MP5 clones

February 23, 2026, 03:13 PM

GT-40DOC

quote:
Originally posted by ibanda:
quote:
Originally posted by neverenoughguns:
The MKE guns seem nice. I have two that I have SBR'd. I don't know about removing the fake barrel but to be quite honest, I have not seen the above configuration. The advantage of the above is that it started out as a rifle so I wonder (don't think) the 922R restrictions apply which would be great! Swapping out a barrel seems like something you might have to send out to accomplish - not sure. Best of luck!

My quick research on barrel swaps are they have to go to someone with a hydraulic press and the correct jigs and it's in the $500 range. I don't really want to go that route.

This started life as a pistol. First owner had it modified by a gunsmith like someone would Pin & Weld a 1.5" flash hider to a 14.5" AR15 barrel. In this case it is a 7" Pin & Welded muzzle device, with a fake suppressor that screws onto it. I'm thinking it could be undone by a gunsmith just like a 14.5" AR could be. Hopefully the threads can be cleaned up. Even if they can't clean the threads, my main goal would be to go 3 lug with a suppressor. If anyone knows of a great smith in Texas or Oklahoma, I'm all over both states every month. Or maybe I take it to D. Wilson in Colorado when I go this summer. It's probably not complicated to fix for someone that knows what they are doing.

See the reference above to ghillibear. He is located in Oklahoma and he is your man. As far as I know, he is still doing work.

February 23, 2026, 06:13 PM

ibanda

quote:
Originally posted by GT-40DOC:
See the reference above to ghillibear. He is located in Oklahoma and he is your man. As far as I know, he is still doing work.

Thanks, I messaged him. He's 3 hours from me, but I travel his direction from time to time. If I get an experts hands on this and put some $ into it I can see now, I'm going to wind up with another stamp....

February 24, 2026, 03:04 PM

GT-40DOC

Life is soooo short, and the older we get, the faster it flys!!

February 24, 2026, 06:37 PM

ibanda

The Rare Breed FRT-RD3 went up on the website today at $615 single/$620 ambi, although it doesn't look like they are stocked yet. Spendy for sure, but ultimately it's the same price as swapping to an AR style lower + an FRT. The AS Designs ARHK drop in FRT cassette should also be out soon.

I'm only a week into this platform but I have quickly figured out everything single thing related to it seems to be 2x and sometimes 3x the price of what I think it ought to be. I appreciate the German roots at the heart of the system and the quality but jeez. I went into it thinking I might get a discount starting with an AP5/Turkish clone, but that doesn't extend out when you add or change any parts to the weapon.

February 26, 2026, 01:33 PM

flesheatingvirus

AFAIK, the Rare Breed units sold out within a couple of hours. I'm waiting on some reviews of theirs vs the AS Designs before I drop that sort of coin on a fun switch, but I WILL be grabbing one before they ban them in NM!

________________________________________

-- Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. --

March 07, 2026, 07:19 AM

huskerlrrp

I have positive things to say about PTR Customer Service.
Recently, I had a combination of two unfortunate events which resulted in a bullet being lodged in the barrel and then a subsequent round firing. The result was a bulge in the barrel.
I sent it back to PTR fully expecting to pay for a new barrel and installation cost, but they just took care of it and sent it back my way in less than a week. I couldn't be more happy with the outcome.

March 07, 2026, 09:45 AM

Rick Lee

First thing I did when I got my SOT. FA baby. Silencer coming soon.

June 21, 2026, 02:12 PM

RNshooter

Reading through this older thread: it seems like the consensus is that Century/MKE and PTR are both solid choices?

Bruce

"The designer of the gun had clearly not been instructed to beat about the bush. 'Make it evil,' he'd been told. 'Make it totally clear that this gun has a right end and a wrong end. Make it totally clear to anyone standing at the wrong end that things are going badly for them. If that means sticking all sort of spikes and prongs and blackened bits all over it then so be it. This is not a gun for hanging over the fireplace or sticking in the umbrella stand, it is a gun for going out and making people miserable with." -Douglas Adams

“It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to try to enslave a people that wants to remain free."
-Niccolo Machiavelli

The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all. -Mencken

June 21, 2026, 05:03 PM

OttoSig

Just buy the original! Take that in jest, I have a CETME-C instead of an HK-91. And a Century Arms Uzi.

Maybe that’s why I splurged on the HK!

ETA: I need a sling…and not the one that came with it, an OD green one.

June 22, 2026, 04:44 PM

kimberkid

Clones have come a long way since Todd Bailey started building them in the 90’s(?), now they’re 70 year old technology so it stands to reason that there should be some good clones by now … it didn’t take nearly as long for good 1911 clones!

By the time I bought a registered sear, I decided I didn’t want to spend the dollars on genuine HK. My MP5, 5K & 5SD are all made by one of Todd Bailey’s later companies, my 52 was built
by Ghillebear at Parabellum and my 53 is a Century (it’s the cheapest, ugliest and my favorite!) at one time I had a PTR91 pistol (HK51 clone), while it was the prettiest, it was my least favorite, simply due to the recoil)

June 30, 2026, 01:12 PM

pulicords

I've made plenty of updates to my PTR since I bought it a few years ago and I've got to say that it's run flawlessly for me. Why spend the difference on an original HK, when the PTR not only cost far less initially, but comes with an OEM rail which saves you about $500.00 from getting an HK clawmount?

June 30, 2026, 05:19 PM

jed7s9b

I also have an older Century 53 clone. It’s an SBR and I like the A1 stock. I too think it about the best choice for a fun shooter. It runs good, makes lots of noise, and the recoil is mild. The 9mm K I have is neat and more practical but lacks the fire breathing display.

June 30, 2026, 08:52 PM

Chowser

So we're saying go with PTR over Century for a clone?

But in case anyone is interested, Aim Surplus just got in a select-fire transferable MP5. $45000.

July 01, 2026, 12:35 PM

kimberkid

So, I’m getting along in years, (I’m 69) and My son (45) let me know a couple days ago that he’d like to inherit my MP5, 5K & 5SD, whenever the time comes … we got to talking about it and somehow came up that they were clones, all of a sudden he didn’t want them anymore. I told him “that’s fine because when I’d planned to sell them with the registered sear sear anyway. I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to burn up a Genuine HK if I could find a reliable clone, and I did.

He’s shot them all in full-otto and I’d showed him how to switch the sear from gun to gun before but for some reason, when he realized that they weren’t Genuine HK they just weren’t good enough, even though he’s never bought a firearm in his life.

July 01, 2026, 12:44 PM

P220 Smudge

Shit, if he don’t want them, I’d love to inherit them. Wanna adopt a 43 year old son? Comes complete with a grandson who loves shooting, so it’s a complete turnkey setup.

July 01, 2026, 02:11 PM

Creeping_Death

I’m sorry to hear that KK…is he aware that the overwhelming majority of transferable HK full autos are clones? It wasn’t until the past few years that SOME factory dealer samples were reclassified as transferables. To get a factory HK MP5-series machine gun still requires either a boat load of cash or becoming a SOT.

He could always buy SP5s, have them modified to fit your sear, and burn the snot out of those!!

July 01, 2026, 02:35 PM

Dwill104

quote:
Originally posted by Creeping_Death:
I’m sorry to hear that KK…is he aware that the overwhelming majority of transferable HK full autos are clones? It wasn’t until the past few years that SOME factory dealer samples were reclassified as transferables. To get a factory HK MP5-series machine gun still requires either a boat load of cash or becoming a SOT.

He could always buy SP5s, have them modified to fit your sear, and burn the snot out of those!!

Are they? If by “clone”, you mean MP5 clone, then almost every conversion from a semi-auto host, HK or not, is a clone. If you mean a conversion made from a clone maker like PTR, etc., versus a conversion on a factory HK like a HK94 or SP5, I’m not so sure. For a long while, the HK semis were about the only ones out there, and pretty much all of the conversions were done on them, especially in the 70’s and 80’s. Clone semi MP5s didn’t catch on until much later, and by the time they did, sear prices had skyrocketed. At least that’s how I remember it.

July 01, 2026, 10:44 PM

Creeping_Death

For clarity, by “clone” I am referring to and including the semi-auto HKs (HK9x series, SP89) modified to be sear hosts or registered receiver machine guns. These are not factory machine guns like the pre- and post-May dealer samples.

For someone who wants only a factory HK MP5-series transferable machine gun, they have far fewer options to hunt down.

July 02, 2026, 07:06 AM

kimberkid

quote:
Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Shit, if he don’t want them, I’d love to inherit them. Wanna adopt a 43 year old son? Comes complete with a grandson who loves shooting, so it’s a complete turnkey setup.

While that situation sounds like what I ve always hoped for, my wife wouldn’t go along with it … you are blessed my friend!

quote:
Originally posted by Creeping_Death:
<snip>
He could always buy SP5s, have them modified to fit your sear, and burn the snot out of those!!

His wife would never let him spend even that much!