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Check out Hill & Mac: https://www.hmgunworks.com/products/firearms/
Hill and Mac had a very interesting gun at SHOT Show this year. They have taken the WWII German STG 44 and updated it. This is no replica. What we have here is a unique approach to a historical firearm. Modern updates dominate the design, yet it retains the look of the original. For history buffs, the changes may seem drastic. But really, for the rest of us, the biggest news is that the guns will be available in calibers other than the hard-to-find original 8mm Kurz. It will come in 5.56, 7.62×39 and 300 Blackout in addition to the original 7.92×33.
That said, the Hill & Mac still serves up nostalgia. The original STG 44 is considered to be the first assault rifle. Its name, Sturmgewehr (STG for short), even translates to Storm Rifle. Storm meaning to assault. The original was compact, fired an intermediate cartridge, and had select-fire capabilities. The Germans made around 400,000 of these in the last few years of WWII. The STG inspired the philosophy behind and basic design for the AK-47.
The classic design with a distinctly modern twist.
Hill & Mac’s STG, they call it the HMG STG, looks a lot like the original. They did change a few things, though. The HMG uses AR-style magazines. Hill and Mac are developing a magazine that looks like the original STG mag but fits the AR mag well. The new HMG mags will actually hold 50 rounds in 5.56 or 30 rounds of .300 Blackout or 8mm Kurz or 7.62×39. They also changed the trigger out to accept H&K trigger packs–so there will be a lot of aftermarket options. They will also come with a detachable section of Picatinny rail for mounting optics.
A quick note about the build. Some of the photos you see here show some rivets and weld lines that don’t jive with the price we’re going to quote you below. We heard that from people on the floor at SHOT Show, too. That doesn’t worry me so much. These are the first of their kind. I imagine that these were built on a deadline, and that H&M saw an opportunity to get guns to the big show. But keep in mind what these are supposed to look like. The build quality of the originals was rough. Really rough towards the end. Nations actively losing wars don’t make Lugers. They piece together whatever they can. I’d expect some rough edges on the H&Ms, and why not? No one wants a polished STG–it’s like putting lipstick on a Hilary Clinton–or whatever that old expression was.
The HMG will be offered in 3 different variations. A rifle version with a 16.1″ barrel, a pistol with a 13″ barrel, and an SBR with various barrel lengths. And they’re all modular. If you want one gun that can run other calibers, you’ll only need new barrels and bolts. The barrels swap out like AR barrels. There’s even a castle nut hidden beneath the handguard. And the rumor we heard at SHOT was that the magazine will work with all of the calibers.
All told, this gun may be a great option for the history buff who still likes to run lead down range. The HMG may have some anachronistic features, and you might want to top it with an RMR, but the gun still looks like something your grandfather might have picked up off of the side of the road on his way into Berlin.
The Hill and Mac HMGs have MSRPs from $1799-$1959 and are scheduled to start shipping in June of this year.
Hill and Mac had a very interesting gun at SHOT Show this year. They have taken the WWII German STG 44 and updated it. This is no replica. What we have here is a unique approach to a historical firearm. Modern updates dominate the design, yet it retains the look of the original. For history buffs, the changes may seem drastic. But really, for the rest of us, the biggest news is that the guns will be available in calibers other than the hard-to-find original 8mm Kurz. It will come in 5.56, 7.62×39 and 300 Blackout in addition to the original 7.92×33.
That said, the Hill & Mac still serves up nostalgia. The original STG 44 is considered to be the first assault rifle. Its name, Sturmgewehr (STG for short), even translates to Storm Rifle. Storm meaning to assault. The original was compact, fired an intermediate cartridge, and had select-fire capabilities. The Germans made around 400,000 of these in the last few years of WWII. The STG inspired the philosophy behind and basic design for the AK-47.
The classic design with a distinctly modern twist.
Hill & Mac’s STG, they call it the HMG STG, looks a lot like the original. They did change a few things, though. The HMG uses AR-style magazines. Hill and Mac are developing a magazine that looks like the original STG mag but fits the AR mag well. The new HMG mags will actually hold 50 rounds in 5.56 or 30 rounds of .300 Blackout or 8mm Kurz or 7.62×39. They also changed the trigger out to accept H&K trigger packs–so there will be a lot of aftermarket options. They will also come with a detachable section of Picatinny rail for mounting optics.
A quick note about the build. Some of the photos you see here show some rivets and weld lines that don’t jive with the price we’re going to quote you below. We heard that from people on the floor at SHOT Show, too. That doesn’t worry me so much. These are the first of their kind. I imagine that these were built on a deadline, and that H&M saw an opportunity to get guns to the big show. But keep in mind what these are supposed to look like. The build quality of the originals was rough. Really rough towards the end. Nations actively losing wars don’t make Lugers. They piece together whatever they can. I’d expect some rough edges on the H&Ms, and why not? No one wants a polished STG–it’s like putting lipstick on a Hilary Clinton–or whatever that old expression was.
The HMG will be offered in 3 different variations. A rifle version with a 16.1″ barrel, a pistol with a 13″ barrel, and an SBR with various barrel lengths. And they’re all modular. If you want one gun that can run other calibers, you’ll only need new barrels and bolts. The barrels swap out like AR barrels. There’s even a castle nut hidden beneath the handguard. And the rumor we heard at SHOT was that the magazine will work with all of the calibers.
All told, this gun may be a great option for the history buff who still likes to run lead down range. The HMG may have some anachronistic features, and you might want to top it with an RMR, but the gun still looks like something your grandfather might have picked up off of the side of the road on his way into Berlin.
The Hill and Mac HMGs have MSRPs from $1799-$1959 and are scheduled to start shipping in June of this year.
I might buy something in .556 afterall.
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