IWI Galil Ace Pistol: Range Review of a Tiny Titan

In the late 1960s, IWI developed the Galil rifle, a mix of Russia’s AK-47 and the Finnish Valmet RK 62 rifle. The Galil served admirably for decades, but IWI decided to upgrade the design, hence the birth of the Galil Ace.

This modernized Galil Ace exhibits several new features that allow the design to take advantage of new technologies. These include accessory rails, including an M1913 Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver and barrel, improved controls, and additional calibers.

We recently had the pleasure of giving IWI’s Galil Ace pistol a workout at the range, and we’d like to let you know how it went. Is the Galil Ace a reliable, accurate weapon? Let’s dig in.

Tech Specs

Let’s peruse the technical specifications to see what we’re working with here.

• Barrel Length: 8.3 inches.
• Chrome-lined, cold hammer forged, CrMoV barrel.
• Rifling: 1:7 right-hand twist.
• Caliber: 5.56mm NATO (.223 Remington).
• Weight: 7.6 pounds.
• Operating System: Closed rotating bolt, Long Stroke Gas Piston.
• Action: Semi-auto.
• Magazine Type: AR15/M16/M4.
• Sights: Adjustable, with tritium front post and rear aperture, tritium 2-dot.

Although the pistol we reviewed is chambered for 5.56mm, models are available in 7.62x51mm (.308), 5.45x39mm, and 7.62x39mm. These calibers cover most of the bases for folks wanting an American or Russian caliber for their weapon platform.

Also, various barrel lengths and stocks are available, depending on what you’re after. I’ll note that the pistol reviewed here is the Gen. 1 model; IWI is into the Gen II model now, with further upgrades, including MLOK handguards.

The Brace

This pistol version of the Galil utilizes a pistol brace that resembles a short rifle stock. There’s nothing very remarkable about it (if you’ve seen one brace, you’ve seen most of them). However, there is one very cool feature on the Ace that sets it apart from other platforms, and that is the ability to fold the brace to the side, making this a very compact package. Another remarkable feature is the hinge that IWI uses; it is incredibly overbuilt and robust (and even phrasing it like that is an understatement). This hinge will stand the test of time and outlast us all. To fold the brace, just grab it near the hinge and push it down while pulling up on the pistol itself to disengage it and then fold it.

The Controls

The controls on the Ace are interesting, as they are on all Galil firearms. Just above the trigger guard on the left side is a selector switch. If it’s to the rear, it is on safe, and moving it forward is the fire position. Safe is marked in white, and fire is marked in red. Simple enough. The switch is easily manipulated by the thumb.

But wait, there’s more; on the right side of the receiver, we have another selector switch. In the up position, the pistol is on safe, and if the switch is flipped down, it is ready to fire.

The neat part is that if you flip one of the switches, the other automatically moves, so they are not independent of one another. This is rather unique in the firearms world, and it gives us users some options to fit our specific needs.

The charging handle is on the left side of the receiver. If the shooter is right-handed, he can perform all operations of the pistol while never removing his hand from the pistol grip. Overall, the controls are well set up and make a lot of sense, and the weapon can be manipulated with ease with a little practice.

Other Features

The Ace’s rear sight has an L-shape aperture with two options: a long-range and a short-range option. This works well, though the apertures are both fairly small. One would expect that the short-range aperture would be larger, but I did not perceive this. There are two tritium tabs on each side of the aperture for dim light firing.

The front sight is a tritium post, and it’s fairly straightforward. Overall, the sights work very well and are among the better ones in the firearms world. Engaging targets at close and intermediate range was very easy.

One spectacular aspect of this particular model is that it accepts standard AR15/M16 magazines, which are among the most available and least expensive magazines in the US. Bravo to IWI for deciding to go this route!

While there are more robust magazine designs, there’s a lot to be said about the availability and affordability of AR-15 magazines.

At The Range

We retired to the range on a sweltering, humid summer day to test the Galil Ace. Since this pistol belongs to a friend, he had the honor of firing the first rounds.

The handling characteristics of the gun are interesting, in that it’s small and compact yet it weighs nearly eight pounds. That gives it an extremely solid feel (plus, it has many features of the AK47). Overall, it is a very well-balanced firearm, and when brought to the shoulder, it inspires confidence in the operator. The brace, pistol grip, and handguard are all very comfortable.

As soon as the Ace is brought up to the shoulder, the sights are instantly aligned on the target, which is a great feature. And unlike the standard AK sights, the rear aperture sight on the Ace is on the rear of the receiver, which does two things:

1. It gives a longer sight radius, which improves accuracy.
2. It provides a better sight picture because we have an aperture sight, and it is close to the eye, so the eye naturally centers that front sight post in the rear aperture. This is very well thought out and is also used on the Valmet family of guns.
3. It’s more easily adjustable than the AK sights. On the AK, all adjustments have to be made via the front sight assembly, which can suck. With the Galil, the rear sight can be adjusted for elevation and windage, which is far superior.

There was some muzzle flash associated with firing the Galil Ace, but it wasn’t quite as much as I had anticipated. The recoil was very modest, given the gun’s weight and excellent recoil system. As expected from a barrel that’s just over eight inches long, the muzzle blast was loud.

The pistol balanced well, and swinging it back and forth between engaging multiple targets was easy and intuitive.

Of course, no stoppages were experienced, which is not a surprise, given this weapon’s pedigree. We used several different loads, including Frontier Cartridge 55-grain 5.56mm rounds and Nosler’s 53-grain Varmageddon .223 ammunition.

Parting Shots

IWI has a real winner with the Galil Ace. It’s reliable with a variety of ammo, accurate out to 100 yards and probably well beyond, and shoots smoothly with very little recoil.

The Ace’s compact nature makes it a natural for vehicles, as it can be stored away easily. When it’s time to use the weapon, it is accurate enough to reach out if needed, especially if optics are employed. Although the first generation of Galil Ace pistols has been discontinued, the 2nd generation is available. Be sure to check one out for yourself!