Elite ForceHK Heckler & Koch MP7 GBB Automatic 6mm BB Rifle Airsoft Gun

This is my first gas gun and I absolutely loved it for CQB!

The back plate near the stock latches on these WILL break. Not a matter of if, but when. I’ve had mine for just about a week now and the recoil has already caused the back plate to crack and fail. Very common problem with these, even on the gen 2 / navy version of the Gas blow back models. There are reinforced aftermarket back plates that can be found online, but the aluminum ones are like an additional $80, and there are plastic ones that do not have slots for the stock, for around $30.

This review is of the Umarex MP7, however the version I have (that is not listed) is the one that has the folding front grip vs the pic rail, does not have sling attachment ears on the folding stock, does not have the built in hop-up adjustment knob (mine uses a tool you stick in and remove when done adjusting) and has a metal flash hider tip.Why do I feel so compelled to write a review for a product that's not even an exact match of the one in the listing? Because it's worth talking about! If you've done any research into airsoft guns you know that models that looks a little different, from different manufacturers, can be greatly different in terms of internal parts. To that end I'm only assuming that this model uses the same internals as the version that I have, which is what most of this review pertains to - how it fires, reliability, kinetic experience of firing rounds, etc.It's kindof an ugly, evil looking gun. For sure. However once it's in your hand and the stock is extended, it starts to feel more like a "bullpup SMG" than a really big pistol. With it shouldered, it's easy to pick up a target and move around and it feels quite good! I had bought this specifically for the sights, since they're pistol sights when lowered down, and a peep sight when raised up, however I find it a lot more enjoyable to use with a cheap, $30 red dot instead. The gun is accurate. Maybe one day I'll find the patience to actually practice with the included iron sights. From the little shooting I did with the irons, I found it to shoot low, lower than the distance between the barrel and the sights (when extended) at a very short distance of the inside of my garage. I haven't tinkered with the hop-up too much but I figured they're calibrated for something that's outside of the scope (get it?) of my situation. Luckily a regular #2 phillips takes the pesky things off and you can slap on something fun, or really anything you can imagine since it's basically just a giant bunch of rails.I ended up buying a second magazine. I've shot through two bottles of green gas so far and have since switched to propane. Green gas is nice because it has no odor, it's very convenient, etc. Propane will of course smell like leaking propane. I don't know whether it's possible to buy propane without the mercaptan added to it. Propane is much more appropriate for my situation since I'm literally just wasting rounds, plinking for entertainment and I don't have much of a concern for anything other than bringing down the cost per trigger pull as low as is possible.The gun fires great! The action is realistic, mostly, and it's pleasurable to carefully slap in a magazine, give the fairly sturdy composite charging handle a tug and let it fling forward, and proceed to operate the two stage trigger after selecting a firing mode. The layout of the weapon, to no credit of Umarex, since it's a clone, is very conducive to efficiency and eyes-off operation. Once you realize which lever does what and which direction to push it and it's stamped into your mind, you can operate this little plinker very proficiently, lending to a more enjoyable experience. Each trigger pull delivers a nice sharp nailgun-ish clack, but more metallic sounding, combined with the sound of a rush of pressurized gas being metered rapidly through the system; it sounds good. It's somewhat LOUD, actually. But not too loud. The gun delivers a nice little kick, just enough to remind you you're having fun but not so much that it's a nuisance or unrealistic.I'm not sure how many thousands of BBs I've put through it so far. Maybe 2? 4? In any case, we'll call it three thousand rounds so far. I have net yet cleaned or otherwise serviced the gun, but I have taken the rear pins out to get a look at the action. The grease is getting pretty dirty and gritty and it's about due for a cleaning. Point is, it's had I think four malfunctions. One was a broken BB inside the chamber, preventing the bolt from going all the way forward. One was a double-feed and the other two, I'm not sure, since I removed the magazine and pulled the charging handle and went back to firing without checking to see what the issue was, and that alone resolved it.I'm completely new to "green gas" (propane) Airsoft guns. I'm learning as I go. I wanted something I could use to keep my trigger finger busy and simply practice aiming and all that fun stuff, for fun, while I'm at home. I give the magazine a 8 second or so blast of gas and it's good for roughly 60-70 rounds. If I gas it a bit more, you get two full mags of BB shooting. I just learned that "pumping" the gas in is NOT necessary! Just hold it there and let it fill up and rest assured that your mag is being filled by the source so long as your mag is underneath the source... little pro-tip for you other newbs out there. I typically top-off my mags with gas when reloading the 40 BBs so it's hard to get a perfect idea of exactly how much gas will get you exactly how many BBs, etc. When loading mags, it's common for them to not completely perfectly double stack, giving you fewer rounds per mag since they're not loaded in perfectly. More than half the mag loads end up very near perfect, however.The gun, in my garage heated to 70 F, running green gas or propane, cannot sustain full auto fire for more than about 8 rounds (it's hard to count since it dumps them out so friggin fast!) before it starts to sputter and blow gas vapor out of the barrel and ejection port. Looks awesome, not gonna lie, but it would be nice if this could do a complete full auto mag dump without poopin' itself. I've seen video reviews of people doing exactly that and it works great, and I've seen others where it does exactly what I describe, so I found it worth mentioning. If you're shooting bursts of a couple rounds at a time, even with very rapid follow up, it cycles very well. Maybe it'll like a nice hot 105 degree day. Just my findings so far.Why not 5 stars?* The orange flash hider tip is glued on. Doesn't need to be* The feel of the telescoping stock going out/in is not entirely smooth* Gas system cannot keep up in some cases* Malfunctions have occurred that do not appear to be due to operator errorFun! Buy one!