The Heckler & Koch SL7 is a

roller-delayed blowback Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist wit ...

operated sporting

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

made by

Heckler & Koch Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...

. It was chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO caliber and designed and marketed throughout the world as a hunting/utility rifle. Unlike the roller-delayed blowback military Heckler & Koch rifles the cocking handle is situated far more rearward and on the right side and features a camming system to help overcome the initial friction exerted by the "bolt head locking lever" anti-bounce mechanism that prevents the bolt from bouncing off the barrel's breech surface. The SL7 is no longer manufactured, having been replaced by the Heckler & Koch SLB 2000.

Variants

The HK 770, a hunting

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

7.62×51mm NATO/

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

variant of the Heckler & Koch SL7, lacked the wooden handguard of the SL7 and was equipped with a longer

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

with integral flash hider/compensator slots at the end of the barrel, open rear leaf sights, and sporting-style

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attached ...

.
The HK 940, a hunting

long action variant of the Heckler & Koch SL7, designed for using cartridges exceeding the 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester overall length like the

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...

7×64mm The 7×64mm (also unofficially known as the 7×64mm Brenneke, though its designer's name was never officially added as a part of the cartridge name) is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for hunting. As is customary in Europe ...

and lacked the wooden handguard of the SL7 and was equipped with a longer

with integral flash hider/compensator slots at the end of the barrel, open rear leaf sights, and sporting-style

.
The Heckler & Koch SL6 is similar in appearance to the Heckler & Koch SL7, but is chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO.

References

External links

HK SL7 at Modern Firearms & Ammunition

HK SL7

HK SL6, HK SL7 manual (German)

HK 630, HK 770, HK 940 Instructions for use

H&K SL-6 and SL-7 Rifles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heckler and Koch SL7 7.62×51mm NATO semi-automatic rifles Roller-delayed blowback firearms Heckler & Koch rifles