An Uzi Carbine May Not Be Movie-Cool, But It’s Definitely Range-Cool

In today’s action movie/television show world, you’re more likely to witness both heroes and villains employing some type of AR-style firearm as they open fire at each other. Hell, the producers and show-runners have gotten so lazy that they’ll often arm their actors with some type of flat-top AR without any optics or sights at all as though the characters are some kind of inner city gang bangers. I just watched the newest season of Daredevil and the bad guys (bad cops) were blasting away with ARs void of any sights whatsoever. 

Of course, such wasn’t always the case. During the 80s and 90s, Hollywood was very fond of using unique-looking arms such as the HK MP5, the Steyr AUG and, naturally, the Uzi. Arnold one-hand wielding an “Uzi nine millimetah” in Terminator was equivalent of a million dollar paid ad for Israeli Military Industries and the Uzi brand.

Cold War Submachine Guns

Back in the good ol’ days of the Cold War and post-Cold War/pre-GWoT era, IMI was producing select-fire and semi-automatic versions of the Uzi style gun for LE, military and civilian sales. These guns have been chambered in 9x19mm, .41AE, and .45 ACP (for the US market), but the 9mm versions are naturally the most common and popular. 

The Uzi was the brainchild of Colonel Uziel Gal who, rumor has it, didn’t want the gun named after him, but was overruled by the IMI brass. Designed all the way back in 1950, the Uzi is one of the first and most popular post-WWII submachine guns to be produced for the new era. Records indicate that the gun was tested and evaluated and then officially adopted by the Israel Defense Forces in 1954. Unlike many Cold War era guns, the Uzi saw active combat almost immediately during the Suez Crisis and then all over the world for the next fifty years. 

A true submachine gun, the select-fire Uzi fired from an open bolt action and the firing pin was actually just a “bump” on the face of the gun’s massive bolt. While open bolt sub-guns might seem strange in the 21st Century, that was the standard back then for the simple reason that an open bolt gun cools faster than a closed bolt design. When you’re ripping off 32 rounds in a couple of seconds, the barrel tends to get hot fast. 

I had the opportunity many years ago to run a true full-auto IMI Uzi while working on an executive protection assignment. For a submachine gun, the rate of fire was relatively slow at 600 RPM, but that allowed the gun to be controllably fired in bursts. The full-auto mini-Uzi pistols had a much higher rate of 950 RPM.  

The classic Uzi sub-gun has the unique and distinctive two-piece folding stock. Though Arnold and most of the action stars never bothered to unfold the stock, doing so improves your ability to actually, you know, hit a target. Additionally, although not as popular in movies, the Uzi also could be seen in historical photos with fixed wooden stocks.   

UC-9 Carbine

The gun featured here is the UC-9 semi-automatic carbine offered by Century Arms many years ago. In order to be “civilian legal” and import friendly, the guns came with a 16-inch barrel and a closed-bolt semi-automatic action.

However, aside from the features that made it importable to the US as a “sporting gun,” the UC-9 was, at its heart, an Uzi design using a majority of original Uzi parts to include the magazines. Unlike modern manufacturing where aluminum and polymer are used whenever possible to lighten up the gun, the UC-9 is made of genuine steel and the only plastic is found on the handguard and pistol grip area. The empty weight is about 7.7 pounds.

During the first year or so that Century Arms was offering the UC-9 I picked one up. It came with genuine 32-round Uzi magazines, an OD green cotton sling, an old school cleaning kit and I was even able to score some duck-cotton, OD green, surplus IDF magazine pouches. 

Minus the full-auto capability, the UC-9 feels and functions just like the parent gun. The charging handle is on top of the gun and is cut out so you can see through it to use the iron sights. Uzi Gal put a grip safety on the back strap and the safety/selector switch is located on the left side at the top of the pistol grip. The magazine release paddle is found at the base of the pistol grip on the left side as well. 

No longer available in the Century catalog, I’ve had this gun for a couple decades now. The impetus for this review came from an email from RTG Parts of Sheridan, Wyoming. They were advertising a sale on surplus wooden stocks for the Uzi. For years I’ve thought about putting one of these on my UC-9 for a classic look and that email was what it took to get me to pull the trigger. 

I found a Youtube video that detailed the process required for swapping the original folding stock for the wooden one. All I needed was an Allen wrench. It only took a couple minutes to field strip the UC-9 and remove the folder. As a testament to the simplistic genius of the Uzi’s design, the wooden stock just slips on the back and clips in place, no extra screws or bolts required.

The original UC-9 came in a parkerized finish and many years ago I decided to apply the “Uzi Green” Duracoat color to the gun. The combo of the original IMI wooden stock and the Uzi green was just the ticket. At least from my point of view.

Range Time

One of the first lessons I learned was that the original Uzi design was built for standard 9x19mm NATO FMJ ammunition. Like many guns of that era — including the MP5 — the gun doesn’t not like modern jacketed hollow-point ammo.

Due to that, the Blitz Action or B.A.T. round was developed by Geco. The bullet looks like an FMJ, but it has a hollow core and the nose-cap blows away after the round is fired, creating a hollow point expanding bullet. I recall reading about this ammunition in a copy of SWAT Magazine some time back in the 1980s. 

Such ammunition was naturally quite expensive to manufacture and with today’s technology, it’s unnecessary, but back in the old days it was a solution to a real problem. For my purposes, I’d simply use standard FMJ 9mm ammunition from Double Tap ammo as well as some military surplus M882 9mm NATO. 

I can generally load pistol magazines without the aid of a loading tool. However, when it comes to the old school steel submachine gun mags, a dedicated loading tool is a nice thing to have in your kit. It’s been so long that I genuinely can’t recall if the UC-9 came with a loading tool. Not to worry, when I ordered the stock from RTG I put an Uzi magazine loading tool in the cart. 

Though it’s cool to slap the folding stock on the Uzi and lock it in place, placing your cheek against the steel to get a good sight picture is uncomfortable for an afternoon worth of shooting. My UC-9 with the recently-added wooden stock might not look Hollywood cool, but it’s a pleasure to shoot.

With the combination of steel and hardwood, the weight of this semi-auto Uzi was more than enough to tame the mild recoil of 9mm ammo…no ports or compensators were needed. I spent a pleasant morning up in the mountains banging away on cardboard and steel with the gun.

As Ferris Bueller said, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

 

Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.