I just picked up my SP5.  Got home and broke it down for a good cleaning.  Turns out the serial numbered bolt carrier and bolt head in my gun don’t match the receiver and trigger group serial Numbers. Anyone else notice this?  

I called HK USA and they say it is a non-issue.  I beg to differ.

Functional non issue but i would be WTF?

What is the issue other than the obvious that Serials don't match?

Could they have qc'ed it before it left and the original matching one failed, so they popped another in?

I've never had an HK except for a Mark 23.

I would like to have a SP5, If I can SBR it and put my Can on it. Seems like it'd be pretty cool.

Lol, that's normal.  Been that way forever.

The bolts and other components are made and serialed in large runs, they don't correspond to guns.  Sometimes the date codes even differ.

Mine is in the 2000s range and doesn't have any sn on the bolt, carrier or grip frame.

True for a long time, but very recently they have started putting matching serial numbers on components.  My SP5K-PDW has the full serial number on the bolt, carrier, and lower, in addition to the normal position on top of the receiver.  I think they changed up when they started duplicating the S/N in various places besides the official one on the receiver.

Must be a new thing. My two HK94s (converted to MP5N & MP5 “French” specs) HK91 (converted to the latest G3 spec) and more recent SP5k have NO serialized parts other than the Receiver itself.

As long as the gun shoots, I wouldn’t worry about it. I certainly wouldn’t “return” a gun for that reason given the lack of availability.

Shoot, enjoy, repeat.

I just picked up my SP5 I bought from Scheels and the bolt/carrier do match my gun. Honestly I would be upset that my parts don’t match.

Not a big deal to me as per the guys on HKPro, none of them match and this is completely normal. You are the first mention I have seen of matching SNs.

just curious, why does it matter?

Drama.

Call it drama or whatever.  I just figure if the Romanians, Polish, and Bulgarians make the effort to churn out AKs with matching numbers the supposed top tier manufacturer (HK) could apply the same minimal amount of QC to do the same. Just as most manufacturers who serialize individual parts have done for decades in Europe, even after parts interchangeability become the norm.

Look at Walther, FN, Sig Sauer, etc...did any of them go through the trouble of serial numbering separate parts or sub-assemblies and then skip out and mismatch them at final assembly? Nope.   Let’s look at another respected German manufacturers, Porsche.  When they serial numbered 911 and 912 chassis, motors and transmissions did they mix them up prior to shipment? Hell no. If any of these manufacturers made a mistake and did ship out mismatched items do you think Customer Service would just dismiss it and say it doesn’t matter? That is what HK did.

Does it matter functionally? No.  Is it half-assed? Yes.  At this point, I don’t really care.  Not my first HK product and likely won’t be the last. It’s just reflective of the brand at this point in time I guess.

Nevermind

When did HK start putting serial #'s on the bolt and carrier? I have an SP89 from the 90s and it only has a serial # on the receiver

Apparently when their quality started going down.  At least according to OP's reasoning.

I believe that they started serial numbering components in the second or third quarter of 2020.  I think most, if not all SP5K PDWs have serial numbered lowers, bolts and carriers.

My SP5k was imported in 2017 and does not have any serial numbered parts beyond the receiver itself.

I have a SP5K from 2019, the bolt has a much different, and shorter, serial number than my receiver. The carrier has no markings what so ever to speak of on it. Wouldn't surprise me if the bolts had their own serial number range during the manufacturing process and they just shove them into SP5/SP5Ks when ready.

Heck, I have a HK45CT that has a USA made frame/slide but a German made barrel. The slide has no serial number to speak of and the frame serial number does not match the German barrel. Not surprising really and doesn't detract from the QC of their product.

I was referring to the SP5K PDW with the tri-lug barrel and paddle magazine release.  These didn’t start being imported until 2019.  The earlier SP5ks and SP5s didn’t have serial numbered lowers, carriers, or bolts.  Just batch numbers for that group of specific parts.

No offense but why does it matter? There are thousands of HK SP5/SP5K/SP89 variants out there that lack "matching numbers" or have carriers/bolts with no markings what so ever on them.

Again, my factory HK45CT doesn't have a matching barrel to the frame from the factory, how does the detract from the quality control process or reflect poorly on HK?

The Romanians, Polish and Bulgarians put serial numbers on all of the parts because they can't make two parts the same size, so they have to be hand fitted together to get them to work.  HK doesn't have that problem.

I mean I’d be pissed after dropping some Gs on a gun if the serialized parts weren’t matching...  bought an SP5 with a November 2020 date code and all parts match for what it’s worth...

Why does it matter?  Well, here's my stab at answering that question:

First off, one would expect that if parts are serialized, they will match.  Does the OEM barrel on your $450 Glock have a matching serial number for the slide and frame?  Yep.

Secondly, only certain people are financially able and willing to drop $3K on a brand new gun and they expect certain things when they do.  HK's become collectable - just look at what an HK91, HK93, SR9, SL8 all go for compared to what they initially cost.  While you may not be a collector, or you may purchase your HK just to shoot it, many, if not most who buy high-end HK rifles do so with the collecting aspect in mind in addition to the functional aspect.

Thirdly, for example, what's the value of a non-matching K98 versus an all-matching K98?

Those are likely why it matters and why OP asked.

This I agree with