Thinking of getting an UZI 9mm

D

Dust_Devil

New member
I just wouldn't know what is the best price and where the best place to but from is and who to trust as I never gone through the purchase of a Class III firearm before.

With different sellers with different descriptions and prices,
Should I buy that UZI for $7,400 straight from Vectorarms? Is it new in box?
Should I buy that UZI some guy from an auction site had for $6,800 with 10 extra mags
Impact Arms has a choice of IMI or Vector UZIs for $8,000
Some other site will have a "slightly used in 95% condition for $6700
Some other guy well have another UZI for $7500 but doesn't give no description or pics to really tell if it is in good condition or not.

The lower the cost obviously the better for me. I would rather have to only spend $6,700 for a UZI from a guy who just wants to get rid of it as fast as he can rather than buy from a guy who wants top price of $8,000 or more.
I just don't want to deal with buying that cheaper $6700 UZI to find out it's not as a good condition as I thought and would of rather spend a couple hundred dollars more for a nicer one. But still, I would feel pretty dumb if I bought that new UZI for $8000 where some other guy had an UZI in great condition with case and extra mags for $7000, but I didn't catch his sales ad right away.

While I am waiting to get all the paperwork, approval and tax stamps is it wiser to buy from a known dealer or is it safe to buy from some unknown guy from an auction site and will they wait all that time until my paperwork is in? It takes a few months, does it not?
 
The transfer process is getting faster now that the NFA Branch of BATFE has moved to West Virginia, but it'll still take a couple months. I've had very good experiences dealing with individuals off the internet. If you're comfortable with the seller, and you use a bit of common sense I wouldn't hesitate to doa deal with a private seller. Get all the contact info you can on the individual, check & verify it, ask for references, check references which they supply, post on subguns or sturmgewehr and inquire about the seller, use the US mail, document everything in writing, etc.

If you want to stick with a known dealer who has a good reputation, allow me to put in a plug for my dealer www.jbarms.com Howard has a model B Uzi in stock for about $7200. He's a great guy to deal with, has a stellar reputation, and has quite a few MGs in stock.

As for price, I wouldn't get too hung up on condition. Uzis are built like tanks and if you get one thats a bit rough looking, it can be easily re-finished. I would advise you to stay away from registered bolt guns and stick with registered receiver guns. The Vector guns are excellent, but I don't think Vector has any more standard size Uzis (I could be wrong though). Price shuold be about $7k, give or take a few hundred. I wouldn't go $8k for a standard size Uzi at the present time. If you can spend $7500-8000 you should consider a mini-Uzi which are more compact and a little more rare.
 
The problem with the IMIs (and yes, I owned one) is that they are conversions of semis, not originally built as MGs as the Vector guns are. There are a handful (IIRC about six) of transferable factory full auto IMI Uzi in the US, but they are very rare and command a stiff premium. Thus, many of the IMI guns still have features that make them incompatible with some of the parts in a standard Uzi parts kit. It does depend on who did the conversion to the IMI and how it was done, but many IMIguns still have the barrel restrictor ring which will not allow you to use a factory full auto barrel - it needs to be turned down on a lathe. Additionally, some ful auto bolts will just barely touch and thus drag on the ring and cause problems.

I had a Flemming conversion of an IMI and while it ran great, I couldn't just replace parts from a standard Uzi SMG kit.
 
I read that you have to get a fingerprint card and go to a CLEO and get it signed. I also read that some Class III dealers will have the fingerprint cards there. Would the dealer send the cards to the CLEO for me or do I HAVE to go into and see the CLEO in person.

If I also have recently in the last few months been fingerprinted for the state of Arizona where I live, for my CCW permit, is the fingerprints on file acceptable for them without being fingerprinted again.
 
You'll probably just see the CLEO's secretary. Bring or buy 2 sets of fingerprint cards.

Regardless of whether you buy from an auction site or from Vector you're going to do the transfer through the local NFA dealer. So the first step is to talk to the local guy and ask him what he can do for you in terms of deals et cetera. There may be some guy in town who's looking to sell and he could get the gun for you a thousand dollars cheaper.

I bought mine direct from Vector, which meant they shipped to the dealer and he held it for me until the Form 4 went through.

I would advise you to stay away from registered bolt guns and stick with registered receiver guns.
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Shaggy didn't tell you, but you can go to jail forever if you own a registered bolt gun and buy a parts kit which happens to have a spare bolt. That would be like having an unregistered MG in the house.
 
You'll have to take the cards in yourself and get fingerprinted. Best to do this when you meet the CLEO to get the sign-off on the form 4.

Now if you haven't already contacted your CLEO to make sure they will sign-off, that should be your first step. If they refuse you can still get the Uzi, but you'll need to form a corporation first.
 
Uzis

Uzis can be expected to soak up well in excess of 100,000 rds. Check out the 3 million rd rental gun on uzitalk.com. I would not pay one cent extra for "NIB" (whatever that means, in reality) guns. Get one that's in excellent, but used, condition. Look on subguns or sturmgewehr. You should not have to pay more than $6.5k at this point in time.

Do not get a bolt gun. The .22 conversion kit is an absolute joy that you will deny to yourself if you go this route. Those that have the .45 kits seem to like them, too.

I have two FS Vectors. Zero problems. Some early guns had problems with trunnion welds. Big deal. Vector can and will make the gun right. Their customer service is second to none. Having said that a properly done - repeat, properly done - IMI conversion RR would be a great gun, too. Which is better? Who knows or cares, inasmuch as both types will easily outlast you. I hope to live long enough to gripe that my Vector couldn't make it to 3 million rounds......but it's not too likely that this will happen.

Sam
 
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