Pictured below is a Heckler & Koch Model 91 rifle that I bought new in 1980. A friend of mine had put a deposit on the rifle at a local shop then ran into financial difficulty and wasn’t able to pay off the balance due. He was in danger of losing the $200 deposit he had put on the rifle and he asked me if I would be interested in buying it so he wouldn’t lose his deposit.
I wasn’t really looking for such a rifle but I felt badly for my friend so I went down to the store and ponied up the $380 plus sales tax for the 91. I thought the rifle was a bit clumsy and heavy (and I still think so) but at the same time there was something intriguing about the thing.
The gun store owner asked if I wanted any accessories for the gun, like the quick detachable scope mount, extra magazines, the bipod and bayonet. I must confess that I went a bit overboard and bought all of it. Seems to me the scope mount was around $90 which was a lot at the time but it was really cool the way it came off and snapped right back on. The bipod added more weight to an already heavy rifle but again it sure was neat looking.
Shooting this rifle was quite an experience. One of the loudest guns I have ever shot (nothing comes close to the .30 Carbine Ruger Blackhawk, though) it threw the empty cases about 50’ away. I think it had something to do with the roller block design. I don’t know for sure.
I wound up keeping the rifle.
In June of 1986 my home was burglarized. I had meant to invest in a safe, I really did, but at that time I didn’t have one so I lost all of my guns. A total of 23 firearms were stolen. Oddly, they left one behind for some reason. An M1 Garand I had gotten through the DCM (I recall it being an IH model). All the rest, including the M91, were gone.
Around October of 2003 I get a post card from the LAPD (the gun was stolen about 200 miles north of LA in Fresno) informing me that a stolen firearm registered to me had been recovered and did I want it back? Hell, yes, I wanted it back even though I didn’t know which one they had recovered. Believe it or not, I had a premonition that it was the H&K that had been located, and a phone call confirmed it.
The LAPD was adamant that I had to retrieve the gun in person. They would not ship it to me or an FFL. Had to be me, and it had to be in person. Well, we take 10 days or so around Christmas each year for a visit to Fresno so two months later while there my friend Ron drove me down to LA to pick up my rifle. I took along a hard case assuming they wouldn’t want me walking around police headquarters with a gun in my hand.
I was mistaken. That’s exactly what they wanted. I was told not to case the gun as that would constitute a concealed weapon (whaaaat?). OK. So I strolled through the LAPD main office with the 91 in my hand. I got lots of strange looks from uniformed officers and visitors as I made my way out the front door and onto the sidewalk... in downtown Los Angeles... with an H&K Model 91 in my hand.
Ron had the case and we cased it up immediately upon hitting the street.
Of the 23 guns taken, so far four have been returned. Three were recovered within the first few months and then the 91 some 17 years later. By the way, there wasn’t a mark on it after all that time. The detective I dealt with said drug dealers like to have guns like that for show but they rarely actually shoot them and it was a drug house raid that netted the H&K.
We had flown to CA on American Airlines and I checked the 91 as baggage following the airline rules and federal law for transporting firearms on airlines. When we arrived in Little Rock the gun case wasn’t with the rest of out luggage. We waited in vain for the case to come down the ramp but it never did. I couldn’t believe that after all that the gun had been stolen again!
We went to the lost luggage office and as we walked in I saw the case on the floor next to the counter. The agent explained that the handler recognized it as a gun and hand-carried it to the office rather than have it moving with the other bags where it might get snagged by a dishonest employee or a baggage thief working the terminal.
So, it’s home. Unfortunately, about a year after the theft I sold all the accessories (none were on the rifle so I still had them) but that’s OK. I still even hold out some hope for the remaining 19 guns out there.
I wasn’t really looking for such a rifle but I felt badly for my friend so I went down to the store and ponied up the $380 plus sales tax for the 91. I thought the rifle was a bit clumsy and heavy (and I still think so) but at the same time there was something intriguing about the thing.
The gun store owner asked if I wanted any accessories for the gun, like the quick detachable scope mount, extra magazines, the bipod and bayonet. I must confess that I went a bit overboard and bought all of it. Seems to me the scope mount was around $90 which was a lot at the time but it was really cool the way it came off and snapped right back on. The bipod added more weight to an already heavy rifle but again it sure was neat looking.
Shooting this rifle was quite an experience. One of the loudest guns I have ever shot (nothing comes close to the .30 Carbine Ruger Blackhawk, though) it threw the empty cases about 50’ away. I think it had something to do with the roller block design. I don’t know for sure.
I wound up keeping the rifle.
In June of 1986 my home was burglarized. I had meant to invest in a safe, I really did, but at that time I didn’t have one so I lost all of my guns. A total of 23 firearms were stolen. Oddly, they left one behind for some reason. An M1 Garand I had gotten through the DCM (I recall it being an IH model). All the rest, including the M91, were gone.
Around October of 2003 I get a post card from the LAPD (the gun was stolen about 200 miles north of LA in Fresno) informing me that a stolen firearm registered to me had been recovered and did I want it back? Hell, yes, I wanted it back even though I didn’t know which one they had recovered. Believe it or not, I had a premonition that it was the H&K that had been located, and a phone call confirmed it.
The LAPD was adamant that I had to retrieve the gun in person. They would not ship it to me or an FFL. Had to be me, and it had to be in person. Well, we take 10 days or so around Christmas each year for a visit to Fresno so two months later while there my friend Ron drove me down to LA to pick up my rifle. I took along a hard case assuming they wouldn’t want me walking around police headquarters with a gun in my hand.
I was mistaken. That’s exactly what they wanted. I was told not to case the gun as that would constitute a concealed weapon (whaaaat?). OK. So I strolled through the LAPD main office with the 91 in my hand. I got lots of strange looks from uniformed officers and visitors as I made my way out the front door and onto the sidewalk... in downtown Los Angeles... with an H&K Model 91 in my hand.
Ron had the case and we cased it up immediately upon hitting the street.
Of the 23 guns taken, so far four have been returned. Three were recovered within the first few months and then the 91 some 17 years later. By the way, there wasn’t a mark on it after all that time. The detective I dealt with said drug dealers like to have guns like that for show but they rarely actually shoot them and it was a drug house raid that netted the H&K.
We had flown to CA on American Airlines and I checked the 91 as baggage following the airline rules and federal law for transporting firearms on airlines. When we arrived in Little Rock the gun case wasn’t with the rest of out luggage. We waited in vain for the case to come down the ramp but it never did. I couldn’t believe that after all that the gun had been stolen again!
We went to the lost luggage office and as we walked in I saw the case on the floor next to the counter. The agent explained that the handler recognized it as a gun and hand-carried it to the office rather than have it moving with the other bags where it might get snagged by a dishonest employee or a baggage thief working the terminal.
So, it’s home. Unfortunately, about a year after the theft I sold all the accessories (none were on the rifle so I still had them) but that’s OK. I still even hold out some hope for the remaining 19 guns out there.
