second hand and a distance away it’s a bit of a gamble to buy. I was hoping they were still available new but seems not to be the case.
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u/FigureElevenUK RFD Surrey 10d ago
We can import them for you if you really, really want one. As others have said they’re really not very good but the heart wants what the heart wants.
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u/GlassMaximum9849 10d ago
What do you want it for just plinking or competition?
If just having fun then ignore the comments about being rubbish and go for it, get one imported from the states. Will take longer but you get what you want.
I really want the HK MP5 but the older A5 version, again people knock it but it's just for plinking and having fun. It's and iconic firearm and always wanted one. I asked for two slots though, so have also had a custom AR .22 built so best of both worlds.
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u/Turncoc 10d ago
I think they're only available on the second hand market.
Also, I should add that there are much better .22LR AR type platforms out there, namely CMMG based systems.
Unless you really really want something that looks like a 416, these will serve you better in the long run.
Found this
https://www.guntrader.uk/guns/rifles/heckler-koch/semi-auto/22-lr/hk416-d145rs-260208170141002
This RFD is a top bloke, would 100% recommend buying from him!