I have been wanting to pick up an AR upper in .22 for some general plinking ever since I got rid of the Walther P22. A .22 is great for introducing a non-gun person to the sport of shooting IMO and Geez I have several boxes of federal 550 rounds SO...... anyway...... I did not want to spend over $500 for an AR upper chambered in .22 and really when I thought about it I always managed to talk myself out of the new upper; I have 2 CMMG .22 conversion kits that work fine......just thought I could get better accuracy from a dedicated upper.
Well today was range day for me and I really wanted to sight in an AK that I had done some front sight work on. Ta Da the AK worked great and I was very pleased with the results and MOA I can now get with the rifle.
Long story short I picked up a GSG-5 with case and two mags and optics claw mount for under $400 which was not a great deal ( can find them new for about $370 but by the time they are shipped, transferred, and in your hands you are pretty close to (or over) the $400 mark. The owner paid $600 new for the gun but their prices have come down since he purchased.
The GSG-5 is a semi-automatic rimfire rifle chambered for the .22 LR cartridge and is produced by German Sport Guns. In many ways, the GSG-5 is an exact replica of the Heckler & Koch MP 5 submachine gun.
Ergonomics and handling are identical to that of the MP 5 with an overall length of 33.5” and a weight of 6.6 pounds which makes it an ideal training tool for law enforcement, military personnel and civilians. 22 long rifles offer an immense savings over 9mm/40/45 caliber ammunition allowing extensive range time with the GSG-5 at a minimal cost to the user.
Barrel length on the GSG-5 rifle is 16.25 inches including the faux suppressor which surpasses federal requirements, making it legal to own by anyone. The GSG-5 utilizes either a 22 or 10 rd detachable box magazine that releases with an H&K style paddle magazine release. The charging handle on the GSG-5 is located on the left side of the receiver and is non-reciprocating just like the H&K MP5 series
http://www.gsg5rifle.com/
Before I took the rifle out and put 200 rounds through it I gave it a few shots of Breakfree CLP knowing the rifle had not been cleaned and only had ( according to the original owner) 350 rounds through it. The rifle appeared to never have been lubed and seemed dry in the inner workings. The original owner did say he had never lubed the rifle and it would not shoot Federal bulk ammo with out FTF or just would not go past a few rounds before messing up; he did say CCI mini mags worked well though!!!!!! As he had three of the GSG-5s (he was doing mods on one) he figured he would sell one. 200 rounds with 2 malfunctions of which one was definitely a dry mag problem (fixed) I thought with "Federal bulk ammo" was pretty good so I purchased the weapon.. Amazing what a little lube will do for a weapon!!
The rear sight is kinda weird at first glance and the front post can not be adjusted for height. I was told they sell different height post if you want or need to change out the post, but after a few rounds, I found using the rear sight with a pin hole setting I was getting good accurate results with the weapon. I did not have one of my scoped rifles with me and man it was hot today in south Texas so I just set a target at 27 yards to see how close the sights were on or off. Shots were dead center but approximately 3 inches high at that range with the blade function of the rear sight.
I think you are supposed to zero a .22 in at 59 yards http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56146&highlight=trajectory but I could barely see the hits at 27 yards so that was good enough for today until I can take a scope with me.
There are some steel plates hung on a chain at 100 yards and after checking the sights etc etc I opened up on on of the 12 inch plates and was letting a round go down range ( trying to get the gun to FTF or FTE or blow up?) at a rate of one or two per second and out of 20 rounds at rapid fire only missed the plate 3 times....yea I know not that great but considering, all my considerations, I was pleased with the rifle. Next mag were all hits but with a slower purposeful intent on my part.
The rifle is a pain in the behind to tear down and clean. You remove screws!!!!!!! Supposedly they sell take down pins to replace the screws which is right up there at the top of my want list! Had a extra sling which I installed when I got home (after cleaning) and the rifle hangs well and is light enough that varmints slightly less in stature than a zombie needs to beware; OK OK rabbits and squirrels an maybe a lizard thrown in for supper!
So with the GSG-5 and only 200 rounds through it I give it a thumbs up on everything except what you have to do to tear down and clean the thing. After installation of the take down pins there are a few other screws I will remove and use some medium loctite to insure they do not back out with prolonged firing. Might even get a cheap red dot for it if I can find one that will co-witness with the irons.
Well today was range day for me and I really wanted to sight in an AK that I had done some front sight work on. Ta Da the AK worked great and I was very pleased with the results and MOA I can now get with the rifle.
Long story short I picked up a GSG-5 with case and two mags and optics claw mount for under $400 which was not a great deal ( can find them new for about $370 but by the time they are shipped, transferred, and in your hands you are pretty close to (or over) the $400 mark. The owner paid $600 new for the gun but their prices have come down since he purchased.
The GSG-5 is a semi-automatic rimfire rifle chambered for the .22 LR cartridge and is produced by German Sport Guns. In many ways, the GSG-5 is an exact replica of the Heckler & Koch MP 5 submachine gun.
Ergonomics and handling are identical to that of the MP 5 with an overall length of 33.5” and a weight of 6.6 pounds which makes it an ideal training tool for law enforcement, military personnel and civilians. 22 long rifles offer an immense savings over 9mm/40/45 caliber ammunition allowing extensive range time with the GSG-5 at a minimal cost to the user.
Barrel length on the GSG-5 rifle is 16.25 inches including the faux suppressor which surpasses federal requirements, making it legal to own by anyone. The GSG-5 utilizes either a 22 or 10 rd detachable box magazine that releases with an H&K style paddle magazine release. The charging handle on the GSG-5 is located on the left side of the receiver and is non-reciprocating just like the H&K MP5 series
http://www.gsg5rifle.com/
Before I took the rifle out and put 200 rounds through it I gave it a few shots of Breakfree CLP knowing the rifle had not been cleaned and only had ( according to the original owner) 350 rounds through it. The rifle appeared to never have been lubed and seemed dry in the inner workings. The original owner did say he had never lubed the rifle and it would not shoot Federal bulk ammo with out FTF or just would not go past a few rounds before messing up; he did say CCI mini mags worked well though!!!!!! As he had three of the GSG-5s (he was doing mods on one) he figured he would sell one. 200 rounds with 2 malfunctions of which one was definitely a dry mag problem (fixed) I thought with "Federal bulk ammo" was pretty good so I purchased the weapon.. Amazing what a little lube will do for a weapon!!
The rear sight is kinda weird at first glance and the front post can not be adjusted for height. I was told they sell different height post if you want or need to change out the post, but after a few rounds, I found using the rear sight with a pin hole setting I was getting good accurate results with the weapon. I did not have one of my scoped rifles with me and man it was hot today in south Texas so I just set a target at 27 yards to see how close the sights were on or off. Shots were dead center but approximately 3 inches high at that range with the blade function of the rear sight.
I think you are supposed to zero a .22 in at 59 yards http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56146&highlight=trajectory but I could barely see the hits at 27 yards so that was good enough for today until I can take a scope with me.
There are some steel plates hung on a chain at 100 yards and after checking the sights etc etc I opened up on on of the 12 inch plates and was letting a round go down range ( trying to get the gun to FTF or FTE or blow up?) at a rate of one or two per second and out of 20 rounds at rapid fire only missed the plate 3 times....yea I know not that great but considering, all my considerations, I was pleased with the rifle. Next mag were all hits but with a slower purposeful intent on my part.
The rifle is a pain in the behind to tear down and clean. You remove screws!!!!!!! Supposedly they sell take down pins to replace the screws which is right up there at the top of my want list! Had a extra sling which I installed when I got home (after cleaning) and the rifle hangs well and is light enough that varmints slightly less in stature than a zombie needs to beware; OK OK rabbits and squirrels an maybe a lizard thrown in for supper!
So with the GSG-5 and only 200 rounds through it I give it a thumbs up on everything except what you have to do to tear down and clean the thing. After installation of the take down pins there are a few other screws I will remove and use some medium loctite to insure they do not back out with prolonged firing. Might even get a cheap red dot for it if I can find one that will co-witness with the irons.
Last edited:
