I am really debating on whether to grab one of these. I currently have a Mk18 pistol, a Tavor SAR, and an IWI Zion-15 rifle. I used to have an Arsenal SLR-106 but I sold it to get the SAR. I really like having like calibers with magazine interchangeability, which is why I sold the SLR and am now interested in the Galil ACE. I feel like the 13" barrel is a great bridge in between my 10.3" AR and 16" barreled Zion and SAR.

Anyone have any experience with this gun, or maybe even the other barrel length Gen 2's? What should I take in consideration? Also, I am left-handed, so if the controls on them are horrid to deal with please let me know.

Also, is the bolt release button on the RH side accessible to reach with a right hand thumb when inserting a new mag, similar to how a righty can activate the bolt release on an AR, or is too far away?

Thanks

I think they were just released, maybe? I did end up picking one up for $1699. Can't wait to get my hands on it.

I’m going with the 13 also. Better ballistics.

I was wondering when these would come out. Where did you buy it?

One thing to be aware of. The flash hider is up against a locking nut. If you intend to pin and weld to keep it off the NFA (16” OAL), it may be difficult but not impossible. A Surefire Warcomp is only 2.7” long for instance but I am sure a good gun smith could come
up with a solution.

Smoky Mountain Guns & Ammo. $1699 with free shipping. They still have some in stock

I have one. Mechanics are legit, no issues I can speak of. Only gripe would be the folder is tight tight. Still not broke in yet.

I love this thing!

Has the reciprocating bolt ever bothered you?

Being a lefty, I can say that the bolt handle being on the left side is a good thing. Not only does it not dig into me while slung, but I will definitely never catch my thumb on it. Both problems righty's don't have to deal with.

Well, it looks like you already answered your questions by picking one up.   I'm also a lefty & will add some of my opinions for any future readers of this post.

I've wanted an Ace for awhile, but I just wasn't ready to spend $1700. I was kicking around getting a AK Pistol in 5.56, but liked the idea of this using AR mags vs. a proprietary mag.  I saw this at a local shop on Monday, & decide to buy it yesterday.  I didn't even realize it was a 13 incher until I saw the end of the box label.  Nor did I know these had just been released, as I haven't really paid attention to this market.  And I found zero reviews of these in this barrel length on-line after getting it home.

IMO, this thing is a heavy beast.  It's still over gassed like the original, or at least that was my take away from my brass flying 15 feet away.  Mine ran 100% with factory Wolf gold.  I had 1 issue with one of my reloads getting destroyed and coming apart some how?  

As a lefty, I was afraid the safety lever on the left side would be bothersome to my trigger finger.  I didn't notice it at all in the 3 mags I went through.  And as mentioned above, even as a lefty, I like the charging handle on the left side.

I added a 3 prong AAC FH to mine.  This made the OAL the same as my 14.5" AR with the stock set at the first notch.  So these really aren't that short.

For those that don't know, the adjustable brace tube only has one hole for adjustment.  That means if you run your brace further out, it doesn't click into any other position.  It will just run freely on the tube until you bring it back to it's one notch (shown in the pic below).  I don't know if this was done to comply with the ATF's pending point system on braces or even if it would comply?

I have a Sig MSR red dot on a ADM QD low mount on mine.  I think Troy Flip-up HK height sights would work best for this.  Or you could even go with a Red dot on a low mount (not sure which irons would work with that set-up?).  IMO, the standard AR height sights & mounts are too high without some kind of cheek riser.  Even the set-up I have is a little high, but I didn't notice it at all during my shooting.

Recoil was a little more than it should be, as I could feel the end of the brace hit my shoulder during firing when using the brace as a cheek weld.  I'm sure in an SBR set-up with a proper stock this wouldn't be an issue.  I know MAC on his review of the Gen II Ace's complained about IWI going with an AR tube set-up as it wasn't the classic design.  But this isn't the classic Galil.  And this set-up makes it simple to add an AR buffer tube stock if you decide to SBR it or add another adj. brace.  The measurement from the center of the trigger to the end of the brace in it's notched position is just over 12 1/2 inches.

You would think IWI would figure our that people would want to change out to their favorite pistol grip and make the II be able to do just that.  They didn't.

During rapid fire, I didn't feel any excessive heat coming through the handguards from the barrel.  Nor did the handguards feel like they were heating-up.  But that was just one mag rapid firing doubles & triples.

Overall quality & workmanship is excellent & am pleased with mine.  And I think the barrel length is perfect for 5.56, whether you SBR it or leave it as a pistol.

Thanks for the review.

How heavy is it for you unloaded?

I am debating between 13 and 16”. I have plenty of SBRs. Not sure if it is worth getting another tax stamp or not.

8.6 lbs as shown above w/out a mag.  I already have a bunch of 16” rifles, so I wanted something different.  And I didn’t have any 13 inchers.  But since it’s a side folder, you might as well go 16”.

this is my biggest hesitation from buying the 13" is the weight but i'm considering a 8" 5.45 or a 13" 5.45.

5.45 out of a shorter barrel loses a bit less than 5.56.

I finally started reloading 5.56, so that played into my decision.

Would you happen to know the MV out of a 13" bbl regarding 5.45 vs 5.56?  

Regards

I had saw and read a lot of reviews where people said that it was heavy. Bare bones stock I didn't feel it was heavy at all. But then again, I'm used to a mk18 with a RIS II rail, CD REIN Micro, and EOTECH EXPS/G33 combo. I will say, though, that adding a weapon light on it does add some heft. Still haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I did have an SLR-106 previously, so I suspect that recoil should be comparable.

Have any of you tested the Galil’s accuracy potential? I am considering a Galil Gen II pistol for a SBR project, but I don’t want to invest into something that would produce 5 MOA or similar nonsense.

Thank you

Another lefty here.  I acquired a 13” Ace today and love it.  No issue with the selector bothering my grip or trigger finger.  Charging handle doesn’t bother me.  Reminds me of my FAL days.   Will probably SBR this quickly and put a BCM gunfighter stock on it after changing the one position receiver  extension.  I like the whole weapon better than the cz Bren 2 I had and sold.  Can’t wait to shoot it tomorrow.

Any update after the range day? Tempted to get one of these.

I got a chance to site in my red dot last weekend.  25y indoor range for a rough 100y zero.  I ran 120 rounds of brown bear through it.  Zero problems.  20 Norma 55gr.  20 privi 62gr.  20 55gr PMC x-tac.  All ran flawlessly.   Soft shooting.  It should due to its weight.   Good trigger.  Probably the best ak trigger I’ve ever used.  Never tried an Alg but it’s better than any tapco, fime group, vepr, or yugo trigger for sure IMHO.   I ran gen 2 and gen 3 pmags no issues.  Metal GI mags no issues.  It does launch the brass like most Ak rifles.  It’s probably a bit over gassed but I don’t care.  I definitely like it better than the Bren 2 I traded off a while ago.  Feels and is more substantial than that platform.  It will never be a tack driver but it wasn’t intended to be.  I’m sure hitting man sized targets out to 300y would be easy.  I’ll try that next after I get a good 100y zero.  I will be keeping it.  Purchased 2000 rounds of wolf steel at scheels the other day to feed it.  

Bottom line it’s a keeper.  Like everyone who handles/shoots one it’s clear these are possibly the nicest Ak available.  Better than my Vepr FM-Ak47 in almost every single way.  

How’s the trigger on these? I have not had the chance to shoot one or play with one.

What would you compare the Galil trigger to?
Is it just like a AR15 or like a AK47?

I sold my ACE a while back, but from what I remember it's a 2 stage trigger with a rolling break and a lot of overtravel.

Wouldn't say it's like an AR because of the long travel and I haven't tried 2 stage AK triggers, so not sure if how it compares.

The trigger on my Gen 2 is two stage. First stage is 3.5 lbs and the second stage breaks at 5 lbs. Definitely more like an AK in feel, but a good one. The break isn't super crisp, almost slightly unpredictable, but so is the ALG trigger in my AK-V.  Pretty long reset at about 3/16" of travel from full to reset, but reset is crisp. Sure it's not super great, but it's really not bad at all. I have no plans to change it out and it works well for the purpose of the gun, I feel.

Finally got the ACE Gen 2 out to the range last weekend to shoot it and dial in the EOTECH XPS2-0 I put on it. Definitely more recoil than an AR, but it is 5.56 after all so that's pretty negligible. Shot great, cycled Tula and Wolf through it just fine. Definitely launches the brass. Being a lefty, I can feel the safety on my firing hand but it's not uncomfortable. I do like having a right side bolt release on the 5.56 because I can hit it with my thumb on the reload similar to how you righties can on an AR. It's not quite as easy to get to as it is on an AR, but it's manageable and at least an option. Definitely really dig it. Not sure of it'll replace my Mk18 as my go-to, but I'm really digging it so far. My only complaint is the safety. It would be great of someone made an aftermarket one like Krebs made for the AK where there was an extension lever that could be manipulated with a left hand thumb. Also, shot it at night and the A2 flash hider does an excellent job at taming the flash on the 13" barrel. Even still, I did order a Smith Vortex for it because why not

I just picked one up today. I’m really excited and can’t wait to go shoot it.

I thew on some Troy BUIS & a Strike Eagle 1-8.

I’m thinking Troy micros would be a better fit for me & a red dot down the road.

Another 40 rounds of steel Wolf ammo.  I was on the fence on whether or not I wanted to keep this.  But decided to SBR it.  I also dumbed the FH & went with a Griffin Arm. Comp I had in my parts bin.  My first outing I thought it was pretty loud, but my ear pro wasn't as tight as they should have been.  This outing I fell in love.  It was just a joy to ring steel with.  Brass still gets flung into the next zip code.  I'll look into going with a KNS adj. gas plug.  

The fix sights are from Global Ordnance & are made for the Grand Power Stribog.  The QD mount puts the red dot too high for the irons to be used without removing the red dot.

As a lefty, I also decided to remove the safety lever near the PG.  Loosening the PG, allows the removal of these parts without permanent modification.  The only down side is the right side safety lever can know move past it's detents cut into the receiver.

Nice setup man. I have since added an ALG trigger, which is an awesome upgrade over the original. Also bought a KNS gas piston, which for my gun, did nothing. I have to run it wide open to cycle reliably. But I do plan on getting a can here shortly so I'm sure it'll come in handy then. SBR is also on the list. A Vltor IMOD will look and work great on this thing

Thanks for the heads-up on the KNS.  With the comp I put on, I didn't notice the over gassed recoil issue being that bad.

Weird question but can anybody measure how wide the hand guard is on these? Thx in advance.

Wide open?  I'm new to the KNS but I thought wide open (or partially open) was for suppressor use and fully closed (or partially closed) was for non-suppressed use.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Two questions about modifying the 13” model Gen II:

1. Is a lighter forend available at this time?

2. Has anyone swapped out their Galil’s brace buffer tube for one that actually has multiple positions? I hate the single position setting.

Yeah I screwed that up. I should have said fully closed

The buffer tube is easily swapped out for a standard buffer tube, but I have heard there's a question of legality with doing that due to LOP restrictions on pistols