Finally mounted the dot on my VZ

[Glasspix]

The Truglo red dot from optics planet had finally arrived in Slovakia, I have mounted it on the BC tactical scope mount took it out to the range. Mount and optics have worked fine, the gun was not so good. I had constant light primer strikes even though I have changed the firing pin and cleaned the gun thoroughly. I'll take it to a gunsmith in the next few weeks.
 
Video works best full screen.
I have also bought a 1970 Russian Makarov, it is a thing of beauty. A little holster wear, but after the range session I have taken it apart and polished it, it looks fantastic. I was surprised how thin the barrell profile is, but I do not expect this to be an issue at all. Enjoy the video slideshow.

[sboone]

I?m interested to see how the BC scout mount fairs as far as longevity.  It?s looks to be about the best way to get a red dot on a VZ-58 compact pistol

[MeatAxe]

I've always been an proponent of Murphy's Law -- that something's always going to go wrong, and when it does, it will be at the worst possible moment.

That's why, if I can, I try to mount red dot optics at the back from a side rail / mount (e.g. RS Regulate) so I can co-witness with the iron sights if the optic happens to fail. The problem is, if you want a straight line AR-type stock (which I do), the iron sights on the Vz58 are too low to comfortably co-witness with the optic.

I wish there were taller Vz58 iron sights readily available, but until then, will have to improvise.

[Glasspix]

Sure, its an either-or situation with this old rifle, you do have to chose between iron or optics. The red dot gives me a chance to extend my accuracy further than I could with irons and speeds up target acquisition, hence it is my preferred set up. The good news is, it is a 5 minute job to swap the old sites back in place should the optics fail.
I mention this as a curiosity, I seem to suffer from astigmatism which makes the dot look like a star instead of a small circle. Its a relatively small inconvenience, but does any of you guys have experience with this?

[TJNewton]

I mention this as a curiosity, I seem to suffer from astigmatism which makes the dot look like a star instead of a small circle. Its a relatively small inconvenience, but does any of you guys have experience with this?

I mention this as a curiosity, I seem to suffer from astigmatism which makes the dot look like a star instead of a small circle. Its a relatively small inconvenience, but does any of you guys have experience with this?

It happens to me, too.  What will clean that up is to place an aperture on the rear of the rifle near your eye.  It doesn't have to be too small, just about the size of battle sights on an AR.  It will take some fabricating for a VZ58, but I've seen people do it, although for traditional peep sights. They mounted it between the receiver and the stock.  Maybe adapt some old-style tang sights; mount it on the folding stock.  It would be out of the way and then could be flipped up if the need for more precision arises.  It won't slow down acquisition too much.

Try it out if you have an AR.  Absolute co-witness the red dot, look at the blurry circle, then flip up the rear sight and look at it again.  It should become a clear dot.  That's the aperture focusing your eye.  The aperture on my AR rear sight is 0.072".

As a novelty, you could try the peep attachment that some people put on their shooting glasses.  It should have the same effect.  It may initially sound odd, but it's no more bizarre than using a red dot sight.  Just another technological enhancement.

[woodstock31]

I am looking to mount a red dot on my vz. Who makes that mount? Are there others? The one I saw when searching the web was sold out.

[Glasspix]

Thanks for the advice on astigmatism TJ, I will consider one or the other of your solutions.

@Woodstock: The mount comes from BC Tactical from Canada, look up the thread about its arrival, it was not without hickups, but the product itself is very good. You might have to replace the pin supplied with a thinner one to avoid drilling the rear sight, but its a great solution to a very VZ problem.