I am also another HK fan. When I saw the SL-8 in the store, I was elated. "Wow! HK has a civilian G36!" After handling the rifle, I was somewhat disapointed. The thumbhole stock is done all wrong, you need to be a contortionist in order to operate the safety with your thumb, and the whole thing is a little bulky feeling too. I liked the ambidextrous operating handle and mag release, but that sight rail and ugly whitish grayish color just dosen't hack it. Oh yea, the 10 rnd limit is also a big negative.
At risk of being ridiculed by other HK fans, I'll have to say that this is the rifle that Klinton built. Thumbhole stock, 10 rnd mag, and that ugly color (glad it's not day-glow orange!) are all designed to be PC Klinton friendly "features." I'm sure if HK would have been quite happy enough to make a identical semi-auto copy of the G36. (Less tooling costs). But instead, HK has to please the BATF and Klinton; resulting in the visual POS called the SL-8. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure the SL-8 is a fine firing rifle, but regardless of what our mommies told us, looks do matter.
A couple months after I first saw the SL-8, I went to the same store and checked out the USC. For my analysis of the USC, just read the above paragraphs with USC in place of SL-8.
I despise Klinton for turning works of art like the G36 and UMP45 into ugly trash. A good analogy would be a rotweiller in a ballerina costume. Still just as mean, but kinda stupid looking.
If you're a die hard HK fan (like me) and you can spare the coin (kinda like me), and you don't mind the "stylish" Klinton mandated "features" (NOT ME), then I think it would be worth purchasing one.
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"Ray guns don't vaporize Zorbonians, Zorbonians vaporize Zorbonians" The Far Side
[This message has been edited by jcoyoung (edited February 03, 2000).]