- By Darren Allen
I’m sure you, like me have had enough of the lockdown restrictions, yes, they were definitely necessary for everyone’s
protection, but they were also a major road block in my ever-expanding replica Airgun collection!
So, when came the first day of non-essential shops opened up last May, my son and I had a cheeky little visit to my local gun shop. I was interested in another 1911 replica, but after checking it out I found that wasn’t to my personal taste. Luckily for me, Drapers Gun Centre in Nottingham had something to interest even the most discerning of enthusiasts i.e., Me. Just as a side note in case you were wondering, my son treated himself to a very nice Umarex Legends Thompson M1A1.
After taking up far too much of Ethan’s time, I managed to decide on a copy of a good old stalwart of the assault weapon world, the H&K MP5K. For those of you that are interested, the Heckler & Koch MP5 has a very long history dating back to 1964, where it was designed around the “G3 Battle Rifle” and has been and still is used by over 80 countries in over 23 different variations (For more information have a look online at Firearms news.com) Unlike the original MP5K chambered in 9x19, the Umarex version the MP5K-PDW is a smooth bore semi-auto action 4.5mm steel BB gun powered by a 12g CO₂ cartridge, slightly more back yard range friendly I’m sure you will agree.
What’s in the Box?
The Umarex MP5K-PDW is mostly constructed externally from good quality plastic, it weighs in at 1635g with the folding stock attached and feels good in the hand and features a full blowback action. In the box you will find the MP5, a 41- round magazine, removable muzzle compensator, a removable Picatinny 20mm sight rail and the all-important instruction manual. There is also an interchangeable back plate to convert it to the even shorter MP5A1 stockless version.
Sights are fixed rear and hooded front, and fairly “on target” at 6 to 10 yards but don’t forget the included 20mm picatinny rail. For those of us approaching our more senior years whose eyes aren’t quite what they used to be (yes me again) you can easily attach a red dot or similar sight to the included rail in order to stretch the accuracy that bit further.
To the range!!
Power is supplied by a single 12g CO₂ cartridge placed in the rear of the action and retained by a steel plate held in by two easily removable pins and tensioned by a finger screw. This plate can be substituted for the supplied blanking plate should you wish to use it in the stock-less configuration. This plate can only be changed whilst replacing the CO₂ canister as it forms the retaining mechanism, however, emptying a 12g CO₂ cartridge won’t take long in my experience! A full cartridge is good for around 100 shots (depending on temperature).
The magazine is loaded with 41 x 4.5mm steel BB’s by sliding down the tensioner plunger until it locks in place at the base of the mag (you will see a small pin protruding from the hole in the base). Then fill up the mag from the top whilst pressing the locking leaver down. When full, let go of the locking leaver press the pin in at the base of the mag and the mag is tensioned ready for use.
When you’re ready to fire, after ensuring the gun is pointing in a safe direction and the safety selector is engaged, insert the mag into the mag well with a very reassuring click, remove the duel ambidextrous safety catch and you’re ready for some good safe fun.
Accuracy
As I’m still restricted to the home range, all groups are shot at a max of 10 yds. As you can see from the picture, at 10 yds. I managed a 36.74mm C to C group (1.44”) which with non-adjustable open sights (and an old blind bloke shooting it) is quite respectable for a smooth bore BB replica gun. You’re not going to win any target competitions with it but that’s not really what it’s for.
What it is for is shooting tin cans and fun plinking, speaking of which brings me on to the reason I purchased it, Umarex Boys Club monthly comps.
So over to the monthly UBC “Police Assault Rifle competition”, if you haven’t tried them yet, there is a UBC shooting competition to appeal to just about all shooters with just about any type of pistol or rifle and even pistol cross bows, so click on the UBC competition site and have a look!
Value for Money
With a RRP of around £170.00, this is an officially licensed replica from Umarex that’s well designed and great fun to shoot. Not only do you get the MP5K, but you can also use it as the even shorter version without the butt stock, two guns for the price of one (sort of) great value in my book. It is predominantly constructed from plastic but has a very sturdy feel and the steel internals give a very positive simulated recoil when firing.
Christmas Update
I know you’re probably reading this in April, but bear with me!
Up to Christmas time I’ve had the MP5K for just over 6 months now, it gets regular trips out of the gun cabinet, mostly due to the rapid-fire fun time this gun provides. I decided when it was time to come up with a new idea for our shooting club Christmas party, it was time for an outing for the MP5K and the Walther CPS for a bit of rapid-fire fun. Both guns
got packed into the range bag with plenty of BB’s, pellets and Umarex Boys Club fedora targets and it was off to the
Shooting Gate air gun club Christmas party.
The course of fire was fairly simple with a double tap with the Walther CPS, transition to the MP5K for 4 shots then back to the CPS for a final double tap. All shots against the clock and the final scores calculated by taking away the time in seconds from the shot score and this gave the final score. I win!!
Except I didn’t, as they are both my guns I thought it was only sporting to disqualify myself, and I didn’t even cry about it, much….. don’t like chocolate oranges anyway.
The winner was Wayne Callaghan, the proud winner for the seniors of a 100% authentic chocolate orange no less, Zak took the honours for the juniors. We won’t mention the name of the member that managed to miss the target twice with all eight shots though Ross so don’t worry!
Overall, there where smiles all round, we are a 6-yard target and bell target club, so our Christmas parties do tend to be a break from the norm and a welcome break from nearly two years of COVID interruptions to our shooting club and daily life in general.
The only downside to ownership is the amount of CO₂ and BB’s you’ll go through!
Shoot safe, stay healthy and enjoy our sport!
‘Paddy Says’
I have owned my Umarex MP5 PDW for over 11yrs now, when they first come into the country, and it is still going strong.
I occasionally enter in the UBC Police Competition with mine and do the customary MP5 Slap. I am glad that Darren is now entering into the competition too. It would also be great to see other people enter as well.
Over the years we have even done dedicated competitions, the most memorable was a SAS themed one based on a certain event in 1980.
I for one really enjoy the tactical type of shooting that can be done with this airgun like transitions from SMG to Pistol and by the looks of it so does Darren.
As long as you are using the airgun responsibly and know your boundaries the amount of fun to be had with the MP5 is amazing! For plate and reactive shooting, I use Smart Shot Lead BBs, they feed well, and the ricochets are down to a minimum with none coming back past my firing point when I done specific testing for a YouTube Video.
All in all, it is a great airgun that will last and everyone really should own an MP5 don’t you think?
| Tech specs | |
| Caliber | 4,5 mm (.177) BB |
| Power Source | 12 g CO₂ capsule |
| Magazine capacity | 41 shot(s) |
| Safety | manual |
| Sights | not adjustable |
| Length | 591 mm |
| Barrel length | 167 mm |
| Weight | 1635 g |
| Velocity | 145 m/s |
| Trigger | Double Action |
| Special feature(s) | Blowback |
| Stock | folding stock |
| Sight mount rail | Picatinny |
Links:
http://www.umarexboysclub.co.uk/ https://www.umarex.com/products/airguns/co2/5.8159.html https://drapers-airguns.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=MP5
https://www.firearmsnews.com/editorial/the-history-and-function-of-the-hk-mp5-parabellum/77889
https://sites.google.com/site/shootinggateairgunclub/
Additional Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/5mU2mEj
