Soldier Systems Daily on the ground at IWA

IWA is currently under way in Nuremberg, Germany. Think of as the mongrel European child of SHOT Show and Outdoor Retailer with a little SOFIC DNA thrown in. Soldier Systems Daily is on the ground there now reporting on what editor Eric Graves considers to be new and interesting (or ridiculous). Some interesting things have already come out, from the new German legal SP5 (MP5) to some new camo patterns,  and my personal favorite, a modernizied FG-42 (which you can see above).

Says Graves of the FG-42,

“This is a pretty cool item I ran across here at IWA, spying it out of the corner of my eye as I walked through the aisles. My brain screamed “FG-42” but something wasn’t quite right. I stopped and asked the man at the booth what it was and sure enough, he told me it was a modernized FG-42. Turns out, the guy I was talking to was Bernd Dittrich and it was his company. Aesthetically the rifle is different, but it retains the same operating system as well as a few classic design cues. The name is different as well, being referred to as a Sturm Gewehr rather than a Fallschirmjäger Gewehr.

Chambered in .308 rather than the original 7.92x57mm, the rifle is offered in two length, SG-11 (320mm barrel) and SG-12 (500mm barrel). You’ll notice there added a full length Picatinny rail above the barrel as well as a section below the barrel…

The SG-11 utilizes a folding charging handle but unfortunately, it’s on the right side of the gun, making the manual of arms a bit awkward. I do like that they incorporated an AR-style grip, but I’m not a fan of the CAA model they included kn the display guns. While the stock is inspired by the original sillhouette of the FG-42, accommodation for an AR-style stock would be interesting.

Additionally, they offer an SG-13 which is chambered for the 7.62x54R cartridge. They also manufacture working reproduction firearms. A sampling is seen below. Unfortunately, these are not yet available in the US but Herr Dittrich told me he has been scouting factory locations.”

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