SPARTANAT Firearms - The new HK433 in test

New assault rifles are the unicorns of the weapon world. They live hidden and whenever you encounter them, the shooter must take the opportunity to touch them. Stefan from SR Tactical seized the chance and had the first shooting experience with the HK433. Here on SPARTANAT is his report:

I had the opportunity to test the weapon extensively as part of the 9th Special Forces Workshop in Güstrow, even in heavy rain. So the starting situation was not a sterile shooting range atmosphere, but quite realistic.

On the first day of the workshop, I expressed interest in testing different weapons at Heckler & Koch (HK). Unfortunately, we didn't have time to shoot the weapons in dry conditions on the first day.

On the second day, the schedule looked better, and I went to the shooting range with the HK demo team. As mentioned before, in heavy rain. There I fired about a hundred full metal jacket soft core rounds from an HK416 and the aforementioned HK433. Both weapons showed no malfunctions for any of the shooters present, even after some bursts of fire and a significant increase in weapon temperature.

So much for the procedure, now to the actual weapon. The gun I had had a barrel length of 14.5" / 368mm and was equipped with an Elcan Specter DR.

The HK433 is an upward-firing short-stroke gas piston with rotary locking system, so the operating principle is similar to the G36 and HK416. The system housing is made of aluminum, with a large part of the attachments made of plastic.

Not only the drive system was derived from existing HK weapons: Anyone familiar with the development stages of different HK long guns will find many familiar elements.The charging handle was borrowed from the HK33 or G3, but can now be converted from left to right without tools.

The trigger group on the gun I had resembled the layout of a G36, but there is also talk of an HK416 or AR variant. It was noticed that the detent between "safe," "semi-automatic," and "full-automatic" could be a bit harder. The safety easily slips past the semi-automatic position, resulting in my first shots with the HK433 ending in a short burst of fire. Since the weapon is a prototype, it can be assumed that HK will make further improvements to the weapon.The magazine well accepts STANAG magazines but has a bottom magazine release like a G36. An HK416 or AR variant is also available here. Since I primarily shoot with AR derivatives, I had to adjust a little here. With some practice, a magazine change is still intuitive, nothing gets in the way.

Very pleasant is the bolt catch lever right on the magazine well or trigger guard. This feature stood out to me positively because the bolt can be released with the long index finger of the shooting hand. Tedious reaching during magazine changes is not necessary here, and the bolt can easily be locked in the open position.

Also successful are the HKey forearm and the adjustable, folding shoulder stock. The weapon can be excellently adapted to the user in this way. Since the shoulder stock is in line with the barrel, the weapon is easily manageable even in full-auto fire with a rate of about 700 rounds per minute. Steel targets at distances of 20m and 40m were easy to hit standing freehand with bursts of fire, quick single shots, and target changes. The very good trigger (about 25N trigger force) with a clear reset is also not innocent in this.Back to the shoulder stock. This has an adjustable cheek rest and a hard rubber butt plate. Even with a protective vest, a stable and reproducible gun position can be found, nothing slips or wobbles.

Overall, the HK433 presents itself as an extremely well-thought-out assault rifle concept with the usual high HK build quality, good ergonomics, and several innovative features such as a maintenance-free shot counter.

In summary, the HK433 prototype makes an excellent first impression and is a good candidate for upcoming assault rifle tenders.

More information about the weapon: HERE is the H&K Brochure HK433 on SPARTANAT

HECKLER & KOCH on the Internet: www.heckler-koch.com

SR Tactical on the Internet: www.sr-tactical.com

More pictures of the new Heckler & Koch weapon and an excellent report with another first shooting experience: HERE the HK433 is presented in the STRATEGY & TECHNOLOGY Blog by Jan-Phillipp Weisswange.