The Uzi for the civilian market

An original UZI carbine Model B as manufactured by the Israeli state factory “IMI” in the early 1980s and imported by Action Arms.
Photo Credit: www.rockislandauction.com

In the first episode of Season 3 of Gun Stories, we cover the history of the Uzi, an Israeli made submachinegun issued to the Israeli Defense Forces in 1954. From the 1960s through the 1980s, more Uzi submachine guns were sold to more military and police markets than any other submachine gun ever made.

In the 1980’s, a semi-automatic version became available to the civilian market. The Uzi Carbine with a 16-inch were available in calibers 9mm, .41 AE, and .45 ACP.

The Uzi Carbine had two main variants, the Model A (imported from 1980 to 1983) and the Model B (imported from 1983 until 1989). These two variants were imported and distributed by Action Arms.

Norinco of China manufactured an unlicensed copy of the Uzi model B with a fixed stock and sold as the M320.

Other versions such as the The Mini-Uzi Carbine was fitted with a 19.8 inch barrel and fired from a closed-bolt position in semi-automatic mode only.

A pistol version was also manufactured as a semi-automatic, closed bolt, blowback-operated and with no shoulder stock.

Previously imported Uzi semi-automatics s and parts can be found on auction sites such as GunBroker.

Current Productions

Current variants or clones of the Uzi for civilian use are also available. Vector Arms manufactures several models both rifles and pistol versions in 9mm, .45 and .22 long rifle.

The IWI US’ new Uzi Pro is expected to be available in August 2013.

The latest news is from Israeli Weapon Industries (IWI). The company has launched operations of a US Subsidiary, IWI US, Inc.. One of their products will be the  UZI® PRO Pistol, specially designed for the US Market. According to their VP of Sales and Marketing, Michael Kassnar, the Uzi Pro will be shipped to wholesale distributors in August 2013.

The UZI® PRO pistol is chambered in 9mm with a blowback design to cycle the action from a closed bolt. It has three safety mechanisms: a conventional manual safety, a firing pin block and a grip safety that must be fully depressed before the gun can be cocked or fired. This model comes with a 20 and a 25 round magazine. MRSP is $1,099.