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LOT 1347
- Serial no. C111920, 5.56 mm cal., 8 inch round bbl.,
matte black finish, synthetic stock. Manufactured in 1984,
just a few years before the closure of new machine gun
registrations in the United States, this is a very desirable,
fully transferable factory original Heckler & Koch HK53
selective fire assault rifle. A direct descendant of the CETME
and G3 full power battle rifles, the HK53 is a short-barreled
intermediate caliber rifle, which served as a companion
piece to the full length intermediate caliber HK33 rifle. The
heart of the weapon is H&K’s Cold War signature roller lock
recoil delay mechanism, installed in the signature stamped
and welded receiver with rapidly swappable furniture
and trigger housing for maximum versatility at the lowest
relative level of armorer intervention, able to fill multiple
niches as needed. Providing ample firepower in a compact
package, the HK53 found an audience with special forces
and urban-oriented tactical units, with the 5.56mm round
able to outperform a pistol caliber submachine gun in
striking power and penetration, while also providing a
viable engagement envelope reasonably close to a full
length rifle. Production with Heckler & Koch ran from
1968 to 2000, and as of 2025 production was still active
with the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation
of Turkey, and while AR-15 variants (such as H&K’s own
HK416) have displaced it in some areas it still remains in
active service with a number of organizations. Current and
past users of the HK53 include Brazil’s First Special Forces
Battalion, Indonesia’s Kopaska underwater demolition unit
and Kopassus direct action group, Ireland’s Army Ranger
Wing, Peru’s Sinchis de Mazamari multi-role police tactical
unit, and the United Kingdom’s Royal Military Police Close
Protection Units and multiple forces deployed to Ireland
for The Troubles, including the Special Air Service.
Due to a recent shift in interpretation of relevant laws,
in 2024 the BATFE made a determination that a number
of NFA items imported explicitly for use by authorized
agencies between 1968 and 1986, which were originally
treated as limited sales samples, should be considered
fully transferable firearms. As of this publication details
are still emerging about how many items are affected by
this change, as well as how many HK53s specifically are
affected by the change. Included with this rifle is printed
digital correspondence between Knight’s Armament
Company of Florida and the BATFE National Firearms Act
Division, verifying this HK53 by serial number as having
been imported and registered prior to May 1986 and
meeting the government use import exception, and
therefore holds “transferable” status. While not explicitly
stated in the correspondence, the NFA Division is not in the
habit of giving registration information to anyone other
than the clear legal possessor of an NFA item, making this
correspondence also a de facto certificate of authenticity
that this item was part of the inventory of C. Reed Knight,
Jr, and Knight’s Armament Corporation, a leading name in
the American arms market.
Rare and Highly Desirable Factory Original Heckler & Koch
HK53 Selective Fire Rifle, Class III/NFA Fully Transferable
Machine Gun from the Legendary C. Reed Knight Jr. Collection,
DBA Knight’s Armament Company
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