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The HK416 is an assault rifle of German origin. It was developed by Heckler & Koch in the 1990's as an upgrade package for the M4, but is also offered as a complete weapon. It combines the successful design and modularity of the M4 with the more reliable gas piston design. The HK416 is also more ergonomic than the standard M4, although it is much heavier.
The HK416 can be considered a product improved M4 carbine. The most notable improvement is the change from a direct impingement system to a short stroke gas piston, with improved reliability as a result. Other improvements over the standard M4 are a more ergonomic retractable shoulder stock and pistol grip, quad accessory rails and more reliable steel magazines.
The HK416 fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round from a 30 round magazine. It is a select fire weapon with a cyclic rate of fire of about 850 rpm. The new gas piston design slightly lowers accuracy compared to the M4, but this is compensated by a thick cold hammer forged barrel. The effective range is about 200 meters for the ultra short models, 300 meters for the intermediate models and 400 meters for the full length model.