UZI SMG

[jimmyj]

Hi:
In its "Hey Day" the Uzi was "top Dog".
How dependable was it ?

Thanks,
Jimmy

 

[colt_saa]

Virtually 100%

Who told you it's "Hey Day" was over?

I have put uncountable tens of thousands of rounds down range with mine in the several decades I have owned it.

These days it is really fun with a suppressor attached. Fast and Quiet

I just ran 5 or 6 hundred rounds through it with some NavY Seal buddies and friends right before New Years

 

[dusty3030]

UZI is probably the most rugged and dependable of the sub guns. Open bolt, simple, and overbuilt.

 

[Joe Kent]

Still a very dependable subgun.

 

[TXSWFAN]

Nary a hiccup ever. Suppressed and subsonic is wicked fun.

 

[samnev]

Never a single problem with mine in all the years I've had it.

 

[ken158]

I think the Uzi is still one of the best smg's out there and believe the Secret Service is still using them. I had one and sold it to finance a MP5 but wish I could have kept it.

 

[Absalom]

Indestructible. Almost impervious to dirt. Compact. And despite the open bolt surprisingly accurate.

I carried one as my issue weapon. The German army adopted the Uzi (the licensed version made by FN in Belgium) as their standard SMG in the late 1950s and kept it even after adopting the HK G3 as the rifle; one would have expected to see the Uzi replaced with the MP 5, but that never happened. The Uzi started to get phased out for the HK MP 7 in the early 2000s, but I'm not sure whether that's complete yet.

 

[S&WshooterFIN]

I am curious, what is the FN UZI price today in the US?

 

[colt_saa]

I am curious, what is the FN UZI price today in the US?

I can not recall a seeing Fabrique Nationale manufactured UZIs for sale. However I never really look for them

My UZI was manufactured by Israel Military Industries as were most of the UZIs I've seen in America

UZI copies were imported from China by Norinco and more were made here in the US by Vector Arms

Here in America you have a rather large price difference between a semi-auto UZI and a transferable select-fire UZI SMG

 

[Gene L]

We had several non-transferable guns where I used to work. My experience wasn't extensive but I found to be reliable. They fire from an open bolt, so first round accuracy wasn't there. We got them because they were surplus and cheap relatively cheap.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

They fire from an open bolt, so first round accuracy wasn't there. We got them because they were surplus and cheap relatively cheap.

My MAC-10 wasn't near the gun an Uzi is, but even with the MAC using it with the stock extended, short bursts were 3" to 5" at 50 yards. If your first shot went wild, your technique was off!

Firing accurately from the hip and one handed is for Saturday afternoon at the movies. IT would mostly waste ammo but would be like a scatter gun inside of a room or short hallway.

Ivan

 

[Gene L]

What techniques overcome the fact that you have a few pounds of bolt going forward a few inches and impacting the barrell?

 

[Absalom]

What techniques overcome the fact that you have a few pounds of bolt going forward a few inches and impacting the barrell?

Mind you, my experiences are Cold War vintage.

But keep in mind that this isn't a sniper rifle, and at no military shoot I participated in with my issued Uzi did anyone measure something as exotic as groups, they just counted hits on target.

And in that context, the fact that the bolt goes forward in a straight line along the line of fire probably mitigates any serious effect on field accuracy. As I said in my earlier post, surprisingly accurate; we mostly shot single shot and short bursts, and got yelled at if the bursts were longer than two or three rounds.

 

[Gene L]

Well, you have to deal with the inertia of the bolt going forward. Got to affect the muzzle position on that first round. I seem to remember the same thing with the M3 grease gun.

 

[CptCurl]

The Uzi is awesome. I don't know that it has been surpassed.

Accuracy? It's made for close quarter combat.

Here's a fun video of my friend, "Rail" shooting my Uzi on the first day out.

YouTube

Curl

 

[Guevera]

Both these are long gone, but yeah, even the Micro Uzi was perfectly reliable and a serious little buzz saw.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The bolt slams forward before every shot! If your first shot was that far off, you're most likely just "spraying and praying", not a true aimed fire. Like I said earlier, I got 3 to 5 inch aimed groups at 50 yards with the inferior MAC-10.

On the other hand, it was my own personal firearm, I lived on a farm, and I loaded ten of thousands of round for it, I could shoot whenever and as much as I wanted.

One time I tried 300 yards from the loft of my barn, using tracers every 5 round. The tracers ricocheting in about 12 directions limited that to a one magazine event. So I guess I am saying, that people get proficient at the distances the train at. But with practice it was easy to keep short bursts on a man sized target at 100-150 yards. I never considered any target beyond 150 a legitimate 9mm target

I especially enjoyed the subsonic and silenced rounds impacting. At 65 yards my tree stump would be soaking wet from rain. An impact sounded like a face slap, a burst sounded like quick clapping hands. On my steel targets a burst sounded like "A school bell ringing!" I wish I had tried a car door, just to be familiar with the sound!

Ivan

 

[colt_saa]

They fire from an open bolt, so first round accuracy wasn't there. .

This is a common misconception

Like Ivan the Butcher, I have put tens of thousands of rounds down range through my UZI. So I have learned how to handle it

Way back when . . . the SWAT team got their 9MM MP5s, the SWAT LT would be picking on me and my old inaccurate UZI every chance he got. When he finally annoyed me enough, I met him on the range. It was indoor so we were limited to 25 yards.

At that distance I kept up with him for hits and accuracy.

Now the MP5s are more accurate than the UZIs, but I had 8 or 10 years of practice with my UZI, he only had the MP5 for a month or two. With practice the MP5 will out shoot the UZI, but for what there intended use was, the two firearm were about equal performers.

Remember practice, Practice, PRACTICE

Yes, years later I ended up with an MP5, but that is because the UZI was not available chambered in 10MM Auto

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Hollywood productions (movies and TV shows) frequently portray SMG's used in the "spray" mode, magazine dumps, shooting from the hip, etc. Great for dramatic effect but not the methods taught in any good training program.

The primary benefit of automatic fire is to increase hit probability when engaging moving targets or targets at extended range. Controlled and aimed fire in short bursts (3 to 5 rounds) can be very effective at any reasonable range for the caliber (100 yards is relatively easy for an experienced user, and 150 yards is very doable for a well-trained individual).

Beyond such ranges automatic weapons are useful for engaging "area targets", concentrations of opposing forces, vehicles, etc.

Sustained fire (long bursts) are primarily useful as suppressive fire, intended to force opposing troops to seek cover, stop an assault advance, etc.

My experience with SMG's is relatively minimal. During my military service and law enforcement years I have had the opportunity to use M3A1, Thompson (M1 and M1928), Ingram MAC-10, Carl Gustav (Swedish K), S&W 76, Sten, and Commie-Bloc Ppsh variants. All of those proved to be useful and reliable within the intended limits. None are match-grade accurate. None are serious battle rifles.

I think the common European designations as "machine pistols" is about as accurate as it can get.