HK 91 .308: Home Defense

I bought my HK 91 over 2 decades ago and it is very low on my list of home defense guns. With some black tips loaded in Lake City brass I would want something more sporting than zombies to defend myself against. Something hiding behind heavy car doors probably wouldn't even be much of a fair fight. The black tips sail through cinder blocks pretty easily. I have somewhere around 60 mags, half of them steel and half of them aluminum, from when they were being dumped on the market a few years ago for a few bucks each. I have no idea why I need 60 mags... but how can you pass up that price! I have a PSG1 rear sight on it currently which I like a bit better than the stock sight. I have a set of the wide green stocks with an extra narrow forearm and a black stock set with a wide and narrow forearm. I should pick up a PSG1 grip some day. I picked up a complete G3 parts set back when they were a couple hundred... as G3, not PRT-91 so I have dups of everything including a full auto bolt.

I like the claw scope mount, very fast on / off and very repeatable. The HK stock with the adjustable comb does a nice job with a scope. I swapped the flash hider out for a small muzzle break... it helps tame the barrel rise quite a bit.

I can't imagine and would hate to see the day I would ever need to defend myself with my HK 91 but it is there if I ever need it!

Much as I enjoy the G3/91 chassis, I think it’s a bit unwieldy for home defense. Unless your home defense plan includes a safe room with an emplacement!

light and nimble would be a better bet.

AR is the obvious answer, but I still buck that and prefer a nice 30 carbine

el Godfather said:

What if we set the HD terrain to mountainous?
But again its more a ‘battle rifle’ a term rarely used now a days.

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Dont know about where you live, but in most states you better have a darn good reason why you couldnt retreat/deescalate before engaging in a "home defense" gun battle at long range in mountainous terrain.....

I guess if we are talking HK products then I would much rather have an HK93.

Home defense with a .308 rifle?

Only if my legal defense is Johnnie Cochran.

And my home isn’t in a neighborhood, you know, with other houses well within range.

And only if I already hate the ability to hear music...

Literally, any other single choice would be better for home defense.

Like an original Heckler and Koch MP5 .

An old school battle rifle in .308 kinda sounds like everything you "don't" want in a home defence gun.

Its big, its heavy, its cumbersome and its a .308! Skipping the serious penetration power/problems of a .308 do you really want to be firing multiple .308 rds indoors with no hearing protection?

Something like a suppressed SBR in 9mm/.45/.300 blackout sounds like a better option IMO

I have a PTR 91 which is a clone of the G3/HK 91. Great rifle and IMO 9lbs is not really heavy for a 308 that holds 20 rounds. It is no m4 or M1 Carbine but it is not supposed to be. Love it and it shoots great with open sites. Probably would be the go to choice to defend a rural homestead but for my house not so much. I would take my 870 or Colt AR before that.

For those not recommending this rifle because of US laws: if I am remembering correctly, the OP is not in the US.

I have a clone of the HK91. I would never recommend it for "normal" home defense - too heavy, way too loud, too powerful. I have considered it as a viable static defense weapon - say if a mob was trying to burn down my house. In my case, I don't realistically see that scenario unfolding however.

There are more suitable longarms IMO that do the job more adequately but if it was all I had it would quite obviously do the job, only with the above-mentioned penalties.

Well, I'd take the 91 before a musket, or a sword, but I'd be unhappy about it. It's way too heavy, loud, powerful (esp WRT overpenetration), and hard to put a light on.

Each of those issues make you a little less effective using it.

el Godfather said:

I do not like the idea of semi auto in hunting.

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What’s the action type have to do with launching one bullet at ethical hunting range?

Havok7416 said:

For those not recommending this rifle because of US laws: if I am remembering correctly, the OP is not in the US.

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Nothing to do with laws, just good sense.

edwardware said:

Well, I'd take the 91 before a musket, or a sword, but I'd be unhappy about it. It's way too heavy, loud, powerful (esp WRT overpenetration), and hard to put a light on.

Each of those issues make you a little less effective using it.

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All good points.
But if it was used, and the perpetrator escaped, we could just look for the deaf burglar with powder burns...

In the US, the HK91 is a rare and expensive collectible rifle, although clones of varying quality are available for several times less.

A battle rifle such as the HK91 is likely excessive in most ways for home defense.

Honestly , my bedroom defensive firearm is a 1911 loaded 10+1. For a long arm I would grab the AR15 or AMD65.
I have to ponder the comments about the noise level of shooting a 308 inside the house as in a fire fight. I would think that shooting any firearm indoors is going to make your ears ring and temp effect your hearing. But , just like hunting, you would be so caught up in the moment that you would not notice until it's all over. I don't think it would matter if it was a 308 or 223 or 45.

I had a couple of 91's back in the 90's. Great rifles, but like the other similar full size military type rifles in the caliber, it wouldnt be my first choice for around the house.

As far as optics, the Germans have a weird idea as to where the scope should be mounted, and they seem to like them way back, with your head high, and off the stock. And thats how the claw mounts with rings, meant for scopes, are set up.

If you get something like the ARMS claw mount with the Picatinny rail, you can mount all sorts of optics, lower, and in a more comfortable spot, for more natural shooting. They also work like the factory mounts for repeatability when removed.

I think it is more caliber and gun required for most any situation, but if you like it, you can run it.

Its not my go to rifle, but just in case if the zombies do come knocking!

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Home Defense..how to answer this when HD ranges from a guy breaking into your back door in the middle of the night to sand bags, bench rested rifle for that gang of zombies.

I donno, 'home defense' means number one to me..and not gonna fish out my 556 rifle as I stumble towards the back door and the noise..ATMO...

Home defense to me means inside my house. While I keep a loaded rifle and shotgun available in the big safe if needed, my handgun is primary for me. Easy to secure to my bed and access quickly if needed.

My issue with it wouldn't be the size or weight, I'd worry more about your ammo selection.

Weight-wise you're probably looking at around 13lbs with a loaded 20rd mag. Much heavier than a decked out M4gery, few pounds more than a pump with 18.5" barrel fully loaded with a side saddle & light.

.308/7.62s have a tendency to penetrate......a lot, and there's only a couple makes of factory ammo that mitigate that to some extent. Once we accept that's all you've got, much like the guys defending their home with 30-30's, 30-06s etc. they're are some decent loads for it such as the HORN TAP 110 and WIN PDX 120 grn which are designed not to overpenetrate as bad as standard loads.

https://www.hornadyle.com/rifle-ammunition/110-gr-tap-urban#!/

110gr. TAP URBAN® ITEM #80896
This cartridge provides the police marksman a unique bullet that demonstrates rapid
expansion, fragmentation and low retained weight. The 110 gr. TAP Urban® bullet offers
the least penetration in ballistic gelatin and lower felt recoil as compared to heavier TAP®
loads. The 110 gr. bullet demonstrates similar penetration to the 223 Rem 75 gr. BTHP
bullet, but with substantially more temporary and permanent cavity and fragmentation,
proving itself an excellent choice for urban sniping. NOTE: A superb choice for the M14
and its variants.
Bullet: 110 gr. TAP URBAN®
B.C.: .290 S.D.: .116
Muzzle Velocity: 2998 fps
Barrel: 20"
Twist Rate: 1 in 12"
Total Penetration: 10"
Max. Cavity: 6"
Depth to Max. Cav.: 4.5"
Entry: 0"
Retained Weight: 5.6 gr.
110 gr.TAP URBAN® (24" test bbl) muzzle 100 yds 200 yds 300 yds 400 yds 500 yds
Velocity (fps) 3187 2850 2537 2246 1973 1723
Energy (ft lbs) 2480 1984 1572 1231 951 725
Trajectory (inches) -1.5 1.4 0.0 -6.8 -20.6 -43.3

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WIN PDX 120 grn



Again, .308 is not my preferred choice for HD, but with these loads isn't all that bad caliber wise.

Chuck

el Godfather said:

Hello

Hk 91 a semiautomatic version of HkG3 chambered in .308 is everything one would like to have in a home defense weapon, except its weight and size that makes it more ideal to be shot from a stationary position. I have no problem maneuvering with it but given the more modern, compact and lighter options it makes its weight and size questionable. I usually have it in the hard storage box with 5 magazines loaded. Its not my go to rifle, but just in case if the zombies do come knocking!

I bought mine over a decade ago. I have no count on the shots but I would say quite a few with ZERO malfunction. It is very accurate as I have tried 300 yards +/- targets with iron sights. Well, while talking about sights, I find HK 91 to be totally out of date when it comes to scope. Not only mount is hard to find, but once you put the scope on the eye relief is terrible. Need butt extender to fix that making the rifle even longer and odd.

I have this love hate thing going for it. On one hand I like the caliber, durability, reliability, accuracy and performance. While on the hate side its the size, weight and lack of accessorize-ability, which was usually the case with most of the Hk weapon (proprietary nonsense).

What are some of your thoughts and experiences?

I will post pics later on.

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Use whatever you like, are familiar with, and have confidence in.

UNLESS YOU LIVE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

Get some Hornady TAP defense ammo and .308 is a very solid home defense caliber. Would .223 be better? Probably. But .308 will absolutely get the job done if you do your part.

Doing your part is where a .308 rifle hinders you a bit. More recoil, slower followup shots, heavier rifle means more fatigue the longer you're carrying or shouldering it. Hopefully you won't need to for more than a few minutes but you never know.

I am also glad you do not live in my neighborhood. The HK91 is a battle rifle not a close quarters weapon. If you were to open up with it in your house you run great risk of downing anyone in the vicinity after it passes through your target. That is assuming you hit on the first shot, and then who knows on a followup. I owned an HK91 for many years and it is a great rifle, just not my first choice for home defense. Or 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.