I got a PTR-91! Woooo Hooooo!....

[shllyshny]

Well, ok. It's not here yet, but will be Thursday or Friday.

I'm so excited, I think I just wet myself.

Anyway, it has green furniture with the slimline handguards and was considering redressing it in wood. Anyone know if this will help with the heat factor?

Thanks,
Max G.

 

[oh blanky]

I don't know but I second the Yoo Hoo! on your purchase.

Congrats.

 

[Onmilo]

The slimline guard works quite well for shooting semi auto unless you plan to burn through magazines as fast as you can one right after another.
I have wood on my rifle and wood would actually be worse than better for this kind of shooting.
Once the wood forend gets hot it will start to leach the finishing oil and then become quite slick and too hot to hold onto without a glove.
The plastic slimline handguard actually works better but you have to be careful so that your fingers don't come in contact with the hot barrel.

A broad plastic 'tropical' forend with the aluminum heat shield would be even better for fast shooting because it controls heat dissappation and is taller and thicker so your fingers won't come in contact with the barrel but you may have to open up the rear area where it connects to the front of the receiver because the PTR barrel is thicker than a standard G3 barrel.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Is the "tropical" forearm the same as the "wide" forearm? I bought a surplus G3 wide forearm with the bipod slot, and it fit perfectly on my PTR-91 with no modifications.

I also have a suplus G3 "slim" forearm with the aluminum heat shield, but I don't think I've ever tried it to see whether it fit. In taking off the JLD forearm, though, I noticed that it was a single piece of moulded plastic, and did not have the heat shield.

 

[SnakeEater]

Is the "tropical" forearm the same as the "wide" forearm?

Yes it is, it's called "tropical" because it's green. First off, the standard PTR handguard is junk, that is a fact. Like FKB said it doesn't have a heatshield. Next up is wood, slightly better than the JLD but heat is still a major issue. Now in second place is HK made slim forearms. They incorporate an aluminum heatshield that helps, sadly not enough for my style of shooting. After many furniture swaps the overrall #1 choice is HK made wide forearms. Heat is never an issue with the wide forearms.

My PTR is currently wearing an HK made green wide forearm, green grip, and HK made green buttstock with an HK21 rubber buttpad. This setup performs the best in combat style shooting. Shooting 20-40rds aimed, rapid fire sitting position followed by 20rds prone. Slim forearms are literally smoking after one string of fire.

Father you got lucky. All 3 HK factory forearms that I own have required the dremel tool on the end where the pin goes in.

 

[leadcounsel]

I also got a PTR91 recently for a screaming deal... a 100% near new one (as far as I can tell) for $650 out the door!

It is the basic model.

One of my first improvements will be the wide handguard.

Can anyone direct me to the best place to get one for the least $?

Bipods too?

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Must have pics. The HK roller locks are nothing if not sexy...

 

[Father Knows Best]

Ask and ye shall receive

For MTmilitiaman:

 

[Mumbles_45]

I have the wide forearm on mine, I also have an hk slim forend that came free with the HK buttstock I bought, but does not fit. Its the wrong length, anyone know why that would be the case? as for MTmilitiaman:

Edit: what kind of sling is that FKB?

 

[hksw]

Hmm. Depending on the configuration of you PTR, I was under the impression that the US made forearm can be critical in keeping the proper US parts count in compliance. That is, switching it out for a genuine HK or other imported part could make your gun non-compliant.

 

[Father Knows Best]

Show me just ONE private citizen who has been prosecuted for swapping forearms on an imported rifle, and I'll start to care. I seriously doubt that BATFE has the resources to make an issue of it.

Besides, for all you know, I swapped out other non-US parts with US parts to keep the total foreign parts count under the limit.

 

[El Tejon]

So *kicks rocks* does anyone want a real HK91? *whistles*

 

[Thin Black Line]

Father,

This is why it's a good idea to have those US-made Thermold G3 mags
laying around to count for 3 more US parts. Same reason I swapped
floor plates and followers on my FAL mags a while back. I also bought
NIW FAL mags that have no identifying marks on them whatsoever.
They're not Israeli or FN stamped. For all I know they were made
in Hoboken.

So here's the thing to consider: mags and parts that are sold without
any identification/marks as to their origin. I would think that "the burden of
proof" is on the fed-attorney that you knowingly assembled imported parts or
that they could conclusively prove to a jury that the part was even an
import vs domestic manufacture in the first place. Is it still an import part
if I grind it, drill a hole in it, refinish it, *before* I assemble it because in
some American industries this is still counted as "Made in America"? The
auto-industry comes to mind.....

 

[Father Knows Best]

So *kicks rocks* does anyone want a real HK91? *whistles*

Sure, if I can get one for nhot much more than the price of a PTR-91. The last time I looked, though, you could buy THREE PTR's for the cost of an HK.

 

[Calanctus]

Where are you guys getting the PTR-91s? I've tried calling the last couple times i saw Sarco's ad in Shotgun news, and they were sold out. Thanks!

 

[El Tejon]

Father, please, for my 91s, it will be four!

They ain't making anymore ever again, no matter what bearthread one reads on THR about 91s being made in Joejuh.

 

[davek]

I've got three magazines with U.S. made followers and floorplates that I use right now, but I've got a whole stack of German magazines for when I get a U.S. made sear and hammer from JLD

 

[Father Knows Best]

El Tejon, I'm jealous. If I could afford a real HK 91, I'd have one (and a 93!). Like lots of others, though, I have to spend my limited gun money carefully. A PTR-91 is a well made and reasonably close copy that is fun to own and shoot, and leaves me lots of money left over. In fact, for the money that an HK 91 would cost, I bought a PTR-91, an Arsenal SA M-7S (the best semi-auto AK on the market), AND an SA 58 para carbine.

If someone offered me a nice HK 91 for under $2k, though, I'd certainly be thinking hard about it....

 

[Onmilo]

Father Knows Best, I have to tell you my PTR shoots batter than any original HK-91 or G3 that I have ever fired and I have had the chance to shoot quite a few of both.
Keep your PTR and leave the all too expensive originals to the well heeled collectors and shooters who have more money than good common sense.

 

[Mumbles_45]

I thought PTR-91s were made in the US, not imported, so parts count isnt an issue. Is this not the case?

 

[Father Knows Best]

I thought PTR-91s were made in the US, not imported, so parts count isnt an issue. Is this not the case?

It's not quite that simple. The 1989 Bush I gun ban prohibited importation of certain types of semi-auto military-style firearms, including semi-auto versions of the G3 (HK 91, etc.) and AK-47. Some savvy people realized that since the "firearm" was the receiver, they could import AK parts kits and assemble them on a US-made receiver, thus avoiding the ban. The powers that be got wind of this, and passed the "Unsoeld amendment" in 1990, which is now known as section 922(r). Under 922(r), you cannot assemble in the U.S. any firearm that is prohibited from importation if the assembled firearm has more than 10 imported parts. There are lists of what "parts" can be counted for particular types of firearms. For the G3/HK91 and clones, there are 17 counted parts. That means that you must have at least 7 of those parts manufactured in the USA for the firearm to be legal, unless it was imported or manufactured in the USA prior to the 1989/1990 bans.

JLD Enterprises assembles the PTR-91 in the USA, and manufactures many of the parts here at JLD's plant in Connecticut. JLD still uses some imported parts in the PTR-91, however. Since the PTR-91 is a clone of the HK91, which is banned from importation, it must have at least 7 US-made parts to be legal under 922(r). If you remove a US-made part like the front handguard, therefore, and replace it with an imported part, you risk having a firearm that contains more than 10 "imported" parts and is therefore illegal. I don't recall off-hand how many of the 17 counter parts in a PTR-91 are US-made and how many are imported, but you could check with JLD to find out. If your PTR-91 came from JLD with just 6 imported parts and 11 US-made, then you could replace up to four of the US-made parts with imported parts and still be legal. If it came from JLD with 10 imported and 7 US-made, though, you're already at the limit.

It's a silly law, of course.

 

[Tankcommander]

I went with wood on my PTR and have not had any problems with heat but I don't use it as an MG either. This is mine a few months ago I've since added a scope and cheek rest. Mostly I like the look of the wood vs the original green plastic.

TC

 

[Raygun]

Hopefully this means that my PTR-91 will also be arriving soon. Been waiting since March! Argh!

 

[WeedWhacker]

Where are you guys getting the PTR-91s? I've tried calling the last couple times i saw Sarco's ad in Shotgun news, and they were sold out. Thanks!

Contact JLD directly - they are now selling direct to customers. Impact Guns took two months to tell me this... >.<

 

[razorburn]

remember when sarco had them for $695 new? Whats jld asking for them now?