HK MR223A3 vs. MR556A1 Differences

[@superfamilyallosauridae6505]

best MR556/hk416 explainer vid I've seen. I had to figure this stuff out on forums and by looking at pictures of rifles. Glad this is on YT now

[@Feldmutze]

Thank you! Yeah I'm hoping this video will help for anyone figuring out the differences in the future since, although the information is out there, just like you said it takes a lot of time to piece together and also to sift through a lot of the incorrect information that has been put out as well.

[@superfamilyallosauridae6505]

@@Feldmutze I'm going to take this opportunity to specifically call out James Williamson who is simultaneously a youtuber and an HK knower of various assorted things yet never puts out videos with this information. Whenever he does do a video, it's the most shallow, stupid stuff imaginable. I cannot tell why. At best, he's gatekeeping.

[@Feldmutze]

Personally I've found James' videos, at least on his Teufelshund channel to be quite well done and informative, and he's done some lengthy writeups over the years on HK Armorer's Courses which helped me a lot when I was first planning my build. Though I do think the videos he's done as collabs on the 1911 Syndicate channel are a lot more surface-level.

[@pavelyakimov]

Very detaled and profesionaly explained. Thank you!!!

[@thedumbguncollector5546]

Glorious as always

[@Feldmutze]

Thank you!

[@thedumbguncollector5546]

@@Feldmutze if you ever need any information, photographs, or even short videos with an MR 223 let me know and I can get it to you

[@Feldmutze]

Thanks for the offer! There's a good chance I'll reference the MR223 again in future videos so that'll be a great help and I'll definitely let you know.

[@replacesoundboard]

2:13 I do envy the fact you managed to purchase an official HK copy of the Magpul magazine. I'm something of a collector and I can't seem to find one in my country, and import laws are kind of difficult.

[@Feldmutze]

The HK magazines are a little hard to find here too, although they have become more prevalent in recent years. Hopefully at some point they become available in your country too, the HK magazines have a lot of little improvements over the Magpul PMag to the point I greatly prefer them over any other magazine.

[@replacesoundboard]

Ah well, after searching far and deep, I finally found some gun shop from Eastern Europe (Poland, Slovakia, etc.) which accepted to sell me some HK Gen3 magazines. They have no requirement to purchase magazine or export from their country. Just have to deal with custom import laws on my end but I must admit I am happy.

[@0_1_2]

Opinions on the extended castle nut? Is that mostly for cosmetic purposes?

[@Feldmutze]

The extended castle nut reinforces the buffer tube area more to prevent buffer tube or lower receiver breakage if the rifle is dropped especially when the stock is collapsed, but in the majority of cases it isn't necessary. I personally do prefer the look of the them too.

[@Zel_eo]

Amazing vid as usual my dude. I do have a question for ya. In other videos ive seen you rock a cut down barrel, where did you got it done and how long did it take?

[@Feldmutze]

Thanks! Are you referring to the 11" barrel I was using in the Nefarious Arms gas block video? If so, that entire upper was sent to me for the review from Nefarious Arms and it was one of their barrels which I believe they made as an 11" from the start.

[@Zel_eo]

@@Feldmutze Ah, got ya. I picked up a 16.5 mr556a1 barrel that has been chrome lined and need to get it cut down, but finding someone to do it right is stupid hard. Thanks for the info though.

[@bennyhgonter]

Can you explain to me why the German would be making a on this 223 which is only an American caliber but then as I read more that this is able to shoot 556 so why don’t they just say it’s a 556 barrel that shoots also 223 because you can’t and you should not shoot 556 through a 223 barrel so I don’t understand why they’re even naming this 223 if it shoots 556 they should give it to the bigger caliber in color 556 can you argue with me on this or explain this to me? Dr. Gonter Thank you for your video nice job you’re very articulate.

[@Feldmutze]

Thanks for watching, and glad you liked the video! From what I understand, the decision for HK to market their rifles as the MR223 and MR308 in Europe was to distance it from the "military" 5.56 x 45 and 7.62 x 51 NATO so that it wouldn't have legal issues going to market, even though it is indeed chambered to fire 5.56 ammunition.

[@replacesoundboard]

Spot on. In European market, normally you cannot purchase NATO rounds but you can purchase .223 Rem and .308 Winchester. Most civilian rifles are designed to fire civilian rounds which don't run as hot as NATO rounds, although some can do both (example: some .223 rifles are branded with a .223 Wylde chamber). People say the HK MR223 is one of such rifles, although I couldn't find anything official. Also there's the legal aspect indeed. In some (if not most) European countries, you own a gun for leisure instead of home defence, so it wouldn't stand well to use "military" names for the calibres.

[@manganvbg90]

@@replacesoundboardin some european countries military calibers are banned in rifles, while 223 and 308 is perfectly legal to own. And if im not mistaken germany is one of those regarding rifle calibers. 9x19 is no focus on, italy used to ban 9x19 but its now allowed again making all their 9x21 guns worthless 😅

[@Catchin_Str4yss]

Which one is better to buy? I need to put in a 10 rd fixed mag

[@replacesoundboard]

Where do you live? The MR223 isn't manufactured in the US and was only imported in limited quantities before import/export customs noticed the deceit - some people had it imported without a stock and branded as a pistol, until HK in Germany came clear and said it's not a pistol. It's a collector rifle for die hard HK fans which is overpriced in the US.

[@Project_darwin]

Can we get a parts list for your sand /ral8000 build

[@Feldmutze]

Certainly! - MR556A1 upper receiver reanodized and re-marked by Black Ops Defense - Geissele Government charging handle - HK G28 2mm flip-up rear sight and HK416 flip-up front sight - Strike Industries Lightweight forward assist - MR556A1 BCG. Swapped the cam pin for a Lantac SmoothCam - EOTech EXPS3-2 on a Unity riser - Long HKey handguard in Sand/RAL8000 - Cloud Defensive REIN 2.0 w. Legacy Body on a Unity Tactical Fusion Hub - Nefarious Arms chrome-lined barrel and NA5 gas block - Sig Sauer SLH762 suppressor I didn't show the lower in this video but I usually pair this MR556 with an ADM4 lower which I also had reanodized and re-marked at the same time.

[@Project_darwin]

@@Feldmutze thanks so much for taking the time!

[@kairoff333]

Hi there, thanks for the video. So i know that barrel of MR 223 has C.I.P./N, Birmingham stamps, so my question is: could i use 5.56 NATO rnd (m 855a1) on my MR 223, thank you.

[@Feldmutze]

Thanks for watching! You can fire 5.56 NATO out of an MR223 no problem, but I'd highly recommend avoiding M855A1 as the chamber pressures on it are extremely high, nearing the max. pressure given by C.I.P.

[@kairoff333]

@@Feldmutze so which cartridge 5.56 NATO is okay? M855 green tip? Thats will be great if i can find some info about pressure with different cartridges...

[@Feldmutze]

@kairoff333 M855 is good to go. I don't know each loading's chamber pressures off the top of my head but you can find most of them with a bit of digging.

[@kairoff333]

And another 2 questions, 1- i want to put on my MR collapsible stock from Odin cqb, they send it with short buffer tube, ther spring and buffer which weight 3 oz., HK uses 5.3 oz. buffer, so qestion is could i install their tube with ther spring and buffer, and do the piston gas system will work properly? And 2- maybe do you know how is B&T Rotex suppressor working with HK MR 223? Thank you for answering!

[@Feldmutze]

The Odin compact buffer tube, spring, and buffer setup will work with the MR, as will the B&T Rotex suppressor. The loss of the HK buffer spring will make the biggest difference as that is considerably heavier than a normal AR’s, so you’ll have a snappier recoil impulse with that setup especially when suppressed due to the higher backpressure, but it will work.

[@replacesoundboard]

If I remember the stories, the reason why there's an MR556 and an MR223 instead of one single version is because of Germany's export laws and US import laws, because of which HK cannot send German manufactured rifles (and some others) or something to the US. I think some people said the barrel of the MR556 was actually manufactured by Daniel Defense or something? Not sure. Either way, they're two completely different rifles which were branded almost similarly.

[@Feldmutze]

Yep, unfortunately due to laws on both sides that's why there's such a big difference between the two rifles. On the MR556, the barrels used to be imported as blanks from Germany, then finished here in the US by Daniel Defense. Since then I think HK USA has moved the barrel finishing in-house, or at the least, to a different contractor, as Daniel Defense isnt finishing them anymore.

[@The458fan]

Have an 11" MR223A3. Great rifle. If I could change anything, it would be a lighter 416a5 barrel and the A5 adjustable gasblock. Otherwise it's pretty much perfect.

[@robi_445]

So, can i assume that is the case with mr308 and mr762? I mean, between the both are some noticeable differences.

[@Feldmutze]

Yes, the MR762 is in a very similar situation to the MR223 vs. MR556 where it has a lot of the same differences from the MR308 as well.

[@robi_445]

@@Feldmutze alright, thanks a lot man.

[@john-.-doe]

Now sure how about MR556A1, but MR223A3 doesn't accept Magpul PMAG Gen2

[@mekhibarnes6724]

Why not?

[@john-.-doe]

@@mekhibarnes6724 You can find details on the internet. Related to magwell profile or something. Long story short, PMAG Gen2 didn't work in HK416, neither in MR223. So, Magpul came with Gen3 - they work just fine with MR223A3.

[@john-.-doe]

Informative video 👍 My biggest complaint about MR223A3 would be M15x1 Gosh this is annoying - instead of $10 birdcage A2 - €60 Why, HK, why?

[@john-.-doe]

Also, HK call this sand color RAL8000

[@Feldmutze]

Are they still calling it RAL8000? I know the polymer parts are designated as RAL8000, but I thought HK renamed their tan anodized parts to Sand since there was too much color variation for it to be called RAL8000.

[@john-.-doe]

@@Feldmutze Indeed. Seems they changed the naming, or, at least, stopped mentioning RAL8000 as a color. I see shops still sell it with the RAL8000 color designation, and the MR308 owner manual mentions RAL8000 as a variant.