IMI Galil SAR

[TOrrock]

OK, I'm posting this here rather than in the NFA section because a great deal of this thread is applicable to standard semi auto variations of the Galil.

These are pics of my pre-86 dealer sample Magnum Research machine gun. This is a factory full auto rifle that was imported prior to 1986 to be sold to dealers licensed to sell machine guns, mainly as sales samples for police departments.

It was new in the box when I got a hold of it....it's not new in the box any more....

There are three things I'm not real enthused about it, all of which are a product of the time and design of the Galil.

1) 1/12" twist barrel. Not a lot to be done about that, other than scoring a 1/7" IMI barrel and dealing with the head ache of replacing it.

2) The selector works in the opposite direction of the civilian semi auto selectors...in other words, safe is up front, full auto is in the middle, and semi auto is all the way at the rear....much less ergonomic than the civilian set up where fire is up front and safe is in back. Not a lot that can be done about that, I don't think.

3) In the 1970's, when the Galil was being developed and finally fielded, being able to charge the weapon with your off hand, coming over the dust cover, was high speed, low drag....but with the advent and use of modern, high quality optics, that vertical charging handle gets in the way and is a disadvantage. Fortunately, I was able to score a piece of unobtainium, an IMI/IWI horizontal cocking handle bolt carrier that was made up for a small contract in South America (Colombia I think).

Troy is now making their Battle Rail for it, and I think they will also have an upgrade kit for the cocking handle as well.

[TOrrock]

Here's a comparison of the old style vertical charging handle, and the new horizontal style.

Original style on the bottom, new optics friendly model on top:






Original:









New Hotness:




















Installed, ready to rock.

[TOrrock]

I'm seriously considering the Troy rail...these were developed primarily for customers in Central and South America. Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico; many, many countries south of the border use them.

I'm not connected to Troy at all. It does seem like they're in the fore front of Galil upgrades.

http://store.troyind.com/Galil_Battl...htm?Click=8066


Installation video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmFEsrm7mj8&feature

And the really cool part, which I found after I bought the IMI bolt carrier....it looks like Troy is selling a kit to modify standard bolt carriers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FzC3DNYY8A&feature

[SteyrAUG]

1) 1/12" twist barrel. Not a lot to be done about that, other than scoring a 1/7" IMI barrel and dealing with the head ache of replacing it.

I'd hardly be bothered by that. 1/12 just means you've been at this for a long time. It's not like the Galil is a "go to" gun anyway. If the Russians started dropping parachutes on us you aren't gonna grab that Galil anymore than I'm gonna grab my AR-180, my old SP1s or or my HK93.

These are guns we have for collector purposes. We all want the Reed Knight / Dan Shea "reference collection" and we are doing our best to catch up. At most we shoot them recreationally for fun. But we have much better candidate firearms for personal defense and unlikely events like Red Dawn scenarios.

Now if we were discussion a hypothetical firearm like the Galil(M) "modern" where the design was being updated for current military applications then we'd have to see more than a few changes and design upgrades.

In the meantime, it is just nice to own them and share the details with those who aren't fortunate enough to have any first hand experience with them.

[buddyhoohaw]

Great pics and narrative Templar. The SAR has always been my favorite Galil. I was collecting parts to build a SAR clone and I never got past the receiver and barrel (it was 1 x 7 twist); both of which I sold several years ago.

Cheers

[Kisara]

Wow, thanks for sharing that Templar. I've never seen or heard of that cocking handle. Very interesting how another item (The upturned standard Galil cocking handle) comes up that in it's time was forward thinking, but nowadays may not be (i.e. HBAR's; cocking handles on the right side because most shooters are right handed; carry handles).

[armakraut]

Hate.

[MountainRaven]

Armakraut,

I have to ask, where is that image from? It looks suspiciously like Clive Owen.

[AKFAN]

Armakraut,

I have to ask, where is that image from? It looks suspiciously like Clive Owen.

Its from the movie called "Lebanon" about a Israeli tank crew
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hSh_lFvYmU

[lloydkristmas]

Very nice. That right there is pretty much my grail gun.

Templar, what would you suggest if I wanted to get my hands on a setup (semi auto) just like that? SBR etc of course. I dont want to deal with Red Jacket, Elite, or of course Century. Got a reccomendation for a builder of a quality SAR like that?