Sniper
01-23-2003, 02:05 AM
This is from Jayhawk he had some great info on the uzi thought to share with all:
The UZI is one of the few Guns that did not require polishing or tuning before it would function properly. The test gun started life as a Semi-auto model A. As a semi-auto, I did experience a problem with stovepipes. This was caused by the cut away extractor that comes standard in the Semi model. I suppose the idea behind this was to cause unreliable functioning if the gun was illegally converted to fire full auto with the existing Semi bolt. Unfortunately, it did it's job in Semi-auto fire also. So if you have this problem on a Semi, change the extractor to the standard wide lip Full Auto part.
I also had a few failures to feed. I polished the feed ramp but the failures still occurred. When loading UZI magazines, they need to be given a sharp rap on the back of the mag about every 5 rounds loaded. Problem solved.
The Gun was converted by replacing the two piece closed bolt Semi-Auto bolt with the standard one piece Full Auto bolt, plus a few other minor machining operations that I won't go into since this is not a manual on how to convert a Semi to a Full Auto UZI.
After the conversion, the only problem I had was a worn out action spring at about 15,000 rounds and several after market magazines would not work right. Stick to the IMI 25 and 32 round mags. The original wide lip extractor still works perfectly. The spring failed by warping, not by losing it's strength, so you need to watch out for that. It felt just fine when the bolt was manually retracted, but was rubbing on the hole in the bolt, slowing down the bolt movement resulting in failure to fire and/or ejection problems. A new spring was installed and it works perfectly again. It took me a while to solve the problem, so in the mean time, I polished everything and coated the bolt and inside the receiver with my standard cure all Sandstrom 9A. It wasn't needed, but it didn't hurt anything either. It should make the gun last even longer.
Reloading for the UZI
I use reduced load lead bullets exclusively in this gun and they function just fine. I rarely have any problems and they are almost always caused by out of spec reloads. 9mms really need to be roll sized. Otherwise you need to pay careful attention when reloading and reject any rounds that leave a bulge or a ridge near the base. The UZI is more forgiving in this respect than many other guns though, and you can get away with less perfection with it. You do need to use rather hard cast bullets, and keep velocity to about 800 fps, or you will get lots of leading. My guns extractor rips little pieces out of the rim of the cartridge with every shot. Looks terrible, but does not affect functioning. I am still using many of the same cases I started out with years ago, and they still work great. Who knows how many times they have been reloaded.
Accuracy
My Gun will shoot about 12" groups at 100 yards from a rest in semi auto. I don't know if this is typical. On Full Auto, the Gun is rather hard to control despite its weight. If you want to stay proficient you will need to practice on a regular basis. I get the best results with a very tight grip and a weight forward stance. Cyclic rate is about 650 rpm.
Sights
I think the standard Model A UZI sights are terrible. I modified mine to a ghost ring, and it is much better. I also use an Armson OEG. It is a very fast sight and is ideal for this type of firearm. The Red Dot can disappear during Full Auto fire though, cause the Gun jumps around so much. I will try a Trijicon Reflex on it, if I ever get one. (I hope).
The UZI is one of the few Guns that did not require polishing or tuning before it would function properly. The test gun started life as a Semi-auto model A. As a semi-auto, I did experience a problem with stovepipes. This was caused by the cut away extractor that comes standard in the Semi model. I suppose the idea behind this was to cause unreliable functioning if the gun was illegally converted to fire full auto with the existing Semi bolt. Unfortunately, it did it's job in Semi-auto fire also. So if you have this problem on a Semi, change the extractor to the standard wide lip Full Auto part.
I also had a few failures to feed. I polished the feed ramp but the failures still occurred. When loading UZI magazines, they need to be given a sharp rap on the back of the mag about every 5 rounds loaded. Problem solved.
The Gun was converted by replacing the two piece closed bolt Semi-Auto bolt with the standard one piece Full Auto bolt, plus a few other minor machining operations that I won't go into since this is not a manual on how to convert a Semi to a Full Auto UZI.
After the conversion, the only problem I had was a worn out action spring at about 15,000 rounds and several after market magazines would not work right. Stick to the IMI 25 and 32 round mags. The original wide lip extractor still works perfectly. The spring failed by warping, not by losing it's strength, so you need to watch out for that. It felt just fine when the bolt was manually retracted, but was rubbing on the hole in the bolt, slowing down the bolt movement resulting in failure to fire and/or ejection problems. A new spring was installed and it works perfectly again. It took me a while to solve the problem, so in the mean time, I polished everything and coated the bolt and inside the receiver with my standard cure all Sandstrom 9A. It wasn't needed, but it didn't hurt anything either. It should make the gun last even longer.
Reloading for the UZI
I use reduced load lead bullets exclusively in this gun and they function just fine. I rarely have any problems and they are almost always caused by out of spec reloads. 9mms really need to be roll sized. Otherwise you need to pay careful attention when reloading and reject any rounds that leave a bulge or a ridge near the base. The UZI is more forgiving in this respect than many other guns though, and you can get away with less perfection with it. You do need to use rather hard cast bullets, and keep velocity to about 800 fps, or you will get lots of leading. My guns extractor rips little pieces out of the rim of the cartridge with every shot. Looks terrible, but does not affect functioning. I am still using many of the same cases I started out with years ago, and they still work great. Who knows how many times they have been reloaded.
Accuracy
My Gun will shoot about 12" groups at 100 yards from a rest in semi auto. I don't know if this is typical. On Full Auto, the Gun is rather hard to control despite its weight. If you want to stay proficient you will need to practice on a regular basis. I get the best results with a very tight grip and a weight forward stance. Cyclic rate is about 650 rpm.
Sights
I think the standard Model A UZI sights are terrible. I modified mine to a ghost ring, and it is much better. I also use an Armson OEG. It is a very fast sight and is ideal for this type of firearm. The Red Dot can disappear during Full Auto fire though, cause the Gun jumps around so much. I will try a Trijicon Reflex on it, if I ever get one. (I hope).