Just inherited a 1980 HK 91, need info PLEASE...

Biff Tannen · January 19, 2011, 12:13 AM

I recently inherited an HK 91 manufactured in 1980, its "new" (or just unused, I guess) in the box and has only ever been shot in the factory tests (the factory target test is still in the box with the original paperwork)... I've tried to do research on it but information is very limited. All I can gather is it is a well made rifle, and this might be a "preban" version.
With this said, and with the risk of asking stupid questions (I'll take comfort in the fact that the only stupid questions are those that remain unasked)...
- WHY is this rifle so reportedly "well made"?
- What is this "preban" everyone is talking about? Is this a preban version?
- Since I'm only a handgun guy, and I don't care much for rifles, how much is something like this worth when I sell it (I've seen SUCH a price margin on this in price guides and web sites, I don't know what to ask!)?
All links and info will be so much appreciated!
Thank you!

viciouskitty · January 19, 2011, 12:28 AM

Your rifle is a great find. The reason it would be considered such a good quality weapon is because it is an actual HK product so it will be high quality the specs will be correct and the tolerances will be to the same level as the G3 rifle it is based on. Check gunbroker for the value but your talking around a thousand maybe a little more easy. The rifle will be durable and reliable mags are plentiful and cheap 99 cents on cheaper than dirt. Parts are readily available and accessories are plentiful such as scopes mounts collapsing stocks etc..

Jim243 · January 19, 2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

WHY is this rifle so reportedly "well made"?

It's an H&K

Quote:

What is this "preban" everyone is talking about? Is this a preban version

Manufactured prior to 1989 and prior to the ban on importation of assalt rifles into the US.

Quote:

how much is something like this worth when I sell it

If it is NIB and unfired about $2,500 if made in Germany and a true H&K. But prices are subjective depending on availability and how bad someone wants to buy that type of gun.

Jim

tirod · January 19, 2011, 12:33 AM

HK no longer makes this model. It's a delayed roller lock bolt action, no gas, operating rods, etc. In full auto trim it was the German Army issue rifle, in 7.62 x 51 NATO caliber.

I sold mine ten years ago for $1000, they were reselling past $1500 at the time. The claw mount scope base cost me more than the gun did circa 1976, about $180 back then. These days a search on Gunbroker, etc, will probably show as much as $2000+ for a "unfired" sample NIB.

The original version was the STG44 designed and used by the Wehrmacht Army in 1944. After the war the plans wound up in Spain, and a company called CETME was set up to build it. Still does if I remember correctly. From there it went back to Germany as the preferred battle rifle design in the '50s. Heckler and Kock was a sewing machine company who got the bid to build it.

Fun rifle to shoot, the fluted chamber tends to damage brass and make it less than desirable for reloading. Accessories are high dollar expensive and few. Parts are available on a trading board, Sturmgewehr, run by a prior importer, Buddy Hinton. Lots of them were sold and have a following, but it was a niche gun in the American market, still is.

If it has the fat tropical handguard and leather sling, one aluminum mag, no paddle release for the mag, and a flash hider, it's probably the early version imported before the Assault Weapons Ban. If it's truly unfired since purchase new, don't load it and shoot it. That brings a premium at any time. Chips and dings in the paint will lower the value.

greyeyezz · January 19, 2011, 04:10 PM

If your only a handgun guy, you have no better excuse to become a rifle guy right now.

My bro sold his in 85, he kicks himself to this day. Keep it.

thesheepdog · January 19, 2011, 04:30 PM

Keep it!!!!!!!

essohbe · January 19, 2011, 06:51 PM

^ This.

LinuxHack3r · January 19, 2011, 06:54 PM

It's completely worthless.....I'd be happy to overpay for it and send you a nice $1000 to get it off your hands and out of your way

If you are into guns at all, keep it. Seriously. Keep it, do not sale it, do not think of passing go and trading it. Keep it.

gew98 · January 20, 2011, 12:01 AM

The HK91 over rated !. I bought one back in the mid 80's new. I put maybe a hundred rounds through it. Seemed muzzle heavy to me , no bolt hold open , and I really could not get used to the charging handle.

PS - the Stg/MP44 was mechanically a whole different rifle with the only common thing between it and the HK being sheet metal receivers , and german made.

goodspeed(TPF) · January 20, 2011, 12:31 AM

Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Or, as the saying goes: "It didn't happen."

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 01:35 AM

THANKS ALL FOR YOUR ADVICE! As for the pictures, I'll try to upload them if I can figure out how. I'm not too much of a computer guy, but I'm gonna try!

Achilles11B · January 20, 2011, 05:48 PM

Pictures please. And I have to agree with Greyeyezz, you now have a nice rifle, it was made to be shot, why not run a box of .308 through it 'just to make sure it works properly'?

Oh, and even if you have no interest in rifles at all, this guy's humble opinion is to keep it.

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:01 PM

Here are the first two photos (I think!)...
This is just a test, if it works, I'll post the rest!

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:04 PM

Okay, I can't get the photos to just show up... so you'll have to click on them.
It's like going through a time machine looking at this piece.

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:28 PM

Some more!

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:29 PM

...and more

Carne Frio · January 20, 2011, 09:31 PM

What a great gun ! I have one from 1978. It is my go to gun; even
over AKs and ARs. Yours should be worth around $2200 to $2600,
with all those accessories and being NIB.

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:33 PM

still more...

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:34 PM

... and yet more...

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:35 PM

and yet there are more...
Note the paperwork shown here waas pushed out the door on just after 1980! You think this had something to do with the "Preban" deadline?

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 09:37 PM

whew! The last set of photos! Hope you enjoyed them!

hank327 · January 20, 2011, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Note the paperwork shown here waas pushed out the door on just after 1980! You think this had something to do with the "Preban" deadline?

No, not at all. The Assault Weapons Ban didn't go into effect until 1989. You have a real find there in an unfired HK 91. I bought one new in '82 after getting out of the Army but never really warmed up to it. It was reliable and accurate if I fought through the trigger but it was unwieldy to handle. So I sold it about a year before the AWB. I've always regretted selling that rifle, at least before the AWB and the resultant increase in value of the rifle.

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 10:21 PM

Quote:

hank327

Thanks... Whats a bummer is I'm a city boy, I really envy the youtube videos I see of people with a lot of country land to go shooting for fun...

I'm kinda torn... If I start to fire it, I'll decrease the value... but when looking at my chances to be able to fire it in the great outdoors, I might only get the chance a few times in my life... Also, I really could use the money to get some work done on the house...

Shucks, I really gotta weigh if I really wanna keep it or not.... Dilemmas, dilemmas.... Life is full of them!

LinuxHack3r · January 20, 2011, 10:34 PM

Well, here my my way of thinking:

1) It is a rifle. It was made to be shot.
2) Technically it has been fired, see the test shots on the paper?
3) Put 200 rounds through it, that way if I can make an offer I can use those 200 shots in my offer

Shoot it, I feel you'll make your decision then.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Biff Tannen · January 20, 2011, 10:43 PM

Quote:

LinuxHack3r

Haha, that's some good, rational, logical advice!
I have about 2000 rounds here in front of me (also left to me by Dad), I might as well burn a couple hundred... Can't hurt... If I'm not into it, I'll just give the rest to whoever I give it to, and I'll be all the better for it!
Thanks!

January 19, 2011, 12:13 AM	#1
Biff Tannen Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2010 Location: Hill Valley Posts: 265	Just inherited a 1980 HK 91, see pics! I recently inherited an HK 91 manufactured in 1980, its "new" (or just unused, I guess) in the box and has only ever been shot in the factory tests (the factory target test is still in the box with the original paperwork)... I've tried to do research on it but information is very limited. All I can gather is it is a well made rifle, and this might be a "preban" version. With this said, and with the risk of asking stupid questions (I'll take comfort in the fact that the only stupid questions are those that remain unasked)... - WHY is this rifle so reportedly "well made"? - What is this "preban" everyone is talking about? Is this a preban version? - Since I'm only a handgun guy, and I don't care much for rifles, how much is something like this worth when I sell it (I've seen SUCH a price margin on this in price guides and web sites, I don't know what to ask!)? All links and info will be so much appreciated! Thank you! __________________ - BIFF TANNEN - The great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen. Last edited by Biff Tannen; January 20, 2011 at 10:15 PM. Reason: included photos at later time

January 19, 2011, 04:30 PM	#6
thesheepdog Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2010 Location: DFW Texas Posts: 1,996	Keep it!!!!!!! __________________ Krav Maga/Judo Qualified Rifleman/Marksmanship Instructor/Lic. Medic "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" Romans 8:1

January 19, 2011, 06:54 PM	#8
LinuxHack3r Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Posts: 282	It's completely worthless.....I'd be happy to overpay for it and send you a nice $1000 to get it off your hands and out of your way If you are into guns at all, keep it. Seriously. Keep it, do not sale it, do not think of passing go and trading it. Keep it. __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum

January 20, 2011, 12:31 AM	#10
goodspeed(TPF) Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2009 Location: WI Posts: 1,162	Pictures. Pictures. Pictures. Or, as the saying goes: "It didn't happen." __________________ It's a trick. Get an axe. http://www.thepiratefleet.com/index.shtml

January 20, 2011, 01:35 AM	#11
Biff Tannen Senior Member Join Date: December 15, 2010 Location: Hill Valley Posts: 265	Re: Your advice! THANKS ALL FOR YOUR ADVICE! As for the pictures, I'll try to upload them if I can figure out how. I'm not too much of a computer guy, but I'm gonna try! __________________ - BIFF TANNEN - The great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen.

January 19, 2011, 12:28 AM	#2
viciouskitty Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2010 Location: South Texas Posts: 316	Your rifle is a great find. The reason it would be considered such a good quality weapon is because it is an actual HK product so it will be high quality the specs will be correct and the tolerances will be to the same level as the G3 rifle it is based on. Check gunbroker for the value but your talking around a thousand maybe a little more easy. The rifle will be durable and reliable mags are plentiful and cheap 99 cents on cheaper than dirt. Parts are readily available and accessories are plentiful such as scopes mounts collapsing stocks etc..

January 19, 2011, 12:33 AM	#4
tirod Junior member Join Date: January 21, 2009 Posts: 1,672	HK no longer makes this model. It's a delayed roller lock bolt action, no gas, operating rods, etc. In full auto trim it was the German Army issue rifle, in 7.62 x 51 NATO caliber. I sold mine ten years ago for $1000, they were reselling past $1500 at the time. The claw mount scope base cost me more than the gun did circa 1976, about $180 back then. These days a search on Gunbroker, etc, will probably show as much as $2000+ for a "unfired" sample NIB. The original version was the STG44 designed and used by the Wehrmacht Army in 1944. After the war the plans wound up in Spain, and a company called CETME was set up to build it. Still does if I remember correctly. From there it went back to Germany as the preferred battle rifle design in the '50s. Heckler and Kock was a sewing machine company who got the bid to build it. Fun rifle to shoot, the fluted chamber tends to damage brass and make it less than desirable for reloading. Accessories are high dollar expensive and few. Parts are available on a trading board, Sturmgewehr, run by a prior importer, Buddy Hinton. Lots of them were sold and have a following, but it was a niche gun in the American market, still is. If it has the fat tropical handguard and leather sling, one aluminum mag, no paddle release for the mag, and a flash hider, it's probably the early version imported before the Assault Weapons Ban. If it's truly unfired since purchase new, don't load it and shoot it. That brings a premium at any time. Chips and dings in the paint will lower the value.

January 19, 2011, 04:10 PM	#5
greyeyezz Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2001 Location: N.E. OH Posts: 385	If your only a handgun guy, you have no better excuse to become a rifle guy right now. My bro sold his in 85, he kicks himself to this day. Keep it.

January 19, 2011, 06:51 PM	#7
essohbe Junior member Join Date: March 22, 2009 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 817	^ This.

January 20, 2011, 12:01 AM	#9
gew98 Member Join Date: December 9, 2010 Location: Rural bluegrass abode Posts: 70	The HK91 over rated !. I bought one back in the mid 80's new. I put maybe a hundred rounds through it. Seemed muzzle heavy to me , no bolt hold open , and I really could not get used to the charging handle. PS - the Stg/MP44 was mechanically a whole different rifle with the only common thing between it and the HK being sheet metal receivers , and german made.

January 20, 2011, 05:48 PM	#12
Achilles11B Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2010 Posts: 595	Pictures please. And I have to agree with Greyeyezz, you now have a nice rifle, it was made to be shot, why not run a box of .308 through it 'just to make sure it works properly'? Oh, and even if you have no interest in rifles at all, this guy's humble opinion is to keep it. __________________ Good equipment will never be a substitute for good training.

January 20, 2011, 09:31 PM	#17
Carne Frio Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2008 Location: Near Fairbanks Alaska Posts: 829	What a great gun ! I have one from 1978. It is my go to gun; even over AKs and ARs. Yours should be worth around $2200 to $2600, with all those accessories and being NIB.

January 20, 2011, 10:34 PM	#24
LinuxHack3r Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Posts: 282	Well, here my my way of thinking: 1) It is a rifle. It was made to be shot. 2) Technically it has been fired, see the test shots on the paper? 3) Put 200 rounds through it, that way if I can make an offer I can use those 200 shots in my offer Shoot it, I feel you'll make your decision then. Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk __________________ Si vis pacem, para bellum