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Posted: 5/24/2005 2:02:27 PM EDT
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Are the special weapons SW5 rifles completly junk or are they pretty decent for a clone? Ive been eyeing MP5/HK94 clones for some time and was wondering which was the best to try and get. My downfall is that im either gona have to trade one of my M4geries w/ACOG for one or sell my rifle to buy the clone.... Are they fairly easy to maintain? Are mags expensive? Are parts avaible? Any info pertaining to the clones of any brand would be awsome.... decisions, decisions 
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| I've owned a cast receiver (early) SW5 and three Vector V53s and I just ordered a Bobcat Weapons BW89 SP clone today. My SW5 worked very well. The newer versions of the SW5 and the current BW versions use a stamped receiver (like the real HKs). Generally speaking, the newer the 9mm clone gun the better they tend to work. Some require tweaking to run 100%. Avoid the straight stick mags and the 34/40 round curved asian military contract mags. Get the curved 30 rounders with chrome followers. Expect to pay $25-$40 each for the mags, depending on the day. Move up to the Bobcat BW5 series if you can swing it and the firearm should run great right out of the box. Try www.ronnysweapons.com he is the largest stocking dealer Bobcat dealer in the entire country. He gets them in bulk, pays less and has more room to negotiate pricing. Seems like an all around good guy from all reports. Parts and accessories for the HK94/ MP5 clones are plentiful. Just watch your parts count unless you register it as an SBR in which case, I hear that the parts count issues no longer apply. The Vulcan Arms products that look like the MP5 / HKs have different internals than the HKs and the other clones. The general consesus seems to be that they should be avoided for that reason. |
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the general consensus seems to be that bobcat weapons is currently the best out there (with the obvious exception of the real thing...). i have a bw mp5k carbine and it is sweet! guys who've seen it say it's every bit as good in appearance as the hk. bw says all hk parts are interchangeable. avoid vulcan hk stuff at all costs. it is crap construction! another dealer, and a supporter here, is atlantic firearms. they give arf.kom members a discount. shop around, of course... 
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After all the bad press the SW5's get on the various forums I was rathar apprehensive to buy one but I did finally buy a used 9mm cast receiver gun that looked to be new. After several hundred rounds the gun runs fair but may still have a FTE once every magazine. However , sometimes it runs ok. The magwell is loose and I plan to do something to get this tightened in the trunnion area and then get a new extractor/spring. Am I disappointed? Not for the price of just over $1K and I enjoy the tinkering. Plus, its not a serious gun. Its just a plinker. I wouldn't consider it for anything to defend myself with but then thats what my AR-15s or M1A are for! |
My thoughts are if you drop $1000 or more into a clone, it better run flawlessly. Anything less, and the manufacture is getting a defective rifle back for replacement. I don't play that send it back us to be worked on and we will get it back to you in our own sweet time crap (not a fully produced rifle). Hate to be brutal and paint the world black, But a firearm shouldn’t have to go to the smith to be fixed right out of the box. |
A true HK94 is only more expensive due to bs laws.. The true perspective is, if you shell out hard earned money for a gun, it should work 199%, no tweaking, or wescog'ing.. |
I agree. It seems like some of the HK clones (Bobcat's) are said to work right out of the box now. Its not anything to brag about but given the so so reliability of brand new HK clones in the past, it is note worthy. The genuine HK vs clone debate will be never ending. But, from where I stand, if they new Bobcat clones are 99% as good as the real thing for 70% off the price, why go with the real thing? |
Taken that thought one step further, say you buy a Non-Colt 1911 pistol ( over $1000 model), then it's ok if it has problems and you would just live with them?????? |
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It would be if the Colt 1911 cost $4,000.00! Look, I have a couple of HKs ( 91 and 94) I bought back in the early eighties when they only cost a few hunderd bucks each. I appreciate their quality but they are too expensive to shoot anymore. If they were stolen from the truck on the way to or from the range I'd puke! All I shoot now are the clones. What problems I have are fixable and they are just as much fun to shoot. Plus I can afford to take one along as a camp gun without worrying about them. I'm not trying to change anyones mind if they are dead set on a true HK but not all the clones are as bad as most prople make them out to be. |
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I agree. I'd rather "fix" a NIB clone that I bought for 1/3 the price of the original than pay the extra for an original that everybody knows isn't worth it anyway. Like someone else said, the only reason they comand the bucks is becasue of a law. Most shops couldn't give them away before the law was passed. Money does not come easy for many of us and I've come to believe that the HK purtist/addicts/biggots only tote the "original or else" line have money to burn. I admit, if I had it to light fire to I'd own all original HK stuff too. But I don't so the fixable clone is a great way for me to acquire my wants without having to refinance the house. And I'd like to think that even if I did have all original HK stuff I would still not look down on those around me with a strong desire to have the Lamborgini but live on a Mustang budget. |
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I remember reading about this company called Special Weapons several years ago on on HKpro and veiwing photographs of these newly crafted clones and getting real excited over the prospect of owning of of these guns. It was a big deal at the time as H&K was the only deal in town that would cost you large green providing you could afford such an expenditure. SW ran into QC problems and only aggervated this situation by poor Public relations from Todd Baily. After reading a mixed bag of good and bad horror stories I decided to just wait, i did not need the frustration of a 1200 hundred dollar lemon. Bobcat arrived last year and i decided to takethe plunge and invest in the gun. The BW5FS has over 1200 rds without problem one. I had some issues with FTE's with surplus mags at first but these problems have disapeared with new mags i aquired from POF. 1/3 the cost of the H&K and 2/3 happier than the SW croud, Haaa...Just kiding, The Bobcat is a fine weapon. 
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