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Posted: 2/28/2025 7:43:48 PM EDT
[Last Edit: MikeDeltaFoxtrot][Edited]
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So I just made a deal for a transferable Vector Uzi built on a Group Industries receiver. It will be an eForm 4 to me as an individual, so I should have it soon. The gun is marked 9mm/.45ACP/22. It is set up for 45 ACP right now, My question is: what parts do I need to shoot 9mm? Maybe even .22 LR? I did not know the latter was a thing. I am thinking that maybe all I need for 9mm is a barrel, bolt, and mag? Can I buy a cut up Uzi parts kit and just use the parts from that? Is there a .22LR conversion kit out there somewhere? I appreciate any information anyone can offer. |
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (ESV)
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Depending on how it's set up, you could also have a grease gun mag well / trigger housing, which would also need to be changed out. Fortunately, the 9mm mag wells are pretty common and easy to find. Be aware when acquiring parts, the semi auto barrel, bolt, and mag well are different from a full-auto vs. semi-auto. Head over to https://uzitalk.com/forums/index.php and start reading. Lots of good info there. Enjoy our new Uzi! |
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Get in touch with Troy at BarrelXchange and see about 40 Short & Weak along with 10mm. I have a 10mm conversion that I use a greasegun lower and modded greasegun mags. From BarrelXchange. He did the bolt & barrel, the lower I grabbed off of GB years ago and same deal with the mags. I modded them from my M10 for 10mm Only reason I don't have a 22 kit is I have a 22 upper for my M10 22 kits run fast I had one around 06 for the UZI and best I could get with the UZI was strings of 5. I can get triples with the M10 22 upper. Congrats on the UZI If you think it runs to slow ( they kinda chug along and can be choppy depending on ammo) get a buffer for it to place behind the recoil rod. Or in a pinch 3 pennies stacked behind it will smooth it right out. |
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With the .22 conversion, you will be best served using a dedicated recoil spring assembly. I tuned mine by using a well used 9mm assembly, uncapturing the spring and cut coils one at a time and then testing with all the ammo I could source locally. It took me a day at the range, but I was able to get it to work with any ammo and nearly 100% reliable. It works well enough that I managed to wear out an extractor. Mine is a Subgun Ord kit with the Black Dog Machine mags. |
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I have the vector/group uzi in semi auto. Caliper swap is a barrel, bolt, recoil spring(s), and magazine. If you have an optic mounted to the top cover, you can use one for each caliber so it stays zeroed. I also use a 3-lug for my 9mm guns. The 3-lug doesn't fit through the hole on the semi barrel nut. So I bought an extra barrel nut that stays captured on my 9mm barrel with the 3-lug. Not sure if its the same issue on the full auto ones. The real fun is trying to track down decent 45acp mags. I scored some of the IMI ones. The aftermarket ones all malfunctioned several times per mag. |
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Originally Posted By Dakota_Don: With the .22 conversion, you will be best served using a dedicated recoil spring assembly. I tuned mine by using a well used 9mm assembly, uncapturing the spring and cut coils one at a time and then testing with all the ammo I could source locally. It took me a day at the range, but I was able to get it to work with any ammo and nearly 100% reliable. It works well enough that I managed to wear out an extractor. Mine is a Subgun Ord kit with the Black Dog Machine mags. Most any full-auto .22 conversion can be finicky, and the Uzi version is no exception. And it seems what might work for one doesn't work for another of the exact same brand/make/model at times. Lots of good info on how to tune an Uzi .22 conversion here. As Dakota_Don notes, you need to go figure out what ammo your individual kit likes. And then keep in mind, ammo manufacturers tweak their products over time. Federal Bulk Pack ammo used to be my go-to Uzi .22 ammo, but around 10 years ago I started running into problems with this ammo, not only in the Uzi, but in other short-barreled firearms. Since the ammo had been good previously, I assumed it was still fine. I went through different mags, springs, and anything else I could think. I finally tried a different ammo, and it was like night and day. For my Uzi, the "crappy" Rem Thunderbolt or the Rem Golden Bullet both perform marvelously. Here's an example:  Uzi .22 Bowling Pin shoot And here was some testing with various types of ammo.  "Bulk Pack" .22LR Full-Auto Testing |
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There is currently an older Vector Uzi .22LR conversion kit for sale in the UziTalk Classifieds. Not mine. The kit includes several mags and Black Dog Machine has their .22 Uzi mags in stock as well. Should you buy the kit, as an owner of at 2007 era Vector .22LR kit, I recommend that you "chase" the chamber with a .22LR finish reamer and very gently "throat" the feed ramp. As noted above, Uzi Talk as a section devoted to "How to make your .22 Uzi run". In any case, you might want to buy a copy of "The Uzi Submachine Gun Examined" to get an idea of the veritable panoply of accessories available for your Uzi. Enjoy many safe shooting times with your Uzi! MHO, YMMV, etc. |
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Welcome to the madness. FWIW, I have NEVER gotten a .22 conversion to work on my factory IMI SMG. Others have had more luck with their guns. Be ready to tinker. |
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Nice congrats on the UZI, it's my favorite machine gun!!  I have a Vector Group gun as well. Mine was also in 45acp with the Grease Gun mag lower. For 9mm you'll need a bolt, barrel, and lower UZI assembly and standard UZI 9mm mags. An UZI parts kit might be a good way to go. For 22lr I got a Vector kit that came with the bolt, barrel, magazine, and recoil spring. It's basically a 9mm spring with some coils cut off to make it lighter. I had to polish my bolt so it would slide freely back and forth without the spring. My top cover was too tight so I used a spare top cover and loosened the gap between the bolt. Used feeler gauges. The tight top cover ran fine in full-auto, but wouldn't work in semi-auto. The loosened cover works in both full and semi now. Marked it 22lr. It also only runs with CCI Mini Mags. |
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So I shot my Uzi today. Based on this thread, I started with an Israeli surplus 9mm bolt and barrel and a few surplus 25 round mags. The gun ran like a sewing machine with Blazer 115gr FMJ. The cyclic rate was perfect, and I found I could easily shoot singles, doubles, triples, etc at will. I then put the 45 ACP bolt and barrel that came with the gun in. Huge difference. I felt like the cyclic rate doubled. I had been thinking of spending $$ for some additional 45 ACP mags, but based on shooting it, I think I am going to just shoot 9mm mostly. Cheaper anyway. |
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (ESV)
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: So I shot my Uzi today. Based on this thread, I started with an Israeli surplus 9mm bolt and barrel and a few surplus 25 round mags. The gun ran like a sewing machine with Blazer 115gr FMJ. The cyclic rate was perfect, and I found I could easily shoot singles, doubles, triples, etc at will. I then put the 45 ACP bolt and barrel that came with the gun in. Huge difference. I felt like the cyclic rate doubled. I had been thinking of spending $$ for some additional 45 ACP mags, but based on shooting it, I think I am going to just shoot 9mm mostly. Cheaper anyway. I always felt like the .45's were a lot faster, but maybe it is just because you feel it more. This is all talking open bolt..... Here is a link to my site discussing a rare closed bolt full auto .45 UZI configuration I have: https://c3junkie.com/?page_id=2434 I clock the closed bolt 45 at 1370 RPM and the open bolt 45 at 680 RPM:  Full Auto .45 UZI Closed vs Open bolt |
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot:I then put the 45 ACP bolt and barrel that came with the gun in. Huge difference. I felt like the cyclic rate doubled. I had been thinking of spending $$ for some additional 45 ACP mags, but based on shooting it, I think I am going to just shoot 9mm mostly. Cheaper anyway. If you want really fast, drop the 1.4" BlackJack Buffer in with the 45 kit and it'll run faster than a Mini Uzi. |
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Any standard 9mm ammo will run great in the UZI. My 22 kit for my UZI was a complete waste of money and never ran. Avoid a suppressor mount that acts as a barrel nut. Some UZI shoot like crap with that mount system. It's a mystery. My UZI will shoot literally 3 foot groups with the barrel nut mount, and 2 inch groups with an 8.5" threaded barrel and screw-on suppressor mount. I have met other UZI owners who had the same problem. It's a weird thing. The threaded mount adds like 1/4 inch to the overall length of the gun. A stormwerks top cover mount is a great way to add a red dot sight. Congrats! You will not be sorry! |
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| I ran about 300 rounds through the uzi today, all with my Bowers CAC-9 mounted using a replacement barrel nut mount. No noticeable difference in group size or point of impact. My surplus bolt, barrel, and 25 round 9mm mags all work great. |
"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (ESV)
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Originally Posted By MikeDeltaFoxtrot: I ran about 300 rounds through the uzi today, all with my Bowers CAC-9 mounted using a replacement barrel nut mount. No noticeable difference in group size or point of impact. My surplus bolt, barrel, and 25 round 9mm mags all work great. Same setup here and no difference in the POI. |
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Originally Posted By Dakota_Don: Same setup here and no difference in the POI. I'm aware that barrel nut mount system works fine on some guns. But it also doesn't work on some guns, for reasons that nobody can figure out. When you fire a gun, the barrel vibrates violently like a tuning fork. It could be that phenomenon plus some tolerance stacking that is maybe making the bullet pass through end cap off-center, in a way that slightly tips the bullet. Every serious target rifle shooter knows that the way that gas emerges from a barrel can effect accuracy. Like if you have a target rifle and the crown of the barrel has a nick or dent, that can affect accuracy. What I was actually getting with the barrel nut mount was like 3 shots in maybe 3 inches at 25 yards, with the other two shots not even hitting the paper. Bowers actually sent me 2 replacement barrel nuts, and nothing helped. And they said they have this problem once in a while, some UZIs simply will not shoot well with the barrel nut. And I personally know a guy who has suppressor from a different manufacturer, I forget who, and he has the exact same problem. My UZI is a Vector, I popped the end plate and trunion welds, so I had it repaired and blueprinted by BWE. The gun is solid and it shoots VERY accurately. |
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I guess that's worth mentioning to the OP Some Group and Vector UZIs are a little wonky. The Group Industries parts, like their bolts, should be tossed and replaced with IMI. And the early Vectors like to pop their trunnion welds. The good news is that it's a pretty simple gun and there are a number of guys who can do a decent job of fixing it. That's one of the advantages of these sheet metal garden tractors, they don't require industrial grade gunsmithing, because they were specifically designed to not require it. Your Vector should be full of South African IMI parts, so you're probably GTG on that. |
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