Tag Archives: 9mm

Research

IMI 945 Compact / “Black Horse”

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Just to be clear: all images in this post are from Modern Gun magazine, August1994. I use them without permission, and will remove the images if requested by the rightful copyright holder.

945 compact

There are many mysterious Israeli handguns out there, but besides the semi-infamous 9mm IMI revolver, another difficult one to track down is the “Black Horse”. There’s a grand total of one reference to it online, and a somewhat grainy picture that seems to have been taken from a visit to the IDF History Museum in Tel Aviv. (My need for a trip to Israel grows and grows…)

But, thanks to a tip from a helpful commenter, Daniel Watters at TheGunZone, I’ve finally hunted up some more information on the gun, and it’s not what I was expecting…

Continue reading IMI 945 Compact / “Black Horse” →

Reviews

The BUL Cherokee

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While BUL Transmark is best known for their exceptional 1911 handgun lines, they’ve had extensive experience dabbling in Tanfoglio derivatives, too. The BUL Impact leveraged the magazines of their M-5 double-stack 1911 line; the BUL Storm was a well-made Tanfoglio copy that had some success in IPSC.

The BUL Cherokee was introduced in 2000 to replace the BUL Impact and provide a full-frame polymer pistol to the commercial market. It was updated a few years later with a newer frame (recognizable by its finger swells). Read on for my thoughts.

Continue reading The BUL Cherokee →

Reviews

The Sardius SD9

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Nehemiah Sirkis designed a lot of interesting guns, many of which I don’t talk about much on this blog because they were designed and manufactured in the United States. This is no sin – remember that Browning did most of his best work with Fabrique Nationale in Belgium – but they are somewhat outside the scope of my collecting activities. Sirkis designed a lot of interesting rifles (including some Kimber .22s and the new IWI Dan sniper rifle), but his fame in the United States is generally from his pocket pistols – the Intratec CAT 9, the Cobra Patriot 45, and the Detonics Pocket 9.

But, he also designed one other pocket pistol that made it to the US – the Sardius/Sirkis SD9, manufactured by Sirkis Industries in Israel. It’s a real oddball gun… which is what makes it so interesting.

Continue reading The Sardius SD9 →

Reviews

The KSN Golan

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Israel has always had an “interesting” history when it comes to arms deals. They are clearly a friend of the US, but have sometimes done deals with countries that may not have always had US interests foremost in their minds. They also have a bit of a history in not always abiding by arms embargoes… most famously in the case of South Africa during the apartheid era.

One gun that has that semi-checkered history is the KSN Golan, which is a copy of the CZ99 Compact-G.

Continue reading The KSN Golan →

Industry News

Uzi Pro Pistols in the wild!

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The Uzi Pro pistol is now “in the wild” and available for purchase. There are a number of them on Gunbroker, the lowest price being about $900 shipped.

The interesting thing here is that they look slightly different than the pre-release models we’ve seen previously – it looks like there is some sort of covered stock/”brace” attachment dovetail at the back. A best case scenario here would be that it can fit a regular Uzi Pro stock, which would then be presumably imported by IWI. In a less optimal case, I’m sure the aftermarket could figure something out – just have the mechanism to attach the stock is a big deal. Combine that with a folding grip, and you could have a cool SBR.

Of course, the really best case scenario would be a full-on 922r-compliant SBR kit with a US-made extended barrel, Israeli Uzi Pro lower, and Israeli Uzi Pro stock… but I really doubt that’s happening.

Industry News

Uzi Pro Pistol Coming Soon (supposedly)

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UZI-UP9S

RoverDave, a well-respected mod at the UziTalk forum, has posted that the Uzi Pro Pistol will be shipping in “2-4” weeks. If this pans out, we should be seeing Uzi Pro Pistols in stores by mid-to-late July. Sig brace versions will apparently follow “shortly after”, although I suspect “shortly after” might be “never”, given the recent BATFE statements on the braces.

You’ll recall that the Uzi Pro Pistol has an MSRP of $1109, so street prices will most like be around $900 once initial demand comes down. This is a lot of money, but the original Action Arms Uzi Pistols still sell for $1250 or more on Gunbroker, so there may be a market. I know I’m planning on picking one up!

Research

The Mystery of the IMI 9mm Revolver

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One of the most maddening Israeli-made handguns to track down has been the “IMI Revolver 9mm”. There is simply very little reliable information about it floating around on the internet due to its age and lack of commercial imports.

There are conflicting accounts of what caliber the revolvers were chambered in (9×19, .38 Special, or 9×21), whether they were based on the S&W 1917 design or S&W Model 10 design, and whether they were ever produced in any real volume. (All sources agree that they used half-moon clips, which at is something, I guess.) Internet legend has it that the Israelis made them for the Palestinian Authority’s police units after favorably evaluating the 9mm S&W Model 547 (a different gun entirely), but the total lack of them in imported Israeli police seizure lots is baffling, if that is true. I have spent some time researching the issue, and I think I’ve got a better theory as to what’s going on.

Continue reading The Mystery of the IMI 9mm Revolver →

Research

Updates to the Kareen article

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I’ve been doing some research and made some updates to the Kareen MkII article. For what I believe to be the first time on the Internet, I have detailed all six variants of the Kareen that made it to the United States.

I had been erroneously treating the “Kareen MkIII” and the “KA-MkIII” as the same gun. On detailed inspection of photos, it’s very clear that they have significant differences. The Kareen MkIII was an attempt to lower the manufacturing costs of the Kareen MkII. The KA-MkIII, on the other hand, looks exactly like an Arcus 94. I don’t want to claim I’ve solved the mystery, but I think my best guess now is that KSN was using rough Arcus frames and slides to produce the Mk II and Mk III, and then switched over to finished frames and slides for the KA-MkIII.

In other news, I have acquired a whole bunch of Israeli handguns, including a coupler rarer ones, and I hope to have some articles on them beginning in May.