So, after some consideration and help from you guys regarding the newly manufactured CSA's, I cracked under pressure and ordered one. Wanstalls has the non-restricted 'sporter' for $949, which is $50 cheaper than Epps. It's the first time I ordered from Wanstall's , but must say that I've received great service from these guys... shipping was cheap ($20) + the rifle was shipped out DHL almost instantly. I definitely won't hesitate to buy from them again!
Anywho, the VZ came in the original CSA cardboard box which was covered with brown shipping paper so that the contents (CSA logo on cardboard box) is not visible. Great thinking by Wanstalls, because I hate it when some people ship guns with a shipping label and some clear shipping tape on the original box (simply because Canada Post and my neighbors have no business knowing what's in my packages).
First impressions about the rifle: Having owned 2 CZ-858s, I was very pleasantly surprised with the rifle's overall quality. The black finish is much better looking than the CZ rifles, but it is definitely not "blueing". It looks/feels like some sort of smooth powder coating/parkerizing. I don't mind, as it probably protects the rifle much better from corrosion than blueing. The bore/chamber are definitely not chrome lined, as they look dark-greyish throughout. The cool thing about the .223 version is that the barrel is now thicker due to a smaller bullet diameter, so perhaps it will have better accuracy than the 7.62x39 version. In other words, the .223 is a slightly "heavier" barrel by default, which I find great (as it hasn't even occurred to me prior to buying the rifle).
Another pleasant surprise was that, despite what the manufacturer's rep is now saying (North Sylva), my non-restricted came with a scope rail factory pre-installed, which is obviously another BIG plus. I don't know if CSA will remove that feature to save costs in the future, but if they do, it will be a huge shame. The scope rail is nicely fitted into the receiver and looks like it belongs on the gun, even if you don't have optics mounted. It does not obstruct any markings/serial number either, because they are all stamped on the upper-front part of the receiver, near the rear sight.
Finally, it also came with an all inclusive cleaning kit. It has a "Stilcrin" 3-piece cleaning rod (with the middle sections of the shafts made out of slightly flexible red-colored plastic, which is a great idea) and includes three different types of cleaning tips. It also came with an L-shaped punch, a steel oil bottle and a green storage pouch that contains all of these items. The gun also included the clip-on cheek piece (for shooting scoped, I guess), a rubberized butt pad for the skeleton stock and a black military-style sling. The package also included a CD which contains the manual and some stuff about the rifle's history (you'll need a computer to play it, obviously).
(Image from CSA's website. Note: my Vz-58 came with two black non-transparent plastic mags)
Here are some pics of my rifle (Blackberry pics, sorry for the bad quality):
As a final addition, Wanstalls also included a nice mouse pad in my package. That was a great little gift, because I wanted to get a mouse pad for one of my computers in the near future, so they kind of took care of that for me as well, lol!
Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase... now if I can manage to find some cheap boxer-primed .223 ammo... I'll be planning a range trip soon!
Anywho, the VZ came in the original CSA cardboard box which was covered with brown shipping paper so that the contents (CSA logo on cardboard box) is not visible. Great thinking by Wanstalls, because I hate it when some people ship guns with a shipping label and some clear shipping tape on the original box (simply because Canada Post and my neighbors have no business knowing what's in my packages).
First impressions about the rifle: Having owned 2 CZ-858s, I was very pleasantly surprised with the rifle's overall quality. The black finish is much better looking than the CZ rifles, but it is definitely not "blueing". It looks/feels like some sort of smooth powder coating/parkerizing. I don't mind, as it probably protects the rifle much better from corrosion than blueing. The bore/chamber are definitely not chrome lined, as they look dark-greyish throughout. The cool thing about the .223 version is that the barrel is now thicker due to a smaller bullet diameter, so perhaps it will have better accuracy than the 7.62x39 version. In other words, the .223 is a slightly "heavier" barrel by default, which I find great (as it hasn't even occurred to me prior to buying the rifle).
Another pleasant surprise was that, despite what the manufacturer's rep is now saying (North Sylva), my non-restricted came with a scope rail factory pre-installed, which is obviously another BIG plus. I don't know if CSA will remove that feature to save costs in the future, but if they do, it will be a huge shame. The scope rail is nicely fitted into the receiver and looks like it belongs on the gun, even if you don't have optics mounted. It does not obstruct any markings/serial number either, because they are all stamped on the upper-front part of the receiver, near the rear sight.
Finally, it also came with an all inclusive cleaning kit. It has a "Stilcrin" 3-piece cleaning rod (with the middle sections of the shafts made out of slightly flexible red-colored plastic, which is a great idea) and includes three different types of cleaning tips. It also came with an L-shaped punch, a steel oil bottle and a green storage pouch that contains all of these items. The gun also included the clip-on cheek piece (for shooting scoped, I guess), a rubberized butt pad for the skeleton stock and a black military-style sling. The package also included a CD which contains the manual and some stuff about the rifle's history (you'll need a computer to play it, obviously).
(Image from CSA's website. Note: my Vz-58 came with two black non-transparent plastic mags)
Here are some pics of my rifle (Blackberry pics, sorry for the bad quality):
As a final addition, Wanstalls also included a nice mouse pad in my package. That was a great little gift, because I wanted to get a mouse pad for one of my computers in the near future, so they kind of took care of that for me as well, lol!
Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase... now if I can manage to find some cheap boxer-primed .223 ammo... I'll be planning a range trip soon!
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