Potential New Owner questions

I got a buddy who him and I go shooting about once a month. He then last night asked me if I wated to buy his GSG-5. I'm not sure how old it is, I think he bought it new in 2009 or early 2010. So I'm guessing second gen? Now, I'v done enough research to make me dangerous but I figured a GREAT place to ask questions is here and you guys..

1) I'v searched a lot of articles, and read as lot of pages of here. I see very different reviews. Some say it's a plastic "toy like junk." Others say it's a good solid gun and holds up well. Do these guns have FTF and FTE issue's as much as they say? One guy said "if you baby it and never drop it i'll hold up." That turns me off. It's a gun, I don't want to have to baby it

2) He wants 315.00 for his, with 3 mags all the mags are 22 rounds. But it has no stock, and no supressor. Just the plain ol' GSG-5. Is this a steal or right about what it should go for?

3) I remember shooting his, and I did get 1-2 FTF or FTE every mag, i'm assuming if that's how they all were no one would ever buy a GSG-5. So, i'v gone thru youtube video's and articles on how to make them more reliable. Any info from your years of owning and firing one would help alot. Any "insider tips" I guess you could say..

and finally 4) Most of the pics and links on the "mods' section are from 2008, parts are still expensive I see, but do some of the airsoft parts fit better after the years??


Once again, thanks for helping a noobie..

I bought a Gen 2 GSG a few months back from a local gun store, it was still from before the law suit just sitting unloved on a shelf. I've modded it somewhat, replaced the rear sight with a real HK one, did the screw mod, the charging handle thing, replaced the lower with an airsoft lower and added a real HK selector switch. Now, in several hundred rounds through the weapon, it's worked just fine, no failures of any sort. Maybe I'm lucky in that regard, but for me it's worked like a champ.

Now, as for the mods, well... Here's the thing about this gun. Brand new, this is a $500 gun. That's good, because it's only $500. On the down side, it's a $500 gun. $500 only buys you so much. You can call HKs overpriced and go on about an 'HK Tax' all you want, there's just no question the quality of a real HK is on a whole different level. But so is the price. Without swapping out more or less eveyr single part of this GSG for real HK parts at a cost that far exceeds the original price of a GSG it will never have the same feel or absolute durability of an HK. But honestly, this shouldn't be a surprise. It's a $500 gun. And personally, I find it quite fun to shoot. Is the GSG a cheap toy? No. It clearly is not. Yeah, you can add airsoft parts to it (my lower is an Airsoft one), but it's still a real gun. It's not an indestructible one like some others, but I don't find it fragile either. It's somewhere in between. Just take care of it, don't try bouncing it off the ground repeatedly or throw it around and it should do fine for you.

Relena - thanks for the reply. If you don't mind me asking what did you pay? I'm trying to figure out if I should snag this one. I will need a stock, and some other "toys" to get it where I would even want it at.

i love both of mine. I have sbr'd both of mine and run a real can. The guns are fun to shoot and seem to hold up well. 22's are finnicky and you will get some FTF or FTE but no worse than a 10/22 or any other 22 on the market. If you need a stock or the fake suppressor PM me as i have the ones that i took off my guns.

is this the rifle version or the pistol. It sounds like its the pistol since you say it has no stock or supressor. if thats the case you will not be able to put a stock on the gun unless you SBR it which requires a Form 1 filed with the ATF, pay the $200 tax and wait until you are approved.

Well, I thought it was the pistol also, but he insists it's the real gsg-5. His looks like this, click on the link and scroll down
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.gandrtactical.com/images/archive/GSG/GSG_5Pc.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php%3Ft%3D16453&usg=__l7RCqO3YdvdyDplKC-c6vJ-nuSI=&h=508&w=1000&sz=95&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=0F2Pm44oqOt4BM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=183&ei=irrdTZumHavYiAKznfnjCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgsg-5%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26biw%3D1533%26bih%3D744%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=1178&vpy=134&dur=171&hovh=160&hovw=315&tx=184&ty=88&page=1&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&biw=1533&bih=744

I guess I need to know if 315.00 is decent for it without the stock. And watching video's it looks fun to shoot. I'v just read a lot of bad reviews. And, i'm not sure but I would do the screw mod or the push pins mods. But I'v read the push pins need a lot of mods to make them work. And that ATI won't replace anything if it has the aftermarket screw upgrade. I guess i'v read to much and now I'm just a mess..

the gun in the link is definatly the pistol.

Now if i where to SBR another GSG i would start with the pistol model. With the rifle model you have to cut and recrown the barrel on the pistol model its as easy as just adding the stock.

$315 is not a bad price, just remember if you ever want to put a stock on it you will have to register it as a short barrel rifle.

dang, I thought for sure it was the carbine with out a stock. So no carbines were ever sent without the stock? Ehh, I think i'll pass on this and wait for the rifle version

its not a license, you are actually registering the gun and paying a $200 tax to ATF. Go to the SBR section(about midway down the page on the armory tab) of this site and read the FAQ sticky and it will help you understand it better.

its not a license, you are actually registering the gun and paying a $200 tax to ATF. Go to the SBR section(about midway down the page on the armory tab) of this site and read the FAQ sticky and it will help you understand it better.

I paid just under $500 for mine new. It'st he rifle version. I play to SBR it in the near future, adding a three lug flash hider like a real mp5 and the collapsible stock (I'm going for the A3 look on mine).

Ok - Looks like I'm going to try and grab one this week. So, from you guys who have owned and fired them how picky are they exactly on ammo? Is 1 ftf or fte normal on every mag? And what airsoft parts fit these with minimal tooling required?

I just used the cheapest box of .22 ammo they had at Bass Pro. (I pay enough for ammo for my other guns, even with repacking). It wasn't picky at all about it. There's a sticky topic about mods to the gun, I used the ICS SEF lower, it didn't take much modification. The Navy lower looks like a similar workload. A few minutes with a dremel is all you'll need to make it work. Personally I'd also recommend the screw replacement, the cocking handle buffer mod and replacing the rear drum sight with a real HK one. (the first two are definitely good things to do, the rear sight is just because I found the stock one to be way too prone to glare). All of these mods are easy to do if you own a dremel and, well, have basic knowledge of how to use it.

Incidentally I also did a mod to use a real HK selector switch. That is absolutely not an easy mod, I would not recommend trying it unless you're very comfortable with the idea of taking a drill press to your trigger pack.

As for FTF and FTE I haven't had problems with that. Don't believe I've had any at all come to think of it.

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