galil
- Thread starter sks
- Start date
)Edmund Rowe
New member
Galils? I have one
zzzz...(snort)....hunh? yeah, Spectre, I'll comment.
The military style Galils (but in semi-auto) were imported for a while. They were imported in 2 flavors in 2 calibers: standard AR with plastic foregrip, and ARM version with bipod/bottle opener that folds up into the wooden foregrip. Both were imported in .308 and .223 caliber. I think (not sure) that after the 1994 Assault Ban, some were imported in a thumbhole stock version without bayonet lug. I saw ads in Shotgun News for them a long time ago but never saw one in person. (I wasn't too interested, since I had a pre-ban )
The Galils have forged receivers, which makes for
good news: it's heavy (soaks up recoil and little muzzle climb, at least in .223)
bad news: it's heavy (like hauling a truck axle after a while)
I got an ARM model, thinking it was the last word in "assault rifles". I really prefer my AR-15 to it when shooting .223, and I can't say I'd like the .308 version for shooting .308s.
Shooting from the bipod shifted the point of impact like on all small arms where the bipod is connected to the barrel. This design flaw is on several rifles like the M1918 BAR, FN-FALO, M-60 GPMG (earlier models), some attempts to make a SAW out of an M-16 (bipod clips directly to the barrel) and others.
Accuracy was good, but something about the violent cycling action of .223 in a Kalashnikov action makes it feel funny when shooting. It's like you can feel there's a lot of churning going on inside the receiver. Maybe it's just me because other AKs also feel that way when I shoot them. But .223 in Klatchs does make for very violent action. I saw in both my Galil and in a Chinese semi-auto AK in .223 the brass gets ejected like 40-50 feet to the right/forward. I mean sometimes you can count to 3 while the brass sails WAY up in the air.
The flip-up tritium sights are neat but I dunno if I can ever get replacements when they get too dim. I never shot them at night so I don't know how much their point of impact differs from the standard sights.
I had read that Israeli military units had some Galil receivers cracking from usage of full-auto ARMs as squad automatics. I was concerned and made a sort of plastic buffer to go inside the receiver where the bolt slams against the rear. I definitely softened the klang but then I had some functioning problems. I haven't tried one of the commercial rubber shock buffs available yet.
Brass gets dinged about halfway down the length from ejection. EVERY brass gets a dent in it from hitting the edge of the ejection port. I know guys who reload it after the ding but I myself decided I'll be better safe than sorry.
I have both steel and plastic "Orlite" Galil mags. I have 35 rounders. I never got the 50 rounders because the sucker is heavy enough already. These mags are VERY robust. I don't think that's an excuse to abuse them, though.
While it's a great bragging right to have a pre-ban Galil, I decided real quick that for real action hero stuff, I'd rather use my AR-15 or Garand. My AR is much lighter and easier to hold up in a shouldered ready position for a long time, (this may not seem like a big deal, but try a careful search operation for an hour or so and you'll want to shed every extra ounce possible) and the Garand feels much better balanced. Garands are heavy, too, but somehow they feel much better in my hands than the Galil. Something about the Galil just feels klunky compared to a nice streamlined Garand.
How's that for some first hand info?
Edmund
zzzz...(snort)....hunh? yeah, Spectre, I'll comment.
The military style Galils (but in semi-auto) were imported for a while. They were imported in 2 flavors in 2 calibers: standard AR with plastic foregrip, and ARM version with bipod/bottle opener that folds up into the wooden foregrip. Both were imported in .308 and .223 caliber. I think (not sure) that after the 1994 Assault Ban, some were imported in a thumbhole stock version without bayonet lug. I saw ads in Shotgun News for them a long time ago but never saw one in person. (I wasn't too interested, since I had a pre-ban
)The Galils have forged receivers, which makes for
good news: it's heavy (soaks up recoil and little muzzle climb, at least in .223)
bad news: it's heavy (like hauling a truck axle after a while)
I got an ARM model, thinking it was the last word in "assault rifles". I really prefer my AR-15 to it when shooting .223, and I can't say I'd like the .308 version for shooting .308s.
Shooting from the bipod shifted the point of impact like on all small arms where the bipod is connected to the barrel. This design flaw is on several rifles like the M1918 BAR, FN-FALO, M-60 GPMG (earlier models), some attempts to make a SAW out of an M-16 (bipod clips directly to the barrel) and others.
Accuracy was good, but something about the violent cycling action of .223 in a Kalashnikov action makes it feel funny when shooting. It's like you can feel there's a lot of churning going on inside the receiver. Maybe it's just me because other AKs also feel that way when I shoot them. But .223 in Klatchs does make for very violent action. I saw in both my Galil and in a Chinese semi-auto AK in .223 the brass gets ejected like 40-50 feet to the right/forward. I mean sometimes you can count to 3 while the brass sails WAY up in the air.
The flip-up tritium sights are neat but I dunno if I can ever get replacements when they get too dim. I never shot them at night so I don't know how much their point of impact differs from the standard sights.
I had read that Israeli military units had some Galil receivers cracking from usage of full-auto ARMs as squad automatics. I was concerned and made a sort of plastic buffer to go inside the receiver where the bolt slams against the rear. I definitely softened the klang but then I had some functioning problems. I haven't tried one of the commercial rubber shock buffs available yet.
Brass gets dinged about halfway down the length from ejection. EVERY brass gets a dent in it from hitting the edge of the ejection port. I know guys who reload it after the ding but I myself decided I'll be better safe than sorry.
I have both steel and plastic "Orlite" Galil mags. I have 35 rounders. I never got the 50 rounders because the sucker is heavy enough already. These mags are VERY robust. I don't think that's an excuse to abuse them, though.
While it's a great bragging right to have a pre-ban Galil, I decided real quick that for real action hero stuff, I'd rather use my AR-15 or Garand. My AR is much lighter and easier to hold up in a shouldered ready position for a long time, (this may not seem like a big deal, but try a careful search operation for an hour or so and you'll want to shed every extra ounce possible) and the Garand feels much better balanced. Garands are heavy, too, but somehow they feel much better in my hands than the Galil. Something about the Galil just feels klunky compared to a nice streamlined Garand.
How's that for some first hand info?
Edmund
Edmund Rowe
New member
Good web site!
I forgot to mention that my Galil has the AR-15 magazine adapter shown in the website vitiaz references.
I didn't find one of those adapters until 1998 after owning my Galil for several years.
I was surprised that the web site mentions only about 7000-9000 semi-auto Galils were imported. I'll be sure to keep mine for bragging rights!
Another few things I neglected to mention: the Galil has the absolute best folding stock I've ever seen on any long arm. This hummer locks up very strong and it's STURDY. While folded it only takes a quick swing and ka-chunk it's extended and locked. To unlock it from the extended position takes some conscious action. This hummer is not unlocking accidentally short of a howitzer round landing in the same foxhole.
In one of the pics of the mag adapter on the Galil/Valmet web site, you can see the safety selector on the left side of the receiver above the pistol grip. You might also note the AK style selector on the right side in other photos. The good news is with a Galil you can change the safety to "fire" with the shooting hand thumb (assuming you're right handed). The BAD news is the motion also moves the selector on the right side (the left/right side selectors are linked together), and it takes a very hearty heave-ho to shove that thing onto "fire" with just the thumb.
Like most AKs, the selector makes an audible CLICK when you take it off safety. If it were a serious save my life day, I would consider going empty chamber and racking one when action is iminent, or maybe just leave it chambered and on FIRE. (but remember rule #3: keep your finger off the trigger until yadda yadda yadda)
One nice touch on the Galil bolt is the handle is turned up so either hand can rack it. Some pics on the web page show this pretty well.
WOW, now I want to take mine out for some shooting!
Edmund
I forgot to mention that my Galil has the AR-15 magazine adapter shown in the website vitiaz references.
I didn't find one of those adapters until 1998 after owning my Galil for several years.
I was surprised that the web site mentions only about 7000-9000 semi-auto Galils were imported. I'll be sure to keep mine for bragging rights!
Another few things I neglected to mention: the Galil has the absolute best folding stock I've ever seen on any long arm. This hummer locks up very strong and it's STURDY. While folded it only takes a quick swing and ka-chunk it's extended and locked. To unlock it from the extended position takes some conscious action. This hummer is not unlocking accidentally short of a howitzer round landing in the same foxhole.
In one of the pics of the mag adapter on the Galil/Valmet web site, you can see the safety selector on the left side of the receiver above the pistol grip. You might also note the AK style selector on the right side in other photos. The good news is with a Galil you can change the safety to "fire" with the shooting hand thumb (assuming you're right handed). The BAD news is the motion also moves the selector on the right side (the left/right side selectors are linked together), and it takes a very hearty heave-ho to shove that thing onto "fire" with just the thumb.
Like most AKs, the selector makes an audible CLICK when you take it off safety. If it were a serious save my life day, I would consider going empty chamber and racking one when action is iminent, or maybe just leave it chambered and on FIRE. (but remember rule #3: keep your finger off the trigger until yadda yadda yadda)
One nice touch on the Galil bolt is the handle is turned up so either hand can rack it. Some pics on the web page show this pretty well.
WOW, now I want to take mine out for some shooting!
Edmund
Edmund Rowe
New member
Another web article
Over on http://www.ak-47.net
the homepage has a linked article from the 1983 Soldier of Fortune magazine reviewing the Galil. There is a great pic of the select fire SAR with a 50 round .223 magazine. As you can see, that mag is HUGE. I much prefer the 35 rounders or AR-15 mags (20 or 30).
Edmund
Over on http://www.ak-47.net
the homepage has a linked article from the 1983 Soldier of Fortune magazine reviewing the Galil. There is a great pic of the select fire SAR with a 50 round .223 magazine. As you can see, that mag is HUGE. I much prefer the 35 rounders or AR-15 mags (20 or 30).
Edmund
Destructo6
New member
Similar to the Galil and S. African R4/R5, the Finnish Valmet has a superb folding buttstock. I believe the Valmet weighs significantly less than the Galil and I've seen them for around $1200 within the last couple years. Unfortunately, the magazines are priced at a similarly outrageous level.