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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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