I've been developing a little itch for a VZ and decided to drop by PSA's Fernandina store last week to take a look at the VZ2008s they have priced for $399. I had no intention to buy one yet, but of course one had to come home with me.
The gun looks pretty much flawless, and the receiver machining is nicer looking than any milled AK I've ever seen. It came with a brand new sling (Hungarian though - not Czech), brand new bayonet and sheath, brand new cleaning kit, and one brand new loose mag. The mag pouch that came with it contains 4 additional used mags. Two are in very good condition, and two have a good bit of paint wear, and some little dents here and there, but are quite functional. The pouch itself (signed by Paska, whoever he is ) was the roughest item - quite dry and a bit moldy. Some leather conditioner brought it back to functionality.
One interesting thing I noticed. The trigger guard appears to be unlike any I've ever seen on a vz.58 or VZ2008. See the photos below. It's narrower and doesn't have the pronounced recess at the mag release. It doesn't appear to be made by monkeys though, and it has an embossed stiffening rib and runs up to the reinforcing plate/escutcheon just like any other vz.58 trigger guard. The trigger guard works fine though, and does not interfere with the mag release (being much narrower that a typical vz.58 trigger guard).
I was able to put a few mags through it this past Saturday. I would have run more if not for the heat/humidity outside. I couldn't keep the sweat off my eye protection enough to see, so I packed it up after a short session. Reliability was 100% with the Red Army Standard I had on hand.
I was surprised with how soft shooting the rifle is. I expected a little punch due the the light weight and small steel buttplate of the folder, but felt recoil is quite a bit less than any 7.62x39 AK I've fired. Recoil is also pretty much straight back. Everyone says the wire folder needs paracord to battle cheek slap, but I felt none at all. All-in-all, I'm very impressed.
Folks always say they remember the days when SKSs were $89 and MAK90s were $179, and they wish they had gotten one.
One day we'll be talking about how we remember the days when VZ2008s were $399.
Just go get one.