Posted on 05/02/2016 8:28:26 AM PDT by w1n1
The Samopal vzor 58, or Automatic weapon model 58, was put into Czechoslovak military service in the late 1950s. A very lightweight 7.62×39 carbine with a short-stroke piston action, it was one of the first Czech arms to use the Soviet cartridge instead of the longer native round. Lighter than the AK-47 by 1.3 pounds, it also used alloy magazines that weighed half of the steel AK-47 mags.
Although similar in overall size to the AK, the slimmer pistol grip and stock gave it a more dainty look. Besides Czechoslovak army use, the rifle was exported to about 20 countries, mainly in the Third World. With the 15.4-inch barrel extended to 16 inches with a shroud and automatic capability removed, it is now available in the US through Czechpoint USA of Knoxville, Tenn.
What they termed automatic rifles were full power 7.62mm types, while the PPSh41 and AK-47 were both commonly termed avtomat. A technical term for submachine gun existed, but it wasn’t in common use. The doctrinal niche for the early automatic rifles was almost the same as for the pistol-caliber SMGs. To that end, the Czechoslovak vz58 was designed more along the lines of an MP5 or XM177 than an M16 or a Sig550. It’s handy in close quarters and usable further out, a more defense-oriented design than the rifleman’s ideal rifle of certain military branches that is only usable up close as an afterthought. Read the rest of the VZ58 review here.
Nice rifle, but the sticking point is the proprietary magazine. Saw captured Vz-58s in Vietnam but they were useless without their own mags; AK mags won’t fit.
VZ58 field strip: http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/04/28/vz58-field-strip/
Couldn’t get the review to load on my computer. I wanted to find out how (1) reliable and (2)accurate it is.
Thanks for posting. Mag interchangeability was my only question.
Milled receiver?
CC
TAPCO-F@#*ed would be the vernacular expression.
Yes. They’re nice little guns.
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