We have previously looked at the development of the CZ 2000 and Lada rifle programs in Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic, and today we are taking a close look at one specific variant. This is the SMG pattern CZ 2000, although by current nomenclature it would not be called an SMG because ...

Developed in the 1990s and entering production in 1996, the CZ100 and CZ101 were CZ's first polymer-framed pistols. They were offered in both 9mm and .40S&W, with the CZ100 being a double stack design (magazine capacity 10 or 13 rounds) and the CZ101 being single stack (magazine capacity 7 or 8 r...

Today I'm taking a Skorpion Evo 3A1 out to the range...let's see how much fun it can be!

The CZ Skorpion grew out of a Czech Army request for a new 9x19mm SMG as the newly formed Czech Republic pivoted to a Western orientation in the 1990s. The CZ factory took a look at what it already had that might be suitable, and did in fact revisit the vz.61 Skorpion design in 9x19mm (originally...

Brno's ZB-26 was one of the best light machine guns of the 1920s, and it was widely adopted by countries that did not have domestic arms design and production capacity (and it would eventually become the British Bren gun as well). It was designed for the 8mm Mauser cartridge, and had a simple fix...

The vz.82 and its cousin the CZ 83 are pistols that originated when the Czech state export company during the Cold War began looking for arms it could export to bring in hard currency. The current service pistol, the vz.52, was, shall we say, not widely desirable and its 7.62x25mm cartridge was n...

The original Scorpion was adopted in .32 ACP caliber as the vz.61 by the Czechoslovakian military – but development of the Scorpion did not end there. Prototypes were also developed in .380, 9×18 Makarov, and 9x19mm. In particular, the 9x19mm version, designated vz.68, got as far as field trials ...

The vz.52 pistol was originally adopted by Czechoslovakia as a short-term option, with an intention to quickly replace it with something better. The problem was that without a viable domestic pistol, the Soviet Union would have forced Czechoslovakia to start production of the TT-33 Tokarev. Out o...

Today we are taking the Laugo Alien out to the range - let's see if the hype is real!

The Laugo Alien is a pistol developed recently, and only introduced in 2018. Its lead designer was Ján Lučansky, who was also heavy involved in the CZ Scorpion carbine/SMG. The Alien is a significantly different take on modern handgun design than what we are used to seeing. It uses a fixed barrel...

Next up in our Maserati-or-Hilux assessment of the Laugo Alien, we have a sand test. First a plain, easy sandy soil immersion, and then a horrible bucket of moon dust. So...will it blend?

The Laugo Alien has survived its mud and sand tests without any long term damage, and now it's time to put it to work. The MGM Spinner has long been my nemesis, and so I bought one to practice on. The advantages of the Alien are immediately evident - I've never been able to double-tap a spinner e...

Is the Laugo Alien a rugged an unstoppable HiLux or a fastidious Maserati? I would like to use it as a go-to competition pistol for matches like Finnish Brutality and Desert Brutality, but first I need to know that it can take some knocks and still run. So, let's do some horrible stuff to it and ...

The ZK-420S is an experimental Czech rifle that is virtually unknown today, but which was remarkably influential, bearing significant elements of the Garand and several other Czech designs, and influencing the M14 and Kalashnikov rifles. Originally designed by Josef Koucky in 1942, the plans were...

The ZB-26 stands as one of the best magazine-fed light machine guns developed during the 1920s and 30s - it was a very popular gun for small military forces and many countries which did not directly buy it were strongly influenced by it. The Japanese Nambu Type 96 and 99 were heavily based on the...

Today we have a chance to do some shooting with a ZB-26, a German-occupation 8mm light machine gun made at Brno in Czechoslovakia. The ZB-26 does not get nearly as much attention as LMGs made by the better known powers during the war, but it is an excellent weapon. In addition to being adopted by...

In 1952, Czechoslovakia adopted a whole new family of small arms, including the vz.52 pistol, vz.52 rifle, and vz.52 light machine gun. The rifle and LMG were both chambered in the Czech 7.62x45mm cartridge, and both would be adapted to the Soviet standard 7.62x39mm a few years later, in 1957. Ve...

In 1952, Czechoslovakia adopted a whole new family of small arms, including the vz.52 pistol, vz.52 rifle, and vz.52 light machine gun. The rifle and LMG were both chambered in the Czech 7.62x45mm cartridge, and both would be adapted to the Soviet standard 7.62x39mm a few years later, in 1957. Ve...

The CZ vz.38 pistol was developed by the CZ factory as a replacement for Czechoslovakia’s vz.24 pistols. It was formally accepted by the Czech Army in June of 1938, and 41,000 were ordered from the factory. Tooling and production setup took close to a year, and the German military occupied the co...

With the Velvet Revolution and the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia, a new Czech Republic immediately looked to NATO membership. This would require rearming the Czech Army with a rifle in 5.56mm NATO. After some unsuccessful dabbling with the Lada/CZ2000 AK platform, CZ began to develop the Br...