Was that the HK looking thing that took Sterling mags or summat?

And the locking piece is meant to be removed easily by the end user whenever the gun is field stripped.  

Your hypothesis that companies don't sell an SD because they are afraid customers can't change a locking piece is asinine.   If that's the case they wouldn't sell roller locks because people wouldn't be able to break them down for cleaning.  Or you could make the same argument for extractor springs, don't sell roller locks because when the extractor spring goes bad it will reflect poorly on the company.  Companies sell guns that require adjustments when modified with aftermarket accessories all the time.

Again, PTR had an issue because they don't take in spec parts including locking pieces, and until fairly recently did not offer a PTR #28 locking piece despite specifically stating their guns required a #28 locking piece when shooting suppressed.  They didn't have any problem selling these.  H&K, MKE, Dakota and every other company that sell K guns also have zero problem recommending customers change locking pieces for suppressed fire.  

Interdasting,  if PTR won't do a 53 pistol I hope zenith does.

If the Promag mags had been out 20 years ago or some other decent alternative we'd probably have numerous clones to choose from. I'll keep my fingers crossed as well.

Lol...We’re gonna have to agree to disagree.

I really wanted a Z33 or Z4 rifle but they never seemed to pan out.

I'd like to see a clone's barrel last a round count in the six figure mark like HK's.

All else aside... no clone can match the quality of material used by HK.  You cannot argue that.

As long as its a traditional MP5 with 3 lug barrel and paddle mag release I'm good with it.  No welded optic rails or mlok handguards please...a MP5SD would be impossible for me to pass on, already have the suppressor.

delete

Pre-orders available for $2,489

Perhaps it would be helpful if they showed you what the gun looked like.

Who the hell would “preorder” this gun having no idea what it looks like, build quality, etc from a company who has only been an importer.  Would be a little more appealing if the first 250 beta testers/venture capitalists got a break off MSRP.

Everyone calm down! You get a hat!

No picture of the gun, no real delivery date, company has never produced guns before.  But give us $2500 to get in line.

Seriously that's sketchy as hell.  Seems like IGF waiting to happen.

My first thought as well.

and a "mystery patch."  Not to mention the mystery of what your gun looks like, when it will be delivered, who made the parts, and will it run?

This, although my first thought was where do they get the balls putting out a clone for only $250 less than the real Mccoy. 2 years ago? Sure. Since the SP5 is here they need to go waay cheaper otherwise who cares

And neither of those are forming dies, molds, presses or platens... All of which finite manufacturing counts until they need touched up, redressed, reworked, or otherwise brought into spec.  Metal forming does incur tool wear and it's a bit more complicated to mitigate than swapping in a new milling bit or changing out your carbide insert (like on a lathe or mill).

Yeah, they might get finished on lathes and mills, but 90% of the work is performed by the stamping.

I’m not too excited about these.  At least the old mke guns (of which I have three that are excellent) were made on former Hk tooling (according to mke).  These new ones are no better than ptr but priced $700 more.  At least the overpriced century guns have a legit history with the military and civilians.  I’ll pass on this with the same msrp as a sp5.

With how the market is right now you can't really think "MSRP" when it comes to the SP5.  The SP5s are going for waaaaaaay more than their MSRP.  People on Gunbroker are paying over $4,000 for them with them going mostly for at least $3,500.  At the time of this post the cheapest one on gun.deals is $4,999.  People complain that the newly imported MKE guns are going for high $2,000 range prices and always say, "Why get that when the SP5 is a couple hundred more?"  We're not in a normal market where the SP5 is only a couple hundred more.  Most of the time it's about a thousand more.

I think most would agree that barring the custom builds by Dakota Tactical and some other builders, the MKE guns are the next best thing after the SP5.  Century doesn't have an MSRP for the AP5, so distributors just price it how they want.  People were up in arms because Century said it'd be the cheapest of the clones, but again the distributors are dictating the price for it.  With it arguably being #2 they priced it accordingly.  It's higher priced than the PTR, but less than an SP5.  Honestly when things sort themselves out with the market I wouldn't be surprised to see the SP5 came back into the mid-$2,000 range and the AP5 drop to below $2,000 and price themselves back where they were when Zenith was importing them.

All that said... I agree that the price is quite an ask when the gun is a relative unknown.  Like CaptShiess said it now competes directly with the Century/MKE guns in the current market which have true military pedigree and a solid history.  In a normal market it is a couple hundred less than an SP5, so once things right themselves I assume Zenith will change prices or just get eaten live.

I don't know how to explain to people like yourself that you can buy an SP5 for MSRP and plenty of people do.  But good luck.

In fairness to this I did in fact get my SP5 and PDW both mid panic for $300 under MSRP from a big dealer in town. Blind luck on my part stumbling upon them, but I did and that's the prices that were on the stickers

You don't know how to explain it because it's super uncommon?

Yeah I like zenith but, Im not paying SP5 money for any non SP5. my Z5p runs great but it was 1k less than this.

What's this gun do a PTR doesn't?  

I have a BW5 and a z5p. Id like to have an SP5 eventually. But IDK about this price for a gun unseen that isnt an SP5.

$2500 for a US made clone. That’s a hard pass.

Maybe

Depends on the “improvements”

From a business standpoint, if they can't come in lower on the price than they are on the MP5 series, they should have started with the 33/53/93 series guns.  Possibly and HK34 16" barrel 9mm that takes the 91/93 hand guards.

Basically guns that are not widely available from competitors.

I would be interested in a HK53 in .300 blk.

I bought an SP5 this week for $3,100 so a little above MSRP. Yeah, it's a few clams more than the Zenith but why would I spend $2500 on a clone vs $3100 for the real deal? Now a PTR is a different story, they're damn near half an SP5.

Lots of MKE hate going on here.
I have a Z5rs & a Z5p - both have been SBR'd and have shot with and without a can with zero "internal" mods and zero issues no matter what I feed them.  And I paid way less for each one than what this new Zenith will be going for.
Yea a real HK may have a better finish but at least both of mine came with paddle mag release, tri lug and by-god push pin trigger housing.  

As for this new  model, for that price with no details or pictures I will pass.

This new Zenith 308 - how much demand is there for a heavy 308 battle rifle?

And $2400+ for what PTR sells for half that price?  It does not make sense.

That wouldn't be hard to do.  9mm doesn't eat throats like rifle cartridges.

A quality 93 clone that doesn’t break the bank is the niche I would fill.

The guns you have were not the same ones

It’s fine that yours worked, but it’s undeniable that quality on the MKE guns slipped in the last year or two when Zenith was importing them.  A number had to be sent to Zenith to repaired out of spec mag wells, and other issues.

I'm guessing it will accept factory HK locking pieces.

Even before Zenith went public with their side of the story it was more like sabotage than slipping QC.