We live in an AR / AK world. Both are great options as a go-to gun for everything from a weekend range trip to TEOTWAWKI. But they’re not the only options. These platforms have spawned some offshoots like the SCAR and JAKL and American companies are starting to produce good quality AKs for the first time. There are also us weirdos that are into bullpups but we’ll save that for another time. Today I want to preach the gospel of the Vz58; more properly, the Czech V.Z.58.
One outstanding carbine that is talked about very little is the Czech-made V.Z.58. I could write at length about its history, from its predecessor the V.Z.52 to how the (then Czechoslovakia) Czech Republic told the Soviet Union “Nyet, the AK is not fine, we will be using our own gun.” I could even mention how that resulted in a Warsaw Pact standard 7.62×39 rifle that had zero parts compatibility with its AK counterparts…
But, others have covered this in detail, so I’ll skip it. ~ mostly. Ok, one fun fact to impress your friends: Much like the plastic fantastic pistols we all ran before the current 2011 craze, this rifle is technically striker-fired!
