The PTR 91 Modernization Project 

This is probably the most thorough and accurate video out there regarding this subject. I would add a few things: 6:09 - 6:13 If you want to remove the cheek riser on the Spuhr stock in order to use the iron sights, be aware of 2 things. One, even with the cheekpiece removed, it is *literally impossible* to use the iron sights with the stock collapsed all of the way in at its shortest setting; the piece of the buttstock that interfaces with the cheek piece will interfere with your face, and you will not physically be able to smush or contort your face low enough in order to look through the rear sight. In my experience, the stock must be pulled out/back at least 3 clicks in order for your face to sit low enough to align the iron sights (if you have an especially large or "fat" face, you might need to pull out the stock even more than 3 clicks). Further, something that I think is important to note if you insist on using the iron sights with the Spuhr stock after removing the riser....although everyone is a bit different in terms of their face positioning, comfort level, and every rifle is a bit different in terms of recoil/bolt gap, be warned--you might not find the experience very pleasant. If you have the stock extended out only the minimum amount to allow your face to align the iron sights, you need to be *very* careful, because there is a squared off section near the front of the stock that normally is covered by the cheek riser, and it is very close to your face. The potential problem with this, is that if you are shooting in an awkward position, or if you are careless or sloppy in keeping everything tight as you should, that squared off section can come back and hit your face right underneath your eye. I am not saying it will happen to everyone, nor that it will happen every time, but it is not a good thing to have happen. If you must shoot the PTR/G3 with iron sights and Spuhr stock, my advice for the average person would be to either extend the length of the stock all of the way out, or somewhere nearly all of the way out. You lose the length of pull reduction advantage from the stock, but the added length of pull helps greatly to ensure that you get a better cheekweld without concern for that front squared off section possibly recoiling against your face; I personally find it much more comfortable. The Spuhr stock in fairness was designed primarily to be used with optics mounted on the rifle, and for that purpose I think it is fantastic. *I think all things considered, your custom Magpul MOE stock conversion is probably a better idea for most people* . Not only is it cheaper, but because of its contour/shape with the cheek riser(s) removed, I think it would be much more comfortable to use with iron sights than the Spuhr stock. Lastly regarding modernized handguards, a small point, but something I have noticed that is worth mentioning....many of these newer handguards such as the MI, or even PTR's aluminum ones utilize a hex-type screw in place of the original handguard pushpin. I haven't tried the MI one, but I've seen the hex screw on the PTR handguard over time loosen upon recoil; it probably would require some blue loctite to keep it from loosening on its own. Not the end of the world, but I don't necessarily like the idea of not being able to remove the handguard for normal maintenance, or to replace the cocking handle if needed. Both the Spuhr and Brugger and Thomet G3 forends utilize the original handguard pushpin, which stays in place and is easily removed and re-installed. Neither are cheap, and only the B&T comes with rail sections, but the Spuhr is very light and has a contour very similar to the slim plastic handguard.

The first lesbian to review a ptr. This is groundbreaking

If little kids in Africa can run the G3 so can you.

The more he hates what he is reviewing. The more enjoyment I get from the video. I've had so many projects like this that it's kinda cathartic to watch someone else suffer.

"I'm going to miss it, but I'm also sick of fucking looking at it" describes many of my sold/traded firearms

"A cope-M4, if you will." MY FUCKING SIDES

I am modernizing a M1A right now and this video has rehashed alot of trauma.

I wasn’t ready for the “I hate that fuhckin gun” and it sent me full on rolling.

The ptr is the lifters gun.

My PTR sits with an Mlok rail, Magpul MVG, Magpul bipod, and a PA 1-6. Hella heavy, unwieldy, and annoying to accessorize. But if I ever need to go out for 6 months shooting at pirates in the Gulf of Aden, it might be an ok option.

"Segment of the population who matters" *Ian McCollum has left the server*

Keymod works for The Home Depot's shelving so it's good enough for you gun

Can't we all just admit that the only reason to buy a g3 is because they look cool and are nostalgic. Plus mags are 7 bucks.

My idea for my 91 was to keep it simple and don't even attempt to modify it for night vision. Bare minimum add a red dot, flash light, sling. It's more useful than a M1A but less useful than an AR-10. Break it in to be mostly reliable, shoot it, learn the weapon system, maybe upgrade the recoil spring and buffer ring but otherwise run it as is. Ak guys who actually train have a saying don't m4 your AK and I think that applies to any G3 variant too.

As a lefty I'm glad you keep giving us shout outs man.

Back in college in the 90s, my good friend had a HK91. This was during the AWB so you trained with what you had. He shot the hell out of it. Took what classes you could back then. That thing was a beast.

Going the knockoff Swedish AK4 route? A man of culture, I see.

This video is the "trying to turn a gun into something it's not" come to life.

You had more problems in 20 minutes with the PTR than I've had in 20 years with the Ak4.

“Unusable for left handed shooters” Ian McCollum: “and I took that personally”

Why does the mall keep letting this mannequin escape?

give it 1000 rounds and both you and the rifle will be set to go! I talk by experience, thats more or less how long it took me to consider my dad's cetme a good fighting rifle, we got it new and we thought it was trash until we broke it in.

I love mine only because it ruins brass for the fudds

I'm in the Swedish Home guard and the rifle is named AK4 here. Recently got the stock changed to the spuhr stock and it has done wonders for me in the sense that it got shorter. I'm not very tall and with a shorter stock I found it easier to control. Being able to hold it closer to the muzzle made it easier to control the recoil, and it is quite precise over longer distances as well. I like this more than the AK5 that the Swedish army uses.

I think the different battery of arms that comes with the G3 is what really messes people up in regards to it's capabilities. That being said, I think you hurt the gun's feelings cause I've never seen someone with so much bad luck with this platform LOL

Great video showing the limitations of the design. I've had my PTR-100 GI for a little over a year. No malfunctions and about 250 rounds in (I know, I know... but in 2020 and early 2021 I could have had plenty of ammo or shot a lot; I opted for having plenty of ammo). The only add-ons I got were a West German Bundeswehr surplus claw mount and two surplus wood furniture sets. The stock sets went from reasonably priced to almost unobtainium last year. It is the perfect rifle for my needs: a general purpose rifle for the North Cascade mountains. It looks cool, is reliable, accurate, and will kill anything in North America out to 400 yards with irons or 800 with a scope. I would NOT want this rifle for a modern combat or night time role of any sort. I'm very satisfied with it because in my mind it's an historical rifle and I don't have modern expectations of it.

My wife is adorable and she says “smoosh”, when I’m feeling adorable I say “smoosh”, so hearing “smoosh” in a battle rifle upgrade video is hilarious. And adorable.

PTR 91: If you want to shoot .308 but also need to hit the gym.

TBH the best configuration for any G3 clone is cold war aesthetic because sometimes cool > practical. Same for the FAL and MP5. Fun project though, and I'd really be into a similar video about the AUG. It's mostly good with just a couple things that need to be tweaked

Knowing Hop and where he is I feel a PTR/G3 is an ideal pick to have on hand to enjoy in the PNW

All Im getting from this video is that I still wanna build me a PTR regardless of weight.

I rock an original PTR 91F. I haven't had nearly the issues you describe, short of the break in period with numerous ejection failures which had to be resolved by a replacement ejection lever. She runs and feeds and ejects fine. But yeah, she is heavy and does do a lot of pushing-around. Those buffer-tube stocks alone look well worth it.

I can't watch more Nutnfancy. There isn't enough time in the day to view one video.

You'd think that when HK tried making a successor to the MP5 they'd be like "Hey, let's just take this reliable roller-lock system, apply some modern engineering, and iron out all the awkward bits." Instead we got the UMP....

You make perhaps the highest quality videos in the genre. Each one adds substantially to our collective knowledge, particularly in understanding the use of the equipment for shooting in something above a square range environment. The night vision information is particularly helpful and there are very few high quality videos of the type. Thank you! I'll be watching and sharing your videos for as long as you make them. 👍🏻

This is honestly one of the only guns I want to buy even though it would be pretty much useless to me. Wouldn’t do any modernization, I’d try to get it as close to a g3a3

My century C308 has had literally “0” malfunctions in the 3 years I’ve had it and roughly 500 rounds I’ve put through it, mostly steel case. And with Gold Medal Match, it’s damn near MOA at 100 yards. It was $650 out the door… I put a Burris LPVO on it, still have stock furniture and have no problems hitting torso sizes targets out to 500yards.

my PTR91 has been flawless and has yet to jam, or failure to fire. its a tank of a rifle and just as good as anything out there. it all comes down to how much you practice with it. i prefer my ptr91 over any m4 or ar-10.

I have to say, you make the best videos, have great commentary and information. I’ve owned a Century Arms C308 for about 6 yrs and can relate to a lot here, and appreciate the new ideas. Thanks.

Thank you very much for this video Hop, as a HK91 owner (a long time ago), I appreciate your take on the good and bad of this type of gun. Thanks Again...

There was this one company who developed an AR-10 receiver to take HKG3 magazines so you could use cheap surplus magazines instead of the more expensive Magpul AR10 magazines. I really liked the idea of it tbh but I didn’t snag one when they did release them. I believe it was a limited run.

It sucks that you’ve had so many issues with your PTR. I’ve had a great experience with the C308 I got a few years ago, but I recognize I’m one of the few.

I just want the PTR-91 GI because Le Cool

Best review of this platform. Love your humor and knowledge! Keep em coming!

I run my GI Retractable stock Wide green handguard That's it Recoil isn't even that bad tbh

I also bought this same PTR and it's basically a cool old school gun to shoot. I've gotten a red dot on it, swapped out the stock to put a Magpul stock like yours and since I'm not using it for HD defense or my go to gun, it has a simple sling and no lights. I didn't want to waste more money to get the M-Lok rails or 1913s. There's no point. I got better more modern guns for this

I really appreciate your combination of high quality detailed information, combined with humor

I like the way you put this,"It doesn't beat you up, but it does push you around." Never heard that before, excuse my ignorance, but well said. I own an AR-10 type by Windham Weaponry, a Springfield M1A as well as a PTR-91, so I have some experience with the .308 win/7.62. The HK 91 design is a great shooter in my humble opinion, but this thing is a Battle Rifle. It is an accurate Battle Rifle, other than that, it has so little to offer compared to other platforms and the other platforms, especially the AR-10, have an aftermarket that allows a personal critique not found with the HK91.

I dumped some money into mine when it was my only rifle, but I came to the same conclusion. It's too heavy and unwieldy as well. I just dressed it up a bit with carry handle and heat shield handguard to look cool and use iron sights. It's a range toy/backup rifle, and that's it. Mags used to be $1-3 a pop, so it was pretty cheap to load up. I probably should've got a FAL though.

Add a paracord between the sling and the metal attachment will allow it to drop off without impeding the functioning of the charging handle. Also, put the single eye NOD on non master eye, in case light comes on, then u can use your master eye to aim thru the optics.

Your reviews are awesome no bs plenty of info and unapologetically trashing equipment that deserves it keep up the good work

You know, you sound great, have sage commentary, and present a firearm for what it is in reality. Super job, Keep it up!

Babe wake up new hoplop

Relatively unrelated tip: One of the heavy rubber buttpads for the standard fixed stocks do a great deal in mitigating felt recoil IF you're ok with rocking irons.

Dude I said this the other day, Hop looks like all the guns that he owns. This G3 exemplifies my assessment.

Love this channel. Love the fact that you tell it like it is. Appreciate ya.

On my PTR91 GI, if I get a low profile mount red dot I find I don't need the riser on the stock, so I swapped it out for the MFT mini. Used the magpul mp5 lower and a wood handguard. Heavy PCS recoil buffer. Got it to 9.5 lbs, still heavy, but about as good as you can get these. Very first round out of it stove-piped, but I haven't had a single malfunction after that for years.

Part of me 100% agrees with ar10 and ar15's being souless and lacking a certain coolness you get with a g3, fal, ak, galil, etc. Another part of me says if you want a g3, leave the wood furniture on it and keep it simple and retro and have your at setup as a modern fighting rifle.

Great vid bro, love my PTR 91, not my go to but I love letting new people try it out.

i like this guy. his humor is good and said so seriously that it adds extra punch.

Then there are those of us who really don’t care about optics, weight or all the gizmos that don’t make a person a marksman. I prefer the G3 over AR’s I just love them🥰

Quality content. Appreciate you posting.

Another great stock option if you’re willing to spend the money is the factory collapsing stock, and for another $60 flat HKParts will cut 1 or 2 custom length of pull notches for you. I’m 5’9” so that was a great help. I got mine cut at about the halfway point, which gives me a much better LOP compared to the stock being all the way out. Shortens the rifle up quite a bit, to about the length of a 16” AR. I’m using a 1.5/6x Elcan with RMR, a SAW foregrip, bipod, and streamlight pro-tac on the extended MLOK handguard, however I have the top piece of the extension removed so I can still throw the bayonet on. Because why not. I have a pice of pic rail on there awaiting an IR laser. As it sits, the rifle is 14.5lbs with a loaded 20 round mag. Sounds heavy but my issued rifle was a M4 with 203, ACOG, PEQ16, and GLS so quite frankly it feels lighter than that and it slings .308. PTR’s after break in are dead reliable but I have replaced all internals with HK unissued surplus from RTG, including the tungsten filled bolt, and a CHF barrel topped with a manticore nightbrake. The rifle has ZERO rise to it. I picked the G3 because I love it, and it’s robustness and refusal to quit working. Mines about a 2 MOA rifle all day which is plenty accurate for combat, despite Americans belief that a rifle has to be sub 1/2 MOA to be worth anything. Also agree people care way too much about reload speed, but if you run the gun it’s not bad, I’m pretty quick with it now after a couple years. Parts are plentiful and pretty cheap, and the rifle is easy to work on. I think more people ought to consider them.

As someone who owns a PTR91, an HK91, and who owned a C308, I l absolutely loved this video Hop. THANKS!!!

Such an underrated channel. loved it. Your voice. My thoughts. Cool gun just not efficient for today's battlefields needs.

But a G3 has waaaayyy more drip than an AR10

Leave it up to hop to make me feel good about my “budget” palmetto AR-10 gen 2 with 18” barrel for $600 and then dumping “only” about $500-$1000 after I wanted to have it set up the way I wanted to…. You never cease to amaze me ! 😁

You just saved me a bunch of money. I had order the 112 model and intended to set it up as a DMR. Your video was the final push I needed to jump into the Robinson xcr-m.

Thanks for doing what I don’t have to now. Cheers.

How have I never heard of you before? This is an awesome channel. Also, it's so weird to see reliability issues with these things. I had a century C308 back in the day and it was perfectly reliable after 5k+ rounds. I know that's not very much but for a broke teenager that shit fuckin rocked. Such a fun gun....when they work. But I never even had as much as a stovepipe. No out of batteries or misfeeds. I think I got whatever the opposite of a lemon is.

Just thank you for this video cause I’m looking at getting a ptr and this video has been the most helpful

Thanks, Enjoyed the info and humor, I have the PTR 91 pistol and SBRd in 2014 and so far it runs fine. I have the GI model PTR also and just run it stock. Being old school my scoped M1A will hit any thing I can see. Later from Texas.

I love my PTRs. They are heavy and I probably would't grab it first to go into combat, but they are fun to shoot, look awesome and while hop has the worst lulck, mine are super reliable. Partnered with wood and not trying to modernize they look fantastic and are some of my favorite guns.

You should do an ak modernization project and start a flame war in the process.

Just bought one from a friend at the local gun shop. It has a PSG1 style stock and a lot of upgrades and he is throwing in some extra mags and 300 rounds of match ammo. Can't wait to fire it.

I saw one of these at my local gun shop and I was thinking of buying it but you changed my mind. Thanks so much for saving me $1k!

I bought one of these online and canceled the order before it shipped when I realized I’d rather put the money into an LMT MWS.

Make an SKS or a mini 14 into a AR alternative now... lolz that's a battlefield pickup, run it how it is until you can level up on another gun.

Love the thorough reviews man 😍

I love my G3 PA10 .308 AR from palmetto state armory but really wanting to swap out the 20” barrel they call A2 profile. Super heavy barrel but rifle length adjustable gas system and the rifle performs well. Great video as always

4:20 Cheapest solution: count and keep track of rounds expended/remaining.

Thanks Hop, I’ll save for an AR10.

Awesome review. Very practical points that people don't think of unless you own it and try and use it. And very funny. Thanks

Great video. Thanks hop. What im getting is either plan on running the 91 in totally stock form, or just bite the bullet and buy the psa ar10. Im a big psa fan anyway so the the choice for me would be easy. I already own their ar’s and ak’s and have had great success with them, so putting faith in their ar10 is almost a no brainer.

In May 2019, my PSA PA10 Gen 2 18" MOE Rifle Kit and receiver cost me $580 /w free shipping..., but though not "modern", I still think I like my FAL better.

I honestly feel like you got a lemon from PTR. The gun should be much more reliable than that

I am always interested in modernising older guns for a modern age. Great video.

Got mine brand new last year and it essentially turned itself into a bolt action rifle, had to send it back to PTR, runs pretty slick now.

I've had my H&K 91 since 1983 and have never had a failure to fire ever. I've shot most of the surplus back then and any junk that turned up in between. The claw mounts work fine for any 30mm tube, the slim hand-guard works well, and the original collapsible stock works great but length of pull leaves much to be desired.As far as manual of arms goes, you have to remember that this design goes back to the late 30's. Practice with the rifle and you will become proficient. Comparing it to a modern gun is an apple to oranges comparison. If you compare it to it's competitors at the when issued you will find that it was quite an innovative weapon.

I have to say the PTR rifles of today are not the rifles of yesterday. I have two rifles from them, a Texas edition with the weird length hand guard and 16” barrel and a black GI spec rifle from 2016ish and both were flawless out of the box. I have week over 3k rounds out of the Texas edition as I use it on my farm and even first mag out of the box never had a failure. The black rifle has sub 1000 rounds but not a failure either. I’ve had friends get modern PTR rifles with horrible failures despite looking fantastic. I don’t know if their move a few years back or them trying to shit out Mp5 clones has over stressed their QC but it is not as good as it was.

I hope you are happier than you sound in your reviews. Life is short and you are having problems someone would love to have. Thanks for the video and God bless

While I don’t own a G3 or the PTR clone and probably never will, this video was very entertaining and informative. This video also saved me a lot of money. Thank you.

Anyone that would call this rifle heavy has never packed an M249 or a BAR.

I came really close to grabbing a ptr 91 last year, but I ended up going with the sa58. The g3 platform is really cool and I would love to be able to enjoy using it, but I am afraid hk does not build guns for people like me. I am left handed and this is my story

Thanks for the vid. It made me appreciate my bhd m1a setup that much more.

After buying a Springfield M1A as my first rifle, and being a glutton for punishment, I followed you and bought a PTR91 with the 16in barrel, but no rail. so happy to be in another love/hate relationship 🙃. I think it would be an absolute riot to see you give an M1A the same treatment as a PTR. You'd probably hate it, but it would be a joy to watch 🤣

Personally I think the G3 platform fits the DMR roll decently if you go for a msg90/psg1 setup. Although it is heavier than a beached oil tanker

A trick for knowing when you’re about to be out is making sure the last two rounds in the mags are tracers.

this 20 minute long video is a great affirmation of why the ar platform is just so gosh dang good

I just bought a CETME C kit. I really just love the history. It seems clear that you have a love hate love relationship with the platform. You will regret selling her.