Deciding between 7.62 and .223 non-restricted

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Edoyle

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Hello all,

I am trying to decide between a .223 VZ58 or a 7.62x39 CZ or VZ. I own a sks and enjoy unloading surplus ammo out in the woods and I do like the 7.62 round a lot. I also like having the possibility of hunting larger game with the round (hollow point non-surplus of course). That being said, realistically I do not hunt often and will use the gun mostly for plinking on private land or at the range. Shooting ranges around here do not allow surplus ammo and non-surplus is much more expensive than .223. Currently a local store has a .223 VZ58 in stock and I like the build quality vs the CZ858. There are no other current suppliers that I have found other than Frontier that have a VZ58 in 7.62 in stock and with shipments currently suspended on the CZ rifles I fear that it might be awhile before we get our hands on them...and I don't want to miss my chance at owning one of these.

Do I scoop up the VZ58 in .223 or wait for a 7.62x39 rifle?!

*I recently shot a VZ58 compact 7.5inch in .223 and found it very exciting. I understand that with more than double the barrel length the gun will not make flames/recoil as much/be as loud but if the non-res. packs that amount of punch I like it a lot.

Please, owners of both share your thoughts.

Regards,

E.
 
i would go with a 762. ive heard the 223 version isnt always as reliable. not that i have one in 223. its just what i hear.
 
I have both the rifles you mention. I find the build quality on the CZ just as good if not better than the CSA, and the finish is far superior. Decent mags are easy to get for the CZ, but not so easy for the CSA unless you get an AR magwell conversion. My CSA went tits up and I had to get it repaired. The CSA warranty is good, but a warranty is unnecessary on the CZ.

If I were you I would buy the VZ58 in .223, simply because you don't have a lot of choice, at the moment it's that or nothing unless you can find a decent used CZ.

I have a horrible feeling that there will be no more CZ 858's. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

PS, the plastic handguard on my CSA became too hot to comfortably hold after only 20 rounds fired, but the wood chip and resin hand guard on the CZ was much better. I have since replace the lot with proper wood and no problems since.

DSCF1221_zpsd6311645.jpg
 
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I own both a CZ in 7.62x39 and a CSA VZ58 in .223. I prefer the CZ and the 7.62x39 round over the .223 as a whole, everything considered. I don't want to get into a spiel on the issue so my answer is simply to get a CZ or CSA VZ in 7.62x39 over the .223 if you can, but if you choose a .223 you probably won't be too unhappy with that either.
 
Guys, thank you very much for the pointers. I have read of feeding issues with the .223 and seen the youtube video showing multiple stovepipes and lopsided primer strikes....looks like there are some lemons out there..

I forgot to mention the direction I want to go in with this rifle; Simple factory open sights, folding wire stock (yes if I buy the tactical VZ I am looking at now, I will remove the adjustable stock and replace it with a folding wire). I would go with Czech real wood furniture or all black synthetic...beaver barf would not stay. In the case of a VZ with translucent mags I would definitely paint them black because they look too out of place otherwise.
 
Mark Williams said:
I have both the rifles you mention. I find the build quality on the CZ just as good if not better than the CSA, and the finish is far superior. Decent mags are easy to get for the CZ, but not so easy for the CSA unless you get an AR magwell conversion. My CSA went tits up and I had to get it repaired. The CSA warranty is good, but a warranty is unnecessary on the CZ.

If I were you I would buy the VZ58 in .223, simply because you don't have a lot of choice, at the moment it's that or nothing unless you can find a decent used CZ.

I have a horrible feeling that there will be no more CZ 858's. I sincerely hope I am wrong.

PS, the plastic handguard on my CSA became too hot to comfortably hold after only 20 rounds fired, but the wood chip and resin hand guard on the CZ was much better. I have since replace the lot with proper wood and no problems since.

DSCF1221_zpsd6311645.jpg
Click to expand...

Any initial issues with your .223?! Is the wood furniture on your guns the factory kits available from Corwin-arms?

Thanks for the pictures!
 
I got my CSA used in a deal and I had problems with it straight away. Everything seems to be good now though.

The wood on the CSA is ex military from Corwin arms, the CZ wood is from Ironwood designs in the US.

The beaver barf is much better than plastic despite first appearances.
 
+1 on the 7.62. Less issues, cause more damage to whatever you shoot, potential to hunt, and it's what it was designed for. Only reason to get the .223 is so you can use Beowulf mags and get 10+ rds into the mags, but again reliability issues galore, not worth it.
 
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