{"id":99549,"date":"2011-10-24T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2011-10-24T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:03:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:03:34","slug":"breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/","title":{"rendered":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[brightcove video=”1231373470001″ \/]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec’d M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with aftermarket magazines. First, there’s a little confusion about the IAR variant being considerably different than the HK416. As you’ll see, the differences are minimal. There’s no heavier barrel and the internals are identical to the HK416D. The IAR is pretty much a 16.5″ HK416D with a bunch of accessories required by the Corps. Run through the gallery below for a closer look at some of the differences and unique features common to the HK416 and the M27 IAR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, there’s a question of what mags work in the gun. While I didn’t get to full function check the mags in the gun, rumors about the Surefire HCM not fitting are wrong. You can see both Surefire mags fit and fall free with no issues. I haven’t shot the 100 rounder yet, but we’ve heard the 60 rounder runs fine. Surefire’s official response is that they didn’t design the mag to work with the gun, although they have heard some samples fitting in the HK416 and some not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m hoping to get some range time with the gun and a set of mags in the next couple of weeks to see how reliably the Surefire HCMs function in the HK416.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[nggallery id=464]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec’d M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":90,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[90,15,16,88],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1908],"class_list":["post-99549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gearscout","category-news","category-off-duty","category-your-military"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"6VQ3HUV5LRC3FJSTKBBXQRHI4U","arc_canonical_url":"\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nBreakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416 - Military Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 239,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"GearScout\",\n\t \"News\",\n\t \"Off Duty\",\n\t \"Your Military\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416 - Military Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/2011\\\/10\\\/24\\\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"GearScout\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/off-duty\\\/gearscout\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"gearscout\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Military Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/military-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Military Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/militarytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416 - Military Times","description":"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416","og_description":"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/","og_site_name":"Military Times","article_published_time":"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00","author":"Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Staff","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416","datePublished":"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/"},"wordCount":239,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"articleSection":["GearScout","News","Off Duty","Your Military"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/","name":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416 - Military Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-10-24T13:00:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T11:03:34+00:00","description":"Here's a quick video showing the differences between the USMC spec'd M27 IAR and the HK416 and its compatibility with...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/2011\/10\/24\/breakdown-m27-iar-vs-hk416\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GearScout","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/off-duty\/gearscout\/","ad_zone":"gearscout"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Breakdown: M27 IAR vs. HK416"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","name":"Military Times","description":"Independent News About Your Military | Military Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#organization","name":"Military Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/military-logo-white.png","caption":"Military Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Military Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99557,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99549\/revisions\/99557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99549"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=99549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}