Snarky Americans are fond of pointing out the obvious in the most pedantic way. When considering the crop of Turkish HK clones we see comments such as “That’s not a real MP5.” When we talk about a semi-automatic Kalashnikov rifle and call it an AK or AK47, the bedwetters jump in with, “That’s not an AK47, it’s a semi-automatic AKM-style rifle.” Yes, we get it, you need a girlfriend and some better hobbies.
Nonetheless, American firearms companies have been attempting to satisfy the desire of the American gun-buying public for decades by either producing, or as often as not, importing firearms that have the appearance and function of many true classic firearms. We mentioned the Turkish-made MP5 clones, which are fantastic by the way. But let’s consider the Galil.
The Good Old Days
Back in the good ol’ days when the Cold War had ended and surplus guns were flowing into the United States like manna from heaven, Century Arms was scouring the globe for great deals on classic guns. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have picked up several. One of these was a rifle they called the “Golani Sporter” for import reasons.
The Golani Sporter is actually a semi-automatic Galil rifle built to meet pedantic import regulations. Made with original Galil parts, the select-fire trigger mechanism was removed and unfortunately they didn’t come with the classic style Galil bipod. However, before we get into the specs of this particular gun, let’s consider some history.
History of the Galil
It didn’t take long for the newly-formed state of Israel to find itself in armed conflicts and wars after the country’s 1948 recognition by the UN. Keep in mind that the area had been under the control of Great Britain up to that point so there was a heavy British influence on the region. The Arab-Israeli War began almost immediately with the Israelis armed with WWII-era weaponry, mostly British war surplus. The armed conflicts of the Suez Crisis and Six-Day War followed.
After the Six-Day War in June of 1967, Israel captured thousands of Soviet-licensed Egyptian AKM rifles (Maadis). The IDF took the AKM rifles, tested them, and were extremely impressed by their toughness. However, at that time, all of the enemies of Israel were either licensing or purchasing their arms directly from the Soviet Union. Israel was playing nice with NATO then and Soviet arms makers weren’t inclined to license or sell arms to NATO’s pals in the Middle East.
So, IMI — now IWI — decided to make their own rifle based upon the AK design. Yisrael Galil was the engineer in charge of the project. Besides the captured AKMs, Mr. Galil examined the Finnish Valmet rifle, a gun that’s largely considered the Finns’ AK. The Valmet borrowed heavily fromAKM features while adding some of its own. The original Galil rifles were built on Valmet RK 62 machined receivers. What IMI ended up with was a rifle that functioned internally like an AKM/Valmet with a piston-driven action.
However, the Galil’s barrel configuration was different from the AKM, as was the stock, the aforementioned bipod, and forend. Yisrael Galil took the AK paddle safety/dust cover and made it ambidextrous by adding a safety lever on the left side of the receiver. The guarded magazine release lever (paddle) on the Galil looked just like the one found on the Valmet.
As mentioned, Israel was playing nice with NATO so the caliber of choice for their Galil ARM rifle was 5.56mm NATO, not 7.62x39mm Russian. Standard capacity steel magazines were a 35-round configuration. Yes, IMI made 7.62x51mm NATO Galil rifles, but let’s stick to the 5.56 version.
Not surprisingly, the Galil ARM (select-fire) fighting rifle was tremendously robust. Built of steel with a machined (not stamped) receiver, the original rifle weighed 9.6 pounds, plenty of weight to tame the recoil of the 5.56mm. The Galil AR version was built with no bipod, wire cutter or carrying handle and weighed 8.7 pounds.
The IDF officially adopted the Galil in 1972 and it was ready to go for the 1973 Yom Kippur War. They kept rolling out the Galil and it became the IDF’s go-to rifle. Well, almost.
In 1975, good old Uncle Sam came around with the Military Aid Program and offered Israel a sh*t-ton of new and gently used M16A1 rifles for a bargain price. Israel found it cheaper to buy M16s from the USA than to manufacture brand new Galils. The Galil wasn’t dead by any means, but it had stiff competition from the less-expensive-to-make Colt guns.
Interestingly, in the late 1970’s, South Africa was looking for a 5.56mm NATO rifle to replace their 7.62mm NATO R1…the FN FAL. Rather than start from the ground up, the South Africans licenced the Galil and turned it into the Vektor R4. The R4 is a near exact clone of the Galil with S.A. producing a 50-round magazine to go with the standard 35-round versions.
While relatively rare in the United States, there are still Galil and Vektor R4 rifles all over Africa and the Middle East.
My Golani Sporter
The gun on display here arrived in standard black parkerized finish with a polymer forend. It remained so for a while until I found the Freedom Stencils camouflage patterns and paired them with Duracoat. Also, my buddy at Midwest Industries informed me that their aluminum rail system would fit on the Galil. That rail system has been upgraded since to a modern version with M-LOK. I can’t recall the exact date that I took charge of the rifle, my memory says it was some time around 2004 or 2005.
Unlike American AR-style rifles that won’t reliably run on steel-cased ammunition, the Galil absolutely will, thanks in large part to the massive AK-style extractor claw. When steel-cased .223 was plentiful and cheap, I put thousands of rounds through the gun.
Yes, the rifles were accurate, at least as accurate as the hands of those who held them. The sights are adjustable and one of the noteworthy differences between an AKM and a Galil is the choice to put the rear sight on the dust cover. Having a machined receiver, there’s no AKM-style trunnion as you have come to expect from the Kalashnikov. While the bolt looks essentially identical to the AK, the charging handle in the Galil is vertical. Some folks like that and some hate it.
The stock is a side-folder, folding on the right side of the rifle. Yes, you can fire the rifle with the stock folded if you’re so inclined. Side-folding stocks are put there for convenience of storage and carry, particularly where mechanized or airborne troops are concerned. The pistol grip is a hard polymer and it’s hollow.
Parting Shots
While the original Galil design ceased production in 1998, IWI has been making the Galil ACE, a modernized version. The OG Galil models have now become extremely rare.
The lesson here is A) when companies like Century bring in cool guns, take advantage of them, and B) if you come across a Galil in a local shop or at a show, you need to grab it if you want one. It won’t be there for long.
Specifications: Golani Sporter Rifle
Caliber: 5.56
Action: Gas operated semi-auto
Capacity: 35 rounds
Barrel Length: 18 inches
Overall Length: 38.4 inches (29 inches folded)
Weight: 8.1 pounds empty
Sights: Adjustable
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.
I have one of these among my collection, its a nice rifle.