Author Topic: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"  (Read 3490 times)

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Offline TJNewton

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Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« on: April 05, 2018, 04:09:16 AM »
The most restrictive states such as California, Connecticut, and New York define an ?assault weapon? as a semi-automatic firearm that accepts a detachable magazine and has at least one other feature such as a muzzle device, pistol grip, adjustable stock, etc, the exact criteria varying slightly among those states.  The response from gun manufactures and owners is to make their firearms ?featureless?, removing muzzle devices and resorting to stocks and grips with poor and inhibiting ergonomics.  The SKS is generally legal in those restrictive states as it has a fixed magazine.  In having a carrier notched for stripper clips, it is very easy to modify a VZ58 variant to have a fixed magazine, be fed with stripper clips, and keep all the ?evil? features such as the bayonet lug, folding stock, muzzle device, fore grip, and pistol grip.  Flame thrower and oscillating circular saw are optional.

I removed the spring from the mag catch and replaced it with a ?block? that prevents the mag catch from moving backwards.  I used hollow plastic tubing as that is what I immediately had on hand, but anything could be used.  It just needs to be about 10mm in width to fit in the channel and a slant on the end that fits against the mag catch. 

First step is to remove the split pin from inside the receiver, and then to tap the mag catch/bolt release pivot pin halfway out in order to remove the mag catch and its spring.  Then place the block into the channel, place the magazine into the receiver and compress it against the bolt catch spring, insert the mag catch, and tap the pin back in.  Replace the split pin into the receiver, reassemble the rifle, and you?re done.  In order to remove the magazine, the receiver cover needs to come off.  You now have a fixed-magazine firearm that is legal with all the evil features. 

It only took about 10 minutes to file the block to fit.  Metal could be used for the block, but plastic or wood is better as for ease of installation there needs to be the slightest ?give? when lining up the mag catch and tapping in the pin.  If metal is used, a small piece of rubber on the receiver end of the block would probably compress just enough.

I padded the first magazine with tiny strips of loop-sided Velcro under the front and back lips to create and super-tight, wobble-free fit.  It?s nice, being locked up solid like an SKS mag, but wasn?t necessary as when I tried other mags without Velcro shims, they also worked perfectly, despite the wobble.  Loading a VZ58 with stripper clips in this configuration is just as easy as loading an SKS.  Be sure to use good, surplus stripper clips, either BXN or Yugo, instead of the ?brand new? repop crap clips they sell on Amazon and Ebay.  Of course it?s not going to be as fast as using factory 30-round magazines, but it?s still pretty quick and you get to keep your rifle EVIL.  If you move to a move gun-friendly state, it?s a simple effort to switch back.

One important detail is to make sure that your bolt catch spring isn?t worn out.  When I first tried this mod, I couldn?t get the bolt to lock back consistently, which is a major flaw for a stripper-clip fed rifle.  I found that my bolt catch spring was weak.  It was strong enough to hold the bolt back with detachable magazines, but too weak to resist the pressure of rounds being loaded with a stripper clip.  Once I replaced that spring, function was perfect and loading stripper clips was smooth and easy.

I know that Czechpoint has their ?Freedom? line of VZ58?s that accomplishes the same thing, but I don?t know why they went to the effort of machining a sliding piece into the receiver.  I watched their video and it doesn?t seem to be necessary as the original spilt pin also requires the disassembly of the rifle and works just as well.

The question arises of what?s better:  A fixed-magazine rifle with an ergonomic pistol grip and all the other desirable features, or a detachable magazine rifle with no desirable features and that clumsy, awkward grip wrap that leaves the thumb floating to the side. 


Offline MeatAxe

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2018, 05:02:17 AM »
^ That's good to know! My son is in school in Commiefornia and we were trying to figure out the best way to lock a mag in place on the Vz58 so he could use it with a fixed 10-rd mag and stripper clips (similar to your method, but also would go a step further and grind off the tab on the mag release so that it wouldn't even have the appearance of a detachable mag, in case some dumb ass anti-gun LEO out there might try to futz with us if he saw it at the range).

I think the reason Czechpoint came up with their elaborate machining on the Liberty set up was to comply with some asinine law on the east coast, either in Mass-a-two-schidz or Connecticut or some such place. Your method seems to comply with the letter of CA law, that you have to disassemble the action in order to remove the magazine.

FWIW, somebody on Calguns.net was working on a similar solution for FALs (which are similar in layout to the Vz58 and can also take stripper clips with the right dust cover) in order to comply with CA law.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 05:52:19 AM by MeatAxe »

Offline TJNewton

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2018, 08:23:34 AM »
The ability to use stripper clips is a great feature of the VZ58, one of the reasons I bought into the design.  Although it's slower, it does give the rifle some advantages over detachable magazines (easier to shoot prone, can carry more ammo, more wieldly climbing over obstacles and through brush).  Grinding off the tab is probably a good idea to prevent any hassles.  If you ground enough off the tab, then you wouldn't need to remove the spring or make a block. 

I'd be interested to see which law Czechpoint was trying to comply with, as their system and a mod utilizing the original split pin would require the exact same steps to remove the mag.  I wonder if they did it so that it seemed as though their specially-machined receivers were the only way to become compliant, a marketing scheme maybe, to dissuade people from doing a simple mod on their own rifle.  I vaguely remember seeing a few years ago an ad for a magazine block kit similar to the one used by Czechpoint, although I think it used the original split pin.  I don't know who was selling it.

Offline RSR

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2018, 06:27:08 PM »
An outfit out of NY did have a VZ58 compliance kit that was sold on ebay back when the VZ2008s were hot.  Included a 10 round mag and the mag lock piece.  Basically it was a wedge shape piece of metal that replaced the mag release and was held in by the mag release pin...  Should be pretty simple geometry and could use the OE mag release to pattern the forward edge. 

Offline TJNewton

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2018, 07:52:41 PM »
An outfit out of NY did have a VZ58 compliance kit that was sold on ebay back when the VZ2008s were hot.  Included a 10 round mag and the mag lock piece.  Basically it was a wedge shape piece of metal that replaced the mag release and was held in by the mag release pin...  Should be pretty simple geometry and could use the OE mag release to pattern the forward edge.

Took some searching but looks like this was it.  Out of stock, of course:

https://squareup.com/market/kgb-tactical/item/vz-vz-cz-fma-kit-with-rd-magazine-and-stripper-clips

This person shows an ingenious solution for the floor plate when cutting a mag down to 10 rounds.  The video is in Russian, but the visuals are self-explanatory.  The only thing I'd do different is that instead of gluing a threaded washer onto the spring base piece, I'd attach an elongate stud that would work off the principle of the original design and push up under spring tension to secure the floor plate:





Offline Thin Man

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2018, 08:18:17 PM »
Wow!
As someone who lives in a "free state" (South Dakota) where we can own anything we want without neutering a functional firearm, I find this utterly sad! >:(
Good on you for finding a work-around!

Offline MeatAxe

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2018, 01:59:33 AM »
Wow!
As someone who lives in a "free state" (South Dakota) where we can own anything we want without neutering a functional firearm, I find this utterly sad! >:(
Good on you for finding a work-around!

Believe me, I wouldn't even set foot in a slave state if I could help it. But since I still have friends and family in Commiefornia, I'm going to have to jump through some hoops to keep myself armed out there, which is imperative in that socialist cess pool.

Offline RSR

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Re: Simple Mod to declassify the VZ58 as an "Assault Rifle"
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2018, 03:39:42 AM »
KGB, those are the ones I was thinking of. 

With those "kits" the holdup is probably the mags -- I think the seller was importing them from the Czech Republic and those mags are hard to come by at a reasonable cost...  So he might just sell you the mag lock part if you send him an email. 

 

anything