I am about to try to turn one of my vz58's into a dark sleek female assassin. The problem is that almost all of the accessories that are available to a Newb such as myself seem designed to turn a svelte lightweight classy rifle (IMHO) into some AR wannabe! All clunky and ungainly, with rails stickin' out everywhere possible just waiting to get snagged on something, destroying the symmetry and balance of the Czech design, diminishing the very attributes that have made the vz58 stand above all the rifles with a similar class of action.
Plus, there is just not that much out there. It is not like they are pumping out aftermarket parts for the 58 over in The Czech Rep or Slovakia!
I have come to realize that to accomplish my goals I must dive into treacherous waters that I can only reach by crossing new territory while undergoing an inner journey (enough mixed metaphors?)...
On the plus side...SOMEONE LENT ME HIS DREMEL SET!!! Never having used one, I guess I'd put that in the "Cons" column...
I appeal to those of you who are persons of experience for guidance, suggestions, advice....and also as a touchstone of restraint should this project go well beyond the typical fool's errand, far extending the bounds of stupidity, and which must therefore be abandoned with all due haste in order to preserve the well-being and safety of all involved. And I will rely on your collective wisdom to outweigh whatever personal amusement you may be enjoying as my continued folly ambles along (of course I'll try to put up any pics or sketches documenting my path to its almost undoubtedly disastrous conclusion) and come to the realization that despite your personal affective benefits, the point will come at which I must desist in my course of action immediately! If only because the stupidity of my quest risks threatening us all...
If you do have the time...I am looking for some accessories for one of my vz58's that is NOT AR Bulky & full of rails I'll never need and a whole lot of other extra crapola that runs counter to the advantages the vz58 has over a lot of mil style rifles. I'd like to keep my girl light & sleek, yet deadly-kinda like a younger Angelina Jolie Czech assassin who actually kills James Bond.
The stocks-the vast majority I've seen are all AR/M4 stocks that look like dead weights on the vz, with the exception of those wire folders which just look like they have so little substance that they don't interest me (especially at the prices they are asking for them). In MHO, the Czechpoint/CSA Sporter stock is to my eyes the best stock for the vz58 that I've yet seen. Problem is, I've already got that stock on one of my other non-sporter 58's, so I am thinking of trying to do something different.
I've thought of getting some nice wood made into a sweet thumbhole stock and staining it a dark dark red or black, but I have no idea where to go for that. I've been tempted to get to work on some PSL or Dragu furniture like:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROMANIAN-PSL-54C-3-PIECE-ORIGINAL-WOOD-STOCK-SET-USED-COND-SURPLUS-TAKE-OFFS/370834738707?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D8877053723994153526%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D2%26sd%3D370792960826%26 Or:
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/593350.htmBut I would imagine one's rifle is not where one should attempt to reacquire whatever wood finishing skills one may or may not have possessed at one time.
(Oh, by the way....my sister (God love her...and her blessed gun-hating intolerant fully self-justified soul
, last year my sister-who I used to take care of-threw or gave away to her friends ALL of the tools I had spent the previous 32 years collecting...ever since I bought my first socket set to change the water-pump on my first car. All of them, power & otherwise, gone...'poof!' So I may be at a slight disadvantage going in,. But all is not lost, for in the "Pros" column, and it is a pro with a HUGE caveat...since my father died last Dec. no one else in the family has expressed any interested in HIS tools. So I am not starting from scratch.)
Stocks...If not wood, I wanted to go with that Blackhorse "Dragu" polymer stock:
http://blackhorsearsenal.gostorego.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/172/image/880/,
but they are apparently way behind and I have no idea if I could get it to fit. $250 is a lot to spend on a Newb's chance that I "might get lucky", but if someone with experience could tell me that it wouldn't really be that difficult (with the right tools of course) and that there is a chance it might work...I think I'd take a crack at it!!
A Choate 'adjustable' Dragu-style polymer stock might also be nice, but they've told me they've no plans for the vz58 and said their milled receiver one will not work:
http://www.riflestock.com/store/do/product/DRG/18-03-06. I find that hard to believe, I think they just told me that to mess with me. However, theirs looks an awful lot like the ATI which is $200 less expensive, thus a better stock to experiment with I'd think.
So I'm left thinking about working the ATI AK MAK-90 Maadi Fiberforce stock:
http://www.amazon.com/ADV-TECH-MAK-90-MADDI-FIBERFORCE/dp/B006EEHMHK/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1373097230&sr=1-4&keywords=ati+ak+fiberforce (& maybe the included handguards too), so that it will either fit the vz58 straight out, or with one of the receiver well adapters. Thoughts? Anyone at all???
I obviously do not know much about this stuff, though that has never stopped me before. I have some concerns though...I am surprised that the BeavBarf and the Sporter stocks remain so firmly attached. I mean, there's nothing going into the receiver as an anchor, there's no tang extending back, and yet those stocks are really solid! Makes me worried that even should I succeed and I work whichever stock I decide on perfectly, I do not know how I am going to get it installed solidly & reliably. Any ideas?
I've also thought of going with something simple on a stock, but not quite the Israeli/Czech bent metal rod approach. Looked at
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Tapco-Intrafuse8482-AK-Folding-Stock/733722.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dak%2Bstock%26x%3D-915%26y%3D-51%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=ak+stock&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products and some other similar stocks, but they all look like pale attempts at the sporter polymer which just looks so much better (to me). Any input at all is very welcome at this point...
Because....
The next thing I am going to do is the handguards. Now again, wood holds a certain very strong appeal. Light, sexy, unique (I wont get into the smooth lines and gentle brushstrokes involved) but I am also thinking of using either the Hogue overmolded AK handguards:
http://www.opticsplanet.com/hogue-ak-47-ak-74-standard-chinese-and-russian-kit-overmolded-grip-and-forend-74008.html and get those to fit if possible, (ignorance means never having to say or hear "can't happen"); or another ATI product, the ATI AKA03500 HGs:
http://www.opticsplanet.com/advanced-technology-ak-strikeforce-handguards-with-rails-covers.html and work them till they fit.
Reason being is that these seem to be the only ones that are actually modular. You can put four rails on or none, or put some just where you want them unrestricted by the rail length or its "assigned" position. And they provide polymer rubber inserts for the areas where you leave rails off entirely, which is again much sleeker than if you just covered unused rails, leaving them even bulkier than before. Nice and sleek, just what I'm trying to achieve. So I won't be stuck with a bunch of rails that are only there for attention and to snag on clothing, gear, and brush. A problem should you ever have the need to move quickly. Plus, so often less is much much more (or so I tell myself when flexing in the mirror).
My biggest question here is, because I would have to take off a few inches it seems, right from the middle of the HGs...How do I get the ends cemented back together in an "As New" condition???
Still looking for the dimensions on the ATI's. Was told by Hogue's gunsmith that theirs wont fit (we'll seee, weee'lll seeeeeee....heh heh heh). So any suggestions will of course be incredibly helpful. Especially before I just go at it with the dremel set from a buddy, so I'll wait till next weekend to go. But some guidance would be nice. I have about a week till I plan on getting started, so any and all input is appreciated.
I don't want my latest (and only actual) project to look like she got her clothes at Good Will, and chose badly...I'd like to be proud of it.
So any tips, advice, suggestions, contact info for experts I should get in touch with, hire and pay to assist...I really would appreciate it.
Thank you in advance!!!
Prof Bri
