Taming the HK Retractable Stock

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Drakejake

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My Century Cetme came with an HK retractable stock. This stock is authentic to the G3 rifle and SO KU-OOL. A number of them are now on the market for less than $200. Although it is strong and fits well, this thing has a bad reputation and rightfully so. The pad is small and hard and has sharp rubber things sticking out of it. Might be fine for someone in a military uniform and overcoat, but for someone in a summertime short sleeve shirt, it is literally a bruiser. In addition to the larger bruise, I even got little pinpoint bruises from the rubber bumps on the pad. Today I taped an AR-15 pad to the stock. The size is about right and the black electrical tape secures it fairly well. I would rather have added a pad with some honeycomb spaces within, and I haven't tried this out, but this is bound to help. If you have a better idea, please let us know.

Drakejake
 

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I hate that stock. It is like getting a piece of rebar smacked into your cheek every shot. It isn't bad on an MP5, but sucks on a .308.

I take that back. It sucks on the MP5 too. It is too long to square off against the target, and it is a wobbly little bugger. (making a new cut into the stock, so it works like an AR adjustable helps a bit, makes it shorter, and wobble less, but the Germans at the HK armorers school will yell at you).

I would probably put a regular stock on your Cetme and sell that stock to somebody else who really wants a collapsible.
 
Coronach said:
I would probably put a regular stock on your Cetme and sell that stock to somebody else who really wants a collapsible.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea. Those collapsible stocks sell for $150+. You can get a better stock AND a nice chunk of cash out of the deal.
 
Hey, guys, I am ahead of you. I bought a wooden stock even before the Cetme was delivered and had it on today when I fired the .308 at the range. My stock is marked HK so I think it is the real deal. There is no wobbling, but cheek weld on steel is almost as much fun as hard rubber attacking your shoulder.

Drakejake
 

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It sucks on the MP5 too. It is too long to square off against the target, and it is a wobbly little bugger.
Click to expand...
The collapsing stocks are shorter than the fixed stocks. The MP5/HK93 stocks have a better shaped butt on them than the G3/91's. None of mine ever wobbled. On the MP5, there is really no recoil, the 91's are a little different story. Proper technique makes a difference. I notice more and more people complain about the recoil of the .308's, full stock or not. I guess the number of people who learned to shoot on the .30's/8mm's is shrinking. You need to hold them a little different than the .223's and 9mm's. :)
 
I hated the one I had...1st thing I changed on my 91 ;) Eventually went w/ a fixed stock...what I lost in asthetic coolness, I made up for in a functioning, unbruised shoulder :cool:
 
AK103K, I've owned FALs, HKs, and .308 AKs. No amount of technique makes the G3 collapsible stock okay. It's just a bad design.

I've had a couple of MP5s. Some are wobblier than others. It is only two thin pieces of sheet metal in the channel, and the lock all the way to the rear. If HK would just put other notches in the stock, then it would be length adjustable (because yes, it is shorter than a G3, but not short enough when you are wearing anything thick) and if you didn't have it locked all the way out then there would be more sheet metal in contact so that it wouldn't be able to wobble.
 
Correia,

I've shot/owned/own most of those too. The HK's butt shape is definitely one of the weaker designs. The others are usually full length side folders. The AK100 series being the best as far as I'm concerned, mostly because its just a folding full stock. While I normally kept the full stocks on my 91's, I never found the collapsing stock to be as bad as I keep hearing, but like I said, I think a lot has to do with what you learned on and how you hold the rifle.

I understand the reason why you want it shorter, and I dont see why you couldnt mill more notches into it. I think the reason they didnt, is because its meant to be deployed quickly from closed to open, and the additional notches would slow that down. I've never found mine to be to long, even with a flak vest or concealment vest on, but I guess everyone is different.
 
I've got one here with notches cut in it, I think it is a great improvement. I guess it depends on how squared off you shoot.

One of my business associates took it to the HK armorer's school, and they blew their teutonic tops when they saw that. :) Apparently any deviation from the standard really freaks them out.
 
Use a chicken pad ala Past recoil shield, you wear it guns don't hurt!!!!!!
 
Some compnay makes a cheek piece that inserts betweent he two paraleel struts that is a night and day improvement which I highyl recommend.

Tsh77769
 
I have collapsible stocks for my MP5, HK91 and V53. I never use any of them.

As mentioned above, even if recoil is taken out of the picture, the cheek weld on them is horrible.

Go A2 all the way. A3 looks Kewl, but that only takes you so far.
 
I kinda like the collapsing stocks.

Definitely agree that it should have more notches, that'd be most cool.

For short-range, I don't think cheekweld is that bad,
and that meat-tenderizer buttplate does give a pretty good grip for full-auto fire.

Mostly, I just wanted an excuse to link to my favorite action-shooting pic...

attachment.php
 
Inspection reveals that if you are using the iron sights of the Cetme, you cannot put much on top of the stock stretchers. If you do, you cannot get a view through the rear sight. So I may try merely wrapping the stretchers with thick fabric or a strip of rubber to get some insulation from the steel while shooting with iron sights. I have discovered that the removable black plastic cheek piece which comes with the ATI Fiberforce stock for the SKS fits nicely between the two stretchers and might work with a scope, which I plan to use once I get a scope mount for the Cetme.

Drakejake
 
Cetme Stock Cozy

Here is my Cetme with HK retractable stock, nicely padded out with a $5 seat belt shoulder pad from Wal-Mart. Although it is a little long, one end of the pad can be folded under to fit. It attaches with velcro and so is easy to install and remove. I will soon find out whether the extra rubber pad at the butt and the "stock cozy" helps to make shooting a more pleasant experience.

Drakejake
 

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Hard Recoil with Cetme

Even with an AR-15 pad and a Pachmayr pad on top of that, this is still a hard-recoiling rifle, compared to my FALs. I think this is because of the design, which calls for a big hunk of metal to move back and forth in the receiver. I suspect that the Cetme two part bolt, recoil tube, etc., weighs three times as much as the FAL bolt and bolt carrier.

Drakejake
 
They are two different operating systems. The FAL is gas operated, the HK type rifles are roller-delayed blowback. The impulse is a little different, but they are not kickers.

Not to be a PITA, but it sounds like your not holding the rifle properly and worrying about the recoil to much. Let me ask you this, are you comfortable shooting your FAL, or a .308/30-06 bolt gun it a tee shirt for 50+ rounds or so? If not, its how your holding your rifle. Also, are you shooting off a bench, or from field positions? This can make a BIG difference in felt recoil.
 
Shooting off bench with bipod. I realize that offhand shooting should reduce felt recoil. But I also shot the FAL off bench with bipod and the jolt was much less.

Drakejake
 

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I currently have a slightly trimmed AR-15 collapsing stock pad taped on. Should help a bit. I just got the scope mount recommended on another site: low profile sporting type scope mount from JSE Surplus (www.jsesurplus.com), $15.95. The proponent suggests putting a machine screw through the receiver hole and mating it to the bottom of the mount to prevent the scope from sliding. But even without this screw, mine seems pretty stable. And the pressure of the attaching screws and metal pads is up rather than in, so the mount should not compress the receiver and cause malfunctions.

Drakejake
 
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