Uzi Gal Gun Collection

 

 

 


Uzi Gal loved guns and the way they were designed. His interest did not end with the UZI machine gun, nor did it end when he retired from Israel Military Industries. Not long after moving to the United States in 1976, Uzi Gal became part of the American gun culture. His work with Action Arms on the design of a semi automatic UZI for the US market was only one of many avenues of gun design work he pursued. By 1979, he had obtained an FFL and SOT, and for a ten year period from the mid 1980's to the mid 1990's, he actively purchased many semi automatic pistols to study their design. This was a period of time when many new semi automatic pistols were being released and Uzi was fascinated by them. Uzi engaged the gun culture at all levels. He purchased many guns from local gun shops and frequented a local gun range only 10 minutes from his house. But his worldwide status also allowed him to engage the US gun culture at the highest levels. He did design work for for Sturm Ruger on what eventually became the MP-9 machine gun. He did design work with Reed Knight. He was a technical resource for the US Secret Service. Uzi Gal was connected to the US gun market.

The majority of the guns Uzi purchased were 9mm. It might be that Uzi favored that caliber, or it might be that it was easier for him to stick with a small number of calibers for his testing and evaluation. Most of the guns that he bought were never sold. They were part of his research into things he was keenly interested in. When Uzi died, his son Iddo handled the estate. Iddo lived in Israel and could not take the guns back with him, so he contacted two of Uzi's friends. They were both FFL holders and between them they purchased all the guns from Uzi's estate. Iddo Gal provided a specific document with each one of the guns identifying them as being from Uzi Gal's estate. If you ever run across a gun that's claimed to be from Uzi's estate, you should expect it to be documented. Uzi was also very organized and kept track of all packaging he received with his guns. Just about all of the guns from his estate were in their original box. Some of them even had the original invoice.

As an FFL holder himself, Uzi was required to keep a bound book of acquisitions and depositions. Those records provide some insight into what things interested him and some of the activities he was involved with.  Here's a look at his gun collection. Some of the guns listed below have links to photographs. The photographs are of the actual guns that Uzi Gal owned and are all documented as such.

Manufacturer Model Serial # Caliber Date Purchased Notes
Beretta 84 B2903XX .380 auto Nov 28,1979 The first gun Uzi bought with his FFL. Transferred to himself for use as personal protection.
Steyr AUG 9015A4XX .223 Aug 15, 1984 It was almost five years before Uzi logged another gun into his book. Presumably he was focused on Action Arms work during that time. He transferred the AUG to himself.
GAL-TECH 201 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985 The model 201 is the standard UZI smg. Uzi manufactured three full autos on this day. Two years later he sent them to Sturm Ruger for evaluation. It would seem that this was part of the design work he did for Sturm Ruger on what would eventually become the MP-9.
GAL-TECH 201 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985  
GAL-TECH 201 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985  
GAL-TECH 211 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985 On the same day, Uzi also manufactured three semi auto UZI's and transferred them to Sturm Ruger at the same time as the model 201's.
GAL-TECH 211 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985  
GAL-TECH 211 A8508XX 9x19 Sept 19, 1985  
Star Super SM 12707XX .380 auto Nov 4, 1985 At this point, Uzi began buying many semi auto pistols to study their design. Low cost, highly functions guns like the Star were very interesting to Uzi.
Star 30M 16830XX 9x19 Nov 8, 1985 Uzi did extensive machining on this gun to so he could use it to attach a recoil measuring device. The top of the slide was machined off so the overall weight was the same as the original gun.
IMI UZI Pistol UP062XX 9x19 Nov 8, 1985 Uzi bought this pistol from a gun shop, not from Action Arms. He was never a big fan of the smaller UZI's, always preferring the original design.
Military Armament Co. M10A1 54612XX 9x19 Nov 8, 1985 Uzi bought this Ingram M10 (semi auto) and the UZI pistol above from the same gun shop on the same day. Apparently he wanted to take a look at how the two compared.
Knight's Armament Co. Silencer SMG1XX 9mm Jan 3, 1986 This suppressor was probably made especially for Uzi, which is not surprising since he knew Reed Knight. It was the only suppressor in Uzi's records and he never sold it.
Beretta 92 SBF C6181XX 9mm Jan 24, 1986 Purchased from a gun shop near his house. He bought it about the same time the US Army started using the Beretta. This gun was made in Italy, not in the US.
Glock 17 AH4XXUS 9mm June 9, 1986  
Sig-Sauer P226 U1251XX 9mm July 9, 1986 The roll pin through the slide shows that Uzi disassembled this gun to see what was going on inside.
Heckler & Koch P7M13 758XX 9mm July 16, 1986  
IMI UZI Carbine SA256XX 9mm Aug 18, 1986 Uzi took this semi UZI carbine in from a friend of his and sent it back to him 11 days later. Uzi probably did some sort of repair or modification to the gun. Uzi logged guns in and out of his log book when they were being worked on.
Steyr GB P162XX 9x19 Jan 18, 1987  
Steyr 1912 (Hahn) 819XX 9x23 Jan 18, 1987 Uzi's log book only shows a few older guns being purchased. He mostly focused on the new breed of semi automatic pistols. Apparently there was something interesting about the action on this Steyr that attracted his attention.
Heckler & Koch VP70Z 732XX 9x19 Feb 3, 1987  
Astra 600 113XX 9x19 Feb 3, 1987  
Heckler & Koch P9S 1340XX 9x19 Feb 10, 1987  
Sig-Sauer P230 S0061XX 9x17 (.380) Feb 10, 1987 This is the only gun in the house that was loaded when Uzi died. He kept it in his night stand by his bed.
Colt MK IV, Series 80 FG647XX .45 Feb 10, 1987  
Action Arms AT 84S 027XX 9x19 Aug 26, 1987 This was actually a Swiss made ITM Solothurn pistol, imported by Action Arms. It was sold to Uzi by Evan Whildin, VP and General Manager at Action Arms.
Magnum Research Desert Eagle 16XX .357 Mag Sept 19, 1987  
Sturm Ruger P85-C 300-040XX 9x19 Jan 30, 1988 Uzi purchased this gun directly from Sturm Ruger.
Smith & Wesson 6906 TCA46XX 9x19 Feb 14, 1989 Purchased from Knight's Armament. The sales slip said it was sold by "CRK" - C. Reed Knight - who was good friends with Uzi.
IMI UZI Carbine SAAAXX 9x19 Mar 20, 1989 Uzi bought this semi UZI carbine from Action Arms.
Beretta 81P D8792XX .32 July 5, 1989 Purchased from a gun shop near his house.
Polytech AK47S DF-058XX 7.62x39 July 18, 1989 Purchased directly from the importer - KFS, Atlanta GA.
Polytech SKS 81-648XX 7.62x39 July 18, 1989 Also purchased from the importer on the same day as the AK47S.
Intratec TEC-9 0706XX 9x19 July 18, 1989  
Raven Arms MP25 15814XX .25 July 18, 1989  
Sentinel Arms Corp. Striker 12 UZI GAL XXX 12 ga. Sept 27, 1989 This gun was made especially for Uzi by the manufacturer and had a special serial number for him.
Calico M951 J0011XX 9x19 Jan 30, 1990  
Ruger MP-9 450-005XX 9x19 Sept 24, 1990 Uzi Gal designed the full auto MP-9 for Sturm Ruger and they presented the first gun off the assembly line to him. Uzi considered the MP-9 to be the ultimate submachine gun, delivering excellent quality at low cost.
Colt R0635 HT0021XX 9x19 July 12, 1991 Purchased this full auto gun directly from Colt. Uzi saw one of the 9mm's at a trade show when they came out and had to have one. Uzi modified the collapsible stock. It normally has 4 positions but Uzi added three more stops for intermediate lengths. Notice the mags are all numbered. Uzi did this with all his magazines. He also stored them disassembled so the springs would not be compressed at all.
Colt 2000 PF140XX 9x19 Sept 3, 1993 Uzi had some sort of problem with this gun and sent it to Knight's Armament for repair. He logged it out of his books when he sent it for repairs.
Fegyvergyar Frommer Stop 2080XX .32 Sept 10, 1993 Another one of the few old guns with an unusual action that Uzi purchased.
Steyr SPP A2211XX 9mm Oct 1, 1993  
Steyr SPP A2211XX 9mm Oct 1, 1993 Why did Uzi buy two Styr SPPs? Who knows. He never sold either of them.
Norinco 320 Sporter MSA000XX 9mm June 2, 1994 Uzi bought this Norinco UZI directly from Action Arms. The very low serial number on this gun establishes the general time frame when Action Arms started selling the Chinese Norinco UZI. Note that this was sold before the Sept. 1994 assault weapon ban, but that doesn't matter since it's an import and must comply with the 1989 assault weapon import ban.
CZ CZ85 C92XX 9mm June 2, 1994 Uzi bought this pistol directly from Action Arms.
Daewoo DP51 4003XX 9mm July 6, 1994 Uzi bought this gun from a local gun shop.
Colt 2000 PF140XX 9mm July 8, 1994 After repairs are complete, the Colt is returned from Knight's Armament.
Heckler & Koch USP 24-135XX 9x19 July 15, 1994 Uzi bought this gun directly from H&K
Heckler & Koch USP 22-186XX .40 S&W July 22, 1994 Another USP a week later. Again directly from H&K.
Sig-Sauer P229 AD183XX .40 S&W July 27, 1994 Uzi bought the next three guns on the same day from a local gun shop. Looks like he wanted to check into the new .40S&W caliber.
Smith & Wesson Sigma SW40F PAB70XX .40 S&W July 27, 1994  
Smith & Wesson Sigma SW9F PAA99XX 9x19 July 27, 1994  
KBI, Inc Makarov A0041XX 9x18 Feb 3, 1995 Uzi's attention seemed to turn to smaller framed pistols around this time. All of the remaining guns he bought were small framed.
Intratec Category 9 055XX 9x19 May 3, 1995 Uzi bought the next four guns from a local gun shop.
Kahr K9 AC01XX 9x19 May 3, 1995  
Interarms Ultrastar 21370XX 9x19 May 3, 1995  
Interarms Firestar 21496XX 9x19 May 3, 1995  
Beretta 8000F Cougar 0096XXHC 9x19 Oct 9, 1995 Once again, Uzi buys three more guns from a local gun shop on the same day.
Kel-Tec P-11 012XX 9x19 Oct 9, 1995  
Smith & Wesson Sigma 380 RAB02XX .380 Oct 9, 1995  
CZ CZ24/27 14710466XX .380 Dec 22, 1995  
Glock 26 BRX2XXUS 9x19 Feb 27, 1996 Uzi bought this gun from a local gun shop.
CZ VZ38 2632XX .380 Aug 30, 1996  

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