Aug 20

Written by:
8/20/2003 11:39 AM 

 

This replica was ordered from a crappy overseas vendor to the tune of $35. The shipping from the company was marginal at best; however, the replica arrived in good shape. The packaging for this particular piece was quite good. It came four pieces inside the box. Each piece was well packed and seemed as if the box could withstand quite a bit of use. The first item I noticed was that each piece was well fit. When I picked up each item, I noticed that no loose parts rattled around inside. The instructions were concise and detailed as to the operation and basic maintenance of the replica. After a quick shoot through the instructions and warranty info I as ready to begin the assembly.

 

Assembly

The very basic nature of this replica led me to think that its performance would mimic that of the other cheap pieces I have run across. This replica did, however, surprise me in that though it was a very simple assembly it was quite a robust piece. With only a few turns of the cocking handle, and a quarter turn of the suppressor, we were ready to load it up and give it a try. The simplicity of assembly was quite nice, though after some use it became worn and the once tight fitting pieces began to loosen up.

 

 

 

Appearance

The replica has the normal H&K MP-5 look and feel. The SEF trigger set was a different addition that you don't see on many MP's. The downside to the SEF receiver is its lack of an ambidextrous safety. When we compared this MP-5 to others in my collection (one of them real) it stood up well in its detail. The only detraction was the fact that the entire replica is plastic and when twisted slightly it would creak. It appeared that trade markings had been filed off before shipping also. The addition of the suppressor made the replica appear quite a bit heavier than it actually was. The slide-out stock worked well and seemed very sturdy. The slide rails themselves were one of the few metal parts that this replica boasts. The butt on the stock was a fair copy of the real steel, although a bit too narrow and short. Overall, the appearance fit the MP-5SD image well.

 

Loading

The stock replica only came with one magazine that holds approximately 25 rounds. It was loaded without much pain. The bb's are just poured into the well. The side of the magazine has a slide and a lock that keeps the magazine spring from slinging your bb's everywhere. The lack of any kind of feeder ramp at the top makes this magazine very hard to store until needed as the rounds will not stay in the magazine. The only fix we found for this was to place a piece of tape over spare magazines until they are needed. When the magazine is firmly in the replica the button on the bottom of the magazine is depressed and the magazine spring in released and making the replica one step away from being ready to fire. After subsequent tests we found that if the magazine was not very firmly inserted, it could eject itself onto the ground once the magazine spring was released, showering the immediate area with bb's (I'm still finding them around my office, and believe me they get into the dandiest of places). Unfortunately (as is with most cheaper replicas) the magazine release button was non-functioning and the only way to release the magazine is to use the release paddle next to the magazine well.

 

Firing Tests

A nice Florida morning left us out in the parking lot cinching this replica into a vice prepping it for what we had waited weeks of backorder for: shooting. Before we could start to pepper each other with rounds we had to clock and check the accuracy to see if all the boasting was right or bogus. After three tests shots to lubricate the barrel, we set the chronograph out in front and clocked a sizzling 200fps. Notwithstanding the fact that it is a spring replica, 200 fps is pretty surprising seeing that the spring pull is very light. The first 5 rounds made a neat 6" pattern at 40', the next 5 began to tighten slightly, and the third 5 made an unexpected 3" pattern. We then removed the fake suppressor to see of the accuracy would be affected any. After one round almost made a dead bull's-eye we almost believed this replica was something of an anomaly that could shoot that well with so short a barrel. The next shot quieted that line of thinking as it bounced off the fence (about 2' to the right of the target) and bounced off the chronograph after the ricochet. So, yes, the barrel extension does make a difference. The last two sets of 5 rounds were lucky to hit paper. All tests up till now were conducted with KSC .2 gram rounds, as we transitioned to the heavier rounds we noticed little difference in speed or accuracy until we reached the .3's where the performance dropped rapidly.

 

Overall

To close up, this replica is a good deal for the price we paid. As we found it to make a good prop replica, and great for getting the cats off our cars. Although I am not a spring person I was indeed impressed that a springer could actually be a good value and still be fairly usable in a game. So in all I found the replica a good values, of good quality, and with a good warranty (which is rare).