GSG-5 weaknesses

[Kilibreaux]

I thought it might be interesting to find out what users think are major weaknesses of the GSG-5.

For my part, the only serious weakness is the barrel thickness at the chamber.  For a mere plinker this is a non-issue, but for any weapon that might--could end up being used in a survival situation the tiny thickness of steel surrounding the chamber screams for modification.

After examining how the barrel fits into the barrel trunion I plan to make a few custom barrels keeping the chamber area extra thick, fitted into suitably altered aluminum trunions.

I've seen the $250 aftermarket barrels made to factory spec to fit in a factory trunion using $15 worth of material and for me that solves no problem because I think any replacement barrel should come fitted to its own trunion which would make it a simple drop-in part, AND address the issue of what I think is too little "meat" around the chamber...something that is NOT a weakness in a 10/22.

[Popcop45]

I can name a few more:

1. Steel receiver instead of Aluminum.

2. One piece receiver instead of two.

3. One piece trigger group (This and #2 would eliminate over a dozen screws) 

On the exterior the GSG-5 is a good MP5 clone. However in the interior they could not be more different.

[lmao_37]

I think that there could be a market for this and i think the GSG AK47 has the same problems with it.

[Kilibreaux]

Well I must confess "tear down" of the GSG is a daunting task not for the faint of heart!

I have identified another weakness...that is the rebounding hammer.

I have seen many videos showing the action during firing and fire spouting from the ejection port is evident.  This is an indication that the case is ejecting while chamber pressure is still elevated.  Being a .22LR the breech is generally strong enough to handle early opening, however the complaints of ruptured barrel breeches and cracked bolt housings shows that damage can happen.

The problem is that the hammer rebounds thus creating about 3/8" rearward bolt movement against the twin recoil springs alone before the hammer spring adds its resistance.  As it happens that first 3/8" of travel is also where the recoil springs are weakest--or more specifically providing minimal bolt closing force.

Compare this to the Ruger 10/22 which has a fairly puny recoil spring with super-strong hammer spring and does not have a rebounding hammer.  When the bolt is closed with hammer down, initial opening forces are highest--as they should be, and examination of shooting vids will generally be absent any obvious appearance of a flash of fire during shooting.

Interestingly the simplest way to limit early breech opening is the shorten the barrel...a pistol length barrel reduces breech pressure yet retains reliability and durability since the bolt and breech are under less strain.  I don't think stiffer bolt springs are in order--the stock ones are already plenty strong and that is not the problem.  The problem is the bolt gets a running start before it must deal with the leverage of the hammer spring...what is needed is for the hammer strut to be redesigned, or perhaps rework the hammer rebound spring to work the other way....just some thoughts.

[Kilibreaux]

Having spent some time delving deep into the GSG-5"s inner workings I have some conclusions:

First, the GSG-5 is a VERY sturdily built weapon.  The aluminum outer shell is quite robust and easily on par with the 10/22's upper receiver.  Additionally, the bolt is located in a modular "inner" housing which creates a very strong combination which should be quite durable.

The plastic stock and foregrip tend to make the gun feel "cheap", but if those are replaced by sturdier pieces that do not flex or move, the GSG feels pretty solid.  Does this mean the GSG can stand up to the "tire test" (being run over by a truck tire)?  I don't know and I am not going to sacrifice mine to find out.  I suspect the GSG will stand up to any test the AR-15/M-16 will and considering how long that rifle system has been in service something about it must be working right.  What makes a rifle sucessful is not and never has been how effectively it holds up to deliberate destruction testing, or being utilized as a club, so for any purpose I would realistically put the GSG too...it will probably do well.

The GSG has weaknesses, but thankfully they are all easily corrected.

As delivered the GSG....

  Bolt opens early

  Sear fails to engage properly

  Rear sight is ridiculous (GSG-522)

So far I have corrected all by modifying the hammer strut to prevent early bolt opening, modified the sear and sear housing spring to improve engagement and retention, and replaced the rear sight with a proper HK style aperture drum.

One last weakness of the GSG is the magazines...the base design in my opinion is VERY good and quite reliable, but the open slot allows external debris to enter and negatively impact feeding and reliability.  The answer for this is to simply keep the mags in a fully closed pouch or container while carried and fabricate a sleeve enclosure to cover the magazine body when inserted, but this is probably at the ultimate end of the survival preparedness spectrum.