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The Sniper Rifles of The Red Star
The Vz54 served in the Czech Army from its adoption in 1954 to the 1970’s where the weapon was finally replaced with the Russian semi automatic snipers rifle, the SVD-63. The Vz54 was then removed to serve in secondary units like the SNB which was the initial name of the National Security Corps. This unit would later be renamed the URN. The Vz54 would serve 14 more years alongside the SVD-63 in such service before an updated design was required. In the early 1990’s some refinements and improvements to the rifle were done to improve its performance and update its abilities. A new wooden stock was designed and fit to the rifle which incorporated an adjustable cheekpiece for a proper sight picture and the addition of a removable adjustable bipod to provide stability in the firing position. The rifle was also reequipped with the scope (4x25) and mount of the SVD-63 rifle. This optical package added a range finding reticule and an illuminated reticule for low light conditions. The optical sight could be safely removed as well without losing its zero. This new rifle was designated the Vz54/91 and would continue to serve in the URN and other provincial police and security agencies until its eventual replacement a few years later by the SSG-3000 rifle.
The rifle now retired from military serve have found their way into the surplus market was they are prized rifles in shooting sport clubs and with military and police competitions. Exact numbers of the Vz54/91 rifles are not known but the rifles command a high price on the Czech sport markets and are highly sought after by shooting enthusiasts. Heavy weighted bullets are preferred to be used in this rifle such as the Czech Tz bullet of 11.75gr.
I aquired this sniper from a fellow Mosin Nagant collector from another forum. (Thanks again Alsky )
Its a 1957 Czech VZ54 upgraded to VZ54/91 configuration, it has an adjustable cheek rest, adjustable shoulder rest, a Russian PSO scope w/illuminated recitle and infared capabilities, and an adjustable bi-pod. The bore is pristeen and the bolt is butter smooth as is the trigger pull. The labels on the forend are typical of European shooting competitions. These lebels are usually attached on the stock after a control of the weapon before the shooting match.
The "čss" letters (český střelecký svaz) is for the Czech Shooting Federation, and on one label the word "Maxicky", a town in the former Czechoslovakia that has a shooting range.
The dates on the labels indicate the 2000s.
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