Found out TommyBuilt did Featureless G36 style rifles...

[Zoidberg]

Needless to say, I had to have it!!! It’s such a beautiful rifle, the craftsmanship and quality is top notch. Big thanks to Dave @ Farwest Photography in Santa Clara for making the transfer painless and easy, and shout out to Tom Bostic for making it even possible.

Behold, the rifle!
72F4DEF9-F24F-4A2C-8FC3-EF1F0CDF6D3F.jpg

[Maulerrr]

Man this used to be my favorite gun when I was a kid. I thought it looked so sleek and futuristic.

I'd want one if I could responsibly buy one!

[jamie404]

Nice. How is the build quality. How does it compare to an ar15?

[Sicarius]

Build quality is excellent. You can also buy a stripped receiver and assemble it yourself with german parts too to be more "original" if you would like. The us parts kit that comes with the assembled rifle is made by gsg9. I will let you read up on them an the Baileys that run it. Tom on the other hand is wonderful to deal with. If you have questions, he is extremely prompt to respond via email but if you want to talk in person, he will make time for you. He will stand behind his product so despite using another manufacturers parts kit, have no fear buying one.
As far as comparing to an ar, the ar is far cheaper and much more capable as far as accuracy. Not talking about the melty g36 debacle, just in general... especially for the price. If you have a g36 itch though, this is your cure.
Kevin

[jamie404]

Build quality is excellent. You can also buy a stripped receiver and assemble it yourself with german parts too to be more "original" if you would like. The us parts kit that comes with the assembled rifle is made by gsg9. I will let you read up on them an the Baileys that run it. Tom on the other hand is wonderful to deal with. If you have questions, he is extremely prompt to respond via email but if you want to talk in person, he will make time for you. He will stand behind his product so despite using another manufacturers parts kit, have no fear buying one.
As far as comparing to an ar, the ar is far cheaper and much more capable as far as accuracy. Not talking about the melty g36 debacle, just in general... especially for the price. If you have a g36 itch though, this is your cure.
Kevin

InRangeTv did a test on the metldown myth. The myth was false. Also the HK won the lawsuit in Germany that claimed that the g36 melted. It just bothers me that with so much polymer it is still about a pound or two heavier than from what you get out of an AR with aluminium parts.

[Sicarius]

I believe it is relatively the same weight. Not sure if the listings of the weight is inclusive of the dual optic too. The sl8 with the heavy barrel was a pig but it was suppose to be more of bench rifle. The g36 does have a bulky carrier similar to a scar... which explains much of the weight in that case. Ar benefits from di which is inherently lighter...
Kevin

[apbrian112]

Have come across multiple examples of his builds through the years in the industry; always top notch stuff! Enjoy that beautiful rifle!

[caliguy93]

I really want one with the XM8 conversion kit

[MrExel17]

Congrats! defiantly one of the rifles on the short list, thank you for sharing!

[Riptide]

Beautiful rifle. I am curious, with the stock pinned how do you get the bolt out for maintenance from the rear? I am hoping you can somehow remove the grip and yank a pin to allow the stock to fold temporarily so you can remove the bolt carrier group. Thanks

[Sicarius]

Tom I believe threads a screw in from the side of the stock release button. The correct way to disassemble is to pull the grip/trigger housing off and the mag well. Then it is no longer a functioning firearm. Then you can hinge the stock in order to pull the recoil spring and bolt.
Kevin

[beanz2]

I take it Tommy's build quality is top notch, but how is the rifle design itself? Ergonomics?

How's the trigger? I've long lusted after these T36, but every time I shoot an HK design (MP5, UMP, P2000, P30, except for the VP9 handgun) the long trigger pull and the dull trigger break always disappoint me.


.

[Riptide]

Tom I believe threads a screw in from the side of the stock release button. The correct way to disassemble is to pull the grip/trigger housing off and the mag well. Then it is no longer a functioning firearm. Then you can hinge the stock in order to pull the recoil spring and bolt.
Kevin

Thanks Sicarius. That would make it more practical to maintain. Clever.

[Sicarius]

i like the ergos personally. There are some quirks like the charging handle slot, depending on the rail/sight setup can be a tad difficult to grasp to charge the weapon. One trick is to push the charging handle to the opposite side and pull back on the carrier itself. It is quicker than pulling the lever to get a grasp to charge it. I really like forward charging handles and i find this layout, for a reciprocating charging handle better than the scar. For a 90s ambi design, I think it was pretty clever. There are several stock options from relatively cheap to ridiculous. I prefer the c length. It is about an inch shorter than the k/e stock. There are two designs of the telescoping stocks. But the price of those would lead you to believe they were comprised of a lesser ARs melted down and made into a nice hk stock. A cheek riser for my face is really nice. There is a factory c stock that does have the removeable cheek riser that does pop up on the secondary market occasionally. I am supprised tom or gsg hasnt made a clone or retrofit kit myself. Tom makes a ar fcg and grip module. You can use your favorite flavor of ar grip and ar fcg. I wasnt able to get a drop in to fit around the bho but i only tried one. Tom reccomends geissele and it works. I suggest a flat faced trigger as a curved may seem a bit short since your trigger finger will be contacting the lower portion of the trigger and not cupped in the center. The ar fcg rides high relative to the grip in order to function in the g36. Worthy compromise as the g36 trigger is not great. I have felt much better milspec ar triggers. It functions though.
In general, hk triggers have yet to impress me. The sl8 has a modified g36 fcg which is nice and the g36 grip module can be modified to drop it in.
Kevin

[jcwatchdog]