Let’s Look At The H&K MP7 Pellet Gun
The H&K MP7 pellet gun is an interesting, recent introduction by Umarex USA. As an official licensee of the Heckler & Koch brand, Umarex has a number of airguns – as well as airsoft models – that carry this world-renowned brand.
The centerfire MP7 is a selective-fire “personal defense” weapon. So it’s unusual that Umarex should choose to create a pellet gun version of this model in single-shot, spring/piston configuration.
However, Umarex has done this before, with great results. For example, the Ruger Mk IV (Ruger is another brand officially-licensed by Umarex) is a single-shot breakbarrel pistol version of the semi-automatic .22LR pistol. It’s a great little gun that earned a HAM Gold Award on test!
So the H&K MP7 pellet gun could well follow in that mold. Of course, the breakbarrel action means that the gun is confined to single-shot operation. However it also eliminates the need – and cost – for the 12 Gram CO2 cartridges that typically power replica airguns.
Let’s take a closer look…
There’s little doubt that many kids will be attracted to the name, looks and size of the MP7. Indeed this gun offers the possibility of being a suitable training tool for them – under adult supervision, of course. Let’s face it, almost every shooter started his or her shooting life with an airgun!
The single-shot action is one basic safety feature that will appeal to the parents of young airgun enthusiasts. The second is that the short barrel means that the cocking effort is fairly high, probably requiring an adult to cock the gun before every shot.
The gun being examined by HAM requires a cocking effort of about 30 Lbs. This exactly matches the Umarex specs printed on the box.
The safety is of the push-across type. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not automatically set to safe each time the MP7 is cocked.
The fire selector switch visible in the photograph above is – like the vast majority of other controls on the gun – simply a molded representation. It’s for show, not go.
For aiming, Umarex has sensibly decided to forgo iron sights. Instead the H&K MP7 pellet gun is bundled with an Axeon Optics 1 x 30 red dot sight. This mounts onto the top Picatinny rail. The size, weight and function complement the gun well. After all, this model will primarily be used for plinking.
At the manufacturer’s specified Muzzle Velocity of 490FPS, the Muzzle Energy will be in the sub-4 Ft/Lbs level. That’s plenty for fighting off feral soda cans, however it’s not enough for hunting. Again, most parents will be pleased about this.
The low power also means that the MP7 will be considered backyard-friendly for most shooters. Yes, that big slab on the barrel looks like a silencer, but that’s not actually the case. It does make the gun easier to cock, however, by acting as an extension to the barrel.
Meanwhile, back to the sights…
The bundled Axeon red dot sight is functionally perfectly fine. However, it was rather low-set for the long-necked HAM Team. Comfort and accuracy would undoubtedly be improved if the sight was raised using a suitable riser.
As an example, we mounted a Leapers red/green dot sight, model SCP-DS3840W. As you can see, the eyepiece of this sight sits far higher above the barrel than the Axeon sight. That made the MP7 much more comfortable for us to shoot.
A notable feature of the MP7 is the collapsible stock. This is functional in the H&K MP7 pellet gun, however there’s just three positions. They’re full-in, full-out and mid-way.
The mid-position length is achieved by the catch position in the right hand rail. There’s a stock release at the rear of the action that locks and unlocks the stock. (It’s surprisingly difficult to use, at least on the sample tested by HAM).
With the stock completely retracted, the length of pull – distance from the trigger blade to the buttplate – is just 8 Inches. The mid-position gives a 12 3/4-Inch length of pull. At full extension, it’s a whopping 19 Inches!
The mid position would probably be ideal for most kids, while the full extension caters for adults. But it would have been good to have had one additional option between the 12 3/4 and 19-Inch positions. The additional manufacturing cost would be minimal, but a pull length of – say – 15 Inches – would be ideal for many shooters.
Umarex certainly didn’t hold back on Picatinny rails for the H&K MP7 pellet gun! As can be seen in the photograph below, they’re along the full length of the compression tube, on the rear of the barrel and at either side of the stock.
Also visible if the substantial forward sling mount. The rear one is attached to the buttplate…
… not to the rear of the receiver. That position is “blind” as can be seen from the photograph above.
All-in-all, this is an intriguing new model that could well prove to be a popular plinker. So why no shooting tests yet?
Well, the sample here is dieseling quite well. That’s caused by oil inside the compression tube from manufacture and causes – among other things – inconsistent FPS. It’s common among new spring/piston airguns and so is no cause for concern as dieseling disappears after a number of shots.
We just need to keep shooting the MP7 until it stops before being able to undertake any meaningful tests…
