Classic - Uzi Pistol

The famous Chuck Norris 9mm burner from the 1980's.

As a kid growing up in the 1980’s I had a fascination with the Israeli Military Industries (IMI) Uzi. This included the full size Uzi, the Mini Uzi and the Uzi pistol (also called the “Micro Uzi”). It was the most popular SMG of that era, even the US Secret Service famously used them.

When I was old enough to buy long guns, the first one I bought with my own money was a full sized Uzi Model B. I still have that gun, it’s a SBR these days with it’s folding stock and 10” barrel.

When the 1985 Chuck Norris movie titled Invasion U.S.A. released, I fell in love with the Uzi pistol too. Yup, I wanted one after I had secured my full sized carbine. It took me almost a decade, but I would eventually get one.

The Uzi Pistol was introduced in 1984.

Despite being a “pistol”, the Uzi Pistol wasn’t a very practical handgun given its size and weight. As a submachine gun it would be more useful, but a year after it was seen in Invasion U.S.A. the Hughes Amendment would be signed into law thus banning the manufacture and sale of new machine guns in the US. So, it was mostly used as a semi-auto pistol. It would go out of production in 1993.

All of the firearms based on the original Uzi (Uzi, Mini Uzi, Uzi Pistol) used a simple blowback mechanism with a bolt that overhangs the barrel, which is referred to as a “telescoping bolt”. This design allows the overall length of the firearm to be shorted considerably. The illustration below should give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

In in the illustration above, the green bar represents the bolt and the blue bar represents the barrel. With the MP40 (bottom) you can see 100% of the bolt sits behind the barrel. With the Uzi (top) you can see how the barrel overhangs the barrel and thus shortens the receiver. This concept wasn’t invented by IMI, guns that predate the Uzi used this type of bolt arrangement such as the MAC-10 from the 1970’s.

One of the neat features of all Uzi firearms is how quickly and easily they can be stripped down for maintenance. A single button on the top of the receiver (seen blow) allows you to quickly remove the top cover then pop the bolt and firing mechanism out simply by using your index finger to lift it up and out.

Once you get the gun taken down, which takes maybe 30 seconds, all the parts are easy to handle and clean as they’re fairly large. It’s important to note that the full-auto and semi-auto Uzi Pistol both fire from the closed bolt. This is an interesting change in the operation which I think improves the reliability of the Uzi Pistol SMG as the system is closed and thus less likely to get large chunks of debris in the ejection port in adverse conditions.

The guns are made mostly of stamped sheet metal. The barrel is held into the firearm by a simple barrel nut seen in the image above. All of the Uzi products of that era used the same Uzi magazine which offered 20, 25, 32, 40 and even 50 round magazines were available for the 9mm guns. These would also be chambered in 41 Action Express and 45 ACP for the US marketp and magazine capacities would vary for them.

The Uzi Pistol is easily charged by using a non-reciprocating top mounted charging handle that has a large U cut in it so the iron sights can be used. The sights are surprisingly good for such a firearm, they’re adjustable with large white dots to make quick sight acquisition possible.

The full-auto version of the Uzi Pistol would have slightly different features than the semi-auto. The SMG version would have a longer barrel that featured horizontal cuts which act like a compensator. It would also have a folding stock. If you convert your semi-auto Uzi Pistol to a SBR, finding the stock can be very difficult and attaching it would require the services of a qualified gunsmith as attachment would require some welding.

If you look at the pistol grip you will see a large grip safety. Also on the pistol grip you will find the magazine release at the bottom of the grip on the left hand side. The gun’s fire controls are also on the left hand side. As with most firearms from this era, left handed use wasn’t something they factored into the design so ambi controls weren’t used.

While they look “cheap” to some, the quality of the build is exceptional. They have a great reputation for working and enduring hard use. If you compare this firearm to other contemporary designs, I think you’ll find it’s at the top of the quality ladder when examined side-by-side with firearms like the MAC-10 or TEC-9.

While IMI is no longer making small arms for export, their replacement IWI is. Israeli Weapons Industries assumed the role of small arms design and manufacturing with IMI focusing on larger weapon systems going forward. IWI introduced the Uzi Pro which is a modernized Uzi Pistol. It has a number of changes such as a polymer lower, a relocated side charging handle and 1913 rails on top and under the barrel with a conventional US type magazine release, to name a few.

Overall the Uzi Pistol is a blast from the past that I still enjoy shooting all the decades later. While it’s not the most practical self defense firearm out there, that doesn’t detract from it’s fun factor. That, and I always say “Not every firearm needs to serve a tactical or even practical purpose to be fun to shoot”.

Tim