H&K Quality Meets the Thumbhole Stock: The SR-9

The H&K SR9 was a the version of the H&K G3/91 designed to comply with (or avoid, if you prefer) the Bush Sr. 1989 import ban on “assault weapons”. About 4,000 of these were imported between 1990 and 1998, and they featured a bare muzzle and plastic thumbhole stock and handguard. The first 1000 or so had a faux wood grain finish on the furniture, but it was rather delicate and was dropped fairly shortly. A small number were fitted with PSG-1 grip and trigger assemblies and either MSG-90 or PSG-1 buttstocks and sold as the SR9T and SR9TC models. These changes were possible because the 1989 ban was an administrative one, not legislative, and was not applied to rifles with a specific target-shooting design intent.

13 Comments

  1. My memory may be off, but I think California’s list of ‘scary military features’ included thumbholes.

    • “Scary military features” is only good for terrifying schmucks who have NEVER seen real weapons before. “Oh no, he’s got a scary weapon! Somebody save me!” Balderdash! Cosmetics don’t kill people. Bullets physically kill people! By “scary military features” logic, I should be capable of literally terrifying a crowd of politicians to death by waving an MP-44-styled BB gun in their faces (without shooting once), even if the orange safety tip was quite visible.

    • Not in the original Commiefornia ban. There have been at least three substantial escalations of the Commiefornia AW ban, since the first 1989 law. I think the thumbhole-stock inclusion as a named feature defining a so-called “assault weapon” came with the 1999 escalation.

      The use of the thumbhole stocks came in reaction to the Bush import ban and the California AW ban.

      Never being satisfied with their latest nonsense, there is a rumor that this year the Commiefornia legislature will expand the definition of “assault weapon” to include ALL semi-automatic centerfire rifles which use a detachable magazine, regardless of how many or what type of “features” that rifle has.

      • “rumor that this year the Commiefornia legislature will expand the definition of “assault weapon” to include ALL semi-automatic centerfire rifles which use a detachable magazine, regardless of how many or what type of “features” that rifle has.”
        I have peculiar feeling, after realizing that Breda Modello 30 feed system is actually go-around for such situation.

        • You can’t get away with the 20-round charger, since the current anti-gun people want magazines of every kind restricted to lesser than 10. Heck, I heard that they want ban books on gunsmith stuff so that they could “stop home-brewed terrorist guns before they can be used.”

  2. Since every gun that has been banned has a US made equivalent, the import bans continued during the “pro-gun” Bush presidency and I don’t recall much complaining from gun advocacy groups it seems clear that they’re just protectionism. Crime fighting was never the true aim. Security theatre on top but business interests below were the real goals.

    • They even did it for foreign “biological weapons”, ahem, cheese made from unpasteurized milk. And now : there are US-made raw milk cheese (and they are not banned).

      • Interestingly, Kinder Surprise (chocolate egg with toy inside) are banned in USA:
        https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/the-us-is-finally-lifting-its-ban-on-kinder-eggs-a3691696.html
        it illegalness is caused by Act to prohibit the movement in interstate commerce of adulterated and misbranded food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics, and for other purposes. dating back yet to 1938, so they introduce new other alternative for Surprise (photos in link) to make it compliant with Act to prohibit the movement in interstate commerce of adulterated and misbranded food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics, and for other purposes.

  3. Its a Pune – based on Womaad and the so called link between unpasteurized cheese and Listeria.
    Perhaps you have to be Welsh.

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