CZ-2000
Notes: The
CZ-2000 is a Czech assault designed to replace older Czech and Slovakian assault
rifles in the wake of those two countries joining NATO and needing an assault
rifle that matched the standard NATO assault rifle cartridge (5.56mm NATO).
Attention was also paid to export sales, and versions of the CZ-2000 were
also developed to fire the 5.45mm Kalashnikov cartridge.
Though it appears to be just another cousin of the AK, the CZ-2000 is
internally more similar to the VZ-58 and FNC than the AK.
The 5.45mm Kalashnikov version did not prove to be popular, and no
CZ-2000s were built in that caliber after 1999 except for special orders.
Both versions of the rifle can use the 75-round drums used by the CZ-2000
squad automatic weapon (see Czech automatic rifles), and the 5.56mm NATO version
can use M-16 magazines. The 5.45mm Kalashnikov version may use AK-74 magazines.
The bipod from the CZ-2000 SAW may also be attached to the CZ-2000 rifle, and
the CZ-2000 also readily accepts a variety of optical sights and laser sights.
The CZ-2000 Short Assault Rifle is basically the same idea as the M-4
Carbine or AKS-74U, being a short-barreled model of the basic CZ-2000.
While it appears almost certain that the CZ-2000 will eventually replace
the VZ-58 as the Czech Republic’s standard assault rifle, the production of the
CZ-2000 family has been snail-slow due to the economic problems that have beset
most of Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Twilight 2000
Notes: Czechoslovakian special forces operating deep behind NATO lines began
using the CZ-2000 so that they could utilize captured enemy ammunition, and
regular Czech forces began using the 5.45mm Kalashnikov version in limited
numbers in 1997 to supplement their AK-74 rifles.
Neither version is very common, but the 5.45mm Kalashnikov model was made
in larger numbers.
Merc 2000 Notes:
Without the Czech and Slovakian introduction into NATO, and the worsening
economic climate, the impetus for the design of this weapon was greatly reduced.
Any CZ-2000s found in action are rare indeed, and probably means your
enemy’s sponsor has some money and an eye for novelties; beware of what he might
also have issued his troops!
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
CZ-2000 |
5.56mm NATO |
3 kg |
20, 30, 75 |
$757 |
CZ-2000 |
5.45mm Kalashnikov |
3 kg |
30, 40, 45, 60, 75 |
$681 |
CZ-2000 Short Assault Rifle |
5.56mm NATO |
2.6 kg |
20, 30, 75 |
$677 |
CZ-2000 Short Assault Rifle |
5.45 Kalashnikov |
2.6 kg |
30, 40, 45, 60, 75 |
$601 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
Mag |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
CZ-2000 (5.56mm NATO) |
3/5 |
3 |
1-Nil |
4/5 |
20,
30, 75 |
3 |
4/6 |
36 |
CZ-2000 (5.45mm Kalashnikov) |
3/5 |
2 |
1-Nil |
4/5 |
30,
40, 45, 60, 75 |
3 |
4/6 |
40 |
CZ-2000 Short Assault Rifle (5.56mm NATO) |
3/5 |
2 |
1-Nil |
3/4 |
20,
30, 75 |
3 |
4/6 |
10 |
CZ-2000 Short Assault Rifle (5.45mm NATO) |
3/5 |
2 |
1-Nil |
3/4 |
30,
40, 45, 60, 75 |
3 |
4/6 |
12 |
CZ-805 Bren
Notes: CZ’s entry
into the SBR NATO-Calibered market, both police, and military, the only
connection between the Bren LMG and the Bren A2 is the name.
It is currently designed to allow easy switches between 5.56mm NATO and
7.62mm Kalashnikov; other calibers are up for the future. One removes the
barrel/piston system and the bolt-face.
Standard M-16/AR-15 and AK/RPK magazines can be used. Atop the rifle is a
monolithic MIL-STD-1913 rail. The
rails extend down the handguards on the sides and bottom of the handguard.
Barrels are the A1’s 11-inch barrel and the A2’s 14-inch barrel. The action is
piston-driven gas; the gas system is user-adjustable allowing rifle grenades or
blanks to be fired. The stock is
sliding, with a recoil pad on the butt. Currently, only police (semiautomatic,
mostly), and military concerns are the only ones who can buy the CZ-805.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
CZ-805 Bren A1 |
5.56mm NATO |
3.41 kg |
5, 10, 20, 30 |
$534 |
CZ-805 Bren A2 |
5.56mm NATO |
3.49 kg |
5, 10, 20, 30 |
$564 |
CZ-805 Bren A1 |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
4.1 kg |
5, 10, 20, 30, 40 |
$781 |
CZ-805 Bren A2 |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
4.2 kg |
5, 10, 20, 30, 40 |
$829 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
CZ-805 Bren A1 (5.56mm) |
5 |
2 |
1-Nil |
3/5 |
2 |
6 |
22 |
CZ-805 Bren A2 (5.56mm) |
5 |
3 |
1-Nil |
4/5 |
2 |
6 |
32 |
CZ-805 Bren A1 (7.62mm) |
5 |
3 |
2-Nil |
4/5 |
2 |
6 |
25 |
CZ-805 Bren A2 (7.62mm) |
5 |
3 |
2-Nil |
5/6 |
3 |
8 |
43 |
VZ-52
Notes:
The VZ-52 managed to get developed in that short time between the end of
World War 2 and the beginning of Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.
The operation is adapted from the Nazi MKb42(W), with the tilting bolt
design of the Swedish AG-42, and the trigger owes much to the M-1 Garand rifle.
The bolt locking system seems to be one that works only on this rifle;
other attempts to use the same system have been unsatisfactory.
The magazine can be clip-loaded while still in the weapon.
The 20.47-inch barrel has no flash suppressor, but a muzzle cap can be
removed, revealing threads that are used to attach a blank-firing adapter. The
VZ-52 was not made in large numbers, but many that were built were later
converted to fire the standard Soviet 7.62mm Kalashnikov cartridge, and these
were called the VZ-52/57. Some
7.62mm Czech versions did make it into combat – in Cuba, during Castro’s
revolution, and later in Vietnam, Angola, Nicaragua, and some countries in
Africa; most of these uses were in small numbers, and always with irregular
forces. The Czech Presidential Guard (primarily a ceremonial unit) still uses
the VZ-52/57, since it’s length and form make it easier to conduct drill
movements with; some other Czech honor guard-type units also use them. (Czech
Presidential Guard versions can produce can be identified because the stocks are
of brown plastic, the external metal parts are chrome-plated, and the bayonet is
6.5 centimeters longer. Both versions have a permanently-attached side-folding
sword bayonet.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
VZ-52 |
7.62mm Czech |
4.08 kg |
10 |
$927 |
VZ-52/57 |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
4.08 kg |
10 |
$844 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
VZ-52 |
SA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
64 |
VZ-52/57 |
SA |
4 |
2-3-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
62 |
VZ-58
Notes: Though
externally, the VZ-58 appears to be just another AK-47/AKM clone, the VZ-58 is
internally a very different weapon from the AK.
Though it too is gas-operated, the operating system is very different,
and apart from the magazines, almost no VZ-58 parts are interchangeable with AK
parts. In addition, the VZ-58 is a
more robust design than the AK-47, and at the time of its introduction, was
about 10 years ahead of its AK-47 counterpart.
(Unfortunately, it is also much more mechanically complex than the AK.)
The earliest
production examples of the VZ-58 used wooden stocks, pistol grips, and
fore-ends, and were chambered for the 7.62mm Czech round. Under Soviet pressure,
the chambering was quickly changed to 7.62mm Kalashnikov, and a short time
later, the VZ-58 switched to stocks, pistol grips, and fore-ends made using a
hard plastic shell filled with wood fiber, which lightened the VZ-58
considerably. There were three standard military versions of the VZ-58: the
VZ-58P, with a fixed stock, the VZ-58V, with a folding tubular steel stock (with
an ergonomic buttplate), and the VZ-58Pi, equipped with a long dovetail bracket
on the left side of the receiver to allow the use of any Russian, Chinese, or
former Warsaw Pact-type night vision scope.
The VZ-58Pi is also equipped with a light bipod and a large conical flash
suppressor (so that the shooter and his night vision scope are not blinded by
the muzzle flash).
The VZ-58 was
the standard Czech and Slovakian assault rifle for nearly a half a century, but
was in 2000 starting to be replaced by the CZ-2000.
(The replacement of the VZ-58 has been agonizingly slow however, and most
Czech and Slovakian troops still use the VZ-58 as of 2006.)
It is no longer being manufactured by Ceska Zbrojovka, but limited
production is still being done by Caliber Prague.
These newer versions of the VZ-58 generally are updated with synthetic
furniture, sight mounts for use with equipment from all over the world, mounts
under the fore-end for laser aiming modules or tactical lights, or even
MIL-STD-1913 rails. In addition,
several companies in Europe and the US are building or selling semiautomatic
versions of the VZ-58. The VZ-58
can be found in nearly every corner of the globe, from Vietnam to Cuba, in
addition to the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
It should be
noted that the magazines of the VZ-58 and the AK series are
not interchangeable.
The magazine wells and the method of fitting the magazines in place are
very different. In addition, VZ-58
magazines are made from light alloy, while AK magazines are steel.
After the fall
of the Iron Curtain, CZ opened a branch in the US, called CZ-USA.
One of the items they produce at CZ-USA is the VZ-58 Military Sporter, a
civilian version of the VZ-58 designed for sale in the US, complying with US
laws. For the most part, the VZ-58 Military Sporter is identical to the VZ-58P,
but the barrel has been extended to 16 inches.
The receiver is milled instead of stamped and the metalwork is better
finished than the standard VZ-58P.
Other than being deliberately designed to be extremely difficult to convert to
automatic fire, the mechanism is identical to that of the standard VZ-58 series.
Weapon |
Ammunition |
Weight |
Magazines |
Price |
VZ-58 (Original) |
7.62mm Czech |
3.26 kg |
30 |
$877 |
VZ-58P |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
3.13 kg |
30 |
$797 |
VZ-58V |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
3.13 kg |
30 |
$817 |
VZ-58Pi |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
3.44 kg |
30 |
$1163 |
VZ-58 Military Sporter |
7.62mm Kalashnikov |
3.32 kg |
30 |
$799 |
Weapon |
ROF |
Damage |
Pen |
Bulk |
SS |
Burst |
Range |
VZ-58 (Original) |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
6 |
4 |
9 |
45 |
VZ-58P |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
6 |
4 |
9 |
44 |
VZ-58V |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
4/6 |
4 |
9 |
44 |
VZ-58Pi |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
6 |
4 |
9 |
44 |
(With Bipod) |
5 |
4 |
2-Nil |
6 |
2 |
5 |
57 |
VZ-58 Military Sporter |
SA |
4 |
2-Nil |
6 |
4 |
Nil |
44 |