Fun at the Range With the VZ 58 (Review)

[barnbwt]

First Impressions:
This rifle is fun incarnate. Whoops, getting ahead of myself
I first spied this rifle about two days after placing an order with Czechpoint. Up till that point I had never handled a VZ personally, I just knew that AKs didn't suit me (and seemed overpriced) and ARs had no souls . Sensing serendipity, I asked to handle the rifle, just to get a taste of what I was in for from Czechpoint (since this was also a folder).

First off, this VZ had a drum installed when I first saw it, which immediately lowered my opinion and made me feel like a tactifool just by touching it. But after shaking that off and assessing the rifle for what it was, I found it to be as handy as an M1 Carbine (also in the store) and miles ahead of the AKs in worksmanship. I'd already learned the features and controls in my research, so I had a lot of fun confirming the stuff I'd read online about the rifle. It really does break down faster than an AK, weighs less, and has great features like a magazine activated bolt hold open. While fiddling with the technical marvel, I asked the shop owner what he was asking for it, and commenced negotiations. At the end of the day, I bought the rifle for 820$ with 8 30-round magazines, the 75-round drum, 20 SKS stripper clips, and a sling. Considering the "new" gun from Czechpoint was 869$, and only had the two mags, cleaning kit, and sling, I opted for the local deal instead.

At home, I tore the rifle apart for a more thorough inspection. All internal parts were clean and looked near-new. Just some very minor peening on the bolt locking piece that absorbs all the recoil (no matching peening on the mating area of the reciever, though. I'll keep an eye on it). The shiny black paint finish was pretty much perfect except right at the ejection port where brass dings it. The black plastic furniture looked kinda cheap, but felt nice, especially the pistol grip. The folding stock is very solid, locks up tight, and is functionally comfortable. Disassembly for cleaning is a breeze with this gun. I had planned on only shooting non-corrosive through this, but I may rethink that now. After cleaning and oiling the action, I packed it up and waited to go the the range.



Range Performance:
After letting the rifle burn a hole in my safe all week, I finally went to the range today. Since I never trust a new gun to not go frangible on me, I first loaded a single round into a banana magazine, and let the bolt slam it into battery. No slamfire, so far so good. I ejected the round, no discernable primer dent; also good. I rechambered the round and sent it downrange, and the bolt locked back. Hole in paper ~4" from my point of aim at 50 yards; rifle's as good as me with irons (for now, this was the second time I've ever used irons to sight a rifle). Casing (though steel) looked to be in good enough shape for me to trust the rifle with more. I loaded two rounds, and fired; no doubles, no jams. Great! I loaded up a 30 rounder with stripper clips (awesome, but very tight in my bolt notches), and proceeded to have loads of fun. I found the sling (I've never used slings before) made holding the rifle steady for 30 rounds much less tiresome, and that 7.62x39 "recoil" is not even worth mentioning. The recoil would jar me off target, but I could reaqcuire quickly, and it was very controllable. Muzzle blast was also not worth writing home about (but I have no brake).My groups were about 6" at 50 yards with steel-case soft-point, but I'm still new at this. The sights seem a bit on the small side (rear sight notch, especially). Not one jam, FTF, FTE, FTGBIB, DFJLDASJSLDFJS(), etc.

After three magazines of mind-numbingly reliable fun, I loaded up the drum to see if it worked, fully expecting it to dissapoint. And it did not dissapoint. The first round after insertion would always feed when I released the bolt, but the second would always (always) jam down against the front of the magazine well, holding the bolt back after firing. I reinserted the mag, making sure it was seated properly, and tried again. This time, I was leaned forward with my elbows on the bench. Bang...Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang! Five rounds without a hitch (except when drum advances to the next "chamber" and shakes the gun). I leaned back from the bench and fired; immediate jam. WTH?! It seems off-hand shooting allows the rounds in the drum to shake out of alignment with the feed ramp

I bought the drum as part of a deal I would have made anyway, so I'm not too heartbroken. I'm also convinced I'm just winding it wrong, or something simple like that. The drum is most likely a Bonesteel modification of an AK drum, and their mod (mag latch surfaces) is fantastic. The drum fits the magwell better and more securely than the factory mags! I don't think Bonesteel touches the feed lips, so I can't fault them for the jams. Really, the only reason I dwelt on the drum as long as I did is because the rifle's performance with factory mags was so reliable. I hate to admit, that drum was pretty fun when it worked...(maybe I am a tacti-tool at heart)

Lessons Learned:
-The VZ 58 is fun, reliable with factory mags, and superior to the AK in every way that matters (no, I won't explicitly defend that last one, but I believe it now)
-The bolt handle seems like it's on the wrong side of the reciever. Every other semi rifle I own has it on the same side as the VZ, but I found myself reaching over all the time whenever I had to release the bolt, lock the bolt back, press check, etc. Seems like more of an issue with the VZ's control setup (and the only issue)
-The shiny black paint is out of place on an "evil" rifle, and the black plastic looks cheap. I'll make replacements from either Holly(white) or Wenge(iridescent black)
-Bonesteel does good machining, function aside, the drum mod was well done. I'll probably be buying a stainless piston and trigger group from him (my sear has a weird "click" halfway through its travel) and a nightbrake (cause they're cool)
-The folding stock is at least 1" short for me on LOP, and is about 1" short of being able to close over the drum
-The VZ is fun and reliable with factory mags (again)

I really enjoyed shooting this steel and plastic fun dispenser today, and I can't wait to go at it again! It's got the handiness of the M1 Carbine, the power of an AK, and an intelligent ergonomic layout like an AR. I'll keep everyone posted as my education progresses.

TCB

 

[Maverick223]

Glad you're enjoying the new rifle. A few suggestions:

1. Try pushing on the drum to see if that helps feeding (if so a simple adjustment might make it 100%).
2. Go ahead and add that paracord wrap to the folder, it makes a heck of a difference.
3. If you can find any, there are Czech made stripper clips that are reported to work better (marked 'BXN").
4. Get more ammo, it's a fun little rifle!

Thanks for the review.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

Nice review.

+1 on the paracord wrap for the stock. I did it on my VZ-2008 (Century VZ-58 clone) and it makes the stock more comfortable.

You can use one of these Russian-style recoil pads to add some length to the stock. They were made for grenade launching with AK-74s, but fit the VZ-58's stock perfectly.

 

[barnbwt]

Thanks for the props, guys!

I'll probably add paracord to the stock, but mostly as a cosmetic thing (poor man's refinish ), since the stock is (suprisingly) comfy enough as is. Can paracord be wrapped around the foregrips (would make cleaning a bit harder, but easy to remove), or would it get burned? That could help a bit with the heat issues.

I will keep a butt pad in mind, especially since the gloss paint on the folder is kinda slippery; the butt kept trying to slide down on me. I'll get around to suggesting the longer folding stock to Bonesteel, it seems like a simple mod/manufacture with several benefits for users (especially since he sells the drums as well)

I just saw a sweet youtube video about refinishing a VZ 858 (I believe) as a "winter carbine". These guns are pretty cool looking in white or winter camo. That's what got me thinking about Holly furniture (but I do have a giant plank of Wenge I need to do something with...)

TCB

 

[Maverick223]

Can paracord be wrapped around the foregrips (would make cleaning a bit harder, but easy to remove), or would it get burned? That could help a bit with the heat issues.

I haven't tried it, but I doubt that it would get burned (or melt) unless it was allowed to contact the gas block. USGI spec. paracord is pretty resilient stuff. FWIW the original Czech mil-spec pycrete like composite isn't much better in that regard. I'm thinking about making a aluminum heat shield on stand-offs (similar to those used in ARs) for the inside of the stock forearm. If it works out, I'll give a review and how-to in the VZ club thread.

I just saw a sweet youtube video about refinishing a VZ 858 (I believe) as a "winter carbine".

I really dislike most camo, but for some odd reason I think winter camo looks good on VZs and the like. I have considered doing a paint job on either my VZ-58 or the Saiga-12, so if you can dig up the video I'd very much like to take a look. If you are considering doing likewise I would suggest ceramic engine paint (don't know about white, but NAPA sells it and it's the best rattle can I've tried) unless you are going the bake-on route (which is decidedly better, but also much more costly and permanent).

 

[armoredman]

Welcome to the addiction, my friend. What you need it the extended bolt release - you can drop the bolt with your trigger finger. Made by Neit, imported by Czechpoint, along with the ambi extended mag release, another great accessory. The forearm is likely the original Sporter forearm - the FAB poly one works well, if you want a foregrip, and with a hot barrel, you might want one.
Glad you had a blast, and I know exactly how you feel.

You get into firing position, and just wanna rock on! You have a great rifle, keep us posted on all the fun you have with it!

 

[navajo]

58

Second the extended bolt release. Makes a world of difference.
Want to try the peep sight next.

 

[Float Pilot]

Anyone ever get any decent 100 meter groups from one of these?????

 

[Maverick223]

I don't have any photographic evidence (I rarely shoot at paper, and never bring a camera when I do), but I have been able to achieve close to 1MOA with handloads (123gr. V-Max over H-335). About 2 with the better factory stuff...just about double that for Wolf/Tula, et cetera. I believe that the performance can mostly be attributed to the striker firing mechanism, short stroke piston, and decent trigger. It's not a tackdriver, but I'm happy with the results...after all it is a 6.5lb. carbine.

 

[barnbwt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BP6OpzdTfY

Video of the VZ getting a white paint job!

TCB

 

[Maverick223]

Thanks for the link. That's not exactly what I had in mind (I was thinking of going the full rifle camo route, with a Realtree snow pattern), but I'm still not sure whether or not I'm ready to take the plunge anyway (I'm leaning towards the Saiga-12 anyway simply because it already has a DIY paint job).

 

[barnbwt]

Full camo would be cooler than, to be sure, but just painting the stocks was a real clean look as well, I thought (and easy). A white sling and magazine would probably help a lot too, and be a lot less worrysome to refinish. I'd be too scared to work on the reciever itself

More or less reversible as well (if you don't count the stock pieces). I'm not confident enough in my "skills" to paint the metal itself and expect good results, so I would limit my endeavors to the stocks.

What I'd like to see is a "dazzle" camo (black/white angular) pattern on any rifle as winter camo. Talk about standing out on the range (and it actually works quite well to break up profiles)

TCB

PS: Crud! I see tons of greasy fingerprints in my carefully staged sofa photo Is there any easy way to degloss the black enamel some to reduce this without damaging it?

 

[Maverick223]

Is there any easy way to degloss the black enamel some to reduce this without damaging it?

I've never tried it, but "dullcoat" (comes in a small rattle can) from a hobby store might work; and while I doubt that it would hold up very well, it certainly wouldn't hurt anything, and it's pretty cheap, so it might be worth a try if it bothers you.

 

[ifit]

nice review, as for painting as long as your happy with it what counts. but i noticed you have the nice original gray finish which is exactly like the original military vz58s. if it was mine i would not even touch that original nice finish. i would rather buy a century arms as my beater rifle and pain that instead.

 

[barnbwt]

I suppose the photo makes the finish look greyish, but it's the glossy black Duracoat D-technik's putting on them now. It's nice enough and appears quite durable, I just think it kinda looks like a well-done "bubba" paint job -- out of place with the rifle. The boring plastic "bothers" me more, though. (most likely I'm just looking for something to nit-pick on this rifle and can't find anything else, though )

TCB

 

[Maverick223]

FWIW all of the stock finishes were glossy (even on the military variants). Looks like most (perhaps all?) are black now, but when I bought mine you could get one in mil-spec grey if you wanted (personally I think it looks out of place on the rifle, but to each their own).

 

[ifit]

your right maverick, to each thier own. if anything the black to me looks more outa place kinda like the vz2008....but yeah to each their own, i prefer more original to mil spec vz58.