This lovely beast is a 7.62mm. (.30 caliber) vz52 military pistol made in Czechoslovakia, and commonly (and incorrectly) called the "CZ 52".

Czech weapons have long enjoyed a reputation for quality workmanship and original design; the Germans made considerable use of Czech armaments during World War II. After the Communist takeover of Eastern Europe the Czechs, unlike the other satellite countries that mostly used Soviet castoffs or copies thereof, chose to continue to develop their own designs.

One was the vz52, issued in 1952 ("vz" stands for "vzor", which merely means model or version). The Warsaw Pact countries were required to adopt the standard Soviet military cartridges, so the vz52 used the same 7.62x25mm. round as the famous Tokarev pistol, but it bore no other relationship to the older, less sophisticated Red Army sidearm. The most remarkable feature was a roller locking system based on that of the German MG-42 machine gun, resulting in a tremendously strong action.

The vz52 was not all that successful as a military weapon, as its mechanical complexity created maintenance problems under harsh field conditions. (Though to be sure this made little practical difference, since the Czechs didn't fight any wars during that period.) It was like trying to use a Ferrari in place of a Jeep. Eventually it was replaced by the excellent vz75.

In the early nineties the 52 showed up on the US military surplus market and didn't move very well, but in the last couple of years it has become a big hit. Partly this is because it sells at wonderfully low prices, but also a lot of people have become fascinated by its unique qualities; it really is quite a remarkable firearm.

Not everybody likes everything about the 52. A lot of people claim the grip is badly designed and the pistol points poorly. I don't know what their problem is; it fits my hand perfectly and points very naturally - I can keep my shots in the kill zone of a standard silhouette target out to 15 or 20 feet shooting one-handed from waist level, without using the sights. But then on the other hand many other pistols famous for their pointing qualities, such as the single-action Frontier Colt and the Luger, don't point worth a damn for me. I do have very large hands and perhaps that comes into it.

(The grips shown, by the way, are not original; the factory grips are plastic and perfectly hideous, so I replaced them with a custom set made from South American hardwood. This improved the feel slightly, but not by all that much; it pointed fine for me with the original handles too.)

There's also been a lot of talk about the trigger pull. I suppose I must have gotten lucky; mine has an excellent trigger. There seems to be something of a crapshoot element to buying a 52; the Czechs may have had some quality-control problems. In that connection, a few people have reported broken firing pins; again, I haven't had that problem, but I did take the precaution of acquiring a spare just in case.

The vz52 fires a 7.62mm. (.30 caliber) bottlenecked round that looks more like a miniature rifle cartridge than anything you'd feed a short gun. The 7.62x25mm. cartridge is basically the same as that used in the 1896 Mauser pistol - carried by the young Winston Churchill at Omdurman, that's how far back it goes - and both the pistol and the cartridge reflected an attitude then common in Europe and elsewhere, of the pistol as a kind of small rifle; the Mauser even came with a detachable wooden shoulder stock.

Later on, in the twenties, the Soviets adopted essentially a knockoff of the Mauser load, with a bit more power, for the Tokarev pistol and then later for submachine guns; and later, as already noted, pressured the Czechs into using it. But despite the 52's modern design, it still retains the ballistics that made the Mauser such a hot item over a century ago.

It's a real rush to shoot. It makes a loud bass boom and that little 85-grain jacketed pill comes out the muzzle hauling some serious ass: in the neighborhood of 1500 fps or better, depending on make of ammo. In fact it shoots more like a rifle than a typical pistol; you can hit a target out to a hundred yards without any significant hold-over. Recoil, though, is surprisingly moderate.

The down side is that the 52, or any other firearm using a high-velocity round, is less than ideal for home and personal defense. There is a very good chance of a bullet going clear through an intruder, and the wall behind him, to kill somebody in the next room or even across the street. Furthermore, this thing is loud; if I ever touched it off indoors, my statement to the cops would consist entirely of "WHAT?"

There's also some question whether a small high-velocity load like this delivers much actual stopping power; it's argued, persuasively, that the bullet is likely to pass through the recipient's body and keep going without doing much serious damage - like stabbing somebody with an ice pick: eventually he's going to die, but not before he's had plenty of time to beat your brains out. On the other hand, the old Mauser had a fearsome reputation for shattering bone, as did the Tokarev. About all that can be said for sure is that the 7.62x25 isn't something you'd want to get shot with, but then what is?

(By the way, there is a widely-repeated legend that the 52 was designed to be used with special high-powered rounds. Bullshit. The 52 has a very strong action and certainly one in good condition will handle loads somewhat more powerful than those sold over the counter; but it was designed for the standard 7.62mm. Soviet pistol cartridge, not some sort of Iron Curtain Magnum.)

Recently the situation has been greatly improved by the introduction of commercial hollowpoint ammunition which should have much more destructive effects. However, at this time it's not easy to get; the first batches sold very fast and now everybody seems to be backordered. With any luck availability will improve.

The 52 remains an amazing and wonderful weapon: powerful, accurate, reliable, and of course utterly beautiful in its wolfhound-like contours. I am very fond of mine, and very proud to be able to show it to you.