By James Tarr

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The catalyst for this column was the announcement of two new MP5-­pattern pistols from Military Armament Corporation (MAC), but it is also about the state of Turkish-made firearms.

MAC is a brand of SDS Arms. SDS Arms resurrected the storied MAC name — everyone has heard of the “MAC-­10,” right? — and has introduced firearm designs that embrace the testosterone-­fueled legacy of the 1980s and ’90s. MAC offers everything from Joint Special Operation Command (JSOC)-­inspired 1911s to a copy of the U.S. Marines’ M1014 shotgun. They are getting a lot of attention. The new-for-2024 MAC 5 pistol is a clone of the venerable Heckler & Koch MP5, and the MAC ­5K is an MP5K clone. What got everyone’s attention, though, is the suggested retail price for either: $1,099.99. That’s the issue.

Traditionally, MP5-­pattern pistols were nowhere near the price of the MAC 5s — or they were unreliable trash. The HK roller-­lock delayed blowback sub-gun design is reliable and soft-­shooting, but it’s never been easy or inexpensive to manufacture. If it wasn’t an authentic HK product, or made on HK-­licensed tooling somewhere in the world, people just assumed the clone to be junk with good reason.

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The guns from SDS Arms — which also includes TISAS USA, Tokarev USA, Inglis and Spandau Arms — have been getting rave reviews. In Guns & Ammo’s April 2024 issue, former Executive Editor Joe Kurtenbach wrote, “The MAC JSOC 1911 made by TISAS in Turkey and distributed by SDS Arms may be the finest 1911 available for less than $1,200.” I first shot that pistol at Gunsite along with MAC’s MAC 1014, a $400 copy of the $2,400 Benelli M4; I was impressed. The MAC ­1014 is so good that Agency Arms chose it as the base of its new Tradesman series. It wasn’t an accident. SDS Arms has people on the ground working in Turkey. For a while, veteran 3-­Gun shooter Gaines Davis, SDS’ director of product development, practically lived at the factory, showing employees how to run their guns. Davis expanded their knowledge of what’s possible.

Knowing that, a week before the 2024 SHOT Show — where the guns were shown off for the first time — I contacted SDS Arms and asked, “Who’s making your MAC ­5s?” They answered, “Mertsav.”

I’d never heard of Mertsav, but I didn’t want to admit ignorance. So, I did a little digging. Mertsav Defense Systems is a Turkish company that has been manufacturing products for the defense industry since 2006. A check of its website revealed versions of the M249 SAW, HK 416, M2 .50-caliber Browning machinegun, 40mm grenade launchers, and several MP5 machine pistol clones called the “MSG-­9.” The website states that it is a subcontractor to MKE. All good, but a company I’d never heard of still left me a little uneasy. Later, at an industry event, I sat down with Neil Sanders and Steve Dittner of SDS Arms.

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“Look,” I said, “At this price point, people are going to assume these guns don’t work. You have to explain to me why they don’t suck.” 

Boy did they, and I got an education.

An Origin Story

The MP5 clone market changed because of Zenith. HK didn’t offer pistol versions of its MP5s for years, so the market was ripe. Zenith introduced MP5 clones when arm braces hit the market and became popular. The interest was due to build quality. Zenith’s guns were manufactured in Turkey by MKE on HK-­licensed tooling. MKE supplies MP5-­pattern submachine guns to the Turkish military and the National Police, and the Zenith guns were semiautomatic pistol versions of the same reliable guns at half the price of authentic HKs, except …

“MKE doesn’t ‘make’ MP5 anything,” Dittner said. “Mertsav has always manufactured those guns, on licensed HK tooling. They sold the parts to MKE, which assembled them, and then MKE sold them to the Turkish National Police, Zenith, Century Arms or whomever. Every middleman takes his cut and drives the price higher. This is the first time Mertsav is actually making and assembling these guns for commercial sale in the U.S. The reason the price of the MAC guns is so low is because there are no middlemen; Mertsav is selling them directly to us. That, and we’re not trying to retire off of every gun we sell. We would rather move a large volume at lower prices, and reach customers who would normally not be able to afford a roller-­lock. We will also bring in a full line of parts and accessories that will be backwards compatible with guns built to the original [technical data package]. As we have done with our MAC ­2 and MAC 1014 shotguns, the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) will be reviewing the MAC 5’s for NTOA certification.”

Sanders added, “Every manufacturer or importer of roller-­lock guns was in our booth looking at the MAC 5 lineup, including HK. They all left looking sad or angry.”

Zenith has sold so many MKE guns that it has become a victim of its own success. Prices dropped from the initial $1,700 to between $1,300 and $1,500. The $1,100 price-point for the MAC 5 isn’t so crazy in comparison. The HK SP5 and SP5K pistols sell for $3,300 and more, as of 2024, thus staying true to what people for 40 years have joked is the unofficial HK customer service motto: “You suck, and we hate you.”

I travelled to Turkey in 2012. Turkey is a first-­world country and a NATO member. I was visiting Sarsilmaz, which sells guns in the U.S. as SAR USA. That factory was the newest and most modern I’d ever visited. Mertsav is said to be just as modern. At the time, the average skilled worker made $12,000 per year, a good wage in Turkey. That’s why the guns coming out of that country are less expensive. CNC machines don’t know what country they operate in. The operator just has to program the right numbers if you have good steel at the front and proper quality control on the back end. Turkish firearms may have had quality-­control issues, but that’s history. I would blindly trust a Turkish gun before many others.

Testing The MAC 5

After a bit of delay — due to Turkey being slow on providing export licenses — I finally got my hands on a sample of the MAC 5. It’s a semiautomatic pistol clone of the HK MP5. The fit and build quality of the gun was on par with the MKE, and even HK guns I’ve handled. Only the finish (i.e., lacquer over phosphate) is a bit different between the two. The MAC 5 pistol arrived in a hard case with a sling, cleaning kit, flash hider and two 30-­round magazines. It also featured the narrow handguard, not the fat triangular one.

Arm braces for pistols are currently legal, so I attached an SBT5 brace from SB Tactical for testing. The modular design of the gun made it easy; push out one pin, pull off the end cap, attach the brace, and replace the pin. Then, you’re good to go.

As I write this, I have 450 rounds through an MAC-­5 using the supplied and authentic HK mags; no cleaning or lube. The magazine well was a little tight when new, and I had one failure to feed at round 318 — a jacketed hollowpoint, the second-­to-­last round in an HK mag. I think it was ammunition-­related, but that was it. There were no other problems to report. The day of an affordable and reliable MP5 has arrived.

At this price, I understand why Military Armament Corporation does not include a rail mount for attaching optics. However, I wish MAC provided a rear sight adjustment tool with these guns. We really need that dedicated tool for zeroing the rear drum on the MAC 5. Still, it’s not too difficult to acquire. You can buy an HK-branded rear sight tool online for about $30. 

SDS Arms MAC 5

• Type: Roller-­delayed blowback, semiautomatic
• Cartridge: 9mm
• Capacity: 10+1, 15+1, or 30+1 rds.
• Barrel: 8.9 in.
• Overall Length: 17.9 in.
• Weight: 5 lbs., 8 oz.
• Stock: None; backplate w/ sling
• Grip: Polymer
• Finish: Lacquer over manganese phosphate (steel)
• Trigger: 4 lbs., 8 oz. (tested)
• Sights: Post (front); quad notch, rotating drum (rear)
• Safety: Selector lever, two positions
• MSRP: $1,100
• Manufacturer: Mertsav, mertsav.com.tr
• Importer: SDS Arms, 865-­504-­6894, sdsarms.com