This could very well be the year of the MP5, with Palmetto State Armory launching its own clone version, and Zenith Firearms continuing to push their alternative to the fabled submachine gun.

Designed and first fielded in West Germany by Heckler & Koch during the 1960s, the MP5 was the standard pistol-caliber select fire weapon for many police and military units — including a considerable number of special operations forces across the world — for decades.

The MP5′s popularity surged over the years, especially when the guns were spotted in action on live television during the British Special Air Service’s famed Operation Nimrod in 1980.

Thus, the demand for a civilian-legal MP5 slowly but steadily grew in the United States within the gun community. Heckler & Koch’s efforts to export the gun to the American market was constantly stymied by legislation, however, effectively paving the way for clone-manufacturers to build and sell their own takes on the MP5.

A group of Chilean Navy special warfare members with MP5s participate in a Maritime Interdiction Operation drill while underway with the Chilean frigate BACH Almirante Williams during PANAMAX 2005. (US Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rick Sforza)

Fast forward to 2020, H&K is now making yet another play for the MP5 niche with their own true-to-form semiautomatic version of one of the most legendary firearms ever produced.

As an answer to the constant demands of purists and enthusiasts for a true-to-form MP5, H&K finally granted everybody’s wish in the form of the SP5, a follow-on to the company’s SP5K which was released just over five years ago with muted commercial success.

Built in the company’s Oberndorf factory in southwest Germany (like the SP5K), the SP5 is essentially a semiautomatic pistol with an 8.86-inch barrel that stays true to the original MP5′s design, including the standard roller-delayed blowback operating system.

Upon arriving at this year’s SHOT Show industry and media range day, I found myself gawking at the growing lines near the H&K tents where shooters were given a quick primer on the guns being demonstrated before being handed magazines and encouraged to give the company’s firearms a whirl.

(Photo Heckler & Koch)

Having fooled around with a number of differently-configured MP5s over the years, I found myself apprehensive yet excited about H&K’s newest offering.

At a first glance, the SP5 looks almost identical to the MP5, though without the select fire markings and with an extended safety selector. All models retail with an 8.86-inch cold hammer forged Navy barrel made from cannon-grade steel, known for its durability.

The SP5 that I fired had a removable Picatinny rail mounted above the receiver, plus an Aimpoint Micro H-2 red dot sight. The gun was set up as a short-barreled rifle with an old-school collapsible MP5 stock, though it should be noted that the SP5 is sold as a pistol, so all standard NFA legalities apply when adding a stock to the gun.

Upon locking the charging handle to the rear and loading a magazine, I was rewarded with a clean and crisp “HK slap”, the act of bringing your palm down on the charging handle to jar it loose and send the bolt home.

The author with an SBR’d SP5, equipped with a removable top rail and an Aimpoint red dot sight (Photo Ian D’Costa)

Shooting the SP5 felt as smooth as butter, with a crisp trigger pull, a very small recoil impulse and extremely comfortable ergonomics. In other words, it felt like home — just like all the other service/duty-configured MP5s I’ve tried out in the past.

The smooth operation of the gun was in no small part thanks to H&K opting to use a modified F-type bolt carrier group, originally developed as a beefed-up solution for French police and military forces seeking to use overpressure (+P) ammunition.

As one might reasonably guess, H&K’s quality does come at a steep price. SP5s are listed with a suggested retail price of $2,799 and sell with either a pair of 30 or 10-round magazines.

For the purists hellbent on getting their hands on something as close to the MP5 as possible, however, they would be hard-pressed to find a better or more authentic offering than the SP5.

About Ian D'Costa

Ian D’Costa is a correspondent with Gear Scout whose work has been featured with We Are The Mighty, The Aviationist, and Business Insider. An avid outdoorsman, Ian is also a guns and gear enthusiast.

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