Vz . 52 rifle The vz . 52 rifle ( often incorrectly called the " CZ 52 " ) is a self - loading rifle developed shortly after the Second World War in Czechoslovakia . Its full name is 7 . 62mm Samonabíjecí puška vzor 52 . Vz . 52 is an abbreviation for " vzor 52 " , meaning " model 52 " . It fires the unique 7 . 62×45mm vz . 52 cartridge . It is considered both reliable and accurate , although it is longer and heavier than later assault rifles such as the vz . 58 . The first 5000 vz . 52 rifles were made by Považská strojárne Považská Bystrica , but due to production difficulties , its manufacture was taken over by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod . Design details . The vz . 52 is a shoulder - fired semi - automatic rifle with a tilting - bolt locking mechanism powered by an annular short - stroke gas piston system . The bolt is locked by two lugs that recess into slots machined into the receiver . However , unlike most vertically - locking breech mechanism , the rifle ' s bolt has the unusual feature of tipping the bolt frontally to lock the mechanism , whereas other tipping bolt designs tip the bolt to the rear . The piston is actuated by residual gases from the bore , vented into a sleeve surrounding the barrel to overcome the inertia of the bolt carrier , bolt and the resistance of the return spring in order to unlock the chamber , eject the empty cartridge casing and then introduce a new round into the chamber upon return to battery . The barrel is press - fit and pinned into the receiver . The manual safety switch is placed inside of the trigger guard and is manipulated by the shooter ' s index finger . The trigger mechanism closely resembles that used in the American M1 Garand semi - automatic rifle . The cocking handle is integrated into the bolt carrier and is located on the right side of the rifle ; this arrangement enables the shooter to reload the rifle without disturbing his aim . The rifle is equipped with open - type iron sight s with a hooded front post and V - notch rear sight placed on a sliding tangent , adjustable for elevation between 100 – 950 m . The rifle can also accept day and night - time optics that interface with an optional , receiver - mounted side rail . The one - piece pistol grip stock is carved from either walnut or beech and stained a yellowish - brown color ; the stock has a hollowed butt which is used as a storage compartment for a cleaning rod , oil bottle and accessories . The rifle has an integral blade bayonet which folds into a recess carved into the stock on the right side . The vz . 52 feeds from a detachable box magazine with a 10 - round cartridge capacity but could also be rapidly recharged from stripper clips with the bolt retracted . For this purpose , a stripper clip guide is milled into the receiver top behind the ejection port . This is the primary method of reloading the rifle as infantrymen were only issued 2 magazines per rifle . It ejects cartridge cases vigorously forward and to the left . Conversion . After pressure from the Soviet Union to adopt its 7 . 62×39mm M43 cartridge , existing Czech rifles were rechambered to the Soviet caliber , and all further production of the rifle was chambered in this caliber and re - designated the vz . 52 / 57 . The vz . 52 / 57 is identical except for its barrel and its magazines . It is considerably less common and are generally found in better condition due to the vz . 52 / 57 chromium - plated bore and chamber . The vz . 52 magazines can be used with the vz . 52 / 57 , but they do not feed as reliably . Decommissioning . All of the vz . 52 series were quickly replaced in Czechoslovak service by the vz . 58 , but the earlier rifles found their way to Soviet allies during the Cold War , and have seen service in Grenada , Somalia , Cuba and Afghanistan and many of those were passed on to guerrillas . The Czech Castle guard uses chrome - finished , deactivated vz . 52 rifles with darkened wood stocks as ceremonial weapons .