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Uzi

• easy
• Shop tier 2
• medium confidence
• Submachine Gun
• blowback
• telescoping bolt
• grip safety
• historic
• regulated

field strip ~2 min · reassembly ~4 min · detail strip ~30 min

Specifications

Model-specific safety

• The Uzi uses a telescoping bolt that wraps around the barrel, which is why the weapon is so short for its barrel length. The bolt is heavy and travels a long way — keep hands clear of the top cover area.
• The magazine housing is in the pistol grip. The grip safety at the rear of the grip must be depressed for the weapon to fire, in addition to the selector.
• The barrel is retained by a threaded nut at the front of the receiver. It must be fully tightened before firing.
• The recoil springs are under compression when the top cover is removed.
• Open-bolt and closed-bolt variants exist. Original military Uzis fire from an open bolt; semi-automatic civilian carbines generally fire from a closed bolt and differ internally.

Under spring tension

• Recoil springs
• Magazine spring
• Grip safety spring

Easily lost parts

Barrel retaining nut · Recoil spring guide · Top cover latch

Tools

No tools required for the field strip.

Shop difficulty

Shop tier 2 Tier 2 — moderate among rifles and carbines, for the full job: strip to the parts that get coated and put it back together working. 69 pieces counting the bayonet, and the stamped receiver strips easily. The grip-frame fire-control group has stiff trigger-spring legs that must pass under hooks and the disconnector, which needs a notched tool, plus several small springs. It is a light Tier 2.

Parts: 64 numbered parts (Complete FN-licensed Uzi SMG including bayonet sub-list (64 line items)), from UZI SMG Operation Manual, Cal. 9 mm Parabellum — Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre S.A., Herstal-Liège (Belgium), p. 46–47 archive.org [3].

Bench time: about 40 min to strip, 60 min to rebuild (estimate). Top cover, bolt and recoil springs, barrel nut, grip-frame fire-control group, stock, sights.

Small parts: 0 pins, 0 springs, 0 detents or plungers (counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given))

What comes off for coating

• Receiver: top cover, bolt and recoil springs, barrel and nut, cocking knob, sights, feed ramp / ejector (riveted, stays)
• Grip frame: trigger and spring, sear and spring, selector / safety, grip safety and spring, magazine catch
• Stock: stock / butt hardware

Special tools

• notched small screwdriver — Trigger spring legs

Known pain points

• The trigger spring's legs are stiff and must be pushed under wire hooks and the disconnector. A notched screwdriver made for the job is needed. (both)
  Source: Uzi Part 4/7 - Preparing the Uzi Grip Frame — Ronin's Grips (build blog) blog.roninsgrips.com [4] — “You will need this to push down the surprisingly stout legs on the trigger spring that have to pass under some hooks and then under the disconnector.”
• The trigger spring ends are flipped down around the mechanism only after the pivot pin is in, and the pin goes in from one side with its slot oriented. (reassembly)
  Owners report: Assembling the lower (grip frame) — UziTalk.com uzitalk.com [5] — “You will flip the two spring ends down around the trigger mechanism after the pin is inserted.”

Fit or check on rebuild

• Barrel nut tight — A loose nut lets the barrel move.
• Function check (safety, trigger reset, feeding, extraction) — Standard after any detail strip. No single source.
• Re-zero sights or scope — Sights and optics come off for coating, and point of impact must be re-confirmed. This is a standard check, so no source.

This is Pew-Takedown's rating, not the manufacturer's. How tiers are rated. Forum reports are owners' experience, not specifications.

Procedures

Torque specifications

No sourced torque values from the manufacturer are recorded for this firearm. Where a fastener has a specified torque — action screws, scope bases, muzzle devices, barrel nuts — get it from the manufacturer or a gunsmith rather than estimating it.

What the manufacturer does say: The manufacturer's documents give no torque value. They say: "Tighten barrel retaining nut until clicking noise stops." (IWI UZI PRO Pistol Operator's Manual, PDF p. 35 (troubleshooting: barrel not properly seated)) "Depress the barrel catch and hand tighten the retaining nut until" (IWI UZI PRO Pistol Operator's Manual, p. reassembly section (sentence continues on next line))

Parts list

Transcribed from the manufacturer's parts list (UZI SMG Operation Manual, Cal. 9 mm Parabellum — Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre S.A., Herstal-Liège (Belgium), p. 46–47 archive.org [3]) — "IX. List of Components" of the FN-made (licensed) Uzi SMG, keyed by part number, with "b) Bayonet" sub-list. IWI's own UZI PRO pistol manual (entry-cited) lists a different model and was not used.. Key numbers refer to the exploded view in that document.

Function check

• Verify the firearm is unloaded with no magazine inserted before each step.
• Cycle the action by hand and confirm the bolt returns fully into battery.
• With the safety on, press the trigger. The hammer or striker must not release.
• Move the safety to fire, cycle the action, and press the trigger. It should release.
• Hold the trigger back, cycle the action, and release slowly to feel the disconnector reset.
• Confirm the magazine seats and locks positively and releases cleanly.
• Confirm the grip safety must be depressed for the trigger to function.
• Confirm the barrel retaining nut is fully tight and the top cover is latched.

Maintenance

Lubrication points

• Bolt body where it rides in the receiver
• Recoil spring and guide
• Hammer and sear pivots

Cleaning notes

The Uzi’s telescoping bolt and open receiver were designed to tolerate dirt, but a 9mm blowback still fouls heavily. Clean the bolt and receiver interior regularly. Surplus ammunition of this era is frequently corrosively primed. After shooting it, flush the bore, bolt face, and gas system with hot soapy water or a water-based solvent the same day, dry completely, then oil. Keep the firing pin channel clean and dry — a pin held forward by congealed cosmoline causes slam fires.

Suggested inspection interval: roughly every 1000 rounds. This is a general guideline, not a manufacturer specification.

Wear parts to inspect

Recoil spring · Extractor and spring · Bolt face · Magazine springs and feed lips

Common issues

Also covers

The procedures above are reported to apply to: Mini Uzi · Micro Uzi · Uzi Carbine and semi-automatic variants (with internal differences). Verify against the manual for your specific model.

Similar manual of arms

• Heckler & Koch MP5
• CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1

Legal notes

Sourcing