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Magpul MP5 furniture and Palmetto MP5 RS at the NRA show

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3.3K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  HKSIGslinger  
#1 ·
I was at the NRA show on Saturday and had stopped by the Magpul booth. I noticed they had their MP5 furniture on some Zenith guns and went over to look. Once the gaggle of Magpul guys stopped chatting amongst themselves, one of them came over and asked me if I had any questions. Of course, my first question is was "Where are the MP5 mags?". I'm pretty sure the Magpul guy sighed, but then he recovered and told me that they were looking at it, but it wasn't easy to do. Anyway, once I was done chiding him over that, we talked about the furniture a bit. He told me that Palmetto would be using the Mapgul furniture for their guns. The lower looked nice enough, though I didn't really care for the texture. I prefer my Navy-type lower. However, the Magpul selector switch seemed to be a pretty big improvement over the standard HK design (mainly, because I'm left handed and their ambi-selector was way better than the HK ones I've seen). Their lowers are SEF and while they have a little nub to prevent the selector from going to the full auto position, the rep told me you can just grind it off and you will be good to go.

Next, I went over to Palmetto's booth to see if they had one of their MP5s. They only had one on display, behind a counter on a rack marked "Prototypes - Do not Touch". So, I went over to take a closer look. The guy behind the counter didn't seem to know a whole lot about it, other than yes, it was a reverse stretch, and yes, they were working on standard and RS variants. But he indicated they had been having problems getting them to run well and had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if it was sear ready. Frankly, the gun didn't look at that good. The welds looked kind of sloppy and the cocking tube cut looked really rough. Since I couldn't get touch it, let alone get that close, I couldn't really see much more about it.

When I asked about pricing and release, he said they were trying to keep it under $1200 and that it might be coming out late this year (like November). So, it doesn't sound like it will be as cheap as some of the initial rumors indicated ($800) and we are still a ways out on release date.

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures from either booth. They were the last stops for me on Saturday and I was in a rush to get out and get home, since I had to take my wife and her cousin's kids to go see Avengers and we had to get the kids fed dinner before we went.
 
#3 ·
PSA has a history of screwing up ar's(although they seem to have finally learned there according to people online) and ak's. Look at the 9mm ones that they shipped it seems without testing and recalled them.

I wouldn't trust them with a mp5. Todd Bailey is going to look at their crap and laugh about how bad it is compared to what he used to make.
 
B
#4 ·
There's good and bad with PSA. The bad part is that they seem to use customer money and orders to fund and test their "beta" products to finish the final production process. The good is once they finally work out their issues on a product, they tend to deliver a quality product at a good price. Gen 1 is never the version you want to buy though.
 
#6 ·
Yeah if PSA could flood the market with cheaper parts, that'd be great:

  • 1/2x28 thread protector: $6.99 instead of $14.99
  • 3 lug adapter: $35 instead of $49.95
  • wide handguard: $18 instead of $25-54
  • sling pins: $19 instead of $25

And so on. You get the picture. I'm trying to give realistic prices compared to what we pay these days. Retractable stocks cheaper than $314.95 would also be nice.
 
#8 ·
Mistakes are not as forgiving, as say an AR-15, with the roller delayed Hk guns. If a receiver is bent slightly out of spec, it can affect how various components line up. If the barrel isn't pressed correctly, you will have issues. It takes more knowledge and experience to make them the right way than I think PSA is willing to invest.
 
#9 ·
^^Well said. Today's mp5 was a result of years of r&d and then 30 years of tweaking. Going into the roller lock game thinking it will be like making an AR, etc that can be mostly CNC'ed is a pipe dream. The contract guns like the ones out of Turkey should be good because of the machinery and training, but folks in the US who are/were competent at making them like Dakota and Getz are truly success stories.

In short: she look easy, but she no easy.
 
#10 ·
"The guy behind the counter didn't seem to know a whole lot about it, other than yes, it was a reverse stretch, and yes, they were working on standard and RS variants. But he indicated they had been having problems getting them to run well and had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if it was sear ready"

Well...thanks for the info. I'll not be getting one to add to my stable for quite a while. Jeeez...you think they'd have someone hk knowledgeable there alongside their new beta products...as surely they must know how info rich (im being nice) the standard HK customer is.

And what's the freaking deal with companies entering the clone market and the first gun they bring to market is a reverse stretch? Why not just straight up MP5 pistol format for an entry...and no, please dont sex it up. Just make it true to original form. Sex it up later with whatever "improvements" you feel.
 
#13 · (Edited)
It's not just PSA, it's most companies. 99% of the time the people they send to these trade shows are just a face, nothing more. They'd rather hire someone fresh out of college with a marketing degree than someone who actually knows what the hell they're doing. That's why I rarely attend these shows. If I can walk up to any booth and explain a product better than the employee can then what's the point? I'd be embarrassed if I had an employee representing my company who displayed such a lack of knowledge as these folks. And to be clear I said most, not all. There are companies who send good people to represent them but it's certainly a minority. Rant over.
 
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