This is an initial impressions review of the Galil SAR from CYMA. I won’t be boring you with details pertaining to the real steel version. If you are interested in info regarding that model then Google it.
Sadly our digital camera is acting up, But my wife was able to snap a picture of it before the camera gave up the ghost.
Bear in mind we are the second owners of this gun.
Build quality
CYMA has put considerable effort into this AEG, from tip to toe its mainly metal, with only the for grip and pistol grip getting a plastic treatment, and even those pieces are well made and solid. As for fitment the Folding stock does have less than a millimeter of play when folded and less then that when extended, and is altogether unnoticeable. The charging handle is prone to damage and will “spin” freely, this can be easily fixed however so that’s not a deal breaker (the previous owner did in fact experience this issue and it was resolved by adding a small washer). The bolt cover is a light piece that does have some play to it, so again leave it alone unless your adjusting the hop up. The battery resides in exactly the same place as an AKS but has less room a standard AK stick will JUST fit and even then its tight, so no 9.4 batteries are going in here, a lipo could be used but I would suggest some upgrades (that I will go into later) before doing so. The screw that secures the selector switch is something to watch, make sure it’s secure as it can be a little finky. The magazine is huge, and is quiet snug in the mag well, it operates exactly like the AK only the galil has a longer magazine release, the size of this AEG’s mag well means that AK type mags may fit, but people report that they do not feed well, I will have to test this further and find out what mags will feed and what won’t.
The Folding stock is secured to the body quiet well, and is very solid, it is nice to note that the sling mount location is actually attached to the base of the swivel for the stock and not the stock itself unlike AK’s, which means that with sling attached the sling will stay on the left side of the gun even if the stock is folded, a nice design choice made by the Israelis, both sling attachment points are solid and I have no worries about using a sling with this rifle. One thing, CYMA accidentally got the dimensions off for the folding stock, and as such when the stock is folded the charging handle will hit the butt of the stock and therefore cannot be fully opened, again not a deal breaker as there is no blowback and there is no reason to be playing with the charging handle. The paint is slightly scuffed (showing silver underneath) which leads me to believe that this will happen all over as its used more, this is not a problem for me as I prefer the “used” look that it imparts.
INTERNALS
Im no Gun doctor and Ive been out of the scene for a long time, but the internals are quiet nice, it uses V3 Mechbox (which looks quite different than the ones I’ve looked at in the past.) and an AK type Hopup assembly (which is plastic). The internal parts are of fairly good quality save the air nozzle, spring guide and hop up which are pretty cheap looking, however those are easy to replace if/when they break so again no big deal there. I don’t have a chrono but I will report once I get it chronoed at the next game and update then. As for wiring, they appear to be thin, which might be a design point as they are probably lower resistance, however they would need to be replaced before one could switch to LIPO, as well the mini type connectors are fairly cheap looking as is the trigger assembly and if one cared to this gun could benefit from a mosfet, deans, and better wiring. Which I might do if it ever breaks, but as it stands the gun is very responsive with an 8.4 in both auto and Semi, and has a reasonable ROF (slightly low but that’s how I prefer it). Someone has taken this gun apart before and cleaned and regreased it, they did a great job, but if you bought one new I would probably suggest you do the same as I cannot attest to how it looked factory stock.
I will conduct further testing at the May 1st game to determine its accuracy and range. I will post back there (and hopefully a few pictures). As well I am considering removing the foregrip/pistol grip and painting them tan, But that’s up to my wife (its her’s).
All in all, I would rate it as follows
• Externally, it’s great for the money, the metal used is solid and the fitment is acceptable. The trademarks are correct but “painted” on but again at half the price of any other galil on the market this can be overlooked. I give it a 8/10
• Internally. Considering it’s a budget full metal AEG Im fairly impressed, the parts that should need replacing are cheap and easy to find. Upgrading it to be lipo ready could prove expensive though. But then again, I could throw in a complete SYSTEMA Prebuilt V3 and a mosfet with new wiring and this AEG would still be cheaper than a brand new ICS or KA Galil. So I give it a 5/10
The “scoop” or TL
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Pros
• Solid build for the price, metal everywhere and good fitment
• Rock bottom price
Cons
• No low/mid caps easily available, Hicaps are hard to come by.
• Internals could use some work, and expect to do so if you’re going to be using this as a primary often.