The Micro UZI

This week Vic brings us both a video and blog on the Micro UZI

The Micro UZI was an oddball in the UZI family, it was derived from the UZI Pistol which was itself born of an idea to get another IMI product introduced into the US civilian marketplace after the success of the full size UZI carbine by the then importer Action Arms. To get around, or at least comply with the strict US BATF regulations as to what a pistol constituted, a miniaturised  variation of the full size UZI was proposed. It had to have the ‘look’ of an UZI but be manageable to handle and shoot with one hand. This required more work than had been involved in the development of the Mini UZI.

The pistol had to have a closed bolt and only fire semi-auto, no buttstock could be fitted on the pistol as this would contravene BATF regulations. The bolt was based on the Mini UZI bolt and the striker but redesigned to be more compact to fit the much shorter receiver. A blocking catch similar to the then recently released model ‘B’ UZI Carbine, was fitted to the bolt. This was a safety device that prevented the gun firing ‘out of battery’. The receiver was the same height and width as all the other UZI family but considerably shorter. To reduce weight the receiver stampings were of 1.5mm material and not 2mm as per the full size & Mini UZI.

The UZI pistol was introduced onto the civilian market around 1984. It eventually was sold in the following calibres: 9mm, 9x21mm (Italian market), .41 AE, and .45 ACP.

In 1985 IMI realised that the UZI Pistol could be modified to be a compact and effective SMG. To convert it to full-auto fire the lower lip of the bolt which was milled off during manufacture of the semi-auto pistol was left in place. The selector block on the trigger assembly was removed and a folding stock, which was smaller than the Mini UZIs was fitted. The open ‘U’ notch rear sight from the pistol was replaced by a traditional ‘peep’ sight, and finally the barrel from the pistol was lengthened to 5.25″ and compensator notches milled into it to reduce muzzle flip and help control the gun whilst firing. The Micro UZI had a phenomenally high rate of fire at 1,800 rounds per minute, hence most guns were fired in semi-auto only (note that the example I filmed has the selector ‘blocked’ to prevent full-auto selection)!

It is also interesting to note that the Micro UZI was the first gun in the UZI family that started off as a semi-automatic gun and became a full-auto one!

If you enjoyed the video and this article please consider supporting our work here.

Specifications:

Overall Length: 46cm / 18 inches
Length (with stock folded): 25cm / 9.8 inches
Weight: 1.5kg/ 3.3 lbs
Action: blowback
Calibre: 9x19mm & various (see text)
Cyclic Rate: 1500-1800 rounds
Feed: 20, 25 or 32-round box magazines