T1D.Operator
Well-known member
Figured I’d share this here. I recently picked this up, and owning a Mauser variant from the 1990s has always been a goal of mine. When I came across this one, I spoke with a few friends from the region who collect them locally, and they shared some background information.
According to them, this VZ-24 went to Zavod 44 for refurbishment. However, during the process it was discovered that the rifle didn’t actually need to be refurbished — though it was already partially through the refurb/restamp process. At some point, someone realized this and pulled it from the line, stopping further work.
The clearest indicators are the scrubbed crest and bolt, while everything else remains untouched. The Czech lion and “VZ-24” markings are still present, and the serial number was “hand-stamped” in a rushed manner just to get it back into a “normal” state for storage. I was also told that the “bottom of the barrel” workers handled situations like this at the factory — when a case like this came up, they’d just do whatever was needed to make it serviceable without redoing the rest.
Afterwards, it was stored until it was pulled out in the 1990s. All other parts are CZ and remain unaltered. Overall, it’s a gorgeous rifle and a keeper for me. I’ll be pulling it apart soon to see if I can verify anything else. Now all I need is a Yugo sniper with some trench art, lol. I included photos, and also a proper "D5 Prefix" CZ stamp, to compare to mine.
According to them, this VZ-24 went to Zavod 44 for refurbishment. However, during the process it was discovered that the rifle didn’t actually need to be refurbished — though it was already partially through the refurb/restamp process. At some point, someone realized this and pulled it from the line, stopping further work.
The clearest indicators are the scrubbed crest and bolt, while everything else remains untouched. The Czech lion and “VZ-24” markings are still present, and the serial number was “hand-stamped” in a rushed manner just to get it back into a “normal” state for storage. I was also told that the “bottom of the barrel” workers handled situations like this at the factory — when a case like this came up, they’d just do whatever was needed to make it serviceable without redoing the rest.
Afterwards, it was stored until it was pulled out in the 1990s. All other parts are CZ and remain unaltered. Overall, it’s a gorgeous rifle and a keeper for me. I’ll be pulling it apart soon to see if I can verify anything else. Now all I need is a Yugo sniper with some trench art, lol. I included photos, and also a proper "D5 Prefix" CZ stamp, to compare to mine.
