Turkish MKE T-43 review.

gunhappy_ie

After selling my SA R4 last year I was on the look for a new semi .223. I was origionally planning on going with the AR platorm of rifles but was being ****ed about for several months by a RFD near me. John Kavanagh @ fingal guns dropped me an email asking had I heard anything about the turkish made MKE rifles as HK firearms are of particular interest to me.

I had read previously (they are becoming popular in the US as limited numbers are imported) that they are all made on origional Hk tooling and that there weld, fit and finish were all good quality.

I replyed with all this info to John with the obvious question as to why . John told me that he was considering importing the MKE T-43 in .223. Having been messed about for several months with another dealer I straight away told him Id take the rifle as I had an open .223 licence that i could put it on. I have to say that dealing with John kavanagh @ fingalsports was a pleasure, John was actually ringing me instead of me chasing him about. He was also very good in sending emails to notify me when the order was placed for the rifle, when paperwork came back for importation etc.

In total it took just over a month to get her into the country and by which time I had my licence substituted to the new gun. Its actually the first gun the Ive gotten from a dealer that had the carry case/cleaning kit included and cost the MRRP.

So without further ramblings on.....



MKE T-43s are a semiautomatic clone of the Hk 33s which in turn are a scaled down version of the HK G3. These series of rifles use the roller delayed locking system in the bolt head. HK adopted this system in several of there firearms to include the G3/MSG/PSG-1/21 in .308, 33/53/MG4/23 in .223 and MP5 varients in 9mm, 40S&W and 10m auto.




The rollers give the gun a mechanical disadvantage when unlocking. This means that on firing the round has sufficient time to leave the barrel and chamber pressures drop to a safe level before the gun recocks its self. As the saying goes "Theres several ways to skin a cat" so too are there other ways to design a semi auto however this has its own advangages.



Because of its design the barrel can be free floated (this cant be done with systems that use gas to recock the action) to increase accuracy. Heres a picture of the cocking tube over the barrel, the cocking tube doesnt contact the tripple frame front sight, the clip or hanger at the end is for a cross pin to hold in the handguard. While the pic doesnt show woo tell, the hanger doesnt touch the barrel either.

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/gunhappy_ie/MKE%20T-43/012.jpg

Another characteristic of these roller locking guns is the spent casings get thrown a good 10-20 feet away from the gun . The ejection also causes the spent casings to contact the outside of the reciever and mark the paint, at the bottom of the ejection port youll see chipped paint.

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/gunhappy_ie/MKE%20T-43/036.jpg

This damages the spent casing too so that cases cant be reloaded, luckly the powers that be knew this so have saved us trying by not allowing shooters to handload :P:P:P The dark lines are because the chamber is fluted to allow gas to aid extraction and rub off but there is a scrap in the in the middle of the casing. This is actually one of the ways how you can tell a healthy HK or clone.



Build quality on the rifle is very good. These guns are completely hand welded together, all guns either origionals or clones have imperfections from in there weldings as the they were made in factory.

Here is where the rear site base is welded to the reciever for the rear sight to mount onto:
http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/gunhappy_ie/MKE%20T-43/028.jpg

Here youll see where the cocking handle is welded to the reciever, also where the trunion is welded into the reciever (barrel sits in trunion) id you look under the front of the ejection port:

http://i1113.photobucket.com/albums/k519/gunhappy_ie/MKE%20T-43/036.jpg



The paint on the gun is an excellent colour match to an origional HK, it however isnt that durable and has chipped and scratched. Ill eventually refinish it with Duracoat HK black.

Lastly..... What everyone is wondering ... how does it shoot. I always go for reliablity. I want the gun to fire every time I pull the trigger and this gun will do it. Last week I put 120 rounds through the barrel without a hickup. Recoil is different than other guns because theres a heavy bolt carrier moving rearward to recock the gun along with the roller locking system having its own "feel" but recoil is very managable.

Accuracy wise, with surplus ammo and a hangover :P she will shoot about a 2" group.

My intentions are to convert it to look like the SG-1 varient, with a SG-1 adjustable stock, HK claw mount ( only used on these series of rifles) and an IOR scope. There is also a special SG-1 trigger group that has a really nice 2lb trigger on it. With those modifications and match ammo it would cut the groups in half.

Well... if youve made it this far congrats you havent fallen asleep (there are no prizes though :P). Id like to take the opportunity to thank John Kavanagh in Fingalsports, I cant praise him enough for how good he is to deal with as well as his prices on ammo are excellent. When I called to collect the guns I picked up 400 .223 for €200.

Any questions please feel free to ask away.

GH

Cass

Ezridax wrote:

Any questions please feel free to ask away

Just remind me again, how is it you are related to the Chief Super?

Seriously though congrats on the rifle, its a beauty. Fair play to John, seems like some top quality work on his behalf. Too many times we hear the horror stories so its good to hear the good ones, and give praise where its due.

gunhappy_ie

Ezridax wrote: »

Just remind me again, how is it you are related to the Chief Super?

Seriously though congrats on the rifle, its a beauty. Fair play to John, seems like some top quality work on his behalf. Too many times we hear the horror stories so its good to hear the good ones, and give praise where its due.

Hahaha not related at all, I just put my case forward as to why I wanted these guns.

Theres a classic rifle shoot on 03/04/2011 so I cant wait to get her out for that.

I have to say that John went on beyond the call of duty on this one, so much so that I asked him to import my G3 as well (id normally import my own)

Hes set up an account with a main dealers in germany http://www.waffenschumacher.com/sites_52_Produkte.htm

They import an awful lot of guns from AR to AK clones...

Its great to see a price in germany and thats the price to pay, not like a few years ago i was gettin a clone of a HK G3 (through another dealer) the price in germany was €1600 but this "stealer" tryed chargin me €2500

meathstevie

Would I be right in thinking that the only real difference between that machine and the real G33 is the trigger mechanism ? All said and done the 33 has been marketed for military and police use with all sorts of trigger mechanism as well from single shot to full auto and bursts of 3 in between.

gunhappy_ie

meathstevie wrote: »

Would I be right in thinking that the only real difference between that machine and the real G33 is the trigger mechanism ? All said and done the 33 has been marketed for military and police use with all sorts of trigger mechanism as well from single shot to full auto and bursts of 3 in between.

Yes the obvious difference is that is is only semiautomatic.

Several components of the gun have changed or re-designed so that it cannot readly be changed back to F/A.

Also there is no grenade ring on the barrel or mount for a bayonet.

deerhunter1

Is it the famous Gun Dealer near you your talking about:D:p

gunhappy_ie

deerhunter1 wrote: »

Is it the famous Gun Dealer near you your talking about:D:p

No comment