Czech Sa vz. 58 Sporter TACTICAL .223 Rem (5.56 x 45 mm)

[PistolBoy]

Depending on SA testing these could be a worthwhile alternative. I look forward to seeing them in real life.

[abhm]

Depending on SA testing these could be a worthwhile alternative. I look forward to seeing them in real life.

PB if it aced Afghan and Iraq (used by others) I really dont see it have trouble with local conditions or 2/3/ multi gun matches

[DS]

I have practical experience with the system.

I love it, mine was dependable, comfortable, accurate not much more you could ask from a system.
A joy to shoot, easy and simple to operate and with the ones from Khumba/ HBA you get the "upgrade" model

I used mine in a psd role in Afghanistan so lots of rough handling, dust, bumps, dust, crappy ammo, dust, cold (fricking cold!), heat (boiling bloody hot)...did I mention dust?

In terms of wrking with HBA, well its Khumba, we have all known him for a long time, a man of his word who will back his products 100000000000% and break his left nut to give you good service, Frank is a good bloke as well...

Thanks for the kind words Bru.

As I said a while ago - you are one of the "test pilots" on this one and I am looking forward to getting your take on these compared to the ones you used in Afgh. Obvious difference will be 5,56 instead of 7,62x39 but we will also have one 7,62x39 (mine, mine, mine) to check out.

[BigT]

I want to play too. Please :).

[PistolBoy]

PB if it aced Afghan and Iraq (used by others) I really dont see it have trouble with local conditions or 2/3/ multi gun matches

No slight intended and im shure the wepon will work exemplarily well. The SA testing i was refering to would be how much I like it after I have played with it!

[DS]

I want to play too. Please :).

Absolutely!

[abhm]

No slight intended and im shure the wepon will work exemplarily well. The SA testing i was refering to would be how much I like it after I have played with it!

sure, didnt really read you as "slighting" bro was just saying, am pretty impressed and the ne I had and others I saw did well in some shitty conditions amd pretty confident they will handle SA well!

[abhm]

Thanks for the kind words Bru.

As I said a while ago - you are one of the "test pilots" on this one and I am looking forward to getting your take on these compared to the ones you used in Afgh. Obvious difference will be 5,56 instead of 7,62x39 but we will also have one 7,62x39 (mine, mine, mine) to check out.

looking forward to it and thank you

[PistolBoy]

sure, didnt really read you as "slighting" bro was just saying, am pretty impressed and the ne I had and others I saw did well in some shitty conditions amd pretty confident they will handle SA well!

Now I sit with the recurring problem of me needing more money! Hahaha

[North Eastern Arms]

Dave at NEA has several VZ58 rifles (not sure what brand) and one I seem to recall with around 100k round count. He reported on the VZ58 being a very reliable rifle.


What is interesting to me is the fact that they weigh similar to what an AR weighs, lock back/open on an empty mag, have affordable mags, option of an adapter for use of AR mags which are features that distinguish them and imo give them some advantages over the LM/AK/Galil type rifles.

CSA also gives a very good factory warranty.

I can say without a doubt that I have fired more rounds through a VZ than anyone else in my country, and if not the most in N. America, than pretty close to the top. I have put +100K rnds through a single VZ, and owned several others. I have played with just about every VZ 58 made... from the bottom end US-made Century rifles, to the Military VZ 58 that is the most used rifle in my inventory, to all of the CSA models. I have developed several after-market upgrades for the platform and now work for the company that is widely accepted as the place to go for the best VZ components in the world. While I don't consider myself to me an expert in many things, the VZ 58 is one thing I do.

That being said, here's my opinion on them;

The Military sa. VZ 58 - Is the lightest battle rifle on the planet. It is the most reliable rifle I have EVER ran.. Period. My +100K rnd test rifle had 3 stoppages. One while doing a torture test; filling the receiver with mud and submerging in ice. After it spit out the first 10 rnds one round stovepiped on rechamber. Cleared easily. The other two were during a T&E session where we ran it with an extractor that we ground 3/4 of the face off experimenting if we could change the ejection angle. We fired 500rnds with 1/4 an extractor and had two double feeds. A side note, in all the rounds fired 95% were Czech Surplus steel core. 1968-1982 years. In all those rounds I only had 6 rounds not fire. Excellent ammo even if old.

CZ UB CZ-858 - These are military surplus VZ's that are reworked by the CSA factory in Jablunka, CZ. They are a semi-only version of the military sa VZ 58. They are also available in a 18.5" barrel and are quite popular here in Canada due to the longer barrel putting it into a non-restricted class. For all intents and purposes, it is no different from the Military rifle in all regards.

D-Technik VZ 58 - Manufactured in the same factory as CSA, this rifle features a newly machined receiver for the US market. Because in the US "once a machine gun, always a machine gun" applies, a new receiver was created. It is for the most part identical to the VZ 58 except for some minor inletting changes due to it only being semi-auto. These rifles also have no bayonet lug and they have a non-threaded barrel extension welded on to bring the barrel length to over 16" as per US import laws. If you can't get a factory sa VZ 58, this is the next best thing.

CSA sa VZ 58 - The newest incarnation of the vz 58 line, it is nearly identical to the rifles manufactured for D-Technik without the restrictions such as barrel length. In fact Tomas at CSA has gone the opposite direction with this line and offers many non-standard variations of barrel length and now even caliber (7.72x39, .223, .222).
CSA 58 Tactical - Full length rifle, with the standard 16" barrel.
CSA Carbine - New shortened 11.8" barrel. Good shooters, nice and compact. One thing to note, the new plastic handguards are not real good at taking heat. I have seen this model go through a extended fire string and melt the lower handguard off. This was after firing an excessive number of rounds and isn't likely to affect everyone. But if you're like me.. excess is the norm. Luckily I know a company that makes a real nice handguard set for the rifle. ;)
CSA Compact - Often called the VZ Krink over here.. this rifle has a shortened gas system and a 7.5" barrel. While VERY compact and surprisingly controllable it is an ignorant beast to shoot. The short barrel is great if you need to light up the area, or give your friends concussions. Fun? Extremely. Practical? Not so much. Throw a suppressor on this however and you're now talking a mean compact beast that is at home in the personal protection field. (it's just missing the fun-switch). There were some issues in production of this rifle breaking pistons. I am told that they have found the proper material and they're running good. Time will tell. Heat wise, because this rifle is so short, the front end doesn't get quite as hot as its Carbine brother.. it throws all the fire straight out the front.
CSA Rifles in .223 - In my opinion chambering the VZ in .223 is bullshit. Why when the only thing cheaper than .223 is 7.62x39?? The Sly move was the AR mag adapter for the .223 rifle though. Canada is one of the largest civilian markets for the VZ. We have some strange laws, the one that people try to capitalize on most is our mag capacity. The short story is that a rifle mag is limited to 5rnds, a pistol mag to 10. The LAR-15 Pistol (AR pistol) came out and they made mags specifically for it and marked as such. Because the mags are limited and not the weapon it's in, they found a loophole; these 10rnd mags can be used in AR's. Anything that you can get these mags into in Canada is a big seller. CSA exploits this with a magwell adapter, now VZ Shooters can double their capacity. ...still a shitty cartridge for this platform, but for paper-punching you can't argue that 10rnds isnt better than 5. However; if given the option and mag capacity is not a concern, 7.62x39 is the way to go.

Century Arms VZ-2008 - US-made receiver with Czech surplus components. 1/3 the price of all other VZ's.. often 1/3 the quality. If you ever hear about shitty VZ quality or a malfunctioning VZ, it likely came from these guys. The VZ design is very forgiving, it's hard to make it die. That being said, I know lots of people running these guns that have no issues with them. But of all the makers if there's going to be an issue it will be one of these. They retail for ~$450 in the US, that makes them pretty attractive.

OOW VZ-2000 - Ohio Ordnance Works makes a damn fine VZ. It is also very expensive not due to the quality, but due to the production sizes. Low production means higher costs per unit. These are US made new receivers with Surplus components. Built as good as the D-technik or CSA rifles but at a higher cost. They also sell it as a build-your-own kit for a reduced price. Good rifle.. but at $1100 USD in the US for a rifle like this is very expensive.



With the VZ 58's above you'll see a trend. The majority of them have gone through the hands of one man and his factory. The CSA factory and workers are top notch. The owner of the company is a really good guy and he takes a lot of pride in what he does. They provide excellent service and should you ever need it, warranty work.

My suggestion to anyone looking for a VZ has always been to get as close to the standard pattern as you can. It's proven and wont let you down. Paul here is the only one I have ever heard of that had a VZ go down on him.. he must just be lucky. ;) The VZ is the one rifle that if I had to go back into harms way tomorrow, I would grab with out a thought.