chuck pullen
Member
Last week I traded into a lightly used CAI Golani Sporter with GT member AK74auto (thanks, Joseph). Today was the first chance I had to shoot it, so my BIL and I went to a nearby field to do some function testing and plinking. I got the gun with two IMI metal mags and two Orlite plastic mags. The IMIs fit kind of wobbly, and the Orlites fit nice and snug. Surprisingly, the IMIs cycled two magfuls apiece without a bobble or hiccup. Each of the Orlites jammed once on about the 10th round. I'll try them again, but the Orlites will probably be for range use only. I put 160 rounds through with only the two jams with the Orlites. My impressions are:
1) This is a smooth, reliable carbine with the right mags. I now am a fan of the IMI mags, even with their wobble.
2) Recoil (5.56 ammo in an 8 lb gun) is virtually nonexistent.
3) Accuracy, to the extent I could test it in this field, was good. I hit a 1 inch stick on the berm 8 out of 10 times, and I'm only an average shot.
4) I was really pleased with the accuracy I saw b/c on this gun the rear sight is on the rear of the dust cover, and this dust cover leans slightly to the right. However, at the moderate ranges I was shooting, it shot to point of aim. I also think this leaning dust cover issue can be easily fixed.
So, it looks like I'm the happy owner of a 5.56/.223 carbine that's reliable, very pleasing ergonomically, uses 35 round mags, and looks really good IMO. The only downsides were the Orlite mags and that the plastic hand guard got really hot after 75-100 quickly fired rounds. I guess that's not surprising, but I thought this hand guard was supposed to have an aluminum heat shield inside it. If it does, it's not visible or super effective, but we were shooting quickly just to test reliability. It's not a problem that can't be fixed, I'm sure.
On a final note, my BIL had his Romanian AK-47 and I got to shoot that as well. I noticed that you could actually feel the action cycling (the bolt reciprocating) on the AK, but that sensation wasn't present on the Golani. It was just noticeably smoother in that regard, However that AK was also a lot of fun to shoot.
So, that's it. If anyone wants to share any experiences or thoughts about the Golani, I'd like to hear them.
1) This is a smooth, reliable carbine with the right mags. I now am a fan of the IMI mags, even with their wobble.
2) Recoil (5.56 ammo in an 8 lb gun) is virtually nonexistent.
3) Accuracy, to the extent I could test it in this field, was good. I hit a 1 inch stick on the berm 8 out of 10 times, and I'm only an average shot.
4) I was really pleased with the accuracy I saw b/c on this gun the rear sight is on the rear of the dust cover, and this dust cover leans slightly to the right. However, at the moderate ranges I was shooting, it shot to point of aim. I also think this leaning dust cover issue can be easily fixed.
So, it looks like I'm the happy owner of a 5.56/.223 carbine that's reliable, very pleasing ergonomically, uses 35 round mags, and looks really good IMO. The only downsides were the Orlite mags and that the plastic hand guard got really hot after 75-100 quickly fired rounds. I guess that's not surprising, but I thought this hand guard was supposed to have an aluminum heat shield inside it. If it does, it's not visible or super effective, but we were shooting quickly just to test reliability. It's not a problem that can't be fixed, I'm sure.
On a final note, my BIL had his Romanian AK-47 and I got to shoot that as well. I noticed that you could actually feel the action cycling (the bolt reciprocating) on the AK, but that sensation wasn't present on the Golani. It was just noticeably smoother in that regard, However that AK was also a lot of fun to shoot.
So, that's it. If anyone wants to share any experiences or thoughts about the Golani, I'd like to hear them.
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