RELOADED
WE MP5K
EMISSION POSSIBLE :
3
THERE ARE FEW REAL STEEL PLATFORMS AS ICONIC AND INSTANTLY RECOGNISABLE AS THE HECKLER & KOCH “ MASCHINE PISTOLE 5 ” OR , AS WE KNOW IT , THE “ MP5 ”. AA LEGIONNAIRE , STEWBACCA , REVISITS THIS AIRSOFT STALWART , IN THE FORM OF THE WETECH APACHE MP5K .
From the outstanding free advertising in the hands
of the UK ’ s SAS resolving the Iranian Embassy siege , to the ubiquity in media and video games and no doubt many of you , like me and the Airsoft Action Red Cell folks , recently enjoyed the great Christmas tradition of watching Die Hard … with a suitable MP5 to hand if you own one !
From its initial introduction in the late 1960 ’ s , to its continued presence even today in the hands of military and law enforcement operatives the world over , the HK MP5 has cemented itself as a firearms cultural centrepiece . It is the “ model of comparison ”, or what everyone seeks to better , with its roller delayed action famous from its WW2 origins and the Mauser works engineers ( who would go on to work for CETME in Spain before founding Heckler & Koch in Oberndorf , in Germany ), building on the decades of firearms experience that brought the world the G3 battle rifle , which was then scaled down to its new 9mm sibling , in the guise of the submachine gun .
Personally , I ’ ve owned various versions over my years of airsofting , with JG and Galaxy MP5J , MP5A4 and MP5k PDW AEGs back in the UK and now for most of my time in Taiwan , a second-hand WETech Apache MP5k PDW GBB . With imminent plans to obtain more spare components , magazines and a solid stock , as well as either a WETech MP5A3 or MP5SD3 in early 2021 , to allow me to cover a wider range of models with replaceable telescopic , folding or fixed stocks .
SHOOTING FUN !
Having acquired my own from a local player who was selling his off and given the apparent difficulty in sourcing them ( judging by the amount of questions
I ’ m asked as to where I got mine ), I was happy to add it to my ever-growing collection of HK-themed GBBs . Although its manual of arms and reloading are arguably outdated and more cumbersome than more modern platforms , the fun factor of shooting it and enjoying the handling and iconic style of it in game and in close quarters environments , is undeniable ! With the relatively short 50mm stroke compared to larger rifle platforms , its response and dwell time as such are much snappier , although the bolt assembly itself is significantly heavier than the likes of my MP7 ’ s . As a result of this heavier bolt group , the recoil is fairly clunky and forceful and although arguably not as crisp as the MP7 , it has never left me wanting or able to outrun it with my trigger finger . The trigger itself is consistent , if a little creepy or spongy . Unlike an ARstyle trigger , there isn ’ t a two stage take-up and then wall break but the 1.5kg / 3lb weight is continuously taken up before the sear break at about 6mm ( out of the around 8mm of total travel ), with a reset click occurring at the very front of return travel , which at least makes it easy to loose multiple rounds in semiauto in quick succession due to the predictable travel during its cycle .
The performance is perhaps limited due to the short barrel , comparable to any typical pistol at around 100mm overall length , with a muzzle velocity around 85-95m / s ( 280-310fps ) and definitely a lower accuracy or shot placement consistency compared to the likes of my other GBBs . Perhaps with an upgraded tightbore barrel in future , I might be able to achieve greater consistency with my typical 0.3g BLS ammunition . Nonetheless , it is already predictable enough to achieve shots on body-sized targets in CQB environments and with the claw mount picatinny rail adaptor installed on its upper receiver , it can accept a
52 MARCH 2021