Editor's Note: We would like to welcome our latest Popular Airsoft operator to come on board. "Buckshot" is our new addition to our growing list of operators who will be writing for the website and our monthly PDF magazine. Buckshot is into tinkering with AEGs, prefers milsim airsofting, a photographer (another great plus), and has been writing reviews in the Swedish language. He's presently doing an upcoming airsoft news website for Scandinavia. Welcome to the Popular Airsoft group sir Buckshot! Break a leg!

First of all I would like to give my most sincerely thanks to Mr. Whistler Peng from SRC, Starrainbow Company for sending this sample of their latest product.

Short background of the real gun

In 2001 Heckler & Koch offered the US army a program to upgrade their widely used M4. It had been known for a long time that there had been severe issues with the M4’s jamming in battle. HK had successfully helped the British with their SA80 and now offered the US army to look at their M4’s. HK wanted to loan M4’s to analyze and the unit that took it on was a very special unit, the 1st SFOD-D “Delta Force”. They had switched from MP5 to M4 and spent a lot of money testing short barrel AR systems, but came to the conclusion that none of them answered their needs. Delta took HK’s offer and the tests begun. The problems found were quite a few. The magazines were not optimal, the direct gas system were not a good system since it transferred hot dirty gases right into the bolt carrier. This dried out the lubrication and increased heat in the mechanism. HK found ways to sort all those problems out. The 416 has been in combat ever since the first gun left the factory.

 

Picture of real HK416
More can be read at http://www.hkpro.com/hk416.htm

Ever since this AEG was first revealed as a new project from SRC I have been very keen about it. I have reviewed the JG HK 416 before and I was not really satisfied, I have also looked closely at the VFC which is very nice to hold, although I have never played with it or taken it apart. The previous products from SRC have been of a quite high quality that would satisfy most of the Airsoft community. But after contacting Mr. Whistler from SRC I really got interested. He promised that the AEG would get a really good internal and the external would be as good as can be. SRC has recently raised their aim, and are now aiming at the top end of the market. SRC does not have any license agreement from H&K for engraving their products with the proper H&G logos and texts, but SRC tells me that the aim is to get the rights for doing so in a near future. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got the word from SRC that the AEG was in production and a sample was sent to me for testing. When the package was delivered and I opened the box my expectations were at top. I can only say that I was more than impressed. The looks of the SRC SR416 is truly amazing. The package contains the AEG, magazine, small bag of BBs, cleaning rod and the battery box which is the SRC replica of the “Night Vision System” VITAL (Variable Intensity Tactical Aiming Laser) and an extra M120 spring. I really should underline that the SRC SR416 is a full metal product! It is nicely packaged into molded Styrofoam and all the usual manuals and warning tags is in place. One other thing with this gun that is unique is that it is coming with a factory warranty of one year. Mr. Whistler also supplied me with barrels for all three versions and also the flip up sight that is on the longer versions.

External construction and build quality

Taking the gun out of the box you’ll get your first “wow”. It is really solid and heavy. If it wasn’t for the “hop-up” tag and SR416 markings on the receiver you would swear it was a real HK416. Let’s start looking at this master piece. The front end is the HK developed Free Float Rail System in solid metal. This particular rail system was developed specific to the HK416 to meet the demands of Delta Force.  The finish of this is really good. At first I found the color on the receiver and on the flash hider a bit strange but after studying different pictures of the HK 416 I found the color to be just on the spot. Nice work SRC.

The front end is a true free floating thing with all the internals that should be there. Even the gas block and gas piston is there and it looks fantastic. On each side of the gas block there are sling attachment points. The barrel is attached to the receiver with a very sturdy construction just as on the real gun. NO BARREL WOBBLE. SRC have made a great job with the front end. The power connector sticks out of one of the holes in the rail system. The top rail on the receiver and the front rail system fits perfectly together. The SRC rail system measures exactly the MIL-STD-1913 dimensions. In fact I also own a JG version of the gun and that rail is not the correct dimension.  Flash hider is exactly like the one found on a real HK 416, and it is attached with the standard counter clock wise thread and secured with a small Allen bolt. 

The receiver of the SR416 is a very good replica of the actual HK416. All small things that differs the HK receiver from an M4 receiver is there. Again SRC has paid a lot of attention to small details, good work. Although the color of the safety switch, bolt catch and magazine release differs from the rest of the receiver. I must say that it would have been nice to have them in the same dark color as the rest of the receiver, but if you look at pictures of the real HK 416 the color is not exactly the same on the steel parts The safety switch on this sample was a little bit stiff at first and did not quite click into its positions with a firm feeling but after a few operations the feeling improved. Without a doubt the qualities of the steel parts are top notch. The finish on the gun is absolutely one of the best I have ever seen.  Laser engraving on the gun is very good, although it is not the HK logos. The engravings are as they should but instead of HK is says SR. But I don’t think this matter one bit. The receiver also has a unique serial number.

The stock is not the same as on a M4. HK has adopted the Bushmaster design which is a bit different from standard M4. It has a wider and longer shoulder plate. It is also a bit different in angle. It is a retractable construction with five positions. The material is glass fiber reinforced nylon just as on the real HK416. It really feels sturdy and strong. The pin attached to the receiver that the stock slides on is a thick walled aluminum tube that is very sturdy. SRC tells me that they probably will come out with a HK417 stock eventually. In that case it will hold a special designed battery as well. The stock on the HK417 is very close to the Crane stock but with a HK touch. It is actually the same stock as JG supplies on one of their 416 versions. HK supplies the HK416 with the HK417 stock to some units.

The magazine is a 300rd Hi-Cap. It has a black semi gloss finish with markings on it. The color is not the same as the receiver but I have seen on various sites that the real HK416 magazine has the same finish and color. It feeds very well and it fits nice into the magazine well. Any TM, CA or King Arms magazine seems to fit nice as well.

The sights are of standard HK diopter sights. The sights are solid metal and the rear sight is adjustable. The rear sight can be rotated into four different positions for different accuracy. The front sight for the two long versions is of flip up type. The front sight on the 10” barrel version is a special sight mounted on the front rail. On the flip up sight there is a little catch that is to be pulled and then the sight can be flipped up. The sights are of very good quality, the only thing that I should mention is that the finish is a little greenish, but they look very good.

Internals of the gun is absolutely top of the line. You can almost think it is upgraded. The internal parts are really good stuff like, 8mm sealed permanently greased ball bearings, high quality metal gears, chromed aluminum cylinder, metal cylinder head, aluminum cylinder head, fiber reinforced piston, metal spring guide with ball bearing, metal Hop-Up chamber, etc, really high grade stuff.

Verdict

The HK416 is about as hot as it can get to the Airsoft players. This is definitely the best HK416 replica out there and when you consider the very good internal parts, no one even comes close in my opinion. It has a build quality that really sticks out from the rest. This is truly an AEG that would have a proud spot in every collection. It truly is one of the best AEG’s on the market. It will most certain be a new favorite gun for anyone who buys it.

Full operation and take down of the SRC SR416 shall follow in the upcoming April 2008 issue of the Popular Airsoft Magazine.