SILENT SIEGE ENGINE

WE’RE SURE YOU’RE ALL AWARE OF STEWBACCA’S PENCHANT FOR EUROPEAN FIREARMS AND PARTICULARLY HIS #EVERYBODYLOVESTHEKOCH MENTALITY TOWARDS HK PRODUCTS IN PARTICULAR, SO IT’S NO SURPRISE HE WAS FIRST IN LINE TO SNAP UP THE LATEST MP5 RELEASE FROM VFC WHEN ITS RELEASE WAS FINALLY ANNOUNCED IN MID-JULY, FOLLOWING ITS ANNOUNCEMENT AND PROTOTYPE BEING DISPLAYED AT MOA 2023 LAST DECEMBER; SO WHAT OF IT, WAS IT WORTH THE WAIT?

Oh look, more satin-finish classic-MP5 stampedsteel receiver but with a chonkeh integral suppressor slapped on the front, he thinks to himself as he’s bumbling around VFC’s stand at QRF Magazine’s MOA Show last year in Taipei, eagerly awaiting the release date of yet another in their growing line of Umarex-licensed Heckler & Koch replicas.

They’re slowly filling up the dedicated H&K wall of his gun Stu-dio at this point, with the PSG-1, HK53, MP5k PDW, and soon to be an HK416A5 to supplant the earlier WE equivalent that’s showing its age… life is good, but it can be better; the handling feels nice, especially with the wide rubberised cylindrical cover installed and the telescopic stock extended.

Fast forward half way into the following year and I’d been given the usual heads up about likely release dates from the gents at VFC’s Pentagon Service Centre regarding a few of their products,

Instagram and public Facebook page for your viewing pleasure!

I ran it on its iron sights on the first outing just to get a baseline for performance and general consistency and accuracy without the usual whizzbangs the whipper-snappers use slapped on it, and it immediately impressed me in terms of the handling and recoil impulse during fast-paced IPSC drill stages and practise stage runs alike, knocking down poppers with ease and drilling papers with some nice tight groups when I look back over my head cam videos from that evening and the others that followed.

Our somewhat limited 10m square training space did not prepare me for the reality of the MP5 SD3’s true capabilities though! Given the big integral suppressor on the front end VFC seem to have bucked their usual recent trend of undersized inner barrels to keep the output power a little lower, and instead

At our Xindian site in the Southern foothills of Taipei the rear berm of the flat field safezone/prep and test range area has been clocked at around 85m away with our laser range finders, and just running fairly typical 0.30g BLS BBs on its first outing it was slamming rounds all the way into that berm from our staging area with ease and repeatability. Most. Impressed. As usual a queue of the guys formed to get their trigger time behind the new MP5 and share the usual appreciative and approving grunts and gleeful noises; seems everyone else was duly impressed as well, the handling and aesthetic just seem to sing to most of us.

Into The Wild

When I got it out into games it continued to perform well; even just running iron sights I managed to eliminate three opponents in the first round alone, and a further three across the loads through it to keep the opposition’s heads down or even take them out at around 40-50 metres away with relative ease, I was having a whale of a time!

Although it is ‘dense’ being full on stamped and welded steel, and running up a weight of 3.2kg it’s very easy to handle and compact with the weight, the overall footprint is actually very comparable to the HK53, being 610mm long with the stock collapsed and 765mm long with it extended, the suppressor just sticks out an inch or so more than the muzzle of the HK53 when they’re both sat on the gun wall… very handy.

It certainly seems to put BBs down very snappily; the usual shorter stroke of the “9mm” platform and its related and curtailed bolt-throw makes for a much crisper recoil impulse and fast cycle time; even though the magazines are “30 rounders” and give you the same capacity as AR style platforms, the faster action just lets you pound through them a whole lot faster,

“THE PERFORMANCE OUT OF THE BOX IS SIMILARLY ASTONISHING! CLOCKING AT A FAIRLY CONSISTENT AVERAGE OF 135M/S (1.83 JOULE/444 FPS) ON A 0.20G BLS BB AND ‘12KG / GREEN GAS’ IN THE STU-DIO, THE VARIANCE WAS ALSO WITHIN 2M/S ABOVE OR BELOW THE AVERAGE, SO THE LOCK-WORK AND CONSISTENCY OVERALL SEEM VERY GOOD” for a couple of months, an ideal indoor/outdoor CQB proving environment for the platform synonymous with silent siege action. In the real-steel realm the SD series MP5s are genuinely ‘Hollywood’ quiet with some of my former compatriots in the UK apparently having used them in the line of their [mysterious and naturally heavily redacted] work, the sound of the action cycling is reported to genuinely drown out the report of the muzzle and subsonic rounds flying downrange, and the MP5 SD3/5/6 models feature heavily in pop culture as a result, pairing nicely with full black or midnight blue overalls and tactical gear for the real ‘Milk Tray Man’ look. If you understand that reference, it’s time to schedule your first colonoscopy as well...

Suffice to say I grew up in an era of peak SAS shenanigans and the MP5 series naturally featured heavily in various forces’ repertoires, in fact in a pattern I’ve seen emerging, real steel manufacturers were once again sharing images of their products in use just as VFC were releasing their replicas, with my feed featuring the French GIGN operators sporting full on riot gear and an HK MP5 SD5 the very day I picked my own up… they’re clearly in cahoots, it seems!

Like the fabled ‘Milk Tray Man’ of British confectionery lore, I spent the Sunday ducking in and out of doorways and windows, sniping opponents quite effectively out to even 50 metres away with the VFC MP5 SD3, planting single shots or double taps on ‘tangoes’ at great range with ease, thanks in no small part to the addition of a genuine SIG Sauer Romeo 5 red dot I bought off my teammate prior and decided looked the part on the SD3.

Nabbing one of the B&T style claw picatinny rails from another HK replica on the wall to enable it to be attached, the very crisp 2 MOA dot allowed me to zero the whole setup superbly and I was exchanging accurate fire with opponents all day and posting BBs through narrow gaps or tagging small exposed bits of limbs with gleeful ease throughout the day’s game rounds.

Carrying all four of my MP5 magazines in two WMag pairs I had to reload on the go in practically all the game rounds I played at both the Xindian and Pewniversity sites; the MP5 does seem a lot more conducive to rapid double taps or strings and the stout recoiling funtimes can make you get carried away easily it seems, chasing running targets around and planting BBs around them at distance! I am actually sorely tempted to buy another two or four magazines and actually run it at our upcoming POLK 4 MilSim event in October, given the sheer performance, ease of handling and aesthetic and the fact I can get two mags in the space of one AR mag on my gear… I just have too many great guns to choose from, it seems.

RANGE TOO!

Not wanting to hog all the funtimes to myself, however, I decided to take the MP5 SD3 and MP5k PDW along to my next CivDef pistol training class as another bit of a treat for the regulars who are more confident in skill at arms, and of course everyone was happy to get some time behind it, especially with the red dot enabling for rapid and accurate target acquisition compared to the more difficult iron sights setup of its smaller PDW sibling.

Our new-girl teammate, Ning, had come along too to get some extra trigger time in and despite being quite slight in build she actually found it reasonably comfortable to use compared to the full size M16A1 she’d fielded in skirmishes before, the weight distribution and chunky handguard really do seem to make it an ideal platform for everyone that picks it up.

On the Pewniversity outing I had also had time to take it to the firing range down behind the safezone buildings; the old university sports field serves as an ideal location to shoot out to 60m on the targets the administrative team there have constructed and distributed at known distances. I decided to go the whole hog and throw in my now somewhat typical 0.48g BLS BB loads to ensure maximum consistency and reach, of course having to dial the HOP unit up somewhat to lift the heavier rounds.

This is somewhat of a cinch compared to earlier models like the PDW where the vertical foregrip and its retention pin caused me some issues, similarly the actual adjustment system and dial wheel itself are far better, being much larger and residing at the very rear inside of the metallic ‘cage’ that sits under the rubberised grip handguard cover. You just need to

SPENT THE SUNDAY DUCKING IN AND OUT OF DOORWAYS AND WINDOWS, SNIPING OPPONENTS QUITE EFFECTIVELY OUT TO EVEN 50 METRES AWAY WITH THE VFC MP5 SD3, PLANTING SINGLE SHOTS OR DOUBLE TAPS ON ‘TANGOES’ AT GREAT RANGE WITH EASE”

“ON THE PEWNIVERSITY OUTING I HAD ALSO HAD TIME TO TAKE IT TO THE FIRING RANGE DOWN BEHIND THE SAFEZONE BUILDINGS; THE OLD UNIVERSITY SPORTS FIELD SERVES AS AN IDEAL LOCATION TO SHOOT OUT TO 60M ON THE TARGETS THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM THERE HAVE CONSTRUCTED AND DISTRIBUTED AT KNOWN DISTANCES” peel the edges of this outwards at the front edge of the handguard to unseat them from the retaining slot, then pull the whole cover forwards an inch or so to expose the HOP adjustment wheel beneath; it clicks very positively and allows for accurate and consistent adjustments, with the detent clicks preventing unwanted movement under recoil once you have it set up how you prefer. following the proper MP5 manual of arms for loading on a full magazine, and removing an empty one, always locking the bolt rearward in each case before fitting or removing the magazine.

The only real downside to watch out for is the same V2 problematic magazine and empty chamber cutoff system; unlike the much preferred PSG1/G3/HK53 side swinging interlock valve lever that interrupts the valve striker of the fire control group releasing gas from the magazine and giving you the actual ‘dead trigger’ and related click that lets you know the gun is empty, the MP5 SD3 follows on from the MP5k PDW with the same V2 magazines and bolt where the loading nozzle smacks into the exposed rear of the follower and stops the bolt’s forward stroke mid travel, giving you a ‘floating’ dead trigger rather than the actual ‘dead click’ and forcing you to get used to the tactile difference in a full stroke loading a round and the feeling of a partial curtailed stroke signalling an empty chamber and magazine.

As with the MP5k PDW I’ve been very diligent in

This realistic manner of operation should ensure minimal wear and tear on the bolt carrier group’s loading nozzle and the magazine followers, and while I haven’t personally had any issues thus far, it’s important to remember that although I am a blunt and abusive instrument, my abuse is spread across a lot of platforms, and while we put plenty of full magazine loads through both my VFC MP5 models at the various CivDef classes, I haven’t fielded them exclusively for long periods just yet. A cursory glance at the Heavy Recoil Club’s Discord (featured in last month’s issue) and you’ll see plenty of discussion of failed nozzles and modifications to the magazine feed lips; again I feel no need for such things thus far, and if things do break I have the great advantage of the VFC Pentagon Centre and their well versed staff being a short trip away, but do bear in mind wear and tear if you plan on running one of these hard and as a primary setup… having access to spare nozzles and followers or a couple on hand ready will likely alleviate the majority of complaints you’re likely to encounter.

Beyond that one functional caveat I haven’t seen much in the way of bad feedback for the VFC MP5 series in general, the overall build quality seems excellent all round with lots of steel internals, carrying over the earlier V2 fire control group with steel components, and marrying it with the latest HOP up system upgrades to eliminate any issues with earlier models. Of course I elected for the SD3 variant with the old school left thumb only larger lever S-E-F trigger pack which has become my preferred standard now as it is much more positive in terms of locking into positions, and I don’t really need the burst feature anyway.

Similarly, Nonocat in New Zealand sourced herself the same albeit making it an SD2 with the solid stock for her tastes, but similarly she was shredding through magazines in short order in her online content and similarly getting great efficiency. I was having to reload magazines on the go with a speed-loader and ramrod in the field during most of my games, but didn’t have chance to recharge the gas until returning to the safezone; all the magazines easily dumped two full loads of BBs and then some, getting most of the way through a third magazine before giving up the ghost!

This is somewhat of a stark improvement over VFC’s V1 MP5 and UMP systems I witnessed when I first arrived in country, you really can get a lot of practical firepower out of these systems nowadays by comparison.

So, if you’re in the market for an H&K and are also a lover of the MP5 series, or if you just happen to be a big fan of Sicario’s Alejandro and his suppressed Koch, or likewise looking to get your SAS or GIGN classico loadout on, aside from the manual of arms and potential maintenance considerations to warn you about, I can’t really recommend the VFC HK MP5 SD3 enough to be honest. I was absolutely slaying paper, metal and meat targets alike throughout my testing regimen, and I’m sure the latest MP5 will be another platform that doesn’t just languish on my gun wall; it makes me want to balaclava up and rappel into unsuspecting environments to deliver premium quality British chocolates before disappearing into the night!

My thanks go to ‘Jerry’ Wu ChengYi (IG @ jerrywugaga) for his help with the action images shown in this review…do go and check out his other fine work if you can! AA

IF YOU’RE IN THE MARKET FOR AN H&K AND ARE ALSO A LOVER OF THE MP5 SERIES, OR IF YOU JUST HAPPEN TO BE A BIG FAN OF SICARIO’S ALEJANDRO AND HIS SUPPRESSED KOCH, OR LIKEWISE LOOKING TO GET YOUR SAS OR GIGN CLASSICO LOADOUT ON… I CAN’T REALLY RECOMMEND THE VFC HK MP5 SD3 ENOUGH TO BE HONEST!”