Questions on the Scorpion 3 Plus 7.8” barrel

[MeatAxe]

I was looking at one of these with the 7.8” bbl. (not the Micro) and noticed a few things about the barrel that are different from the previous model:

1. It has an unusual muzzle brake and/or flash suppressor, very fat, with several round (exhaust?) holes on the fat front face of the muzzle device, arranged around the barrel, facing forward.

2. The barrel or faux suppressor within the new M Lok hand guard looks very thick, similar to a bull barrel.

Has anyone removed the muzzle device and/or hand guard on the 3 Plus pistol? If so, how did you do it?

Hopefully, on the 3 Plus, CZ did away with that horrible barrel nut from the previous Scorpion models.

Thanks!

[MutiSync]

I have the Scorpion 3+ micro and recently removed the factory muzzle device to replace with a tri lug. The muzzle device came off fairly easy using the flat back side of a castle nut wrench. I used some electrical tape over the areas that made contact with the muzzle device notches to prevent marring.

[MeatAxe]

I have the Scorpion 3+ micro and recently removed the factory muzzle device to replace with a tri lug. The muzzle device came off fairly easy using the flat back side of a castle nut wrench. I used some electrical tape over the areas that made contact with the muzzle device notches to prevent marring.

Thanks for that information! Did you use a standard castle nut wrench for an AR-15 buffer tube ring, or some other size?

Also, was there a barrel nut behind the muzzle device holding the hand guard on (like the previous Scorpion models)?

[MeatAxe]

^ Actually, upon closer examination, the muzzle device on the 7.8” bbl. Evo 3+ is different from what you describe on the 3+ Micro.

What it looks like is a thick faux suppressor / booster or screw-on barrel shroud that appears to need a small pin wrench to unscrew it from the barrel (the array of holes around the bore on the front end of the muzzle are not exhaust ports, but merely holes to engage a pin wrench — which, of course, is not supplied by CZ with the gun).😡

I stuck a bore scope down the inside of the hand guard and did not see a barrel nut, so I surmise that this faux suppressor/shroud muzzle device holds the hand guard on. It does not appear that this muzzle device serves any other purpose (other than to look fru-fru underneath the hand guard), since it doesn’t extend much beyond the muzzle to do any flash suppression or redirection of the muzzle blast.

Apparently, the pin holes are @ 1/8" in diameter. Will have to go to Harbor Freight to waste more time and money to get a pin wrench to take this stupid thing off -- thanks again to CZ for engineering another stupid way to waste customers' time and money on something that could easily have been done in a much more user friendly way!

[BisonWorld]

^ Actually, upon closer examination, the muzzle device on the 7.8” bbl. Evo 3+ is different from what you describe on the 3+ Micro.

What it looks like is a thick faux suppressor / booster or screw-on barrel shroud that appears to need a small pin wrench to unscrew it from the barrel (the array of holes around the bore on the front end of the muzzle are not exhaust ports, but merely holes to engage a pin wrench — which, of course, is not supplied by CZ with the gun).😡

I stuck a bore scope down the inside of the hand guard and did not see a barrel nut, so I surmise that this faux suppressor/shroud muzzle device holds the hand guard on. It does not appear that this muzzle device serves any other purpose (other than to look fru-fru underneath the hand guard), since it doesn’t extend much beyond the muzzle to do any flash suppression or redirection of the muzzle blast.

Apparently, the pin holes are @ 1/8" in diameter. Will have to go to Harbor Freight to waste more time and money to get a pin wrench to take this stupid thing off -- thanks again to CZ for engineering another stupid way to waste customers' time and money on something that could easily have been done in a much more user friendly way!

The handguard are held on by a 1 1/8in socket barrel nut attached to the 3 plus barrel extension. The faux suppressors have always just been an aesthetic component regardless of iteration.

[MeatAxe]

^ Actually, upon closer examination, the muzzle device on the 7.8” bbl. Evo 3+ is different from what you describe on the 3+ Micro.

What it looks like is a thick faux suppressor / booster or screw-on barrel shroud that appears to need a small pin wrench to unscrew it from the barrel (the array of holes around the bore on the front end of the muzzle are not exhaust ports, but merely holes to engage a pin wrench — which, of course, is not supplied by CZ with the gun).😡

I stuck a bore scope down the inside of the hand guard and did not see a barrel nut, so I surmise that this faux suppressor/shroud muzzle device holds the hand guard on. It does not appear that this muzzle device serves any other purpose (other than to look fru-fru underneath the hand guard), since it doesn’t extend much beyond the muzzle to do any flash suppression or redirection of the muzzle blast.

Apparently, the pin holes are @ 1/8" in diameter. Will have to go to Harbor Freight to waste more time and money to get a pin wrench to take this stupid thing off -- thanks again to CZ for engineering another stupid way to waste customers' time and money on something that could easily have been done in a much more user friendly way!

The handguard are held on by a 1 1/8in socket barrel nut attached to the 3 plus barrel extension. The faux suppressors have always just been an aesthetic component regardless of iteration.

Well that’s just awesome, that means I’ll have to buy another $35 tool from HBI to remove the barrel nut / hand guard assembly because the $35 socket that I bought for the previous Evo 3 model that was  made for a @ 7/8” barrel nut — that is, before the previous barrel nut I had to deal with had to be hit with a torch to break through the excessive amount of thread locker slathered on at the factory, melting and catching the crappy OEM “cheese grater” hand guard on fire. This resulted in me cutting off the cheese grater hand guard with a hack saw to get to the barrel nut for removal. What a PITA!!!

Thanks, CZ!!!

Of course I spent a couple of hours tracking down an adjustable pin wrench locally to remove the “muzzle device” — try explaining what a pin wrench is to the average room-temperature IQ hardware store clerk — its a challenge! But of course, the standard pin wrench in the USA is totally different from whatever they have in Czechia (or whatever they call themselves now), so those holes had to be drilled out to accommodate the USA pin wrench pegs. Fun!!!

Anyway, having finally removed the muzzle device (thank god I didn’t have to use a torch again to remove it through excessive amounts of lock tite), I see that it is a totally worthless, over cosmetically-engineered POS that serves no purpose under the hand guard, other than to add unnecessary weight and complexity to the barrel / fore end.

Why couldn’t CZ just screw a serviceable flash suppressor to the muzzle (like they did with the previous Scorpion pistol) instead of this over-done, useless contrivance? And, of course it’s too short to reverse and pin onto the muzzle as a carbine length barrel extension / flash hider — whenever Pudding Brain and his boys at the AFT decide to outlaw pistol braces.

[BisonWorld]

Out of curiosity, why remove the handguard? Totally get tossing the faux can/shroud.

[MeatAxe]

Out of curiosity, why remove the handguard? Totally get tossing the faux can/shroud.

While the 3+ Plastique hand guard is a big improvement over the previous models’ overly heavy, kludgy “cheese graters,” they still aren’t that great, say, compared to a Midwest Industries aluminum hand guard. I just hope CZ didn’t slather the barrel nut with lock tite, as they have a habit of doing, so I won’t have to cut off the new hand guard to get to the barrel nut with a torch.

Actually, there are several “improvements” on the 3+ that aren’t quite:

— The safety lever still digs into your trigger finger knuckle on “fire.”

— The pistol grip, while improved angle-wise over the previous FAL shape, is uncomfortably narrow on the web of your thumb and has no beaver tail to speak of, so the web of your hand tends to ride up on the lower receiver, AR15-like, forcing your wrist and trigger finger down at an awkward angle.

— The charging lever is still tiny and difficult to use — same part as the previous model.

— The 10 pound trigger still sucks balls.

Still a bunch of PITA niggles to have to deal with on the 3+.

[MiamiTJ]

I was looking at one of ... Scorpion models.

Hey bud,

Noob on this forum and came looking for this exact topic.  I was hoping you can clarify a couple things for me.

I also have the pistol variant of the 3+..  I'm looking at taking off the fake can/shroud so I can screw in a real can.  I also hate the fact that it appears to push up against the mlok holes so they can't be used. I called CZ and they said I can just use a strap wrench to remove it.  My questions are:

1 - does it go the full length of the barrel?
2 - does it screw in at the trunnion or muzzle?
3 - does it's removal open up the mlok holes so they are usable?
4 - And last, what's the rough distance from the muzzle to the end of the handguard?

Thanks in advance brother...

[MeatAxe]

I was looking at one of ... Scorpion models.

Hey bud,

Noob on this forum and came looking for this exact topic.  I was hoping you can clarify a couple things for me.

I also have the pistol variant of the 3+..  I'm looking at taking off the fake can/shroud so I can screw in a real can.  I also hate the fact that it appears to push up against the mlok holes so they can't be used. I called CZ and they said I can just use a strap wrench to remove it.  My questions are:

1 - does it go the full length of the barrel?
2 - does it screw in at the trunnion or muzzle?
3 - does it's removal open up the mlok holes so they are usable?
4 - And last, what's the rough distance from the muzzle to the end of the handguard?

Thanks in advance brother...

First of all, I tried several strap wrenches to get the thing off, but none had enough grip to get any purchase on the slick finish of the faux suppressor. So, as usual, the “experts” at CZ USA are full of bleep. I had to do some work to get a pin wrench to get it off (see above).

1. The faux suppressor is 6” long, so it sticks @ 5.75” into the hand guard around the barrel, with @ 1/4” protruding forward from the end of the muzzle.

2. It screws on at the muzzle (1/2 x 28 threads).

3. Yes.

4. the tip of the bare muzzle protrudes from the hand guard @ 1/2” from the front of the hand guard and @ 7.5” from the rear end of the hand guard.

Hope that helps!

[MiamiTJ]

Hope that helps!

Thank you brother!  This helps quite a bit!  If you can provide a link to the pin wrench you used that would be great.

[MeatAxe]

Hope that helps!

Thank you brother!  This helps quite a bit!  If you can provide a link to the pin wrench you used that would be great.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/3-Piece-7-5-in-Stainless-Steel-Adjustable-Wrench-Set/1000374705?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-ggl-_-LIA_TOL_129_Power-Tools-_-1000374705-_-local-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W-TvLMu443meNrwxOKWGB0n0&gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hBarLR0UJmHdr0w2p5dmtoXOSKljFu43AgW60fekywKQzlWNNwkFqBoC_TAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


That’s the only one I could find in stock locally, but I had to drill out a couple of pin holes on the faux suppressor to make it fit. If you can find a pin wrench with (I think) 1/8” pins, it should work.

[MiamiTJ]

Hope that helps!

Thank you brother!  This helps quite a bit!  If you can provide a link to the pin wrench you used that would be great.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/3-Piece-7-5-in-Stainless-Steel-Adjustable-Wrench-Set/1000374705?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-ggl-_-LIA_TOL_129_Power-Tools-_-1000374705-_-local-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W-TvLMu443meNrwxOKWGB0n0&gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hBarLR0UJmHdr0w2p5dmtoXOSKljFu43AgW60fekywKQzlWNNwkFqBoC_TAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


That’s the only one I could find in stock locally, but I had to drill out a couple of pin holes on the faux suppressor to make it fit. If you can find a pin wrench with (I think) 1/8” pins, it should work.

Thanks again

[Jack Flash]

I don't get it.

The end of the +3 muzzle device looks exactly like the one that came on my S2.

I just used a flat piece of steel tha fit in the 2 cut outs and screwed it off.

Am I missing something?

[MiamiTJ]

I don't get it.

The end of the +3 muzzle device looks exactly like the one that came on my S2.

The pistol version (not micro) with 7.8 barrel is different.  It has a faux suppressor.