Our Own Way Pt 2: The Vz 58

I hope you all enjoyed the previous installment of the series of the cz 52. Today we are going to cover this piece of Czechnology.

The Vz. 58

From the outside, the resemblance to the Soviet AK-47 is undeniable, but on the inside it's its own beast. In fact, it has no parts in common. The distinctive wood fibre laminate grips are a beautiful giveaway from a distance as well. While the political circumstances around its military adoption are not as tense as the previous example, this is an even greater masterwork of machining. Its continued military service and international civilian ownership are testaments to its inventiveness.

The Mechanics

This gun is a short stroke, striker fired carbine. It feeds from a proprietary 30 round rock-and-lock AK-esque mag. It also has notches in the bolt carrier to accept stripper clips like its predecessors. This sort of dual feeding method is one area where other service rifles have lacked. Imagine a US or Russian soldier having a magazine get stuck. In such a scenario, they would have to disassemble their gun to load, whereas a Czech or Slovakian would be fine. It is also part of why it has seen so much success in the C&R and domestic markets (more on that later). The magazine release is also set off to the side and partially hidden in the trigger guard. This makes is much harder to drop your mag by accident. This gun, unlike the AK, has a bolt hold open system so you know when you've run dry instead of the "click, but no bang" way the AK tells you to reload.

The 2 biggest mechanical differences between this and the AK are the gas and firing methods. This, like the Russian SKS, uses a short stroke piston design. What this means is that instead of having a long rod attached to the bolt (like the AK), a short, separate piston contacts the bolt carrier to cycle it. This system has fewer failure points and is easier to repair than a long stroke system.

While the striker fired system may be more mechanically complicated than a hammer system, it comes with many advantages. One such advantage is that this system has a lighter trigger because there are fewer points of contact. Additionally, because all the fire control elements are behind the chamber, the receiver can be much smaller. You don't need the coil springs on the sides of the hammer, so its narrower. You also don't need to account for hammer travel, reducing vertical height dramatically. The significant reduction in receiver size is one of the main reasons that despite having a milled (sturdier) receiver than the AK, the Vz weighs over a pound less than the lightest AK variants.

In Present Day

Almost 60 years later, the Vz still sees military service in many forms. The Slovak army keeps these in standard issue for vehicle crews and paratroopers. The folding stocks and light weight make them perfect little packages for the job. It also makes awesome photos, like this one from 2008

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In more recent modernization attempts, the Slovaks have replaced the foregrip with Pic rails as seen in the hand of a 12th Mechanized Battalion Brigade.

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In the Czech Republic, this weapon is currently being replaced with the CZ 802. The Czech's are going to keep the Vz's arsenaled and used in some police forces as well. Where this gun really shines today is in the civilian market.

In restrictive US states as well as in Canada, AK derivatives are banned, while the Vz remains untouched. Parts kits for Vz's are in high demand and are sadly much harder to find in the US than in CA because of import restrictions. For some of the most restrictive locales, the stripper clip notch it welcome. Many get around assault weapon regulations by attaching the mag permanently. This means you can keep your folding stocks and muzzle attachments. Instead of swapping the magazine, you can reload from the top with a stripper clip like so:

So this has been the Vz 58, I hope you guys enjoyed and I will be covering more soon!

Thanks for reading. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.

** All photos marked in this way are distributed by Wikimedia or Pixabay under CC licenses. I do not own this photograph.