VZ-58s and more...FAQs are Post 1

Q: Considering this monster thread, what do you think of the VZ-58 type rifle?

  • It is a beauty as it comes, and a must have, since it drives Libs bonkers.

    Votes: 1,507 70.4%
  • It is best pimped out and dressed up, a far cry from an NDP convention.

    Votes: 407 19.0%
  • It is true it was the first cool gun in the Cdn. market for a long while, but I'll pass.

    Votes: 166 7.7%
  • It makes me think of snide remarks, as I am a gun snob and the 58 is affordable.

    Votes: 62 2.9%

  • Total voters
    2,142
i hope it works but i think the US VZ has a different set up .

i recall a pic that obiwan posted and his trigger has a safety sear.

obiwan, could you post a pic of your trigger?


Whatever else might be happening, what the tab will do is to keep the disconnector out the reach of the sear for that extra fraction of a second until the nose of the striker has moved past the point where it can push the sear down far enough to re-engage the disconnector (that would make the sear stay in the lowered position and allow the nose of the striker to go by without getting hooked.)
 
i hope it works but i think the US VZ has a different set up .

i recall a pic that obiwan posted and his trigger has a safety sear.

obiwan, could you post a pic of your trigger?

I can post a pic tomorrow but sorry no safety sear that would constitue an illegal machinegun here. The imported rifles have the tab on the carrier. Ohio Rapid Fire sells a trigger group that has a disconnector with the lump moved rearward supposedly enough to fix it. I have some sets I will check and see if lump is far enough back
 
So, here's a question for the "gremlin" experts:

If the problem occurs when the striker nose pushes the sear down that extra millimeter (or whatever) and makes it re-engage the dis-connector, could the issue be eliminated by filling off a bit of material from the striker nose so that it pushes the sear down by that much less? I am talking a couple of slides back and forth with the file, at a time, until it no longer does it.

I have a spare striker so I'll attempt it.
 
Ok, so here is what I did:

1. I pulled the bolt carrier, bolt, lock and striker out.

2. I put the (spare) striker in a table vice (shaft wrapped in a piece of cloth to protect it from the vice), nose up, and filed off a bit of material.

3. I put the striker back into the bolt carrier, put it back in the receiver and moved it to the front, pulled the trigger and then manually slid the bolt carrier to the back, over the disconnector lug, until the striker nose passed over the sear.

When I moved the bolt carrier to the front again, the sear caught the striker nose without a problem. That's your test to see if you still have lots of striker nose material catching the sear.

As it stands, I filled off about 1/16 off the striker nose and there is still about 1/8 of material engaging the sear.

Be careful to allow for the up and down play of the striker. When you check to see if you still got lots of contact area, lift the striker with your finger as high as it goes.

Also, a benefit of this will be that the second stage of the trigger pull will now be that much shorter as there is less striker nose surface sliding on the sear face and it will cause it to clear the sear that much sooner when firing.

I'll go to the range tonight with the modified striker and an unmodified one and see if the gremlin has been eliminated.

Will report back later.
 
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Well, I got good news. I think the gremlin has been eliminated.

I shot 60 rounds (czech milsurp) with the modified striker: not a single failure to ####. I shot as fast as I could pull the trigger and I also shot very slow and deliberate.

Then I swapped the striker with an unmodified one and I shot 15 rounds really fast. No failure to #### but truth be said, even before they only occurred when I did slow, deliberate trigger pulls.

So I slammed a new magazine in and I pulled the trigger very slow. On the fourth round...failure to ####.

So, while not yet conclusive, it gives me great hope.

I'll go back tomorrow during day light with a lot more ammo and try it again, but damn, this could be the solution and it is free and easy to do at home.

P.S.
The modified striker resulted in smoother, shorter second stage trigger travel due to the smaller surface that has to clear the sear hook and I really like it. It wasn't a hair trigger by any means, but that somewhat long creep was noticeably shortened.
 
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drum.jpg
 
So, I think it's official. The gremlin is dead.

I went to the range again today and I shot 100 rounds with the filed down striker and 20 rounds with the unmodified one.

I pulled the trigger any different way that I could think of: fast, slow, slow and holding trigger back for a second or two, engaged the safety after every round on a bunch of shots, limp wrist and so on.

No failures to #### in 100 rounds with the filed down one, three failures in 20 rounds with the other one.

If you have the gremlin, go ahead file down your striker nose. You will be pleased.

Here's what I recommend:

Measure the flat, vertical surface of the striker nose that makes contact with the sear and gets hooked. File off a quarter of that to start and try it. If you still get the gremlin, take off another 1/16, but I don't think it will be necessary.

Make sure you maintain the slope so the striker nose can ride over the sear easily.

I'll be making a detailed post in the Red Rifles section soon and might even add pictures for those of you who need the visual.

Enjoy!
 
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Wow. Almost 4000 posts. Way to go...
This vz thing is almost a religion now.
Speaking of which, I think we realy need religious ranks in here
nominating those who did the hard work.

Therefore, I suggest that the starter of this thread (you know who)
be invested with the title of Ayatollah of the thread
for all his efforts in promoting the VZ.
I think he should have decapitation powers
(limited to this thread and for ceremonial purposes only).
People will have to refer to him as "His Highness"
or "Almighty Spiritual Leader" or such.

What do you guys think?
Of course, you can come with another nominations for various titles.

photo-266083.jpg


photo-671139.jpg
 
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Some people used locktite.
Make sure it doesn't get inside the bore
(if it does, wipe it very good before it hardens).



Other people swear by the teflon tape
(wrap the tape very tight
in the same direction like the tightening of the flashhider
-that is, if you look from the muzzle towards the receiver, it is clockwise).

You will really need a small amount of tape (only 3-4 wraps).
But you can undo, clean the tape and re-try.
 
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Hitzy wrote:



A DIRECT RESPONSE TO HITZY.... THE INTERNET HERO...

Hitzy - if you can Google up some experience and less spouting off... please note that my original post said the CZ-58 is better than an AK-47... not the VZ-58 is better than an AK-47. Have you even fired an AK-47?

Never mind, you will also note that ...

I did not mention politics, economics or impressions from the internet ....

To set the record straight on my statements:

My experience of the CZ-58 comes from working with 6 Czech Mech in Bosnia in the early '90s. Have you ever held a CZ-58?

I have fired almost every variation of the AK-47 that has been produced. Have you? Actually have you even held an AK-47? Not some butchered C/A...

I have also fired at least 10,000 rounds thru a particular 6 Czech Mech Officers CZ-58, afterall the ammo that we confiscated from the FWF had to be used up somehow... btw all the men in my platoon also received the benifit of hands on training with the CZ-58. How many rounds have you fired from a CZ-58?

We also fired / tested many captured AK-47s, we also subjected them to interesting tests. Many of these tests we got from the internet ...

Our results were quite interesting... AK-47's do fail, they are not the end all be all of assualt rifles.

In hindsight, it's very much like what happened during the great war... the germans loved the .45 for the stopping power, and the GI's loved the luger for the greater mag capacity... which is better? Well you won't learn that on the internet!

Hitzy wrote:


You're kidding right? The CZ-58 locks up on the reciever... you should check the rifle before you post. Most rifles actually lock up with a 'barrel-extension' which is welded to the barrel which is mechanically fixed to the receiver. Please get your facts straight. The CZ-58 has a barrel, the barrel is attached to the receiver, the bolt locks to the reciever... everything is good.

Hitzy wrote:



where did you get this notion? Can you explain... ?

I really am at a loss as to figure out why this is a weak design?

Do you mean it fails faster?
Do you mean it is harder to clean?
Do you mean it is harder to make?
Do you mean that it doesn't have enough tension?
Do you mean that it is harder to verify proper function?
Do you mean that the design is old and out-dated?



What paperclip spring guide are you talking about?

Seriously ... as you are someone who comes down like a hammer on Newbies with dumb ideas you really should be more careful about what you say.

Hitzy wrote:


You answered your own question......
Hitzy wrote:


The Czech's are going with the cheaper rifle - go figure. :roll:


The Vz58s were superior according to many articals i have read about them. The Ak design is rugged and quite durable, that is why so many countries use them.
the SA/Vz58 is a forged reciever, it is striker fired istead of hammer fired which makes for better accuracy... the list continues.

Main reson for Czechs to reject the AK is simple to be in control of their own manufacturing instead of allowing russian control of it. Plain and simple. They wanted to keep their own weapons production going their way.
Well the Czechs made a superior product based on problems they saw with the Ak design.
Later The czechs modded an AK design for an experimental rifle. As has been pointed out to me the design failed.

I too have shot Aks. some are great. I'd take a VEPR or VEPRII
in .308 anyday or a Valmet M76-M78. The Norincos are not very sturdy and tend to vibrate like crazy. These are hammered (bent) receiver kind.
Vz58s are all foreged.
 
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