Sgt. Gunner
Need to punch through kevlar body armor in a close quarter combat scenario? H&K is the weapon of choice to do that job. This little gun looks more like a suped-up pistol that was told to grow up a little.
This weapon, which can be easily concealed under a trenchcoat or thick jacket, fires the specialized, super hot, 4.6 x 30mm armor piercing cartridge, that propels the tiny projectile (31 grains) at over 2,400 fps. The key to the armor piercing capability of these rounds is the high velocity combined with steel and/or copper jacketed tips.
These spitfires were first manufactured in 2001 and are still in production today. The MP7 is primarily used as a personal defense weapon (PDW), but it is also be carried as a backup submachine gun or machine pistol. The MP-7 is in use by militaries, counter terrorist agencies and the police in over 20 plus countries and has seen service in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan).
Background – Not for Sale in the US
The MP7 is not available in the USA. Sorry! The weapon is only manufactured in select-fire, hence full auto, and H&K claims that there is no hunting or sporting application in American to warrant export. There are some other weapons that are available that perform similar to the great little gun, so I’ll talk about some of the options out there later.
Being a submachine gun, it was originally paired with the H&K UCP to provide a holstered weapon that would fire the same 4.6 x 30mm round. The 4.6 is in direct competition with FN’s 5.7 x 28mm cartridge. The 4.6 is strictly a H&K chambering and a very special purpose round. The 5.7 is chambered in weapons such as the FN P-90 (which I love shooting by the way) and for other H&K platforms.
The MP7 can be configured to be used as a handgun, with stock retracted and foregrip in the up position, or as an autopstol with retracted stock and foregrip down. Finally it can be configured as a submachine gun with the stock out, and the foregrip is down.
MP7 Specifications
|
Cartridge |
4.6 x 30mm (AP) |
|
Use |
Military, Counter Terrorism, Police |
|
Weight |
4.63 lbs with loaded mag |
|
Total Length |
16.3 with collapsed stock |
|
Barrel Length |
7.1” |
|
Operation |
Gas operated, short stroke piston, rotating bolt |
|
Muzzle velocity |
2,411 fps |
|
Max effective range |
660 ft |
Cost – You Can get Something in the Ballpark for Cheap
You are not going to find a knock-off of the MP7 in the USA or even a semi-auto version. And, you may never. I’ve found a few listings on the internet for the submachine gun and the price looks pretty good, at around $1,750, but only available to the military or law enforcement agencies. I did mention that I would make some recommendations for legal and comparable weapons available in the US, but it’s tough to match the performance of this tough little gun.
Kel Tec offers a 22.7” long, lightweight gun that chambers the snappy .22 Magnum round. The CMR30 rifle comes with two 30 round magazines and sports an aggressive look. Pic rails on top and below provide plenty of real estate for optics and grips. The .22 Magnum is a pretty good defense round but its performance falls short of that of the 4.6 and 5.7 mm rounds. With 30 in the magazine, though, I would not want to be at the receiving end of it. The neat part is that you can probably field a CMR30 for less than $700.
MP7 Models – Compliment the Submachine Gun
The MP7 is a great design in itself, and coupled with the 4.6mm round, it’s a sure bet in the personal defense arena. The “big little” gun comes equipped with a built-in front grip and Pic Rails that sport flip-up iron sights that can be easily removed and replaced with tactical optics. Side rails provide the shooter a mounting point for tactical flashlights, laser sights and other cool tactical gear. At the muzzle, the MP7 can take a screw-in, custom made suppressor that is specially designed not to affect the ballistics of the weapon.
The prototype model was the PDW, delivered in 1999. It featured a tiny Pic Rail and smooth grips. It officially became the MP7 in 2001 and got a little facelift. The short Pic Rail was replaced with a model with more real estate for bigger optics, the grip got a little roughened up to give the shooter a better grip under sweaty conditions. The Pic Rail also got the iron sight addition, giving the shooter a backup if electronic optics should fail.
The submachine gun got more facelifts in 2003 with the introduction of the MP7 A1, which most importantly changed the shape of the butt from curved to straight and shortened the length of the stock, which now could be locked into three different positions. Changes were made to the grip to make it more ergonomic and a “Glock type” trigger safety was added to improve safety by reducing accidental discharges.
The MP7 A2, replaced the standard MP7 fore grip with a Pic-Rail that allows the shoot to select a grip that best fits their needs. The only semi-automatic version of the MP7 is the SF which is specially delivered to the Brits working in the MOD Police.
