The Galil: the Galil Is a Select-Fire Assault Rifle Chambered in Both 5.56 NATO and 7.62 NATO Rounds
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Compiled by Seth C., Uzitalk.com The Galil: The Galil is a Select-fire Assault Rifle chambered in both 5.56 NATO and 7.62 NATO rounds. The weapon itself is designed from the Finnish Valmet rifle, and arguably, the FN FAL. It is the "Cadillac of Kalashnikovs", "Israel's Deadly Desert Fighter", and is truly a weapon to behold in both engineering creativity and user-consideration. The Galil fostered a number of unique and revolutionary features at the time of its introduction in the late 1960's that heavily influenced the weapons of today, such as the FN-FNC, INSAS, Kalashnikov and others. It is truly on of the most robust and reliable weapons to ever be designed, which has aided in its continued service through the 21st Century. Chambered in both 5.56NATO and 7.62NATO, the Galil has adopted a strong western following, both to soldiers and freedom-fighters alike. While the 5.56 variant remained the primary version, the 7.62 line also saw widespread usage. Parts compatibility between the two is about 80%, with only the receiver, barrel, bolt and rear-handguard retainer being proprietary to each variant. The Galil has six models: - The Galil ARM. Created to fill the light-support role it sports a carry handle, bi-pod, and an enlarged hand-guard (Teak-wood for early production, Polymer for later). The bi-pod itself contains a wire cutter, and the hand-guard retainer contains two bottle openers that hold the bi-pod legs together. This weapon is meant to use the 50-round magazine in 5.56 NATO. These rifles usually feature bayonet lugs, either pinned on the barrel or milled onto the gas block. The lugs are setup for the US-standard M16 Bayonet, the M7. {A later Galil ARM, stock folded, with bayonet lug milled onto the gas block} - The Galil AR. This configuration is based for the infantry role, sporting a long barrel like the ARM and a polymer hand-guard, which was also made from Teak Wood for a short period. This lacks the bi-pod and bottle opener, but will occasionally feature Gas Blocks taken from the ARM model. Bayonet lugs are also common. {A traditional Galil AR, with newer bayonet lug milled gas block and no Bi-pod pin holes, stock unfolded} - The Galil SAR. The short barreled variant configured for Close-Quarters-Combat. The barrel is trimmed down to roughly 13 Inches for 5.56 NATO and 16 Inches for 7.62NATO. The gas tube and piston are also shortened by roughly 1 inch. Aside from this, it is identical to the Galil AR. Later models tend to feature Bayonet Lugs, while older models do not. {A traditional Galil SAR, stock folded, with a newer SAR gas block with the bayonet lug milled in the rear to compensate for the shorter barrel} - The Galil MAR. The Micro Galil is the ultra-compact variant sporting a redesigned receiver, stock, hand- guard, gas block, gas piston and sighting system. It also features various other improvements for user- compatibility. When the stock is folded, it is about the same size as a UZI Sub-machine gun but allows much greater firepower. It is commonly found in 5.56 NATO although it is manufactured in other calibers as well. It uses a RAS-type selector and may feature a bayonet lug. {A traditional Micro Galil, stock unfolded. Note inverted RAS-type selector} - The Galil Sniper "Galatz". The Galatz is the sniper variant of the Galil. It utilizes a longer, more accurate barrel with a newly designed flash hider, stock, hand-guard, and bi-pod. The Galatz is restricted to Semi- Automatic fire only, and is built to be used with Match-Grade ammunition. The Galatz is only available in 7.62 NATO. There are many variants of the Galatz, depending on country of ownership and when it was manufactured. Very few of these rifles were imported into the United States, but parts and accessories can be found in very few numbers. {A traditional “Galatz” Sniper rifle} -The Galil SR-99. The SR-99 is a modernized Galatz, featuring polymer components instead of wood, with integrated rail and rail covers. The SR-99 features a “mirage deflector”, which eliminates the creation of mirages from heated barrels. The SR-99 is able to mount Harris bipods and other accessories unlike the Galatz, and is equipped with an adjustable monopod and grip system. {A modernized “Galatz” Sniper rifle, the Galil SR-99} Field Stripping The Galil field-strips as easily as any other Kalashnikov. The magazine removed, chamber cleared, then selector put on “Auto” or “Fire”. The dust cover can then be removed via the release button located above the stock knuckle, but be warned that it is considerably more stiff than it's Kalashnikov relative. The return spring and assembly button are then removed by pushing the button forward then up. The bolt carrier is pulled back and lifted out. The Gas cylinder then slides off. The bolt can be pulled off from the bolt carrier. The rifle is now field-stripped. The hand-guard assembly is removed by flipping the lever on the front holder behind the gas block up, and sliding the front retainer forward. The hand-guard is then slid off, along with the rear hand-guard holder. When reassembling, be sure to place the return-spring button on the ledge forward of the groove so that it does not interfere with installation of the dust cover. Once the dust cover is in place, operate the action to get the return-spring button to seat in the dust cover slot. {A Galil ARM field stripped, taken from the Galil manual} {Another view of a stripped Galil ARM} Barrels: Barrel lengths and features differ from each rifle. IMI rifles have 1:12(Early imports) or 1:7 Twist Rates(Later imports). There are multiple barrel lengths for AR, ARM, and SAR rifles. The barrel is normally longer on 7.62 NATO rifles than on 5.56 NATO rifles. 21-Inch Barrel – Found only on very early Galil AR and ARM 7.62 NATO rifles. Very little documentation exists of this variation, which only features a bayonet lug on ARM variants. These are noted for being on Magnum Research and some Action Arms manuals and catalogues. 20-Inch Barrel – These are common also on early Galil AR and ARM 7.62NATO rifles, both civilian and military. They always feature bayonet lugs. 18-Inch Barrel – These are the standard-length barrels for Galil AR and ARM rifles in both calibers. They were IDF standard issue without bayonet lugs. Export versions commonly have bayonet lugs pinned to the barrel or (later) integrated into the Gas block assembly. 16-Inch Barrel – This barrel length is found on Galil AR, ARM, and SAR (7.62NATO) rifles of later manufacture and import. Bayonet lugs were deleted on the AR and ARM variants, though sometimes present on SAR rifles in 7.62NATO caliber. 13-Inch Barrel – Mounted only on Select-Fire Galil SAR rifles that are not restricted by barrel-length requirements. Bayonet lugs are milled on the Gas blocks or pinned to the barrel on early versions. Some early versions did not have bayonet mounting provisions. {Top: The 21-Inch Galil AR 7.62-NATO. This is one of a few photos that exist of this rifle. Note that it is oddly marked “Action Arms, Philadelphia PA” behind the fire-selector with lightening cuts behind the handguard, something that is never found on civilian imports, although this rifle is semi-automatic. Bottom: Another 21-inch Galil AR in 7.62NATO with stock folded. It is worth noting that this model has the later Type 3 folding stock with no lightening cuts present unlike the example above. It also lacks the unusual import marks behind the selector} {A 20-Inch Galil ARM 7.62-NATO with bipod removed} {An 18-Inch Galil ARM in 7.62-NATO, Model 323} {An 18-Inch Galil ARM in 5.56NATO; select-fire. This is the classic Israeli configuration with no bayonet lug} Stocks: The Galil stock design was never altered greatly; still considered one of the greatest folding stocks ever produced to this day. Contrary to original claims, the folding stocks were manufactured out of tubular aluminum, not steel. There are three main variations (Micro Galil and Post-ban wood types excluded): {Note: Stocks labeled by the order developed and not official designations} Type 1: The original stock most commonly found. The resemblance to the FAL Paratrooper stock is uncanny, though the mounting bracket and construction differ. These are constructed of tubular aluminum with a plastic cheek rest on the top tube and coated in Black enamel paint. They were featured on both 5.56 NATO and 7.62 NATO Rifles with a bare metal butt pad. Type 1 “Hook”: The type 1 “Hook” stock is a rather rare variation of the Type 1. The “Hook” stock has a longer, contoured curve at the top of the metal butt pad to better fit the shooter. Some speculation is that the “Hook” is an early-variation of the Type 1, or an early 1st pattern stock for the 7.62 NATO rifle line. It is almost identical to the Type 1 save for the butt pad. Type 2: The Type 2 was a later design developed for the 7.62 NATO line. It was only featured on 7.62NATO/.308WIN rifles, and was essentially a Type 1 stock with butt pad machined out and a rubber replacement affixed for better comfort and recoil control for the shooter.