The G3 served as a basis for many other weapons, among them: the
PSG1 and
MSG90 precision rifles, the
HK11 and
HK21 family of
light machine guns, a
semi-automatic version known as the
HK41, a "sporterized" model called the
SR9 (designed for the civilian market in countries where the HK91 would not qualify, primarily the US after the 1989 importation restrictions) and the MC51 carbine. •
G3: Original model based on the
CETME Model 58 introduced in 1959 and approved in 1960. It had a wooden stock and handguard. •
G3A1: G3 approved in 1963 with a single-position, retractable stock sliding in grooves pressed in the sides of the body, locked by a catch under the special bodycap. This design was chosen after earlier experimentation with an MP-40 style ventrally-folding metal stock; excessive recoil caused it to be dropped from consideration. •
G3A2: G3 developed in 1962 with new rotating drum rear sight and a
Freischwinger (FS) free-floating barrel that significantly improved accuracy. •
G3A3: The most well known 1963 version. Drum sights with an improved front sight, a flash-suppressor/muzzle brake capable of firing NATO standard grenades, a fixed solid plastic buttstock, and a plastic handguard that does not contact the free-floating barrel. The handguard came in a slim, ventilated version and a wide version. The latter allows for the attachment of a bipod. •
G3A4: The G3A4 uses drum sights and a single position, retractable stock. Entered service in 1974 for frontline infantry units. •
G3KA3: Variant of G3KA4 with fixed stock. •
G3KA4: Smallest of the line, it is a
Karabiner, or
carbine version of the G3. It uses an
HK33 handguard, features drum sights, a retractable stock, and a 322mm/12.69" barrel (reduced in length to the base of the front sight post), that is too short for use with a bayonet or rifle grenades.
Other military variants and derivatives Denmark railed forend, vertical grip and
Aimpoint red dot sight •
Gv M/75: Variant leased from the German Bundeswehr / German government by the Danish government to replace the aging
M1 Garands. Originally manufactured by either
Rheinmetall or HK for the German Bundeswehr. The Gv M/75 rifles are basically G3s with the old style straight cocking tube as opposed to the later FS (
Freischwinger, "Cantilevered") variant. The Rheinmetall versions lack an external selector lever and can be converted from semi-automatic to full automatic (or
vice versa) by the use of a
special tool.
Myanmar •
BA63 (Burma Army): Licensed produced G3 by
Myanmar stated owned KaPaSa factories in partnership with Fritz Werner Industry Ausrustungen-Gmbh (FRG) and the German Technical Corporation Agency with licensing rights sold by 1960 with the first 10,000 G3s bought from West Germany (through Rheinmetall) before Burmese factories went operational due to fears that it could align with East Germany. It was the main battle rifle for Myanmar armed forces until they were replaced by MA series 5.56mm assault rifles in 1995. The BA63 is still in service with Myanmar Police Force, People's Militia and ethnic Border Guard Forces. Produced by KaPaSa factories in partnership with Fritz Werner Industry Ausrustungen-Gmbh (FRG). •
AG-3F1: An AG-3 with a retractable stock as on G3A4. Produced by Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk. A retractable stock was required by certain groups of soldiers within the Norwegian Armed Forces, primarily vehicle crews with limited space inside, particularly where a quick disembarkment from such a vehicle is required. All versions of the AG-3 have the ability to attach a 40 mm
HK79 grenade launcher. •
AG-3F2: An improvement of the AG-3F1, featuring B&T
Picatinny rails on the receiver, as well as a RIS handguard. On the AG-3F2, Aimpoint red dot sights were mounted onto the receiver top rail for faster quick acquisition, and easier aiming in low-light conditions.
Portugal •
m/963 The HK G3 was selected to equip the Portuguese Armed Forces as the new service rifle.
Fábrica de Braço de Prata started in 1962 to manufacture under licence the G3, including the manufacture of its components and parts and its final assembly. Later, West Germany placed an order for 50,000 Portuguese-made G3 rifles for its own armed forces.
Sweden •
Ak 4: Swedish-made version of the G3A3, with a buttstock that is 2 cm longer, the bolt carrier has a serrated thumb groove to aid in silent bolt closure and fitted with a heavy buffer for higher number of rounds fired before failure. The
iron sights feature extended sight adjustments in increments, because the hit probability met Swedish military doctrine. The rifles were manufactured from 1965 to 1970 by both
Carl Gustafs stads gevärsfaktori and
Husqvarna Vapenfabriks and from 1970 until the end of production in 1985 – exclusively by
Carl Gustaf in
Eskilstuna. All Ak 4s are adapted to mount the
M203 grenade launcher. Sweden has supplied unmodified Ak 4s to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. •
Ak 4OR: Optiskt Riktmedel, optical sight. This model is fitted with a
Hensoldt 4×24 telescopic sight mounted via a HK claw mount. During a few years it was not issued but it is now again in use by the
Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna ("
Swedish Home Guard"). •
Ak 4B: In this updated version the iron sights have been removed and replaced with an
Aimpoint CS red-dot reflex sight mounted on a
Picatinny rail. The rail is welded onto the rifle. Used by
Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna ("
Swedish Home Guard"). •
Ak 4C: An updated version of the Ak 4B with an adjustable-length stock designed and manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr i Dalby AB. Fielded in 2017 and used by
Hemvärnet - Nationella skyddsstyrkorna ("
Swedish Home Guard"). •
Ak 4D: An updated version of the Ak 4B with the adjustable-length stock of the Ak 4C but with the addition of a modular handguard (also designed and manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr i Dalby AB) and the
Hensoldt 4×24 telescopic sight of the Ak 4OR in a Picatinny mount. The Ak 4D will be used by the Swedish Army as a stop-gap
DMR.
Iran •
DIO G3-A3 Bullpup: Iranian bullpup variant of the G3.
Pakistan The Pakistani models are manufactured in both automatic and civilian semi-automatic versions sharing the same model number. The MC51 weighs , has a folded overall length of , a barrel length of only , which produces a muzzle velocity of approx. and a muzzle energy of 2215
J. The G3A3ZF is otherwise a standard G3A3 that during factory test shooting printed a 5-shot group of (0.8
mil/2.75
MOA) diameter or less. •
G3SG/1: A modified/accurized rifle for sharpshooter/sniper use introduced in 1972. The "SG" stands for
Scharfschützengewehr ("Sharpshooting Rifle"). The rifles were individually selected from the G3 production line for outstanding accuracy during test-firing and then modified. G3SG/1 rifles got a heavy, dual-stage buffer, fixed mounted, Zeiss Diavari-DA 1.5-6×36 power telescopic sight and STANAG claw mount assembly mounted. The standard trigger was exchanged for an adjustable set-trigger pack assembly with a trigger pull and in the set operation mode, the buttstock has a slightly adjustable auxiliary cheek riser, and the lengthened handguard has an integrated bipod. The Zeiss Diavari-DA 1.5-6×36 was windage adjustable and had an elevation knob featuring
Bullet Drop Compensation (BDC) settings for . For the sub ranges the BDC numbers are yellow. The BDC numbers for the longer ranges are white and in increments. The automatic fire mode was retained but the set-trigger mode could only be used for semi-automatic firing. •
MSG3: A variant introduced in 1988 featuring a long barrel, a newer telescopic sight mount that is found on only a few of the
Heckler & Koch rifles, as compared to the more conventional claw mounts, though the claw mounting points remain on the receiver. This newer telescopic sight mount does not allow the use of the
open sights with the mount in place, as is the case with the more conventional claw mount. The receiver is not strengthened. In addition to the G3SG/1 the buttstock has an auxiliary cheek riser and its length is adjustable and features the PSG1 semi-automatic only trigger pack. MSG stands for
Militärisches Scharfschützen Gewehr ("Military Sniper Rifle"). •
MSG90: A somewhat cheaper and lighter long barrel version of the PSG1 modified for military sniping/designated marksman applications. The MSG90 and PSG1 have different trigger packs. •
PSG1: A free-floating long barrel semi-automatic only version of the G3 introduced in 1985 with a strengthened receiver with rails welded over the channels where a retractable buttstock would slide and numerous other upgrades and such to meet the necessities of police sniper units. This rifle is famous for its accuracy and comfort, but infamous for its price and inability to be deployed by military units because some upgrades made the rifle too fragile. PSG stands for
Präzisionsscharfschützengewehr ("Precision Sniper Rifle"). •
HK32: An experimental variant of the rifle chambered for the Soviet
7.62×39mm M43 cartridge. It was never wholly adopted by any country.
Law enforcement and civilian models •
G3A1*: The terminology used by custom gunsmiths (e.g., Choate) and importers (e.g.,
Interarms) for imported semi-automatic G3 weapons with an aftermarket side-folding stock. This is not part of official HK nomenclature. •
HK41: The HK41 is a semi-automatic version of the G3 that was marketed to law-enforcement. Limited sales at home and US import restrictions and firearms regulations led this weapon to be dropped from HK's product line quickly and it was replaced by the HK91. •
Fleming Arms HK51: Contrary to popular belief, the HK51 is not made by H&K, being a creation of the American Class II manufacturing after-market. The HK51 has no real standards, but is usually a cut down and modified G3A3, or its semi-automatic clones the HK41 and HK91, modified to take MP5 stock and accessories. It is usually fitted with a collapsible stock; with a 211 mm (8.31-inch) long barrel; it is relatively small at 589 mm (23.17 inches) with the stock retracted and 780 mm (30.72 inches) with the stock extended. The first commercial version was by Bill Fleming of Fleming Arms and existed before Heckler & Koch made the HK53. •
HK91: The HK91 is a semi-automatic version of the G3 similar to the HK41, also marketed to civilians. However, in order to comply with US firearm regulations a number of modifications to the HK91 were made that do not appear on the first pattern HK41. Internal parts that could allow fully automatic fire were removed. A shelf was welded onto the receiver where the push-pin of the trigger pack would normally go, to prevent installation of a fully automatic trigger pack. This did not allow the use of the paddle style magazine release and so the magazine release button on the right side of the magazine well must be used instead. It is otherwise identical to the G3A3/A4. Importation into the United States began in 1974 and ceased in 1989, with some 48,000 rifles being imported. •
HK911: The HK911 was an HK91A2 with the flash hider removed and the receiver re-stamped with an extra 1 to comply with the US importation ban of 1989. The new designation theoretically made it legally immune to the Import Ban, as no "HK911" rifles were mentioned on the list of banned guns. However, the later banning of several "paramilitary" features on the HK911 made it illegal. •
SR9: These variants of the HK91ZF were created to comply with the Semi-Auto Import Ban of 1989, which included all variants of the HK91. They differed from the HK91 in that they had their flash hiders removed and featured a smooth forend that lacked the bipod attachment point. The SR9 series were banned from importation to the United States because they could accept standard-capacity magazines. The SR9 was an HK91A2ZF with the pistol grip and buttstock replaced with a one-piece thumbhole stock. •
SR9 (T): The (T), or "Target", model was an HK91A2ZF with the trigger replaced with the PSG-1 model, the pistol grip replaced with an ergonomic PSG-1 grip and the buttstock replaced with an MSG90 model. •
SR9 (TC): The (TC), or "Target Competition", model was an HK91A2ZF with the trigger group, pistol grip and buttstock derived from the PSG-1.
Other manufacturers •
PTR Industries 91 Series: PTR Industries is manufacturing semi-automatic copies of the HK G3 called the
PTR 91. They use tooling from the FMP arms factory in Portugal to build the rifles. •
Century International Arms: Century Arms builds a clone of the G3 under the designation CA-3. •
SAR-3: Semi-automatic copy of the HK-91 made by
Hellenic Defence Systems in Greece and imported into the United States by
Springfield Armory. •
SAR-8: Post-ban version of SAR-3, modified with a thumbhole stock and shipped with 10-round magazines to comply with import restrictions. •
MKE: MKEK made a clone known as the T41. •
Hunt Group Arms G12: Turkish made 12-gauge designed as a 1:1 external clone of the G3 rifle for civilian, sporting and law enforcement use. •
LuxDefTec: Luxembourgish clones of the G3 designated HSG41. ==Users==