Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters VZ 24 action?.

Hi,I see mention of the VZ 24 action.I think it is a czech made mauser type action.Can anyone give some info regarding this action.How good it is.Is it one of the better "actions" to build ones custom rifle?.Appreciate any info regarding this,thank you.

OK, who starts first this time

Terry

Some.



Yep, it is.



You should get plenty.



Very.



Yep, it has that reputation.



Hang tight, you'll get plenty.

The VZ 24 can be a very good action, depending on when it was made. The longer into WWII they were made, the lower the quality, as by then the Czechs were essentially being forced to work by the Germans.

I have built a couple of rifles on VZ 24 actions that worked out OK, but my advice( as elsewhere here) is to buy a good commercial 98 action instead.

JB

MD speaks the truth here! People will tell you they are �very� good when actually they have no real idea about the specifics or the history of the action relative for example to the metallurgical properties and how this changed during the production history of the product. Most people should but not many do as building a custom rifle requires a certain amount of due diligence from choosing the Smith to the actual components used to build the rifle. Hopefully, your Smith will be knowledgeable of this action and the nuances associated with it so that it may enhance the future value of the rifle. Many here just regurgitate what they read in various forums or in the rags but a few such as MD actually have the experience and knowledge to steer you in the right direction. Take heed in his advice on this matter.

the VZ 24 actions are without any doubt within the best which have been made, they're in my oppinion even better than the DWM 1909 Mauser actions, but the very best of all Mauser type actions that were ever made were the Steyr actions (code "bnz"), they had the best material, heat treating and the closest tolerances. I wish I had some of them.....

greetings,

Gerry

in any case, using it as the basis for a custom is a fine idea if you have money and patience and money, in that order.

Raj,

You might take a check into the used custom gun market for a custom gun built on a a M1909 Argentine Mauser or VZ 24 action. It will save you money, time and aggravation over starting a custom rifle from scratch, unless you intend to do the work yourself (I have known folks who did gunsmithing courses for just this reason).

jim

TCI and VAnimrod,thanks for your replies,You guys had me chuckling .Guess I have opened up an oft repeated topic.VAnimrod,the way you replied,still has me laughing .
Thanks to all you other gentlemen who posted.Appreciate the info.
HunterJim,thanks Sir,aprreiate the input,I just wish I was talented enough to work on an action,I am not talented enough to do that kind of work,not do I have the money,patience,money patience necessary to have a special custom job done.
Went to a target range some time ago.This Gentleman had this very nice rifle.While talking to him,he mentioned that it was built on a VZ-24 action.Since I did not know much(anything) about it,thought I would ask over here.

RAJ, Just have'n a little fun. Some of us really like converted Milsurp rifles while others feel it's a waste of time and money. Mule Deer and I don't see eye to eye on this, but there is a way to disagree without being disagreeable. The name of this forum is "ask the gunwriters" so his opinion reigns supreme here and mine is just the voice of decent. There is very little I actually disagree with the man about. He's a smart cookie in my book.

Terry

Another non gunwriter that likes them!

Here's my VZ-24...I plan on doing a 1909 next then probably at least one or two more VZ's!

They are not the easiest or cheapest way to go, but I like them and it's my money











.35 Whelen, Timney Trigger and Boyd's JRS stock.

Hello Raj:

Here is a link to Samco. The persian mausers are the same as the VZ-24's. Gunsmiths like to work on these very good to excellent VZ-24's because they are finished so well. Actions very smooth. Don't worry about the heat treating, it was good, better than most new rifles made today. Obendorf mausers had better heat treating but stay away from 1942 and above german and vz 24's. The obendorfs are generally not finished as well as the persians and vz 24's. Many people love all the mauser lore and carry alot of opinions, and are more knowledgeable than me. But, this is what the gunsmiths I know have told me & I have found general agreement among mauser affecianados. I wish I had known this information before getting some of my gun battery.

Notice the very good persians for sale at $179.00. Find someone with an FFL or let Samco find someone for you. Also, notice the Obendorf's (remember, prior to 1942 manufacture)and spanish mausers in 308 on backorder.

http://www.samcoglobal.com/rifles.html

Eldorado

Raj:

I just read the thread on heat treating mauser actions and followed some of the links. Makes me think that heat treating a mauser action is a safe way to go to prevent some expensive redo later. Live and learn.

Eldorado

I have what is likely a pre-war VZ-24 that my pappy sent home after VE Day. It's in very good condition, but never sporterized (unless I count removing the original rear sight "ramp" from the housing and installing a "scout scope" base in its place). All numbers match.

Why do I think it's pre-war? Because pap said it was taken from a pile of identical VZ-24 rifles surrendered by German "militia" within weeks of the end of the war (Paderborn area); most were still covered in some sort of cosmoline and in un-issued condition; none had Nazi markings, only the original Brno markings.

A gunsmith that I knew for years (now long deceased), figured it'd be a perfect specimen for sporterizing, but I've never had the heart to monkey with it much. He was a gunsmith before WWII, sent multiple dozens of M98 actions home from Germany after the war (removed the barrels, mailed the actions back home), so he'd have lots to fuss with once he got home. He built rifles on those M98 actions for years, back in the late 40s and through the 50s. When I told him how my dad had acquired the VZ, it near made the old rascal drool, thinking about a pile of pristine VZs for the taking. ;o)

I trusted his judgement, he liked VZ-24 actions. He theorized that the rifles had probably been removed from Czech stores (remember that Germany annexed Czechoslovokia long before WWII started), shipped back to Germany for storage and had been issued to the home guard near war's end, thus accounting for their pristine condition and lack of Nazi markings.

Most of the current VZ-24s I've seen for sale, are pretty crappy and don't have matching numbers.

Harald Wolf is a high-end gunsmith in Europe, and he likes the Oberndorf-made Argentine Mauser with the Czech VZ 24 as a substitute, and he recommends re-casehardening the Mauser action if you are using a magnum cartridge.

jim

dube

I wouldn't mind stumbling into a pile of those babies either...definitely wouldn't sporterize that one..

Mike

A companion VZ acquired from the same pile, belonged to one of pap's Army buddies that lived about 50 miles from us. He sporterized his back in the 50s, including a scope, new stock and reblued metal. My father prefered to leave his mostly in original configuration, discarded all the hardware and bobbed the stock.

The old man would never allow me to alter the rifle in any way. Got so used to it, decided not to mess with it after he finally gave it to me, not long before he died. Killed a doe with it a few years ago, when it still had the original rear sight installed. It's a major PITA to hunt with, given the straight bolt handle. I'm inclined to scrounge a VZ military stock and hardware and just put it back into its original configuration. A friend recently favored me with some pre-WWII Czech ammo in the original boxes, but forget if they're marked CZ or VZ? I also have stripper clips and a two-pouch leather cartridge case that dad brought back.

Never have figured out exactly when it was manufactured, but if anyone can decipher VZ markings, this one just has VZ.24 on the left rail, no crest on top of the ring (has 3 line usual designations) and E-lion crest-26 stamped low on the left side of the ring, with serial number under that: 1461K1. Guessed it was made in 1926?

ElDorado,thanks for all the info and for the link to Samcoglobal.Thanks to Bosshoss and MD and HunterJim for all their advice.Appreciate all the info posted here.
Mule deer,is there a definite way to differentiate between the early VZ 24'S and the later ones ,where quality had gone downhill?.