Translated by John Baum
Soft cover 114 pages
available from John Baum
www.GermanManuals.com
330-424-9482
Price $26 which includes postage
This is the original 1961 German army manual on the then new G3 rifle translated into English.
The G3 went on to displace the FN FAL as the most reliable and popular 7.62 NATO rifle in the world. It has also been made in other calibers such as 7.62X39 Klashnikov, 5.56 NATO, and 9MM for the MP5 SMG version. In the U.S., commercial semi-auto only versions have been sold by H&K in the past, Century Arms (which brought in surplus military G3 rifles and mated them with new semi-auto receivers), and PTR (see related PTR review) who bought the machinery that Portugal used to make the G3 and currently makes the semi-auto versions in the U.S. to the highest quality standards.
The manual is divided into four parts.
Part 1 Device description
Part 2 Service including care and safety measures
Part 3 Standards for maintenance and troop repair
Part 4 Repair instruction (field and depot repairs)
Part 1 describes the gun in precise German detail giving an in depth knowledge of each part and how it works in the clearest and most complete manner possible. German has often been described as the language of science and you will understand this rifle completely if you learn this first section properly.
Part 2 goes into the details of how to use the rifle and care for it. Disassembly and assembly for cleaning are clearly shown along with a list of possible problems the shooter may encounter and how he can remedy them. This is one hallmark of German manuals. They anticipate any problems that can possibly occur and tell the soldier what to do when they happen.
Part 3 shows how to inspect the weapon in detail (invaluable to the civilian purchasing a used gun) and what can be repaired by the troops along with the proper depot to do the different repairs.
Part 4 is field and depot repair. This gets into the most specialized and difficult repairs and how they are to be done. Detailed instructions on how to replace any and all parts including the barrel could not be more important when you need to do it. Anyone working on a G3 type rifle needs this before starting. The G3 is quite unlike a traditional lever action or bolt action rifle as well as any of the American semi-auto or selective fire military weapons. Feeling your way through a strange design of different construction and materials than what you are used too is fraught with danger. You need the proper manual. The G3 may be the most reliable gun in widespread service today but it is also a sheet metal, roller locked gun quite unlike anything else. This manual tells you exactly what to do and how to do it with classic German precision that leaves no room for error. No owner of a G3 varient should be without this manual and certainly no one should start work t repair one without it. For either the user or the gunsmith, this manual is vital.—Jim Dickson
