The history behind the phrase "Walther HK G36" connects a legendary 5.56mm military assault rifle with a specialized civilian rimfire clone. While the full-powered Heckler & Koch G36 was engineered strictly by H&K for combat use, its elite and highly restricted status made it nearly impossible for civilian shooters to own. To solve this, Carl Walther and its parent company, Umarex, stepped in to manufacture an official, licensed .22 LR rimfire replica under the H&K banner.