Uzi versus AR

General Firearms NFA
1

In a strictly indoors home defense scenario what do you think about and sbr’d (9mm) Uzi( SA) verus an sbr’d AR ? I’m considering purchasing a Vector Uzi with collapsible stock to fill the home defense role. My thinking is the UZI is:

[ul]
[li]more compact
[/li][li]more tolerable sound and flash signature
[/li][li]decent ballistics (but not optimal)
[/li][li]can more easily be fired one handed if needed (if I needed to carry one of my kids)
[/li][/ul]

Outside of a home defense role the Uzi can be concealed much more easily than say a 10"" barreled AR if one was in a situation where a long gun was needed, but being inconspicuous was a priority.

2

Have you ever spent some range time with one?

An Uzi is a large, bulky, and heavy pistol, with a trigger ranging from rough to horrible, with rudimentary sights optimized for shouldered use. In single handed shooting ergos are horrible and your performance is likely to be as well. Shouldered, you can expect to maintain reasonable to good confrontational accuracy with practice.

They can be fun guns, especially genuine IMI guns in FA, but they are what they are.

I would stick with a mainstream system (rifle or pistol caliber) and setup, and practice transitions as you work your scenarios. Consider a suppressor.

3

I’d rather have a M11/9 with a Lage upper than an UZI for your role.

4

I’m giving thought to a Mac as well with a folding stock.

5

I think I would just get a hi-cap handgun and become proficient with it.

6

MP5…it meets all your requirements, plus it doesn’t suck.

-lightweight
-shoulder-fire capable
-pistol caliber
-compact

7

The train of thought here is that a stocked weapon is much easier to shoot accurately than a non-stocked weapon. That being the case I am trying to work out in my head what would be the most practical PDW that has the following attributes:

[ul]
[li]compact (more compact and lighter than a 10" AR)
[/li][li]decent balistics
[/li][li]able to easily shoot one handed if needed
[/li][/ul]

8

I owned an UZI once, it was IMI. It was nice, but for the life of me I only baught it for the looks. They are not very practical. My AR Pistol is much more practical.

9

It may have poor ergonomics and be outdated by today’s standards, but I would hardly say that it sucked. Israel isnt known for pissing in the wind when it comes to their weapons. Get a Bizon2 :stuck_out_tongue:

10

The Uzi would provide a “coolness” factor and not much else. The 5.56 would serve you better than the 9mm in this scenario. Let’s think over-penetration.

The Uzi is heavier and not as ergonomic IMHO. An SBR’d AR can also be shot one-handed if necessary. You also have better options for adding a light or other necessary options as opposed to the Uzi.

11

I only bother to shoot Uzi’s when the ammunition is free.

12

As stated above the Uzi has the cool factor ,but for Home defense ,No, Not in My Book there are a lot better sub guns for that role .on the bright side if you get close enough you could beat them to death with the weight of the Uzi:D I had a Uzi in the 80’s and everyone was"oh cool gangsta gun" But I did not like it and sold it asap.If a 9mm is your choice what about a AR platform set up for 9mm or 45

13

Having fired more than a few firearms indoors, especially in hallways and things like that, I generally prefer a pistol caliber carbine for HD to an AR15.

Generally lighter, quieter (especially suppressed) and with less recoil for rapid engagement of multiple targets. Also, despite the FBI materials test, in every real world example I’ve seen 9mm penetrates drywall and 2x4s far less than 5.56mm.

This is why I prefer my MP5 to my Colt 6520.

Now the Uzi will have some of those advantages, but it has some disadvantages.

Uzi sights kinda suck. Irons are tight peeps that are much slower than AR15 peeps and you really don’t have many rail options for faster optics and red dots. Also on a stock Uzi there is no provision for a weapon mounted light.

Folding stock sucks. The only stock that is actually worse than both the AK underfolder and the HK slide folding stock. Horribly uncomfortable with an atrocious cheek weld. Fixed stock Uzis do not have this problem.

Weighs a ton. An Uzi can actually weigh more than some AR15 carbines. On full auto this can be an advantage, on semi auto it is needlessly heavy. You can fire an Uzi with one hand, but with the weight you are about as unlikely to hit anything as you are firing an AR15 with one hand.

A better 9mm carbine is the Beretta storm (which ironically is based upon the Uzi). It is much lighter, has a rail for optics and lights and is far more comfortable to fire. The only thing it lacks is a suppressor option.

14

For some reason the storm never entered my mind on this. After doing some research on it and seeing some SBR’d versions this looks like it could be just the thing. I saw where one guy chopped the barrel and took an inch or two off of the stock and ended up with a package that was only 23.5".

15

If you SBR’d it you’d also legally be able to thread the barrel. If you happened to own an M9 you’d have commonality of magazines as well. And they do make quality 20 round mags.

16

Or could just be an excuse to pick up an M9 as well. I’ve always wanted one.

17

Larry V did a whole bit on this topic its on utube check it out look under Larry Vickers

18

As noted, there are pros and cons to either system. The Uzi is heavy but shorter. The AR has better ergonomics and fires a more powerful cartridge, but I don’t want to think about what it would sound like to shoot an SBR 5.56 indoors without ear protection.

You can put a suppressor on either, but it is going to be more effective on the Uzi. However, the sonic crack does not start to form until the bullet is 5 to 15 feet in front of the muzzle. It is possible to shoot supersonic ammo at contact distances and not have any sonic crack. So a suppressed shorty AR15 is a viable option too. On either, adding a suppressor is going to remove the benefits of having an SBR, but with the advantages noted above. The suppressor is typically a very effective flash suppressor as well.

Bullet over-penetration can be addressed through ammo selection for either caliber, so that does not have to be an issue.

You can shoot the Uzi one-handed, but it is going to be about as handy as shooting a short AR15 one-handed. Neither is going to be great, but either will work at contact distances.

The Uzi is more compact, but is not very shootable with the stock folded in. With the stock extended or with a solid stock (much more comfortable) the Uzi is still a few inches shorter than a 10" AR with stock collapsed.

As noted, you could get a 9mm AR15 SBR. This would combine many of the advantages of both the Uzi and AR15. You can use a shorter (5" or so) barrel, and the gun will be lighter than either the Uzi or a 10" AR. The Uzi with a 10.2" barrel will have slightly better ballistics than the 5" barrel.


Depending on what silencer you use the overall package may be a little longer or shorter than an unsuppressed 10.5" AR15. (For comparison, the upper shown has an 11.5" barrel plus flash hider.)

While there are not as many manufacturers making them, there are a few options for rail mounts on the Uzi. I have one that attaches to the bayonet lug, and is very solid. This one fits either the full-sized or Mini Uzi. I have also seen a rail that extends the full length under the full-sized handguard. Additionally, I have seen a 3-rail handguard set. Any of these would be appropriate for mounting a light and/or front grip.

Again, while not as common, there are options for scope mounts. Some attach to the receiver, and others are welded to the topcover, such as the front gun in this picture. The rear gun has a rail that bolts to the topcover.

19

The UZI takes quite a bit of training to master. It is not a very intuitive weapon and unless you spend a significant amount of range time practicing with it, you’re better off with something that is easier to handle. The best overall SMG I’ve ever handled is still the MP-5.

That being said, the UZI is a pretty reliable and tough and snails SMG. Personally, I’d stay away from magazines that exceed 25rds. The 9mm is a tapered case, and when you stuff it into straight magazines you can run into reliability problems the longer the magazine gets. Usually the springs are incredibly stiff in order to keep them running right…but springs get weak with time.

20

I vote for a SBR’d 9mm AR.