[MrChem]

Just my luck, after saving for the 7.62x39 kit, my friend offers me his new, unfired CZ 58 for about the same price. Why couldn't he have offered this months ago when I had money for both??? Karma must be hate me

 

[Phalanx]

I bought one of the VZ 58s ,I got it from a Class three gunsmith who doesn't like the neutered rifle you see advertised in order to get it in the country.
He removed that silly mis matched finish ,put the right front sight back on it with the lug ,permanently installed a FH to legal length.
Duplicated the Plastic parts in the trigger group out of steel.
Re did the stocks with a black hard plastic coat material so it didn't look like some chip and flake thing from them using used Furniture.
Then used Dura Coat Matte Black on the entire rifle ,and 4 mags.
He sold it to me with the folder and the fixed , mag pouch ,Bayonet ,sling and all for $750.00.
I will post a pic , this is how Americans like there guns to look.

 

[MrChem]

The one I am being offered has the original Czech wooden stock, not that bakelite crap.

 

[variablebinary]

Those CZ's are pretty dang cool. I would probably get an Arsenal over the CZ, but if youre getting a good deal, jump all over it.

 

[Phalanx]

That is a better look to me overall ,some people liked that chip wood ,wore out finish thing ,but it was a little much for me.
CZ had tons of these sitting around from the Comm Block days , but had a new rifle now the VZ 2000. So someone said ,Hay lets put some of these together the best we can and export them before some new Ban comes around!
Between CZ digging through old guns and parts ,and the run around they got from ATF on compliance ,what you see is what we got.
Some are OK ,but i have seen some that look like Hammered Lightning ,cracked stocks ,parts that look like someone put a pipe wrench on them ,then they sanded down the guns and sprayed that Fugly finish on them over the old finish ,slapped some quick plastic parts in the trigger group (that by the way are breaking ) Milled off the lug and welded a funky cap Barrel extension on it ,and in the end we got a ,Pelosi PC wet dream. for almost the price in places you can get an XCR for. Then they called them new ? new how? The mags are not new, and have been 99% of the guns feeding problems reporting in. No wonder the AK guys were laughing there ass of.
Anyway ,this is what the gun should have looked like , and for a $150.00 and a little work it could have been ,although not perfect ,it more justifies the price than the ,abort ,,O,,Matics ,you see all over the web as one fine rifle. The guy who built this one had to ,,V,,and polish the feeding ramp ,on a lot of the VZ rifles they will not feed Hollow Point ammo ,and when they jam which is about every other 3 rounds ,it is a bad Jam. This also came with the folder ,but i am not a real folder fan so i left it like this.

 

[MickeyC]

The CZ is a nice rifle. Very well put together, but check on magazine availability before you commit. If the one being offered is in good shape it could be worth buying.

 

[Phalanx]

Guys who own them say it was the mags that were causing the trouble.
The ones with the plastic follower ,had some that were not feeding right.
The ones that have the alloy follower are OK.
If i put it and my AK side by side ,the 58 is smaller ,more like a Carbine.

 

[variablebinary]

The CZ is a nice rifle. Very well put together, but check on magazine availability before you commit.

Same can be said for the STANAG style 7.62 mags. Though I tend to think CP will be better at making mags long term. Who knows though. Its a toss up either way...

 

[MrChem]

Ok, now you guys are really making me have second thoughts on the CZ58. Maybe I will just stick with my original plan of getting a 7.62x39 kit for my xcr. I hate the Ak's ergos anyway.

 

[MickeyC]

Probably a wise choice.

 

[Phalanx]

The are very good rifles , and are built with closer tolerances than the AKs , and they are built more like something made in Western Europe. But they are not NEW guns ,like some places were saying they are when they first hit the market ,I see some sellers now are calling them re-conditioned. And i have seen some that were well done by CZ ,but i have seen some real dogs also, This in that people ordered them from a photo they saw ,and when they open the box they have this look on there face like ,OOOKKKKK. I help out my FFL sometimes if she has to run somewhere or go do something ,so i have seen some come in. Most of the disgust is over the condition of some of the stocks , on the bottom fore arms they have a deep gouge in them like from rubbing on something when they were being carried. And how the lug was milled of ,in some cases that is crooked. The plastic trigger parts have been a problem ,we have had two come back where those parts snapped ,and we have had to replace mags from them not feeding right. And on the finish i guess if they didn't bake it right ,or de-grease it in a place it just peels off or wears off easily. My point is all of this really is simple stuff that a little more time and QC would have prevented on a rifle that cost this much. Some of the people buying them never had an AK ,and this gun spurred them to buy one being a CZ ,they come in and get the gun and buy a case of wolf HP , then come back angry because it jams .
All of these were the ones from CZ ,USA ,the ones from Ohio Ordnance Works are great , and i think they address these issues before they sell them ,but of course their rifle is much higher in cost ,and you are up in the range of an XCR. Bottom line is with all the press they got at first ,they didn't turn out to be the ,Wizz Bang ,wonders people were saying they were unless you pay more for them. And they are not better than some of the AKs i have seen in their price range ,but they could be .
We just ordered the compliance parts and keep a set of them ,some mags ,in case they come back on us ,and the parts and the finish problems go to a Gun smith to be done right , but we don't keep them as inventory anymore.

 

[MrChem]

Well, I really don't feel like put a lot of money and time into a rifle that needs "attention" before I can depend on it unless I buy it with the intent of being a project.. For that type of $$$ I could get a milled AK. But like I said, I really don't like the ergos on the AK so I was hoping the CZ would be a slight improvement. At least with the 7.62x39 kit I will have a rifle with good ergos and not have to worry about the CZ's QC problems.

 

[gunner69]

Have a "perdickament" eh? A non-perdictable rifle or a modern Robinson XCR in whatever calibers you choose. ??? Your XCR will love you for adding the new kit and rifle value will go up. Plus the XCR is a dependable platform. :2cents: :duh:

 

[Phalanx]

Gunner is right , the VZ 58 is a good rifle ,but when you drop &800.00 for a new rifle like they were advertising and you get one that isn't new with a bad mag ,thats something else. I notice some of the dealers have gone from new to re-conditioned ,i wonder if someone called them on that. When i started looking at them the problems were slowly coming up on the forums ,thats why i ordered one built up here.
And i didn't know this until today , mine is the sporter ,they have one called the tactical ,with a thumb hole stock ,it only accepts a 10 round special magazine ? One Guy on the AK forum found this out after he ordered the rifle, but before it came in he went out and bought a bunch of 30 round mags for it. Boy was he pissed.

 

[gunner69]

An XCR in 7.62x39 beats the accuracy of the average AK rifle. At this point this is spectulation, but most likely correct. Look at it this way......... what rifle DON'T you want shot AT YOU??? Well that is the one you want!!! :duh:

 

[magikbullet]

I'd stick with the xcr plans personally.

If you want an ak get an ak not the cz.

 

[MrChem]

Thanks for the help. I will just stick with my original plan of getting the 7.62x39 kit for my XCR. My xcr is quickly becoming one of my favorite rifles so having it in another caliber is just icing on the cake.

 

[Phalanx]

You guys are right ,i thought about that last night .If i had to grab a rifle that was chambered for 7.62x39 which one would i grab . Seeing that i don't have the kit for my XCR ,i would grab the AK. It has never failed to fire ,load ,or eject with any type ammo or mags , and with all that had to be done to my 58 i still need to see if it is reliable. The problems reported with the 58 being tossed together from used parts ,then the mag trouble makes me wonder.
58s are already showing up for sale cheap because the owners were not pleased.