I've long wanted a Galil-patterned rifle, but I can't justify the cost of an IMI pre-ban. I have my eye on a used Century Golani and an ATI Galeo, but wonder if the "discounted" prices (compared to a pre-ban) are worth it.

I've been burned on a badly built Century Yugo M70AB2 several years ago and have read the reviews that the ATI rifles are built around the TAPCO plastic mags and not the Israeli 35 round steel mags.

Does anyone own or have experience with either of these? The ATI locally is MSRP $999 and the used century is about $100 cheaper, with a handful of mags.

And, no, another AR15 is not an option. I already have too many.

A few years back, I bought my Dad a Golani. It seemed to shoot pretty well. Fit & finish wasn't what you'd expect from an IMI product naturally, but overall I'd say it wasn't a bad rifle overall for the money.

Today however, I would opt for a Galil ACE instead.

I tried a Golani before eventually getting an IMI Galil 386. It did fine until one day it didn't and the ejector got bent and was never the same. There were heat treat issues on the early receivers if I'm remembering this right. I want to say they corrected that with the latter Golanis with Caspian receivers but that needs fact checking. I couldn't ever trust another one again. The IMI guns are superb. I don't know much about the ATI Galils but I like when someone gets it right. I would hope they are good just don't know. There are more players in the game now making proper heat treated receivers but it's been a long time since I followed all that. Bartocci did a video on the ATI and seemed to think it was pretty good. I did like all the IMI mags and parts. Very well made stuff and I don't know about tapco mags or the ATI being built around them.

Been years since I was on Galil talk but they have classifieds over there and would know about the ATI.

Love the Galil but to steal it from someone here a long time ago, it's a 5.56 that weighs like a Garand.

If I’m remembering correctly you want a Golani with a GLN serial prefix.

Given the cost of a parts kit ($400), a TortTort receiver ($500) and a competent build from Troy at InRange ($400), I see little reason to buy an ATI built rifle or Golani since they run $900-1200. Just a little more and no need to roll the dice.

^^ I knew Sellars builds some fine AKs; has he been making Galils for a while?

I had a Golani that functioned fine and fit/finish was pretty decent. I had one malfunction, the first round, but after that the rifle ran well. I ended up selling it when I got a good deal on a IMI ARM in 308. There were issues with some of the Golani's so do a bit of research before making a decision. I think uzitalk has a Galil page so check there for more information.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
^^ I knew Sellars builds some fine AKs; has he been making Galils for a while?

yep, has completed dozens in the last year

I recently acquired one of the ATI Galeo’s. The rifle has been 100% out of the box with the supplied TAPCO magazines. I have not tried it with original Galil magazines. I was pleasantly surprised to find the rifle was zeroed out of the box.

So it will accept IMI mags?

I have one of the ATI Galeo's and mine works with Military mags so I am happy. It is a great shooting rifle.

I owned a Century Golani in 2010, owned it for 2 or 3 years, it was a terrific rifle. A friend has it now and he really likes it. My Golani was a 12 twist.

If you're looking at an older Golani make sure the receiver is marked with an "F". Also, check the frame rails and carrier for mushrooming. Check the buttstock hinge too.

I liked the Orlite magazines, the steel mags are good but heavy. I had to shave the back side of the Orlites down so they'd fit in the magazine well.