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A little over a year ago I started getting bored with AR platform rifles. I had owned several, built a few, shot them a bunch, and was generally ready for something different to tinker with. In this case, I decided that the "something different" was going to be a .308/7.62 semi auto rifle.
I had been reading up on the Cold War era battle rifles used by the various NATO countries; rifles such as the FAL, M1A/M14, and the German G3. Internet browsing showed that these rifles were still alive and well and still in use as service rifles in several countries. Further research also showed me that civilian versions of these rifles were available to the American public and that surplus parts from demilled service rifles were also available.
Briefly I entertained building another AR platform rifle in .308, but problems with standardized parts put up a warning flag. Plus, the final nail in the coffin was that they all still looked like every other AR on the planet. I wanted something that not everyone had.
From the get-go I had really liked the look of the German G3. If a rifle could have sex appeal, the G3 was a cover model. Also the G3, unlike it's other NATO cousins, is a roller lock, blowback operated firearm, which also appealed to my curiosity.
The civilian version of the G3 is of course Hk-91, which until 1989 had been available in the U.S. but was banned from importation by GHWB. This was a problem. Pristine HK-91s command $3k+ if you can find one. Even used beater examples will fetch a couple grand.
The solution to my problem turned out to be a U.S. arms manufacturer called PTR Industries. In the late 1980s, a guy by the name of Jose Diaz purchased G3 shop drawings, machinery, and tooling from an HK licensed arms plant in Portugal. The G3 was manufactured under contract in several countries other than Germany, but when it was, HK kept firm control over the quality of the firearm being produced. In this way, parts from a Greek built G3 were interchangeable with a German rifle.....or Norwegian, or Portuguese, etc., etc.
Diaz brought the machinery home and founded JLD Enterprises, which began manufacturing "clones" of the HK-91 using U.S. made parts produced by the machinery brought from Portugal and HK surplus parts that were beginning to flood the market. The rifles were a good copy of the original HK versions, but were priced at under $1k.
In later years JLD Enterprises became PTR Industries after Diaz sold his interests in the company. PTR began producing several versions of their original rifle including the PTR-91 "GI" model.
The "GI" model replicates the issue G3 service rifle and uses HK stocks and lower receivers from demilled G3 rifles. It still sports the S.E.F. (safe, single, burst) lower receiver but now has a semi only U.S. made trigger pack. Barrel, upper receiver, bolt, and flash hider are U.S. made and add up to the magical "7" parts needed to comply with 922r regulations needed to call the rifle U.S. made.
I had been reading up on the Cold War era battle rifles used by the various NATO countries; rifles such as the FAL, M1A/M14, and the German G3. Internet browsing showed that these rifles were still alive and well and still in use as service rifles in several countries. Further research also showed me that civilian versions of these rifles were available to the American public and that surplus parts from demilled service rifles were also available.
Briefly I entertained building another AR platform rifle in .308, but problems with standardized parts put up a warning flag. Plus, the final nail in the coffin was that they all still looked like every other AR on the planet. I wanted something that not everyone had.
From the get-go I had really liked the look of the German G3. If a rifle could have sex appeal, the G3 was a cover model. Also the G3, unlike it's other NATO cousins, is a roller lock, blowback operated firearm, which also appealed to my curiosity.
The civilian version of the G3 is of course Hk-91, which until 1989 had been available in the U.S. but was banned from importation by GHWB. This was a problem. Pristine HK-91s command $3k+ if you can find one. Even used beater examples will fetch a couple grand.
The solution to my problem turned out to be a U.S. arms manufacturer called PTR Industries. In the late 1980s, a guy by the name of Jose Diaz purchased G3 shop drawings, machinery, and tooling from an HK licensed arms plant in Portugal. The G3 was manufactured under contract in several countries other than Germany, but when it was, HK kept firm control over the quality of the firearm being produced. In this way, parts from a Greek built G3 were interchangeable with a German rifle.....or Norwegian, or Portuguese, etc., etc.
Diaz brought the machinery home and founded JLD Enterprises, which began manufacturing "clones" of the HK-91 using U.S. made parts produced by the machinery brought from Portugal and HK surplus parts that were beginning to flood the market. The rifles were a good copy of the original HK versions, but were priced at under $1k.
In later years JLD Enterprises became PTR Industries after Diaz sold his interests in the company. PTR began producing several versions of their original rifle including the PTR-91 "GI" model.
The "GI" model replicates the issue G3 service rifle and uses HK stocks and lower receivers from demilled G3 rifles. It still sports the S.E.F. (safe, single, burst) lower receiver but now has a semi only U.S. made trigger pack. Barrel, upper receiver, bolt, and flash hider are U.S. made and add up to the magical "7" parts needed to comply with 922r regulations needed to call the rifle U.S. made.