Vz. 24

Vz. 24

The vz. 24 rifle is a rifle designed and produced in Czechoslovakia from 1924 to 1942. It was developed from the Mauser Gewehr 98 line, though is not a clone of any specific Mauser model. The fit and finish are of the highest quality.

The vz. 24 rifle was designed in Czechoslovakia shortly after WWI. It was a new design, featuring a 600 mm (23.6") barrel which was shorter and more handy than the 150 mm (5.9") -longer Gewehr 98. FN and Mauser Oberndorf produced similar-length Model 98 variants, the latter designating it the "Standard-Modell'. The thinking was, as with the British SMLE and US Springfield, that a short rifle gave away little in ballistic efficiency at combat ranges, but was easier to handle on account of its shorter length.

"vz." is an abbreviation for vzor, which translates as model; "24" represents the year of the design, 1924, and the rifle replaced the 98/22 Mauser that was in production before it. The vz. 24 was produced in Brno and Považská Bystrica (from 1938–1942). The only way to identify the production location is by the serial number pattern and the VTLU code. A Brno manufactured rifle would have a serial number as such: 1234 T3. A Považská manufactured rifle would follow this pattern: A5 2345. The VTLU code (Czech acronym VTLU stands for Vojenský technický a letecký ústav - Military technical and aviation institute, which was responsible for acceptance of Czechoslovak army weapons) was an inspection and acceptance stamp. A code observed would be E4-lion-38. The E4 would denote where the acceptance took place (in this case it would be Považská Bystrica), the lion would be the national symbol of Czechoslovakia and the 38 represents the year, 1938. Here is a breakdown of VTLU codes:

1. E1 - Pilsen (Plzeň)
2. E2 - Adamov
3. E3 - Brno
4. E4 - Považská Bystrica
5. E5 - Vlašim
6. E6 - Semtin
7. E7 - Strakonice
8. E8 - Prague (Praha)

The vz. 24 rifle was widely used the world over, by Romania, Iran, Guatemala, China and others. Many of the contract rifles made for South American countries were chambered in 7mm Mauser or 7.65×53mm Argentine.

During WWII, the vz. 24 was produced for the German occupiers. The factory was located at Považská Bystrica in the Slovak Republic.