I'm in canada, it's an 18.6" barreled vz58, known up here as a vz-858. I have two of em. We're not allowed to have ak's up here, but ARs, XCRs, and VZs are ok.
mag release is not ambi, its basically identical to an AR. it is a long stroke piston, whereas the vz is short stroke. Just so you guys know, that vz with 4 mags, bayo, sling and mag pouch cost me 650$ Cdn. The AR was 1600$ Cdn, and the XCR, with flip up irons and one mag was 2400$ Cdn. I would jump on a $700 american made AR (we can get 750$ norinco ARs up here).
Cheers guys!