Century Arm’s AP53: An Affordable Roller-Locked 5.56

I love nearly everything about the MP5. The soft recoil impulse, the die-hard reliability (geddit?), and, of course, the superb aesthetics. But there are two things about the gun that count against dedicating it to the role of bugout gun — terminal ballistics and effective range. For all its greatness, the MP5 is still just a 9mm firearm. If it lacks a selector switch, it’s just an overly glorified handgun. 

Ten years ago, I started looking at all the roller-delayed carbines on the market. I considered the mid-sized .308 G3K with its 12.4-inch barrel and even the super short HK51, but the combination of excessive weight and restrictive capacity made the guns impractical. It wasn’t until I learned of the 5.56 HK53 that I knew the perfect gun existed. But there was just one problem: Heckler & Koch didn’t make a civilian HK53, and custom builders wanted several thousand dollars to make one. 

About to give up the search for the ultimate roller-delayed bugout gun, I saw news from SHOT Show that Turkish manufacturer MKE would be exporting a true HK53 clone to the United States: the AP53. But can the imitation hold a candle to a custom-built gun or an actual HK? Let’s take a closer look and find out. 

SPECS: Century Arms AP53

• Caliber: 556x45mm NATO
• Capacity: 30+1 rounds
• Barrel Length: 8.3 inches
• Overall Length: 22.3 inches
• Weight (As Shown): 7.2 pounds
• MSRP: $1,800

AP53 FEATURES 

For the uninitiated, the AP53 is a roller-delayed, semi-automatic pistol chambered in 5.56mm. It’s essentially a slightly scaled-up MP5-style pistol in a more potent caliber. It’s so similar to an MP5 that it actually accepts many of the same accessories, including grip frames and handguards — more on that in a moment. The AP53’s 8.3-inch barrel ships with a four-prong flash hider that covers standard 1/2×28 threads. 

So, shooters can install whatever muzzle device they want, but if they intend to run a suppressor, they need to take two additional steps. First, they’ll need a shoulder adapter, since the AP53’s muzzle has a conical shoulder like the SIG MCX. (SIG’s shoulder nut fits, by the way.) Secondly, they’ll need to verify that their suppressor can handle 5.56mm out of such a short barrel. 

If you have a steel or Inconel can, you’re probably good to go, whereas titanium suppressors may be unsafe to use due to the massive pressure spike. Check your manual; if it doesn’t seem clear, call your suppressor manufacturer and ask. 

Back to the gun’s features — behind the muzzle, the AP53 utilizes a folding charging handle that’s pretty tough to utilize when the gun is in standard pistol configuration, due to the combination of a stiff recoil spring and strong spring that keeps it folded forward when not in use. More than once I’ve tried to charge the action on the AP53 and fumbled it because I lost my grip on the charger. This is greatly alleviated by having something to brace your shoulder on, like an SB tactical brace or, if you SBR the gun, a stock. 

Beneath the charging handle and cocking tube, the AP53 includes a wide “tropical” polymer MP5 handguard that does a mostly good job of keeping your hands away from the hot barrel. I say “mostly,” because the AP ships with the incorrect handguard for the platform; it shouldn’t use MP5 handguards, even though MP5 handguards fit. This matters because the included handguard doesn’t cover the portion of the receiver over the trunnion — a spot that gets very hot after two magazines. 

The good news is that shooters can buy a real one online for around 50 bucks. Alternatively, shooters can opt for railed handguards to mitigate this issue by giving themselves an indexing point for their support hand away from the trunnion. If you’re keeping the AP53 as a handgun, angled foregrips are good, but if you SBR the gun, you can use whatever you like. 

Speaking of which, after confirming the gun ran fine through 250 rounds, I immediately filed for an ATF Form 1 to SBR the AP53. 

Why not run a brace and save myself $200? Because of an odd decision from MKE that limits what a shooter can and can’t install on the gun without replacing parts. On a standard 5.56mm caliber roller-delayed gun, the recoil spring is held in place solely by tension between the end cap and the back of the bolt carrier (just like an MP5). On the AP53, they designed it more like a G3 rifle and welded the recoil spring assembly to the endcap. 

This means if a shooter wants to install a stock to the AP53, they have two choices. They can go the inexpensive route and buy a replacement polymer or wooden G3 stock (not stock assembly, just the polymer or wooden part) and replace the polymer nub at the back of the AP53. This can be easily done with just a flat-head screwdriver. The more expensive route requires buying an HK53 recoil assembly and a dedicated HK33/HK93/MP5 endcap/stock assembly. 

This is also the easiest way to install a collapsible stock on the gun. Keep in mind that just because an MP5 collapsible stock will fit the gun doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to install it. Dedicated 5.56mm collapsible stocks feature a special buffer that prevents the bolt carrier from damaging itself during operation. 

Between all this, the AP53 features a four-position selector with painted pictograms that look nearly indistinguishable from genuine HK lowers. Best of all, unlike older Century-imported Indonesian HK93/HK53 builds, the gun includes a paddle release for the magazine in addition to a push-button one. This fact alone greatly improves the gun’s ergonomics since the push-button release is so far forward from the pistol grip that only orangutans can reach it without shifting their firing grip. 

On top of the receiver, the gun features correct recoil lugs for claw mounts, so be sure you order an optic mount designed for an HK53 and not an MP5, or you’ll be unable to mount it properly. Why include that statement if the gun includes an optic mount? Because the included one doesn’t hold zero. At all. As to why, the jury is still out. Even after over-torquing them and adding thread locker, the mount would wobble, even though the screws were tight. I had a chance back in 2014 to review the HK33k clone from MKE, then imported by Zenith (Z43P), and the included mount had the same issue, so maybe it’s just a Turkish feature.

Personally, the only optic mounts I 100-percent trust for my HK-styled guns are a factory-welded rail or those from MFI. The MFI mount uses captured mounting screws that self-align, and I’ve never had one walk loose. For the review, I used the 5.5-inch universal HK mount since it fits MP5s and the AP53. 

MP5 ERGONOMICS 

If you’ve ever run an MP5, then you know exactly what to expect from the AP53 — solid sights, soft recoil, and a trigger that doubles as a grip-strength-trainer. A digital trigger scale read it at 8 pounds, but given that the original military model of this gun was full-auto, that makes sense. If it bothers you, there are companies that make absurdly expensive replacement triggers that are a vast improvement. A better solution would be to shoot the gun a lot and get better. The sights are also classic MP5 and consist of a four-position rotating drum diopter and a hooded front sight post. The rear sight is adjustable but requires a special tool. Thankfully, the review sample was dead on at 50 yards with 55-grain ammo, and only an inch low with 62-grain at the same distance. 

Reloads are also classic MP5. In the immortal words of Teufelshunde Tactical trainer and MP5 Master James Williamson, “Back, off, on, forward.” These words will burn themselves into your brain if you want to get handy with the steel and are the manual of arms for reloading a roller-delayed HK. Back: Pull the charging handle to the rear and locked position. Off: Remove the old magazine and discard or retain. On: Insert the fresh magazine into the magazine well until it locks. Forward: Slap the charging handle to drop the bolt on the fresh magazine and chamber a round. 

AP53 PERFORMANCE 

The AP’s features and price point are great, but how did the gun actually perform? Prior to the full testing cycle, I fired 250 rounds of mixed ammo from an old dump pouch of random 5.56mm rounds to confirm reliability before filing for a Form 1 to SBR the gun. This mixture included Tula, Wolf, Winchester, Federal, and Hornady, and the gun never had a single issue during this period. Three days later, the ATF graciously returned the Form 1, and I replaced the polymer nub with a surplus polymer G3 stock and grabbed every HK93 magazine available to test. 

These mags include the two amber polymer magazines that ship with the gun, a pair of Turkish 30-round steel mags, a 40-round Indonesian contract aluminum magazine, a German factory 25-round steel mag, a polymer 40-round Promag, and a 100-round BETA Drum from the now defunct company. Across 1,500 rounds, there were no mechanical issues with the AP53 whatsoever. 

That said, I did have one specific issue with German-made HK magazines — presumably, because the AP53 is built to its own specs and not HK specifications, these magazines would sit a little too high. This caused the bolt carrier to stick on the back of the magazine and prevent chambering the first round. If the AP53 had a round in the chamber and one of these mags was inserted, it would feed fine afterward. 

You may wish to stick to polymer magazines and 40-round Indonesian mags, unless you replace the magazine catch with a genuine HK component. One added bonus of the included polymer magazines is that they feature guidelines for shooting at enemy aircraft and helicopters — seriously. The efficacy of shooting a semi-automatic short-barreled 5.56mm firearm at an aircraft strafing your position is questionable at best, but it makes a cool conversation piece. Maybe they should put a new line for drones? 

One final consideration for the AP53 is how it runs suppressed. Both a SilencerCo Hybrid 46M and Saker ASR worked well on the AP53. They did increase the ejection velocity, but after checking the endplate for damage after a few hundred rounds and finding none, there’s probably no need to tinker with the locking pieces. Other than that, the gun was flawlessly reliable, and on checking bolt gap before and after, there was no major shift, cementing the gun’s longevity and proper construction. 

SHORT-BARRELED ACCURACY 

Accuracy with the Century AP53 was a mixed bag — certain ammo types performed well, while others were disappointing. In particular, the AP53 preferred any ammo with a projectile weighing 62-grain or more. Standard Mil-spec 55-grain M193 just barely outperformed Wolf steel-cased 55-grain at roughly 2.1 inches at 50 yards. 

Meaning, with 55-grain ammo, the AP53 is a 4-MOA gun. But don’t dismiss it quite yet. After running three different brands of 55-grain Mil-spec ammo with crappy results, it was time for some 62-grain Speer Gold Dot Personal Protection ammo, and the 10-round group shrank to an incredible 0.74 inch. Hornady 75-grain Match ammo and 77-grain Federal Sierra MatchKing, both grouped around 1 inch at 50 yards. 

Definitely not a match-rifle but given the role of a PDW like the AP53, this is excellent performance. 

CENTURY ARMS AP53 VERDICT 

If you’ve always wanted an HK53 clone but don’t have several thousand bucks to spend on one, the Century Arms AP53 is a must. Many people look back on the early 2000s as the golden age of affordable Soviet guns, but 2022 to 2025 has thus far been the golden age of affordable HK clones. 

If you’re on the fence about buying one, you may want to jump on it now — especially with potential tariffs coming down the pipe; better to buy now and later sell if you don’t love it than spend double on one in the future due to FOMO. Regardless of the reason you buy one, the AP53 is a solid piece of equipment at a price point that was unheard of until very recently. 

It might not be as affordable or modular as an AR-15 pistol, but it scratches a totally different itch. 

Special thanks to HKParts.net for providing their recoil assembly and a collapsible stock for the review.

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