Česká zbrojovka was founded in 19361, remains active, and has 1412 firearms in the catalogue. That scale matters, but this article does not attempt to cover all 141 entries. Instead, it follows eight catalogued examples in order of introduction, from 1948 to 20263, to show what the record captures about the manufacturer’s range across time.
Taken together, those eight entries span submachine guns, rifles, an assault rifle and a pistol. They begin with the Sa vz. 23 in 1948 and end with the CZ TS 3 Orange in 2026. Between those dates, the catalogue records post-war military small arms, later service weapons, a bolt-action rifle, modern Scorpion-pattern designs and a recent competition pistol. The figures show continuity across the years, and they also show why Česká zbrojovka appears so often in variant-rich catalogue records: the company’s output crosses different action types, chamberings and roles rather than staying within one narrow class.
The catalogue timeline
Read in order, the catalogue places the eight examples across a long and varied sequence. The first is the Sa vz. 23, introduced in 19481. It is followed by the Vz. 52 in 1952, the Sa vz. 58 P in 1958 and the Sa vz. 61 Skorpion in 1961.
After that early cluster, the next examples in this set come much later: the CZ 550 American Safari Magnum in 20034, the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 in 2009, the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 in 20153 and the CZ TS 3 Orange in 2026.
| Firearm | Year introduced |
|---|---|
| Sa vz. 23 | 1948 |
| Vz. 52 | 1952 |
| Sa vz. 58 P | 1958 |
| Sa vz. 61 Skorpion | 1961 |
| CZ 550 American Safari Magnum | 2003 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 | 2009 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 | 2015 |
| CZ TS 3 Orange | 2026 |
The chart below makes the span clear: from 1948 to 2026. That matters because it shows continuity across distinct design eras, from early post-war military small arms to later sporting and civilian catalogue entries. Within this brief sample alone, the manufacturer’s recorded output moves across submachine guns, rifles, an assault rifle and a pistol, rather than remaining tied to one class or one period.
Year introduced, compared
The data in this chart
| Firearm | Year introduced (year) |
|---|---|
| CZ TS 3 Orange | 2,026 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 | 2,015 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 | 2,009 |
| CZ 550 American Safari Magnum | 2,003 |
| Sa vz. 61 Skorpion | 1,961 |
| Sa vz. 58 P | 1,958 |
| Vz. 52 | 1,952 |
| Sa vz. 23 | 1,948 |
Early post-war production and the move from submachine gun to rifle
The first three introductions in this set form a compact post-war sequence. The Sa vz. 23, introduced in 19481, is a blowback 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun weighing 3270 g, measuring 686 mm overall and using a 24 round magazine. Its catalogue description places it at Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod and records adoption in 1948.
By 1952, the Vz. 52 shows a different package. It is a gas-operated self-loading rifle at 4140 g, 1005 mm5 overall, with a 520 mm barrel and a 10 round magazine. That makes it 319 mm6 longer than the Sa vz. 23 and 870 g heavier. The change matters because the catalogue is no longer describing a compact blowback arm, but a full-length rifle with a different operating system and a different place in the line.
The next step is the Sa vz. 58 P, introduced in 1958. It is also gas-operated, but chambered for 7.62x39mm, with an empty weight of 3100 g7, an overall length of 845 mm and a 30 round magazine. Compared with the Vz. 52, it is 160 mm shorter, 1040 g lighter and carries 204 more rounds. In catalogue terms, this is the clearest sign of the move from early post-war submachine gun and self-loading rifle patterns towards the assault rifle class.
Why the catalogue shows so many variants
The catalogue shows many variants because Česká zbrojovka’s entries often reflect three different kinds of change: naming across service life, chambering changes within one basic pattern, and later civilian derivatives.
The clearest early example is the Sa vz. 23. In the catalogue it appears with aliases including vz. 23, vz. 25, vz. 48a and vz. 48b, which indicates that one family can accumulate several designations as versions and official names change. That matters because a reader scanning names alone might mistake related arms for wholly separate designs.
The Vz. 52 shows a second route to variation. It is recorded for both 7.62x45mm vz. 52 and 7.62x39mm, so the catalogue preserves a single rifle pattern across more than one chambering.
A third route is the later split between service and civilian forms. The CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 is explicitly the semi-automatic civilian variant of the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1. In other words, variant growth in the catalogue is not only a Cold War story. It also comes from later commercial adaptation of an existing design.
Three cartridges, three scales of firearm
The chamberings in this set help explain why the firearms divide into distinct classes. The Sa vz. 61 Skorpion is built around .32 ACP, a cartridge with an overall length of 24.99 mm8 and typical muzzle energy of 200 J. In catalogue terms that aligns with a compact automatic arm: the Skorpion itself is 517 mm4 long, weighs 1280 g empty and has a 50 m effective range.
At the other end, the Sa vz. 58 P uses 7.62x39mm, which is 56 mm9 long overall and has typical muzzle energy of 2010 J. That is 26.31 mm6 longer than .32 ACP, and its published typical energy is higher by 1810 J. The rifle built around it is correspondingly larger, 845 mm7 overall with a 390 mm barrel and a 400 m effective range.
Several other CZ entries here use 9x19mm Parabellum, including the Sa vz. 23, CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1, CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 and CZ TS 3 Orange. At 29.69 mm10 overall length and 481 J typical muzzle energy, it sits between the other two cartridges. The chart below makes that middle position clear in physical scale, and the catalogue examples show how CZ used it across submachine guns and a later pistol.
The cartridges, to scale
Drawn from the recorded case and bullet dimensions, all at one scale.
Source: GET /v1/calibers/{id}
The data in this chart
| Cartridge | Overall length (mm) |
|---|---|
| .32 ACP | 25 |
| 7.62x39mm | 56 |
| 9x19mm Parabellum | 29.7 |
Size, weight and the modern catalogue spread
The physical spread in these eight catalogue entries is wide, and it helps explain why Česká zbrojovka cannot be reduced to one class of firearm. In the weight chart below, the lightest example is the Sa vz. 61 Skorpion at 1280 g4, while the heaviest is the CZ 550 American Safari Magnum at 4300 g11. That is a difference of 3020 g6, or 3.02 kg. Between those ends sit service arms such as the Sa vz. 23 at 3270 g1 and the Vz. 52 at 4140 g, alongside later commercial designs such as the CZ TS 3 Orange at 1450 g3.
Overall length shows the same breadth. The shortest firearm in this set is the CZ TS 3 Orange at 229 mm, while the longest is the CZ 550 American Safari Magnum at 1181 mm, a span of 952 mm. Other entries fall between those points: the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 is 406 mm long, the Skorpion 517 mm, and the Sa vz. 58 P 845 mm7.
One caution matters here. The CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 is listed at 2500 g12, but that weight is under review in the catalogue. It remains useful for context in the chart, though not as the basis for a firm ranking or conclusion on its own.
For the wider record beyond these eight examples, see the Česká zbrojovka catalogue page.
Empty weight, compared
The data in this chart
| Firearm | Empty weight (g) |
|---|---|
| CZ 550 American Safari Magnum | 4,300 |
| Vz. 52 | 4,140 |
| Sa vz. 23 | 3,270 |
| Sa vz. 58 P | 3,100 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 | 2,500 |
| CZ Scorpion EVO 3 S1 | 2,270 |
| CZ TS 3 Orange | 1,450 |
| Sa vz. 61 Skorpion | 1,280 |
Sources and methods
Figures under review. The catalogue's own data checks still question one figure in this post, given here as the record states it. How the data is checked.
| Task | Figure | Open question |
|---|---|---|
| View task | CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1 empty weight | Its sources disagree |
Footnotes
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Sa vz. 23, which cites en.wikipedia.org, modernfirearms.net, militaryfactory.com, weaponsystems.net. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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GunSpec catalogue record for Česká zbrojovka. In the API: manufacturers reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the CZ TS 3 Orange, which cites all4shooters.com, gunsweek.com, fragoutmag.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Sa vz. 61 Skorpion, which cites modernfirearms.net, forgottenweapons.com, weaponsystems.net, old.weaponsystems.net. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Vz. 52, which cites americanrifleman.org, en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, modernfirearms.net. In the API: firearms reference. ↩
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Method, comparisons: a difference is one catalogue figure minus another of the same kind, in the same unit. Comparisons. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GunSpec catalogue record for the Sa vz. 58 P, which cites modernfirearms.net, militaryfactory.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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GunSpec catalogue record for the .32 ACP, which cites en.wikipedia.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the 7.62x39mm, which cites cip-bobp.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the 9x19mm Parabellum, which cites en.wikipedia.org. In the API: calibers reference and ammunition reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the CZ 550 American Safari Magnum, which cites rifleshootermag.com, firearmsbulletin.com, guncritic.com, sportsmansguide.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩
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GunSpec catalogue record for the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 A1, which cites militaryfactory.com, combatoperators.com, sandboxx.us, czfirearms.com. In the API: firearms reference. ↩
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