REVIEWS
CZ-USA VZ 58
If Warsaw Pact weapons are your thing, this rifle is a must-have.
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Each new rifle was either a simplification of earlier efforts or built around a new cartridge. Designers finished up the project in 1958 after two years of work, and the new rifle chambered the 7.62x39 intermediate cartridge but was vastly different from the AK-47 that was turning the world upside down in the hands of the Soviet Union’s comrades.
One of the biggest differences between the two is how the rifles lock up for firing. An AK bolt carries the lugs that match cuts in the barrel extension, while the VZ 58 has a locking block that saddles the bolt. The block pivots on two tabs that match milled radiuses at the bolt’s rear. When the bolt carrier is forward, the block is forced down into recesses cut into the internal receiver rails. The receiver is machined steel, providing the necessary strength for lockup. It’s gas operated, a port in the barrel bleeding gas into an AK-like gas tube running parallel to the barrel.
A short-stroke piston contained within impinges against the bolt carrier, pushing it rearward and forcing the locking block up a ramp in the bolt carrier’s center. This pulls the block out of the receiver cuts and allows the entire assembly to move rearward to extract and reload. A massive extractor sits at 11 o’clock on the bolt face and pulls the empty against a fixed ejector.
Other interesting differences include a striker instead of an internal hammer and a provision to hold open the bolt on the last shot. The magazine follower has an extension that presses a spring-loaded pin up into the raceway to block the bolt’s forward movement. The follower extension gives the magazine a distinctive rear ridge that runs the magazine’s entire length and prevents it from being used in AK variants. In case a magazine was not handy, a small tab ahead of the triggerguard accomplishes the same hold-open function.
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