Welcome to my review of the Umarex Hk MP7A1 By KWA (available here at Air Armory). I purchased this weapon yesterday from Air Armory. The MP7 was announced some time back, and finally scheduled for release some time in August. However, due to some delays, which were probable a result of US Customs, they are finally here. First you'll notice the excessively long name of the weapon, which undoubtedly has something to do with the battle over trademarks, the weapon, although made by KWA, must be called Umarex. Enough about that, on to the review.

First Impression:
The box, while rather cheap in construction, is impressive, the first thing I noticed was the Hk logo in bright red against a black background. After popping the lid, other than the weapon, its pretty standard stuff. Operators manual, which to my surprise only says Hk on the cover, and appears to be written by someone who actually speaks, and understands English. A measly ziplock of bb's which, may fill one mag. A Hopup tool and a small bottle of Silicone in a ziplock, which had burst and gotten silicone all over my bb sack and hopup tool. Thanks KWA. After first grabbing the weapon, it feels very solid. Very well built, and its surprisingly Heavy. Weighing in at 4.7 lbs, its almost spot on with the real one(listed at 4.4 lbs with magazine). The mag is solid as expected with any KWA mag. Its very well balanced, top rail runs the entire length of the weapon, and although the front has two more metal rails, the rear of the weapon seams heavy also, so it balances out, plus the mag is centered, so overall it feels very balanced. Now although the weapon is designed to be fired one handed as well as two, its a little too heavy to comfortably fire with one. All of the trademarks are beautifully done, and overall, this has some of the best attention to detail I've ever seen on an airsoft gun.


Operation:
First, choose your preference of foregrip down or up, the foregrip is very solid, and when you flip it down, it stays tight, and locks in place. Flipping it back up requires you to release the lock, which requires some finger strength, but again, just seems very high quality. The sights can also be flipped up or down. When flipped up to use the aperture sights, they have fully adjustable windage and elevation, down they will act as standard pistol sights. Placing the magazine in the weapon (it comes with a 48 round mag) has a very satisfying click. Pull on the rear mounted cocking grip and release, and its ready to fire. Here, I was slightly disappointed, the cocking grip is plastic, and appears to be one of the weakest parts on the weapon, and racking the bolt and releasing it is a rather unimpressive sound. Now with the weapon ready to fire, all that's left is to switch the selector from safe to semi (or auto), "and watch, your lane" (old range lingo). The selector is tight, smoothly slides from safe to semi, and gives an audible click when switching to full auto. The stock is also an area of disappointment for my. When Hk made the MP7A1 (Successor to the MP7), one of the changes they made to the weapon was making the sliding stock adjustable to three positions. This one, while clearly labeled MP7A1, clearly has no adjustments. You either use it, or not. Left handed players will be happy to know everything is Ambidextrous. While I'm getting all the bad out of the way, the Flash hider is 12mm CW, which is true to the real weapons specs, and although more realistic, what it boils down to is most other flash hiders, silences and other related accessories will not fit on it. The Hopup is an improvement over most KWA weapons, the Hopup tool is inserted into a slot at the front of the weapon above the barrel, and you twist. Very simple. Also, one final detail, which many will like, it is equipped with a safety trigger (as made popular by Glock).

Firing:
Now on to business. Firing the MP7A1 is simply a joy. The rate of fire is pretty good, listed at about 20 rps by KWA. Anyone familiar with the KWA M11, will be familiar with this weapons performance, but it sounds more refined, more controlled, but still loud and impressive nonetheless. Test conducted by AIr Armory, as well as a video posted by KWA have show FPS to be around 330 w/ .25's. I don't have a Chrono, so I really cant confirm that. Until I get to take it outside, or actually field it, I wont know it true potential.

Verdict:
I am very impressed with the weapon, the quality and attention to detail leave nothing to be desired, and its a blast to fire as well, and although a bit on the hefty side for a backup, and a step down from a primary, its still a great weapon, and I am very happy with it. At $255.00 its a little pricey, especially if considered a backup, but a price I'll gladly pay for a beautifully detailed quality product. It should serve me well as my zombie killing machine. Just in time for Halloween. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the pics.

The KWA sticker was an afterthought, the box was designed with only Hk on it.

 

  Have to display their legal nonsense.

  Here it is again on the weapon

  Notice only Hk listed on the Manual.

Trademarks

Airsoft Reference.

Hopup Adjustment.

Umarex H&K MP7 by KWA little details

 

Thanks to Primer Apollo for taking the time to make this review.

Saturday was a wild one. Pennsylvania Airsoft productions hosted another zombie game (Zombie Hill V), which generally gives players a change to run some unique load-outs.  I was certainly no exception. I hit the field with a Classic Army BT5K (MP5K) slung with a condor single point sling, a UTG M3L full stock shotgun, a WE-25 1911 high capa pistol, and 6 shot spring revolver...  I'm not kidding, a single shot single action 6 (BB) shooter.  Zombies don't shoot back (not usually, anyways), so you can get away with things like that .

This game was my first with either the single point sling or the CA BT5K.  I must say how absolutely impressed I always am with condor equipment.  The sling comes with two mounting systems:  One with a metal clip for guns with mounting rings, and another with straps to connect to strap adapters.  Both of these options connect to the rest of the sling with a quick detach buckle that is made of a very robust plastic.

In the case of the MP5K, I was able to connect the steel slit ring to the mount point, and comfortably secure the gun aroung my body.  The really remarkable thing about it is that after slinging it on, there is not much more to say about the thing.  The weight is evenly distributed, and the bungee moves a little to smooth out jostling.  I could always find my Classic Army MP5k hanging neatly in place when my shotgun ran low on ammo, or when I needed some more range.  During downtime it was off with a just a click, and back on just as fast when we resumed.  It wasn't until thinking back on it now that I realized it was invisible to me all day, simply because it was working perfectly.

This will naturally bring me to talking about what was connected to the sling - the Classic Army BT5K.  To fully appreciate the kind of challenge this gun was up for you need to understand some of the rules of a zombie game.  AEGs are limited to Real Cap mags (In this case, a STAR 30 rounder that feeds 27 BBs at best), it takes 3 hits to put down a zombie, and the BBs are black.  I had 4 x 30 round magazines on my rig, firing BBs I had zero chance of tracking through the woods onto either zombies or members of the two other teams (who may be hostile).  Much to the credit to this small gun, it was not hopeless at taking down a man-sized target at 100 feet, when all I could rely on was the iron sites.

Clearly, this AEG is not the sort of thing you would want to have as your primary as it's generally under powered for distance shooting.  At the same time, it certainly has its strong suits in compact size, light weight, reliability, and rate of fire.  If you're looking for a back up weapon or a CQB weapon, the MP5K will perform nicely.  When ever I ditched the shotgun and grabbed the MP5K to fire from the hip, I could count on having a nice sub machine gun to work with before dropping to my 1911 (or worse still, my spring 357 "magnum").

All the secondary options aside, my primary weapon was really the UTG M3L Shotgun.  This is the full stock model of the UTG trishot shotguns.  It's a shell fed spring shotgun that holds 30 rounds per shell (10 burst shots each).  When chrono'd, the gun reads at 320 fps, which across 3 BBs makes for quite a sting if your on the receiving end.  Just like the MP5K, the UTG shotgun is a very situational gun.  While it shoots 320 and with decent accuracy, it lacks adjustable hop-up (for obvious reasons), meaning that range is reduced.  Don't expect to take on M16 in the open, and you wont get into trouble with this gun.

There were two things I would nitpick on about UTG's shotguns.  Reloads must be practiced.  The latch that opens the door is on the side of the trigger guard.  You must catch your old shell (unle$$ your ballin like that), stow it, then retrieve and load the new shell.  Practice makes perfect, because if you hit the latch just right, you can get the shell to catch half way out allowing you to easily retreive it without looking. The problem is when you are in despiration mode you are very likely to just drop the shell.  My other nitpick is not really a fair one considering the price of admission:  The sling that comes with the gun will perhaps get you through a day if its a necessity, but it should absolutely be replaced.  It was worth using it to be able to say that for a free sling, it works, but I would much rather have had a Condor Shotgun Scabbard on my rig like several other teammates had (Just remember to remove the front sling mount). 


The scabbard can be side mounted to a belt for a cross draw for the pistol grip UTG M3S Shotgun, or across the back of a MOLLE/ALICE vest for the full stock version.

We'll work on getting up a video of a six human vs. 28 or so zombie rush, where Shotguns and pistols helped us survive the zombie horde... 

Overconfident with my full loadout, I unexpectedly was hijacked by a Zombified Rat

Today was a day that pretty much marked the end of a long road for the ICS Sig 551 and 552 Airsoft Rifles.  Airsoft Simulations, a New Jersey Airsoft production company, was hosting a benefit game to support field building and development. It seemed like a good opportunity to bring out the recently cured ICS SIG out for a true field test.

With all that had gone on (more specifically: gone wrong) with the ICS Sigs before we discovered that the inner barrel's locking screw should be tightened, I didn't have an opportunity to field the gun, so this was really a virgin outing for me. I'll go over the experience of getting this "new" gun up and running.

Gun Prep 

As you get your Sig ready, you'll notice the 551 (which I chose to run for the day) most readily fits an 8.4v NiMH stick battery, and the Sig 552 doesn't seem to accept any standard NiMH battery configuration.  With the removal of the side rails (specifically the metal backing and screws), a mini type battery can be fit into the foregrip.  I have seen examples of people using LiPo batteries, but because I'm not certain of its gear's durability for that our of the box, I'll just leave it at that.  It is fairly frustrating that the gun does not fit much more, but it is what it is, but most if not all of the 552's on the market have the same issue. You can at least feel good about the fact that it's simple to try every battery you have, thanks to the ICS Sig' single pin take-down. Most users should consider investing in a PEQ box or a custom built battery if they prefer the CQB length Sig 552.

Next, I got around to attaching my sling.  I was slightly worried that I'd need the nylon sling loops (which I didn't throw in my gear bag), to the Sig to be able to attach the sling.  Lucky for me, the Sig features integrated sling mount points that accept the steel clips directly. This make it very easy to get up and running if you change guns during the day. 

After rigging up my gun, I started the task of loading mags. This is rather important for anyone who has experienced trouble with their Sigs for any length of time. One of the problems with the "tainted" Sigs was the magazines unwinding when BBs were pushed backwards into the feeding tube.  After a few trials of this treatment, the hi-caps were eventually damaged beyond repair. Winding the "damaged" magazines generally resulted in the gears slipping. When the gears didn't slip and magazine managed to feed, there was inconsistant pressure which caused double-feeding.

Field Performance

The SIG clocked in at 379 FPS w/.23g PHX BBs on the field chrono. That seemed a little high, but we have never used those BBs for in-house velocity testing.  Back at the lab, we were reading 380 with .2s.  ROF leaves room for growth with with an 8.4 battery: you can expect 450 to 460 RPM.  We tested with a 9.6 battery (leaving the forgrip open), and the gun shoots a much more authoritative 620 RPM.

Problems from the pre-resolution stages aside, you'll recognizes some of the major conveniences that come with running a Sig.  The ICS magazines mate to eachother very tightly, and make tactical reloads simple to pull off under fire. There is a major convenience factor with never concerning yourself over when you're mag is about to go empty thanks to clear mags.  The gun is also very fairly weighted... Not too heavy, but not light or insignificant feeling either. 

From the first engagement, the range and accuracy of the Sig felt excellent for a stock AEG.  At no point did I feel a disadvantage against opponents who's weapons were upgraded by our local airsmith.  In fact, the only recurring theme of discontent for me was the battery situation.

With the Sig pulling a fairly heavy stock spring, and the foregrip only (easily) holding an 8.4v battery, the ROF leaves much to be desired.  On top of that, half way through the day (actually, smack in the middle of a major push from our team), my battery died.  Having only a 1200 - 1500mAh battery at your disposal, you're not going to make it through a full day's game.  I typically use guns with a Crane Stock (though I also have been experimenting with the G&G Scar CQC lately), so most of my guns carry a 4200mAh+ 9.6v battery.  Being able to play two days straight on something like that, carrying a spare battery is a foreign concept to me.

Conclusion

After the simple fix, the ICS Sig 551 and 552 deliver an awesome Sig many of us have been waiting for. The body construction on the ICS Sig rivals after market Sig upgrades that cost a small fortune, and the performance is there too.  Currently there are no Mid-cap magazines that are compatable with this gun (If you find any, please let us know!!). You'll also have to fight your way out of the battery limitation that the gun's form factor leaves you with.  My personal plan for that is to ensure the AEG is ready to handle 11v of power from a LiPo with some beefier gears (and while I'm at it, I'd take the spring up one notch to get 365 or 370 with .25s, where the gun currently gets 350).  I give the stock configuration of this gun is a very solid 4, but running a lithium battery with upgrades would tip the scale to a 5. We recommend that you check that the screw has not become loose after you field it. Fortunately is a very simple task!

Shortly we will update our listings for the ICS Sig 551s and 552s we have to In Stock  after they have passed all of our quality controls and verify they all take well to the resolution.