According to the IWI-US’s Facebook page, the Galil ACE 7.62×39 pistols have arrived and are awaiting final assembly.
Here’s another “better late than never”. The first Galil ACE pistols have finally arrived in our warehouse. We are…
Posted by IWI US on Tuesday, November 3, 2015
I am eagerly awaiting reviews, albeit I know what they’re going to say: “great pistol, but where’s the SBR kit?”
One of the big advantages of the upcoming Galil ACE line from IWI is the ability to take standard magazines. While I have no particular problem with Galil mags, they’re pretty much proprietary to the Galil (well, and the SiGalil). Being able to use AK, AR-15, and SR-25 (“DPMS-style”) magazines is a big step forward for the Galil platform.
One lesser-known feature of the Galil, though, is that with some work and an adapter, you can get it running AR-15 magazines.
One of the key deficiencies of the Galil series of rifles is optics mounting capability (or lack thereof). In all fairness, the Galil’s service rifle competitors at the time of its design weren’t barn-burners in this area, either. You could make a reasonable argument that the M14 wasn’t a bad platform for optics, but pretty much everything else under the sun (FAL, AK, G3, M16A1, etc.) had serious issues. It wasn’t until the mid-90’s and the introduction of the flat-top M4 carbine that shooters got more comfortable options on black rifles.
However, due to the Galil’s popularity as a sexy retro rifle, modern shooters often want a way to get some optics on it. What are the options? Read on.
According to a Facebook post by IWI-US, the Galil ACE release has been delayed:
As all of you know, we have been seriously delayed in bringing the Galil ACE to market. Suffice to say that we believe it is better to delay deliveries if a problem is discovered, rather than bring the product to market prematurely. (Most of the issues encountered were in converting full auto to semi-auto configuration.) In any case, here is our revised delivery schedule (which could still be modified if necessary):
Galil ACE pistol in 7.62x39mm – September, 2015
Galil ACE pistol w/Stabilizing Brace, 7.62x39mm – October, 2015
Galil ACE rifle, 7.62x39mm – late October/early November, 2015Galil ACE pistol in 7.62 NATO – January, 2016
Galil ACE pistol w/Stabilizing Brace, 7.62 NATO – February, 2016
Galil ACE rifle, 7.62 NATO – March, 2016Galil ACE 5.56 NATO – 2nd Quarter 2016
We apologize for these delays, but again, we want to make sure that what we bring to market meets our standards and your expectations.
I am not surprised, given the delays the Tavor and Uzi Pro had. I am also slightly skeptical of the reasons given, too – converting AK platforms to semi-auto is a well-known problem that is easily solved by widely-available parts. The parts diagram of the Galil ACE that I’ve seen doesn’t really seem to suggest that the FCG is any different than the Galil’s, either. Personally, I would theorize some sort of import-related issue, especially with the suggested uncertainty of even this revised delivery schedule.
On the other hand, this is good news in the sense that the pistol version is going to be out in 2-3 months, in time for the holiday buying season. That should be good news for the IWI-US bottom line.
Much like I enjoy using my Uzi mags in different guns, I’ve been looking for ways to use my Galil mags in other platforms. Galil mags are interesting because they fit standard AK-47 magwells. So, if you’ve got a gun with an AK magwell, you’re halfway there.
Well, an “undocumented feature” of the Sig 556 platform is that if you put a Sig 556 upper on a Sig 556R lower, the gun will function just fine with Galil mags. There’s a small caveat there – polymer magazines won’t fit – but steel mags are just fine. I don’t know if this an improvement on the standard Sig 556, but it’s a clever hack.
The IWI-US website has been updated with the new Galil ACE, Uzi Pro pistol, and Jericho pistol models. No surprises as far as I can see.
The law enforcement section has listings for the Negev LMG (including short barrel config) and the Uzi Pro SMG, because, as you know, law enforcement really needs access to light machineguns. Again, nothing new, albeit the Uzi Pro section does a nice job of showing it off.
The Hebrew Hammer 