Nice Day at the Range

I had a nice day at the range today.

The weatherman blew it again.  It was supposed to be in the 50s with a better than even chance of rain.  He got the temp right but it stayed overcast for most of the afternoon, then the sun came out at around 3:00 PM.  I have no complaints. :-)

I shot two of my rifles today.  The first was a Century Arms Yugoslavian M-70AB2T underfolder AK, while the second was my Century VZ-2008, a clone of the Czech VZ-58.  Ammo was Wolf Miltary Classic 7.62x39 FMJ, from an older lot with lacquered cases.

I started with the Yugo at 25 yards to get it on paper, since this was my first time shooting it since getting it two weeks ago.  Once that was accomplished I moved over to the 100 yard range to fine tune my zero.

Overall, I put around 100 rounds through the Yugo, mostly using the 30 round Tapco plastic magazine that it came with.  I had no malfunctions.  The front sight is bottomed out for elevation but that shouldn't be a problem.  It's a very pleasant, soft shooting rifle even with the underfolding stock.  I did wrap the right stock strut with 550 cord to make it more comfortable.  I'll probably do the left side as well.

I've had the VZ-58 for about a year.  It's a neat rifle often confused with an AK, since they look similar. However, the only thing they share in common is the cartridge they fire.  No parts are interchangeable, including the magazine, unfortunately.

This VZ-58 has given me problems in past outings, which I am hoping were caused by needing to break it in.  In prior trips to the range, I've had to "mortar" the rifle several times to get it to open after firing a round.  (This involves pulling down on the charging handle while you slam the butt on a hard surface.)  I put about 50 or 60 rounds through it today with no malfs, so I'm hoping its problems are over and done with.

The VZ-58 is lighter than the Yugo and has a different gas system.  The folding stock is not as comfortable as the Yugo's.  Overall, the Czech design jumps around more than the AK and smacks me in the cheek more.  I may swap the stock for the fixed variant to make it more comfortable to shoot.

Accuracy with both rifles is comparable.  Shooting slowly from a bench I can keep them in the black of an SR-1 target at 100 yards.  Shooting offhand or rapidly and my groups go to hell.  Open sights and a short sight radius make for imprecise shooting.  With a dot sight I would no doubt shoot much better, but for close-in work the irons will do.