MP5SD ammo question...

[Steris]

So from what I hear, the SD slows down regular ammo to make it subsonic. Hence, it doesn't like the 147 subsonic 9mm ammo...it slows it too much. Does anybody know if it likes 124 grain or 115 grain? Also...does it like or dislike hollow points? Has any of you ever owned an MP5SD so I can ask a slew of newbie questions on this particular system? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Blast]

I just sold one, very nice unit. Every gun is different as to which ammo works best for that weapon. That said mine liked S&B ammo the best, do not use subsonic in your SD and try to find as clean burning ammo as you can because they do get fouled up much faster.

Keep it clean after each outing and you sould have no worries. Just try different types of ammo until you find one that feeds/runs 100% and don't foul things up so quickly. Might want to take along some bore blast spray to use while trying out different types of ammo and give it a good spray in between ammo changes. Also try not to over lube it as it would just get messy inside after a few mags.

I would run about 240rnds of whatever is working to see if any feeding or fouling problems creep up with no cleaning. If it runs fine after about 6 mags or so that ammo should be good to go. But you will know what works and what won't soon enough on an SD. Again the biggest thing about an SD is no subsonic and keeping her clean. HP & FMJ stuff should all work fine with the right ammo combo and curved mags.

Have fun they are a cool deal! A bit more picky but worth the cleaning effort.

[Steris]

Thank you! That was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. I'm usually quite the stickler for cleaning my weapons anyway so me and the SD should get along fine. I guess Wolf ammo is out of the question. I usually run American Eagle 124's for my Uzi. Hopefully those will do fine for the Sd also. Do you notice any difference between 115's and 124's. And also...if you start with a spotless weapon, about how many rounds can you run before the malfunctions start to creep in?? I know an M-16 goes from 600-700 rounds before malfunction to about 200 with a silencer. Does the SD have better longevity than that?

[Blast]

115 & 124's are are all fine, as far as dirty goes again it all depends on ammo type. Some ammo can foul it up with just a few mags some a bit longer. SD's with let you know quick if load power and dirty ammo it dislikes. But subguns like full charge loads to really cycle well. I would not recommend reloads either unless you know or you are the one reloading. But reloading for a full auto would keep you quite busy :-).

[Steris]

Thanks again sir, you've been very helpful.

[Steris]

Does anybody know of any ammo in particular that is very clean? I saw that ammoman.com has Speer Lawman TMJ that is said to have less fouling. Anything else come to mind?

[LSP 972]

If you don't have that feloniously expensive special SD can cleaning brush, get one. You have to remove and clean the can fairly regularly, or it will weld itself to the barrel.

As noted, sub-sonic ammunition will function, it just doesn't have much velocity (500 fps or so) when it exits the tube. Back in the day, an FBI agent up in MD or somewhere in that area hosed down an agressive German shepherd with his SD loaded with 147 sub-sonic; the dog yelped and ran off. The vet was able to dig all of the bullets out of the dog without surgery...:)

When I toted one, I used regular 115gr hollow points (Federal BP2, IIRC) in mine for "duty", and WWB 115gr for practice. Its not that choosy about ammo; at least, the half-dozen we operated weren't.

.

[SFCat66]

I obtained an SD about 2 mos ago and have put everything 124 gr or less through it I could find.

I'm compiling a speadsheet of various data, but even the "cleanest" ammunition still makes the SD pretty filthy.

Solvent tanks for final cleaning, with a bottle brush, and scrape out in the reciever/trunion area with a pick, as carbon will really build up in that area. I have an old dishwashing brush I use in the field to periodically clean out the reciever body and wipe down the bolt group.

++ on the brush, or if you can find a hollow battery brush and adapt a length of PVC tubing, just be cautious of any steel against the threads of the actual suppressor tube.

Carbon Killer works good to keep it clean in the tube, as well as periodically using the well engineered HK method of banging against a wood block. I'm surprised HK doesn't sell a specific wood block for SD cleaning.

I use a very light touch with a nylon bottle brush, followed up by laquer thinner to displace any remaining moisture.

Cautiously scrape out the area in the tube where the ports exit, and ensure none of the ports are clogged.

I believe I heard that RDTS sells a fake suppressor that is able to allow firing of the weapon, that the fake can is machined so that it bears against the ports and seals them.

After a few hundred rounds, you'll see where it gets nasty and it makes for a good excuse for a good shoot em up movie while I clean the weapon.

My personal SD cleaning movie is Tombstone.

[Steris]

I obtained an SD about 2 mos ago and have put everything 124 gr or less through it I could find.

I'm compiling a speadsheet of various data, but even the "cleanest" ammunition still makes the SD pretty filthy.

Solvent tanks for final cleaning, with a bottle brush, and scrape out in the reciever/trunion area with a pick, as carbon will really build up in that area. I have an old dishwashing brush I use in the field to periodically clean out the reciever body and wipe down the bolt group.

++ on the brush, or if you can find a hollow battery brush and adapt a length of PVC tubing, just be cautious of any steel against the threads of the actual suppressor tube.

Carbon Killer works good to keep it clean in the tube, as well as periodically using the well engineered HK method of banging against a wood block. I'm surprised HK doesn't sell a specific wood block for SD cleaning.

I use a very light touch with a nylon bottle brush, followed up by laquer thinner to displace any remaining moisture.

Cautiously scrape out the area in the tube where the ports exit, and ensure none of the ports are clogged.

I believe I heard that RDTS sells a fake suppressor that is able to allow firing of the weapon, that the fake can is machined so that it bears against the ports and seals them.

After a few hundred rounds, you'll see where it gets nasty and it makes for a good excuse for a good shoot em up movie while I clean the weapon.

My personal SD cleaning movie is Tombstone.

I usually watch "The Punisher" when cleaning the M-16. It also helps to have a couple of beers, but keep the safety rules intact.

[Steris]

Thanks for all the EXTREMELY helpful input guys, I don't feel quite so ignorrant about the thing now. More to learn when it becomes "hands on".