By William R. “Bob” Bishop

The Colt Model 635 9mm submachine gun, with its 10.5” barrel, has been a mainstay of many law enforcement and security organizations since its introduction in 1985. Although it has labored in the shadow of the HK MP5-series during this entire period, the Colt has increasingly earned a solid reputation due to its reliability, simplicity, availability of parts and reasonable price. Also, its commonality of training and maintenance with the full size M16 further reduces resource demands on overburdened armorer’s. In short, it is a well designed, US-manufactured submachine gun which provides a good alternative to the German MP5.

However, the one serious operational drawback the Colt Model 635 has demonstrated when compared to the MP5 is its lack of a first class sound suppressor. The Colt factory has never released a “SD/schalldampfer” sound suppressed version of the Model 635 which could compete against the MP5SD, and for this has lost out on a profitable market niche. Unfortunately for Colt, the demand for suppressed SMG’s has increased during the past several years for reasons to be discussed.

If only there was a suppressed Colt Model 635 SMG which would equal – or exceed – the MP5SD is performance specification while still retaining those factory features which give it such good reliability.

Well…there is now!

Gemtech has finally come to Colt’s rescue and just released their Talon SD upper receiver assembly which is a drop-in to the Colt Model 635 9mm lower receiver. Or, for that matter, onto any lower receiver which meets Colt’s 9mm specifications. Plainly stated, this is the suppressed Model 635 which the Colt factory should have done.

Bottom line: Gemtech’s Talon SD is the quietest suppressed 9mm SMG I have ever fired or heard…and it appears “factory” in every possible respect. I should know, having spent three full days in taking one apart, gauging and inspecting it, then measuring its sound levels with various types of 9mm ammunition. Want to learn more?

Then read on, as SAR thoroughly examines what is surely to become the standard of comparison for suppressed 9mm SMG’s – the Gemtech Talon SD.

Background

The Gemtech Talon SD suppressed upper receiver assembly is a direct response to the lack of a similar offering from the Colt factory. It is designed to appeal to three markets: police/law enforcement, civilian and military. The police segment is the most important as their direct action teams have an increased need for correctly suppressed weapons. Several reasons for police use of a suppressed SMG include reducing chances of an explosion in certain adverse environments (meth labs, etc.), ability to hear the tactical commands of the team leader, and, identify other team members by their reduced sound signature. Also, a suppressed SMG will eliminate the “bloom out” of some night vision devices when making nocturnal entries. Finally, a very important administrative reason for suppressing the Colt Model 635 SMG is its commonality of parts/training with the M16 rifle.

The civilian market should also create a healthy demand for the Talon SD, particularly as machineguns are getting incredibly expensive. Current NFA AR15/M16 owners are looking for ways to upgrade their collection without having to mortgage the house. A suppressed upper receiver assembly is a most cost effective way to increase the “fun factor” without tearing up the budget. Or the wife tearing up the husband…I know!

Finally, while the military market is a factor, it is not a major contributor. US forces (USAF Combat Controllers, Army Personal Security Detachments, etc.) have only a limited number of Colt SMG’s at their disposal and those who do will generally not be using suppressed versions. For those who need suppressed SMG’s, the HK MP5SD has already made significant inroads.

Thus, even with the wide open police and civilian markets, Colt has never produced a suppressed 9mm SMG other than the small production run of DEA guns from 1989…which Reed Knight actually built under contract. Some civilian C2’s have produced their own suppressed versions of the Colt Model 635, notably Joe Gaddini’s and John Norrell’s superb examples, but, overall the selection has been rather thin.

Recognizing that excellent markets existed for a suppressed Colt 9mm SMG, and already famous for their advanced line of 9mm suppressors, Gemtech decided in 1998 to begin the design and development of what is now the Talon SD. Their work has now paid off and the Talon SD has just been released onto the market. We will examine it in detail.

Construction

The Talon SD is composed of four distinct subassemblies: the receiver, barrel nut, barrel and suppressor. The barrel nut, barrel and suppressor are custom made by Gemtech to their own design, while the receiver is an ultra-high quality product from American Spirit Arms (ASA) of Prescott, AZ.

Receiver

This ASA receiver is the highest quality one available today and, according to Greg Latka of Gemtech, is repeatedly “dead on” with regard to all military specifications – both dimensional, hardness and finish. Gemtech very carefully inspected/gauged a number of upper receivers before finally settling on this one as the basis to build the Talon SD. Since ASA is a family business, they personally direct the quality control of their product and are extremely proud of it. Gemtech went for absolute quality and gladly pays $50-60 more per upper to get it.

The ASA upper receiver arrives at Gemtech with the ejection port door and circular forward assist assemblies already installed, along with separate aluminum delta ring, snap ring and weld spring parts. ASA also provides the thermoplastic carbine handguards which come with stamped steel liners. The receiver’s front takedown pin hole is of the .249” small size to mount on all milspec lower receivers. Also, the necessary relief cut has been milled by the factory in front of the rear takedown lug to permit clearance of the full auto sear. The finish is a milspec black anodized coating which is flawless in shade and evenness of application.

The receiver is forged from 7075-aluminum into the very popular “flat top” A2-style format which supports all Picatinny rail accessories and optical sights. Currently, it has the case ejection buffer (.223 style) built into the receiver, but, future receivers will be purpose built to complete 9mm specs. Regardless, it looks and functions perfectly well as is.

Barrel Nut

The barrel nut is designed and built by Gemtech for the Talon SD and is considered the “heart” of the overall system. This is because it not only holds the barrel into the receiver, but seals off combustion blowback, provides primary mounting for the suppressor and indexes/retains the handguards.

This critical component starts life as a block of 1020-series medium carbon steel and is initially turned on a Hardinge Superslant CNC lathe to form its primary shape, cut the suppressor rear mounting threads and create the o-ring sealing groove. Radial porting is then done on a Cincinnati Milicron Sabre 500 machine to produce the pulling points needed by the installing barrel wrench. After three machining operations and a total of eight minutes machine time, the barrel nut is finished and in-the-white. At this point it is carefully gauged by Gemtech to ensure adherence to specific military dimensional standards and then black oxided for surface protection.

Early pre-production versions of the barrel nut had two o-ring sealing grooves to absolutely ensure no blowback would exit the rear of the suppressor and impact the operator. However, this proved overkill and also made mounting the suppressor more difficult. Consequently, production barrel nuts have one o-ring sealing groove.

Barrel

The barrel is also specifically designed and manufactured by Gemtech for the Talon SD. It starts life as a Douglas Premium 4100-series high carbon steel 9mm barrel blank. This blank has a 1/10 twist rate to stabilize the full range of 9mm cartridges and is optimized for those in the 147gr. weight (ie, subsonic) class. Gemtech had considered porting the barrel to keep the slug from exceeding 950fps, but, with the wide availability of quality subsonic ammunition it was decided the correct solution was to avoid porting and use a shorter barrel of greater torsional strength and accuracy. Consequently, its length of 5.0” yields more accuracy potential than a 9mm cartridge can effectively deliver. In other words, the barrel is better than the cartridge!

The Douglas barrel blank is first cut to length and then turned between centers on a Hardinge Cobra 42 CNC lathe to less than .001” runout over the entire length. This equipment takes fifteen minutes machine time and six machining operations to complete its task, including threading the muzzle to support the forward suppressor mount. It is then precision crowned and has the chamber cut with a Brownell’s 9mm chambering reamer. The locating pin is drifted in, the entire barrel is carefully gauged, and it is then finished with a coating of black oxide.

Suppressor

The Talon SD suppressor is a completely new design – including the baffle stack – and is designed to run under the stamped steel liners of the plastic handguards. It is composed of two assemblies: the primary expansion chamber module and the baffle stack module. Overall length of the total suppressor unit is 10.5” and it extends a mere 4.0” past the forward handguard ring. This is definitely not a large unit which looks ungainly or out of place. In fact, it is only 1/2” longer than the flash suppressor of the Colt Model 635 and thus fits into the same size envelope. Weapons racks, drag cases, etc, which fit the Model 635 should fit the Talon SD.

The primary expansion chamber module is made of 1 3/8” diameter, 4100-series high carbon steel for operational ruggedness. Remember, the primary market is for police tactical entry teams! The back of the module is internally threaded to screw into the mating threads from barrel nut, while tightly sliding over the silicon o-ring which the nut contains. This effectively seals out any suppressor blowback. The front contains the muzzle flange which centers the module over the barrel muzzle and also controls the porting of the rapidly expanding combustion gasses.

This flange is a critical component of the overall Talon SD system. It is made of 1020-series steel and is initially machined on a Warner & Swasey Titan 4-axis CNC lathe, finish machined on a Hardinge Superslant CNC lathe and then ported on a Sabre 500 4-axis CNC mill. The number, location and size of these ports are integral to the Talon SD’s incredible performance and remain proprietary knowledge to Gemtech. This is because the primary expansion module does not use wire mesh, brass grommets or any other artificial method of controlling/cooling the expanding gasses. The contained air volume, in conjunction with these precisely milled ports, are all that is needed by the primary expansion chamber module to do its job.

With the primary expansion module screwed in place, the suppressor is now perfectly dual-point aligned with the barrel – and also provides the mounting platform for the baffle stack module.

The baffle stack module is also made of 1 3/8” diameter, 4100-series high carbon steel and supports the handguards via the specially designed front ring. More importantly, it also contains the proprietary “K-shape” baffle stack which Gemtech designed over a two year period specifically for the Talon SD. These baffles are made of CNC-machined high tensile strength aluminum alloy with a specialized heat treatment. Further, they have a tab/groove method of interlocking and alignment to ensure they permanently remain in the correct physical relationship.

The baffle stack is mounted in the tube by a combination of threading, Loctite and a retaining ring. Interestingly, the blast baffle (next to the endcap) is a markedly different and specially developed to optimize turbulence just before the hot combustion gasses exit the endcap. Once the baffle stack is fully installed, the endcap is screwed in and Loctited in place. Overall, there has been an incredible amount of design work in only a few inches of baffle length.

Finally, both the primary expansion chamber and baffle stack modules are prepared for finishing by first being heavily sand blasted to create uniformity and optically flat matting. Then, they are black oxided to provide corrosion protection and further reduce any potential light reflections. Once this is done, the BATF-required manufacturer’s information is then precisely engraved with an Excello laser machine. This is done in multiple passes to ensure the markings are of sufficient depth to prevent their accidental removal in any subsequent refinishing operations or operational use.

The ASA receiver/handguards, the proprietary barrel and barrel nut, along with the two modules comprising the suppressor assembly are all then assembled together, carefully examined and then test fired. Upon passing this inspection, they are boxed up for their lucky future owner and…….a new Talon SD is born!

But, what does this beautifully machined suppressor sound like?

Sound Measurements

I have heard/fired a number of suppressors over the past few years and can firmly state that Gemtech’s Talon SD is the quietest 9mm unit I have yet observed. It is that simple. Even though all suppressors are based on various tradeoffs to achieve their decibel reduction (size/volume, number and type of baffles, mounting system, etc.) this Talon SD seems to have optimized each variable in order to achieve its outstanding performance.

Having said this, let’s see exactly what the performance specifications are to validate this claim!

Sound measurement testing on this particular day was conduct with the Larson Davis Labs Model 800-B meter hooked into the LDL Model 2530 1/4” pressure microphone. This expensive (over $5000) setup meets all the specified requirements of MIL-STD-1474C and is annually sent back to the Provo, UT, factory by Gemtech to have it recalibrated/certified. Also, the 20 microsecond rise time of this equipment meets both US military and NATO standards for sound measurement levels regarding gunfire. Furthermore, in order to best replicate the frequency sensitivity of the human ear, the “A” weighting scale was selected. Finally, temperature for testing was 70F with a 15% relative humidity rate….perfect for a long day at the range. In short, this setup is an extremely sensitive sound measurement device which can quantitatively detect/measure the very quickly rising sound of a shot.

As the Talon SD is specifically designed for subsonic ammo, four different types were used in the testing: 1) IMI 158gr.; 2) Black Hills 147gr.; 3) Sandia 147gr.; and, 4) Custom-K’s “Special K” 147gr. The first three types of ammo have been around for years (especially the IMI and Black Hills) while the fourth one is becoming very popular on the East Coast and is now being commercially sold at the Knob Creek MG shoot. Therefore, as these are pretty much the best subsonic cartridges which are commercially available, they were selected for the sound measurement test.

Because the Talon SD is integrally suppressed, and unsuppressed fire is not practical, a benchmark for comparison purposes needed to be established for each cartridge. To obtain this unsuppressed reference, each of the four cartridge types was first fired through an HK MP5A3 with 8.85” barrel. This yielded the base measurement off which the Talon SD’s performance could be evaluated. Not perfect, but it does allow an “apples to apples” comparison of the Talon SD and the four cartridges. Hint: there is a difference between the cartridges!

The table below shows exactly how the Talon SD performed in relation to each of the cartridges. Further, to ensure each test round was fired in a consistent manner, I shot them all myself over a grassy (non-reflective) field with the microphone 1.6m high and exactly 1m to the left of the muzzle.

While the table speaks for itself, the subject of “1st Round Pop” needs to be addressed. Many suppressor owners notice that the first round they fire tends to sound a bit louder than all subsequent shots. This is because the ambient oxygen which is trapped in the suppressor causes a slight increase in sound as the rapidly expanding combustion gasses hit it. Follow-on shots do not encounter this oxygen as the first shot has already exhausted it. Thus, not only is absolute decibel reduction a prime factor, but, that very first shot must be factored in, too.

Clearly, the Talon SD yields outstanding suppression. Currently, any 9mm suppressor which reliably achieves around 30db is one to be reckoned with. To honestly exceed 30db puts it in the very upper tier of performance. With the Special K ammunition giving an unprecedented 33.9db reduction, the Talon SD allows the Colt Model 635 to literally become the quietest 9mm SMG in current production today. Even with the IMI and Black Hills ammo, the Talon SD remains at the very impressive 30db level.

How did the Special K cartridge achieve well over 4db more suppression when compared to the industry standard IMI and Black Hills rounds? Simple, it was specially designed to do so from the very beginning.

Brad Galloway of Custom-K, the Special K designer, in conjunction with live fire testers from Isher Weapons/OPFOR Activities of Alabama, spent over a year in 1997-98 independently developing a subsonic 9mm cartridge which was optimized for the best QD external 9mm suppressor on the market – Gemtech’s Raptor. They also used only the highest quality components on the market: Federal nickel plated cases (best for long term storage), Remington 147gr. FMJ bullets (excellent feeding in SMG’s) and Vihta Vuori powder (ultra consistent and clean burning).

The end result is a bullet which travels through an MP5 barrel at 950fps and exhibits extremely low shot-to-shot variation. In short, unlike the other well known cartridges, the Special K cartridge was purpose-built for modern suppressed weapons and this is clearly evident. In fact, it is so impressive, I bought several thousand rounds for my own personal use and employ it in all my suppressed 9mm firearms.

All four cartridges fed out of the Colt 32-round magazines with absolutely no problems. Cycling within the Talon SD was also faultless with no misfires or malfunctions of any kind. It was noted, however, that the Special K ammo was definitely cleaner burning than the rest and its silver-color hulls were the easiest to find and pick up.

The final analysis of the suppression capabilities of the Talon SD indicates it is the industry leader in suppressed 9mm fire. When using purpose-built ammo such as Special K it achieves levels of suppression which heretofore were either marketing hype or incorrectly configured sound measurement equipment. The Talon SD is not hype and the sound measurements prove it.

Shooting Impressions

The Talon SD was designed to closely duplicate the size, weight , heft and feel of Colt’s Model 635 9mm SMG. Having owned a Model 635 since 1993, I can state that Gemtech fully met this key design criteria. When you pick up the Talon SD, it simply feels like a Model 635 with a “funny looking” fat barrel protruding out from the handguards. Ease of use, pointability, balance, etc. all feel precisely the same.

The total weight of the complete system (Talon SD and lower assembly) without ammo or magazine is 6.25lbs, and overall length with the stock collapsed is 26.25”. As the upper receiver is a flat top model and the front sight post is removed, an optical sight is mandatory. Any quality rapid-acquisition sight such as the Armson, Trijicon or Aimpoint will work perfectly well for the ranges at which a 9mm subgun is typically used. With its Picatinny rail system, a well made QD mount from ARMS or GGG will tightly hold the sight to the upper receiver without loss of zero or transmission of excessive firing vibration.

Firing the Talon SD is exactly the same as for any Model 635 or AR15 9mm carbine. Load the magazine with your chosen subsonic cartridge, chamber a round, take the selector off “safe” to a firing position and then squeeze the trigger. The dull bass thud! of the round going off, accompanied by the metallic clack! of the reciprocating bolt and swish! of the recoil spring is all you hear. A fraction of a second later the sound of the slug impacting the target echoes back along with the tinkling of the cartridge case bouncing off the pavement. It seems almost eerie to detect these various sounds as one has become accustomed to only hearing the high pitched crack of a unsuppressed weapon firing supersonic cartridges…all other sounds were completely masked.

One can really get addicted to firing the Talon SD with quality ammunition like the Special K factory load. Also, with the extreme sound reduction from this advanced system it is much easier to get younger people involved with our shooting sport. The overall robustness of the steel suppressor tube is a major plus for its primary intended market of law enforcement as accidentally bumping a door threshold or slamming it into an obstruction will damage it little, if at all.

Conclusion

The Gemtech Talon SD suppressed upper receiver assembly is a first class piece of ordnance. It is truly the suppressed “SD” version of the Colt Model 635 9mm SMG which the factory should have done…and did not. At a retail price of $949 for the complete suppressed upper receiver (minus the bolt, charging handle and front pin which come with the base weapon) this is a very fair price for an incredibly engineered system built for long term professional use. Gemtech also warranties the Talon SD to be free of defects in material and workmanship, while fully meeting the manufacturing specifications at the time of its manufacture. In other words, they will work their hardest to make the Talon SD owner a very happy customer.

Now, if my wife Linda can find the heart (and open the purse) for my own Gemtech Talon SD as our two young sons could use this excellent piece of hardware for reduced noise shooting. After all, “its for the children…”! Honest.

Gemtech
PO Box 3538
Boise, ID 83703
W: (208) 939-7222
Fax: (208) 939-7804
Webpage: www.gem-tech.com

Brad Galloway
Custom-K
1601-C Highland Ave
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 315-2937

By William R. “Bob” Bishop

Many SAR readers have wondered over the past five years what ever happened to the lot of Group Industries registered Uzi receivers that were sold at the Group Industries auction. Did someone purchase these valuable pieces of ordnance and “sit on them” until market conditions changed and a huge profit margin become realized?

Not really.

They were bought by Ralph Merrill, President of Vector Arms, and it simply took this long to find a high quality source of new parts to build them up into a finished product. He has finally done so and is now selling them on the fully transferable C3 market. As there has been so much talk about the Vector Uzi, this article will answer many questions by providing a detailed history, evaluation and test of a regular production version…no special “hand finished” ringers here! The standard of comparison will be the world famous IMI 9mm Uzi.

Finally, let me take all the suspense out of your mind. I have carried an Uzi in a war zone for months (1996-97 in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia) and also own the IMI version. While not being a total expert, I do have sufficient knowledge and real world experience to fairly test/evaluate one. Saying this, and with no financial interest in Vector Arms, I can unequivocally state the tested Vector Uzi is the finest one I have ever used. Period.

Birth of the Receiver

The heart of the Vector Uzi is its registered receiver. These started life in 1985-86 when the flats were stamped and folded by Michael Brown, at that time the President of Group Industries. This company had gained a reputation in the 1980’s as a converter of the semiauto IMI Uzi into select fire. As the price of the IMI Uzi increased and the supply became spotty, Michael conceived the idea of making his own US-version and not being dependent on a foreign supplier. Further, he would be able to directly influence the quality and end up with a superior product. As an inside joke, the Group Industries Uzi’s were engraved with the model number HR4332. Mike selected this number as it was the House of Representatives law enacted in May, 1986 which banned newly-manufactured machine gun ownership by private citizens.

To gain additional funding for this very ambitious project, Michael teamed up with Roger Small, head of Scattergun Technologies (And the old Automatic Weapons Company). Roger agreed to partially fund it for approximately $250,000 providing he (Roger) received specific delivery schedules and exclusive distribution privileges.

In the end, Group Industries could not meet the agreed upon terms and Scattergun Technologies sued for breach of contract. After a prolonged length of back and forth moves from both sides, Scattergun Technologies finally won a judgment against Group Industries in 1993. Meanwhile, Group sought protection from its creditors by filing for several reorganizations under Chapter 11. This only temporarily prevailed, however, and in early 1995 the creditors ordered the assets to be liquidated under Chapter 7. An auction was held on 24 August 1995 the likes of which has rarely been seen before (MAC auction in 1976) and probably not since.

Among the many items up for bid included forming/stamping dies, boxes of parts, several full automatic weapons, one WWII WC24 command car, two M5A1 light tanks and 3318 registered – and fully transferable – Uzi receiver frames. There were nowhere near enough spare parts to complete these valuable receivers and some people wondered if the buyer had bought the proverbial “pig in the poke”.

The mysterious high bidder was #221 who paid $265,000 for the 3318 Uzi receivers along with an additional 109 Post-86 DS receivers. Including the 10% buyer’s premium to the auctioneer, the total bill was $291,500; this meant the unit cost for all 3427 receivers was $85.06 each. The buyer’s name was Marcos Garcia and he was the representative for one Ralph Merrill…President of Vector Arms.

Now that Vector Arms had just entered the Uzi market in a big way, Ralph had to figure out: 1) where to access a very large supply of new parts to complete these 3318 fully transferable receivers; and, 2) where to find a production facility to assemble the Vector Uzi? These two items became a world class nightmare.

Sourcing of Parts

Ralph first contacted Israeli Military Industries (IMI) in January, 1996, to inquire about the parts/production necessary to finish the receivers. Though their Uzi production lines had been shut down several years earlier when moved from Tel Aviv, it was expected that substantial numbers of parts would remain in inventory and thus be available for Vector’s use. Incredibly, IMI had none available as they had been sold off or consumed by the world market. Further, they were not interested in reopening the production lines for a relatively few number of SMG’s.

In February, 1997 he contacted the other major Uzi manufacturer – Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. FN had been famous for years regarding its high quality manufacturing processes and had supplied numerous military/police forces of several nations. Unfortunately, as with IMI, no parts or production services were available. Their production line had been shut down in the 1980’s and the ability to restart it was not economically feasible as tooling, jigs, dies, etc. had been sold, transferred or outright destroyed.

During March, 1997, Ralph contacted Distraco SA (IMI-Europe) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. He hoped they possessed a suitably large inventory of spare parts and the supporting production facilities to finish the Group Industry receivers. This, too, was fruitless. They did have a good number of parts but could not support any Uzi production. Distraco SA could install parts and repair existing firearms but did not possess the facilities to perform initial buildup of the receiver. The equipment needed to install barrel trunnions, rear plates, sight brackets, etc. did not exist.

At this point, Ralph felt pretty down. It appeared he would have to undertake the exact events which led to Group Industries’ downfall…1) set up his own production facility; and, 2) make the parts himself. Technically it was feasible, but financially it was a prohibitive process. Thus, in the Spring of 1997, it was decided that Vector Arms would set up their own production facilities in Utah (more on this later). Further, as this would push them to the limit, the location of existing new Uzi parts was now imperative.

Closeup of the ratcheting top cover assembly. The ratchet teeth (arrow) are an essential safety feature all select fire Uzi’s must have.

And then luck smiled…

In July, 1997, Ralph heard that South Africa could be a salvation regarding parts. During the late 1970’s the Pretoria-based firm of Lyttleton Engineering had quietly manufactured thousands of Uzi’s to supply South African forces engaged in the Rhodesian war. Upon conclusion of this war and creation of Zimbabwe, the demand for these Uzi’s had ceased. Consequently, over 5000 brand new Lyttleton-made SMG’s were carefully stored in a South African warehouse. Yes, the government would sell them but was not interested in dismantling them into parts kits – someone else must do that. Negotiations to acquire these new Uzi’s and get them stripped down would take the next 1 1/2 years.

An Uzi is comprised of 85 parts and the Lyttleton Uzi’s could provide 77. This is because the balance (7, not counting the receiver) are welded/built into the receiver in such a way that they would be destroyed during removal. Thus, where to acquire the barrel nut latch housing, front sight bracket, bayonet lug, foregrip lug, pistol grip lug, rear plate and rear sight bracket? Perhaps a final foreign trip could locate these seven missing parts.

In September, 1998, Ralph visited the Croatian firm of RH-ALAN, which was producing an Uzi clone – the ERO 9 – and amenable to providing the seven missing parts. But…they wanted $500,000 to do so. Additionally, some of these parts were investment cast and somewhat suspect regarding long term use/wear which the American shooter would expect of a “new production” fully transferable SMG. Ralph thanked them very much and decided he would make these seven parts himself. There was no other solution.

At this same time in September, 1998, the South Africans finally shipped the 5000 Lyttleton Uzi’s to Switzerland where they were carefully disassembled into the necessary 77 parts by a respected Swiss firm. The US import permit was easily approved and the first 60 kits landed in Utah via Delta Airlines in February, 1999, with the bulk arriving by sealift in May.

After four years of diligent searching, Vector Arms finally had 77 of the 84 new parts they needed. Now, they were going to make the additional seven parts themselves and set up full production facilities.

Vector’s Manufacturing Process

As mentioned earlier, Ralph had decided in the spring of 1997 to set up production facilities himself when IMI and FN did not come through. To learn how to make an Uzi, he located Mike Brown and asked him to conduct an “Uzi school” and teach how it is done. As Mike had remained true to the product and wanted “his” Uzi’s to be completed and distributed to the American market, he agreed to take Ralph under his tutelage. If Group Industries was dead, then Vector Arms would finish the job.

Over a ten-day period in the summer of 1997, Mike taught Ralph everything there was to know about correctly building an Uzi. From the initial stamping to the final finishing, he covered it all. To validate his skills, Ralph built ten Uzi’s and had Mike carefully examine each one. They were equal to, or better than, those of IMI and FN. In fact, the Vector Uzi is built to the highest commercial standards and exceeds that of any milspec version. Surface finish is much finer, edges are carefully deburred, welds are correctly dressed down, forming marks left by the stamping dies are removed via special tooling, etc. After Ralph graduated the school he went back to Vector Arms and taught his crew how to do it to commercial standard.

With this production knowledge and the 77 Lyttleton-made parts in hand, Vector Arms manufactured their own seven parts to complete the set. The rear sight bracket is formed from 14-gauge steel with a stamping die formerly owned by Group Industries. Also, stamping dies were built to form the front sight bracket, while the remaining five parts were machined via CNC equipment from a steel billet. At long last, the registered receiver and all 84 parts necessary to make a true Uzi were available.

Let’s see how Vector Arms does it.

As the heart of the Vector Uzi, the raw receiver is CNC machined in several areas to bring it into proper specification. Group Industries initially stamped them slightly oversize, therefore, the front and back are slightly shortened while the top is milled down a bit to reduce the receiver’s height. Also, the distance between the front/rear sight ears is adjusted to permit proper fitting of the top cover. These operations are all done on a CNC mill which is equipped with a special anti-vibration fixture. Once completed, all edges are deburred via stoning.

With the receiver now in tolerance, it is time for welding. The bayonet lug, foregrip and pistol grip lugs, barrel trunnion, barrel nut catch housing and butt plate are all TIG welded into position while using special holding fixtures to assure correct placement and 3-axis alignment. Once completed and passing inspection, the front and rear sight brackets are then fixtured in place and spot welded.

With this work completed, it is time for another inspection followed by extensive weld grinding and polishing to bring the entire receiver up to commercial standard. No jagged edges, globs of weld, non-square corners, etc. All are brought up to the highest standard possible. Then, the front and rear sight holes are drilled out on a press and tapped with the appropriate threads. The final work on the receiver, before the first grit blasting and heat treating, is the riveting of the sling swivel to the left side. This is done via a special support fixture and pneumatic riveting equipment. Now, time for case hardening.

The Group Industries receiver is unique among all those produced by IMI, FN, Lyttleton or RH-ALAN: it is case hardened. When a typical Uzi is used over a very long period of time the rails on the bottom of the bolt may wear longitudinal grooves into the receiver. This can lead to incorrect stripping/chambering of the cartridge, alteration of sear release geometry, etc. Mind you, we are talking about a lot of firing being done to achieve these grooves, but, it can happen. As the receiver is the registered part, Vector wanted to make sure it would not wear out. The bolt can be replaced, not so the receiver.

To harden the Vector receiver via a carburizing process, it is first placed in a special oxygen-free oven at 1500F and then exposed for four hours to carbon gas. This penetrates the metal surface to a depth of .015”. Then, it is quenched in oil to bring the receiver hardness towards 60C on the Rockwell scale. As this is too brittle, it is then tempered to bring the hardness down to the acceptable range of 35C. By doing so the skin of the receiver is hard (resists wear) while the interior is relatively soft (absorbs shock). Even though normal Uzi receivers are noted for their toughness, this receiver is simply not going to wear out.

A little known fact is that the Uzi ejector is also heat treated. The Vector Uzi ejector is of a higher Rockwell number than the receiver, therefore it is pneumatically riveted in place after the receiver is hardened. Once this is done, it is time for finishing.

The parkerized finish of the Vector is first class and bears special examination. After grit blasting the Uzi receiver/parts with #80 aluminum oxide grit to remove hardening scale (receiver) and existing finish (the parts), it is then dipped in a low flashpoint Stoddard solvent cleaning tank to ensure all grit dust and contaminants are removed. Next, it is transferred to the Parco Lubrite #2 parkerizing tank and immersed for 15 minutes at 205F. When removed, the acid is neutralized via dipping into a hot water wash tank; when brought out of this tank the heated metal rapidly air dries itself. Finally, everything is dipped into a tank of light oil so the parkerizing’s crystalline structure will readily absorb the petroleum and provide the necessary protective surface.

The final step in production is to carefully assemble all the parts into a Vector Uzi, gauge/examine it for fit of parts, smoothness of action, etc. Firing tests are done by doing a full magazine dump; particular observation being paid to the functioning of the first and last rounds as this is where the greatest malfunction chance occurs. Upon passing these tests it is then cleaned up and boxed into inventory.

Evaluation of the Vector Uzi

The Vector Uzi is an Uzi….there is nothing new or unique about it since the IMI version first emerged in 1951. It fires from the open bolt, while cyclic operation is based on the blowback principle. As it is a select fire weapon, the safety lever located by the right thumb of the firing hand allows Auto-Repetitive-Safe operation. The Vector Uzi uses the traditional A-R-S markings are seen on many IMI and most FN versions.

Starting from the front and moving backwards, the first item to observe is the barrel itself. It is 10.2” long and has a 4-groove RH twist of 1:10. The chamber has been cut slightly larger than that of the IMI semiauto carbine as it must handle rapid cycling of the brass cartridge case. This one modification alone will solve a number of mysterious cycling issues. The barrel is not chrome lined and thus the firing of corrosive ammo must be followed up immediately with a good hot soapy water scrubbing and appropriate oiling

The next item is the ratcheting top cover. This is exactly what late production IMI/FN full auto Uzi’s used and is a key safety component. Since the Vector fires from an open bolt, anytime the bolt slams home and there is a round in the chamber and/or magazine it will fire. This is inherently unsafe and requires this special top cover. The cocking knob is directly attached to the ratchet assembly, which contains a small pawl. When the knob is pulled back to cock the bolt, the pawl clicks against the ratchet teeth and will not let the bolt slide home if it is accidentally released before the sear can engage the trip ledge. Thus, this overcomes a major safety concern of all open bolt firearms. Ralph did the right thing by insuring his Uzi has a ratcheting top cover.

Next up is the Vector pistol grip assembly. As earlier, this is directly from the IMI design and will interchange freely with their equivalent SMG assembly. The selector lever on the Vector pistol grip assembly is the traditional A-R-S version. When moved to the rear detent, it is on safe. One click forward is repetitive (semiauto) and a final click forward is full auto. The thumb grip safety is retained and adds further security when handling the weapon. Once you are used to achieving a proper firing grip it falls quite naturally to hand.

The Vector bolt deserves special attention. With the proliferation of the 950 B&G Machine registered bolts, some visibility has been given to what kind of bolt an Uzi has and its method of construction. As most B&G bolts were hurriedly investment cast of 8620 steel this led in some cases to problems during cooling with dimensional integrity. This is not the case with the Vector bolt. It was machined from high grade 4140 billet steel then carefully hardened and quenched. With normal (and some abnormal) use it will last for the life of the Uzi. The extractor which comes with the bolt is the “wide lip” SMG type and achieves a very firm grip on the brass case. A final note of interest: close examination behind its ejection cutout will show a “Circle P” stamped proofmark. This indicates the Pretoria arsenal where it was made…quality parts meant for use in a very dirty African war.

Unlike registered bolt guns, the registered receiver Vector does not have a bolt blocking rail. Also, it has the taller SMG ejector which gives a very positive kick to the case during extraction. The feed ramp does not carry the barrel restrictor ring as found on IMI semiauto carbines. The feed ramp also does not support/interfere with the chamber end of the barrel in any way….it simply and reliably guides the cartridge into the barrel. The front and rear sights are exactly as found on the IMI SMG and Model A carbine. This means a special front sight adjusting tool (widely available) is needed to make aiming corrections. Finally, the folding stock is exactly as found in the IMI version. It is hinged in two places to allow breaking down and locking forward under the receiver.

Looking down into the Vector pistol grip assembly. Key item to notice is the large sear pads (arrow) indicating a true SMG sear…not the smaller pads of a semiauto sear.

Testing of the Vector Uzi

The unloaded Vector Uzi weighs 7.8lbs and is 25.5” long with the stock open, and 18.5” with the stock collapsed. The barrel is 10.2” long and retained via the large barrel nut which screws down over the mounting flange. Sights are the exact same as the IMI SMG and Model A, with a 100/200m rear flip sight and windage/elevation adjusted through the eccentric front sight. The plastic furniture is optionally green or black. The black plastic grips which came with the evaluation model had been in storage for many years and did not have the substantial appearance of the IMI grips. However, Vector Arms has now contracted with Prestige Plastics, of Louisville, KY, for a large production run of very high quality furniture. These newer grips are currently available and look beautiful.

Firing the Vector is exactly the same as the IMI Uzi. Squeeze the thumb safety on the back of the pistol grip assembly. Pull back on the large cocking knob and listen to the ratchet assembly lightly click its way through the top cover teeth. When it strikes the rear of the slot, let go and the knob will spring forward while the bolt is held to the rear by the sear pads. Place the selector switch on “S”. Insert the 25-round magazine into the mag well opening and snap it into place. Take up a good shooting position and ensure the backstop is appropriate. Sight on the target, squeeze the thumb safety with the web of your hand and slide the selector switch forward to either “R” or “A”. Press the trigger and the fun will immediately begin.

The Vector Uzi cyclic rate is the same as the IMI SMG – approximately 650rpm. You will feel each individual round as it goes off and can easily traverse your fire to match the target(s). The muzzle of the Uzi will lightly rock up-and-down as the heavy bolt reciprocates. After the 3-4th round of a burst is fired it is easy to adjust impact and bring the rounds back into the target. Yes, the Uzi is a second generation SMG and it is heavy when compared to newer competitors…big deal. This increased heft smothers the 9mm recoil and gives a very high feeling of user confidence.

My test Vector exhibited only two minor problems as received: the black plastic grips which have since been corrected; and, one locknut from a handguard screw fell off. The locknuts are difficult to screw all the way down as they must be tightened with a small spanner wrench. After a lot of firing the vibration may cause the nut to back off until it falls out. Vector Arms immediately replaced it with a new one after a quick phone call; a homemade tool is simple to fabricate and will eliminate this problem which affects all Uzi’s. My personal IMI SMG has also dropped one or two.

That was it…the Vector Uzi functioned flawlessly after firing over 2,000 rounds – without ever being cleaned a single time!

Warranty and Accessories

The first Vector Uzi was shipped on May 25, 1999. Including that very first one, they come in a sturdy cardboard box with a 25-round magazine, owner’s manual and warranty card. The warranty card really catches your interest as it covers the SMG for one year on materials and workmanship. When was the last time a fully transferable C3 firearm came with a warranty?

Accessories for the Vector Uzi cover the full range of options. Original IMI wooden buttstocks, a very well done vertical foregrip, .45ACP conversion kit, BFA, bayonet, front sight wrench, cordura nylon assault case, etc. are all available. Perhaps the one option which every Uzi owner should consider is Vector’s soon-to-be released .22RF conversion kit. During my conversations with Ralph he stated that it will drop in and function with both registered receiver AND registered bolt Uzi’s.

Another option being offered is a suppressor which is licensed from a world famous Swiss firm and made here in the US. It features CNC machining of the internals and thus allows operator disassembly/reassembly with little fear of resulting misalignment. For ease of use it replaces the barrel nut and requires no barrel modifications. Cost is $450 for 9mm and $475 for .45ACP.

Finally, Vector Arms will work on your Uzi even if they did not make it. If you need a tuneup or major rework, Ralph can do it…this includes case hardening your own receiver. Further, ATF allows registered bolt owners the option to remove the barrel restrictor ring, align bore the barrel trunnion to fit SMG barrels and enlarge the receiver sear openings. The cost is typically $30 per operation. So, for about $100 Ralph can upgrade your registered bolt Uzi to take advantage of cheap SMG barrels and full auto sears with their larger pads.

Conclusion

Ralph Merrill and Vector Arms have truly created the ultimate Uzi. It is superb in both material and workmanship. For $2995 you can own a fully transferable SMG which has a very well equipped manufacturer standing behind it. The range of optional accessories is most heartening, and the new products coming out such as the .22RF conversion kit and multi-caliber sound suppressor are quite impressive.

Vectors Arms has created a first class piece of ordnance and now us fellow C3 enthusiasts can emerge as the real winners…give Ralph a call!

When you do, ask about the upcoming 72-round Suomi drum for $295 and the 240 fully transferable Mini Uzi’s, and…watch their website.

Vector Arms
Attn: Ralph Merrill
Dept: SAR
270 West 500 North
North Salt Lake, UT 84054
(801) 295-1917
www.vectorarms.com