Brno collector ex hunter from Europe

[markkal]

Hi, I am a Brno collector, ex hunter from Europe, I have about 15 Brno rifles left, many I sold as I am getting old; ZKK 600's of early manufacture dated 1967 with peep sights, in 7x64, 8x57, 30-06, 308win, 243 win. Some are brand new. 2 ZG 47's and had Mod. 21 and 22 see pictures, these I sold to Australia, These rifles are very much sought after over there.

Pictures of a 243 601 from 1967, a 7x64 600 from 1967 with shortened 50cm barrel and fine turkish walnut, a pre ZG47 mod 21 with round bolt, another with butterknife bolt Cal 8x60S.
And 2 ZKK 600's one 7x64 and 1 8x57; And 2 pictures of Czech VZ58 original asssault rifle with wooden furniture, of the very first production batches dated 1961

Have a few ZG47 will take pictures and post them sometimes.
Have also matching Zeiss Jena scopes some in original box and plasti simili leather pouch, containing spare round trigger, lens brush, green filter, and Brno dedicated tool to adjust scope screws and remove firing pin.

I have 3 ZKK complete actions early manufacture dated 1967.
Cheers from Slovenia, Europe.
Marco
Lifetime Brno aficionado

 

[AfricaHunting.com]

Welcome to AH markkal!

 

[BourbonTrail]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[mark-hunter]

Wow! Quite an entry to the forum! Wonderful guns!
Weclome! Good luck with selling them.

 

[nztimb]

Giday markkal and welcome to the forum. You certainly have some beautiful rifles there.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hello markkal,

Khomas Highland Hunting Safaris of Namibia, welcomes you to the greatest forum on earth.

And, thank you for posting photos of your rifles, they look wonderful.
My personal favorite hunting rifle is also a Brno 602 Magnum, caliber .375 H&H.
Mine does not have the pop-up peep sight feature.
But it does have the original factory express sights.
Well, except that I paid a Gunsmith to replace the front sight small brass bead with a larger white porcelain on.
Also, I had him replace the set trigger with a more traditional Mauser trigger.
Also my .375 wears a simple Zeiss 4x scope in quick release lever rings.

I also have a Brno 465 in .22 Hornet, I think made in the 1969’s ?
It has a vintage compact 6x scope, in what look like perhaps original Brno rings on it.
The old scope was made by Burris, back in the 1970’s or 1980’s ?
This little rifle also has factory Brno double set triggers.
And although I am not in love with set triggers (“the remedy to a non-existent problem”), I have gotten used to them on the hornet.
I often carry this little rifle with me during winter, while hunting hare, fox, lynx and coyote, here in Alaska where I live.
I have also shot the heads off of spruce grouse with it, thereby saving all the meat of the bird for roasting on a willow stick, over a fire.

The Brno rifles that you and I own should be worth much more than the thankfully affordable prices they presently sell for now.
If all Hunters were serious firearms enthusiasts, I am very sure that Brno rifles would be selling for much higher prices.

Best Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[John Telford]

Welcome sir,
Many of us here have fond memories of the BRNO brand . My first rifle ever was Bruno’s in 308 (still have it) I now also have , 7x64 and a nice model 21 in 7x57 with original scope but it is unfortunately damaged! My PH rifle is a CZ550 in 458Lott.
you may be interested to learn that a zkk serial number 1 in9.3x62 was recently sold on Auction here in SA.

 

[Leica Sport Optics]

Welcome to this great forum! Have fun planning.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Marco, welcome to the AH forum! Brno has made some exceptional rifles.

 

[Shootist43]

Welcome aboard Markkal. You've still got some very good rifles. BRNO's are under appreciated for a fact. I have a BRNO Super in 12 Ga. over 7 X 65R, a 7 X 57, and a ZKK 602 in 375 H&H. I consider all of them to be good working guns. Reliable, accurate and reasonably priced.

 

[riflepermits.com]

Welcome to AH! Nice to have you as part of our community. Enjoy the site!

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Welcome markkal!

I am not a BRNO colector but like, love, those early BRNOs!
Have two .22 LR: Nr.4 a Nr.2 made in 1964
And two ZKK, a 601 from 1977 with the original Jena 4x scope, and my most priced, a 600 9,3x62 made in 1967.

Best regards!

CF

 

[enysse]

Welcome to AH, nice gun collection!

 

[Buffalo1]

Welcome to AH.

I'm no gun expert by any means. I have a question:

Is the BRNO brand kind of like the "daddy" or a "relative" of the CZ brand?

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Hi,

Copy some info about BRNO CZ history...fascinating to me! Will do in 2 or 3 parts I have in my files.

A friend in the Czech Republic sent me this. I am trying to get the 2nd part and will post it if I do. This was written some time ago and the 2nd part may simply be lost. - Hope not...

This is a direct "cut-and-paste" of the text:

Here is a piece written by Dr. Alf Smith on history of Brnos:

This by no means complete and I will add later the part following the Warsaw pact years:

A brief overview of the histories of the Brno and CZ arms factories and companies:

Because of the impositions of language and the isolation of the Warsaw pact countries during the cold war the every day American shooting public have a poor understanding of Czech arms particularly how Brno and CZ came about.

In order to gain an understanding of the history of ZB ( Zbrojovka Brno) and CZ
( Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka) one would have to go back in history, look at each company separately and try and put each development to a timeline.

This short historical overview is by no means complete and it leaves out much to do with the manufacture of the machine guns and other arms of war. It also unfortunately leaves out the enormous impact and input of some of the finest arms design enginee rs known to the history of modern gun manufacture and design.

The common starting point in time for both companies starts with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire at the conclusion of WW1 and the founding of the State of Czechoslovakia in 1918. Though it must be noted that historically the Czechs were very much a nation of gun makers.

Czechoslovakia was founded on the former lands of Moravia and Bohemia.

Under Hapsburg rule numerous small independent gun makers and independent operations existed within the boundaries of what was to become Czechoslovakia.

These companies were mostly owned and funded by banking groups and corporations out of Vienna and were taken up by the new Czechoslovakian state to form the core of the Czechoslovakian arms industry.

ZBROJOVKA BRNO ( Arms Factory Brno)

The city of Brno in the former Moravia was home to such an arms manufacturing plant controlled by Vienna.

In 1918 this plant would be the basis for the later Zbrojovka Brno or Arms factory Brno abbreviated as ZB.

This company with its numerous manufacturing plants and subsidiaries was the manufacturer of the sporting rifles we have come to know as the Models 21 H and 22F , the later Galas rifle or ZG47 as well as the full range of Brno 22 caliber rifles.

With the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the conclusion of WW 1 in 1918, the new Czechoslovakian state needed to rearm their fledgling army. In order to achieve this, the State took over the existing armoury at Brno, floating a plan to refurbish German war surplus arms as well as a number of Steyer rifles.

Using the already existing arms factory at Brno, arms procured under the armistice agreements, were refurbished.

Some 100,000 Mauser rifles were procured and refurbished under this agreement.

A further 5,500 Mannlicher rifles were locally produced with expertise procured from the famous arms works of Styer in Austria.

The arms works at Brno formerly part of the Viennese arms manufacturing network was taken over by the new Czechoslovakian state and on March 1, 1919.

It was initially named as Ceskoslovenska Statni Zbrojovka v. Brno (Czechoslovakian State Arms Works at Brno).

Tooling and technical expertise was acquired from Mauser Oberndorf in Germany in 1920.
This was done in order to assemble Mauser rifles for the military, 1921 saw this plan enacted.

Initially the idea was to buy parts sets for 42,000 Mauser rifles directly from Mauser Oberndorf and to assemble the rifles at Brno.

The history indicates that this did not quite see fruition but in lieu of, a home grown Mauser production was started, which in turn ultimately lead to the production of the famous Vz 24 Brno-Mauser rifle.

This ability later played an important role in the hands of the Nazi occupation of the Sudatenland in 1938 and later the whole of Czechoslovakia in 1939 as the Nazi war machine, as we will explore, made good use of the Czech arms industry during the occupation.

In 1922 the company undergoes change in name and structure to comply with constitutional legalities needed to do trade on the open, international arms market.

This also means partial privatization of the company with a limited stock holding as indicated in the name change.

The company is now named Ceskoslovenska Zavodi na Vyrobu Zbrani v. Brno abbreviated to CSZ (Czechoslovakian Works for military Arms Manufacture at Brno)

In 1923 CSZ is sold to Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Praha. ( Czechoslovakian arms factory Prague)

With this a new company is formed and is named Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Brno A.S. or ZB and designated as a Pty Ltd.

The corporate ownership at this point is designated as follows:

Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka akc. Spol v Praze acquires 20% of VZB with the state owning 80%

This company was formed to bu y out CSZ and it was controlled and owned in part through government shareholding and in part through the Arms works of Skoda in Prague as shown by the aforementioned.

This company abbreviated to the designation ZB was then ultimately to be home to a number of significant number sporting and military weapons.
It amassed through the years the expertise of arguably of the worlds greatest small arms developers and engineers.

The Vz 24 Rifle:

Important to the understanding of sporting arms manufacture at Brno is the history as it pertains to the Vz 24 Brno-Mauser rifle.

This rifle has its origins with the submission of a prototype Mauser M98 based rifle by Engineer Rudolf Jelen to the Czechoslovakian military in 1919.

Rudolf was the younger brother to gunmaker Josef Jelen of Vejperty in Bohemia.

Rudolf was born in Bolehost, Bohemia on 27 January 1878 and died in Prague on 10 March 1938.

He was conscripted to the Czech army in 1887, retired from service in 1914 only to join the police. He is however still involved with the military until 1920 and qualifies as an engineer in 1921 having studied from 1918 to 1921.

He now joins the State arms works at Brno where he submits the prototype for what was to be the basis for the very famous Vz 24 rifle. Vz is the abbreviation for the Czech word Vzor meaning model.

The forerunner to the Vz 24 is to be known as the Jelen Rifle or Puska Mauser-Jelena.

This rifle is basically a modified Mauser 98 in cal 7x57

The action dimensions differ from Mauser so does the nose cap of the rifle.

The nose cap and bayonet bracket is to be used later in the British SMLE.

Also chambered in calibers 7.9x57 (150 rifles) and 7x57 (150 rifles)

These are manufactured by CSZ

Then followed the rifle model Vz 98 / 22 which is basically an improved Mexican Mauser but with the Jelen action.

They were built in 1923 1924 first by CSZ and then later by Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Brno AS from 1924 -1930.

The Vz 98 / 22 is in cal 7.92 X 57

Then followed the 98 / 23:

It was also offered in a short rifle and there were variants to the theme in the form of the model Vz 23 and Vz 23 A.

The Vz 23 is built on cannibalized Mauser parts, whilst the 23A is built on new parts made in Czechoslovakia.

The Vz 24 design though essentially a Mauser was like most of the Czech gunmaking industry products the collaborate work of some of the worlds most famous gunmakers ( largely unknown the larger US derived gun loving community)

The VZ 24 came about through the amalgamation of the model 22 and 23 experience as the parts for the 22 and 23 were not fully interchangeable.

The VZ 24 prototypes were built in 1923 by CZS and the VZ 24 proper from 1924-1940 by Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Brno AS,

Though the Vz 24 is designated as 24 production was actually in 1925

It i s claimed that by 1939 some 762,000 Vz 24 rifles and 986,000 Vz 24 bayonets were made by ZB.

Ammunition:

In conjunction with the establishing of armouries the state needed to have ammunition for the military.

Two ammunition factories were located within the Czechoslovakian state borders at the time of the declaration of the Czechoslovakian state namely G. Roth & co. in Bratislavia, and Sellier & Bellot in Prague.

Both these two entities would, over time prove to be very important to the arms manufacturing industry within Czech lands. Also they became through amalgamation part of the ZB empire.

In 1928 ZB procures a major shareholding in the ammunition manufacturing company of G Roth based in Bratislavia.

The G. Roth company now undergoes a name and corporate ownership change to be named as Ceskoslovenska Manici a Kovodelne Zavodi a.s Bratislavia ( Czechoslovak Ammunition and Metal Works, joint stock company Bratislavia)

A full merger takes place in 1933 and the ammunition plant is moved to Povaske Bystrica.

The Povaske Bytrica plant , Zavod 2 also makes VZ42 rifles as well as bayonets

1937 sees the expansion of ZB with a new gunworks at Brno, they also upgrade their old Mauser procured machines to new machines from Oberndorf, a fact that would be to the favour of the Nazi masters who were about to take over the Sudatenland in 1938.

A new plant at Zabrdovice was also started in 1937.

ZB also opens a factory in Vsetin for heavy machine guns ( Zavod3 )

There is also evidence that ZB made the model 26 light machinegun from 1927 this was a Holek design from ZP (Zbrojovka praga)

Nazi Occupation 1939-1945:

The Nazis take control of the Sudatenland in 1938 and in 1939 take control over the whole of Czechoslovakia.

They immediately enroll all arms manufacture under Nazi control and with usual German precision brin g arms manufacture in line with German doctrine.

ZB now becomes Waffenfabrik Brunn Aktiengesellshaft and German Waffenampt markings and rules are applied to weapons.

It is claimed that civilian sporting arms manufacture came to an end at this time, however specimens of sporting rifles are to be found dating from the occupation period complete with German proofs and Waffenampt markings.

Some of the factories and what they produced under Nazi control:

Zavod 1 Brno and Zabrdvice - Infantry arms
Zavod 2 Povaske bystrica - infantry arms
Zavod 3 Vsetin - Infantry arms
Zavod 7 Cejl rocket powered arms
Zavod 10 Optikotechna prerov scopes and rifle optics

It is then also noted that some prominent Czech arms engineers fled the occupation.

One such person was Engineer Otagar Galas, the originator of the ZG-47 rifle.

He found his way to the UK where during the war he was involved in British arms manufacture. Galas although not the principle designer of the Bren gun had much to do with Bren manufacture in England as well as the Oerlikon antiaircraft gun system.

At the conclusion of the Second World War much of Czechoslovakia was taken from Germany by the Russians whilst the Americans liberated Pilsn and Prague.

This then heralded the post war era for Czechoslovakia and the advent of a new dispensation under communism.

After The War:

With the conclusion of WW2 there is an amalgamation and distribution of German assets.

Under this ZB now procures or gains control over 14 plants included are:
1. The original assets of ZB A.S.
2. Sellier & Bellot
3. Zbrojovka Frans Janecek in Prague
4. The Vsetin plant ( rifle and machine gun manufacture)
5. The Zabrovice plant ( rifle and machine gun amnufacture)

Shortly after Zbrojovka Frans Janecek is closed down however.

Post WW 2 and communist rule:

1945:

At this point all compan ies local or foreign owned, are taken over by the Czechoslovakian state by virtue of nationalization decrees.

By this all industry is transferred to the auspices of the Department of industry and all manufacture becomes national or peoples enterprises or Narodni Podnik in keeping with the communist ideal.

This is reflected in the markings on rifles stating N.P. or Narodni Podnik

Zbrojovka Brno A.S. now becomes Narodni Podnik Zbrojovka Brno and under it is included some 14 other former plants and companies

Ceska Zbrojovka A.S. of Uhersky brod and Straconice remains sepearte from the ZB congloemerate.

The plant at Povaske Bystryca now becomes NARODNI PODNIK POVAZSKE STROJIRIN. This enterprise consists of 14 plants including Sellier & Bellot as well as the former ZBROJOVKA FRANTICEK JANECEK in Prague.

Under communism all arms manufacture is centralized under the Central directorship of the NPCZIS in Prague. The manufacturing co-opera tives were managed but this arrangement but this was short lived as it proved costly and inefficient. (only to once again be dismantled by 1949)

The Warsaw pact: 1955: to Follow:

The Brothers Koucky:

Rifle designations ZK and ZKK

The Czech arms industry have historically been blessed with of the worlds finest Gun makers and gun manufacturing engineers.

The Koucky brothers Josef and Franticek were very much part of this heritage.

Josef was born on March 1, 1904 in Krnsko in the former Bohemia.

He graduted as a technical engineer from the technical college in Prague and joined the factory Zbrojovka Franticek Janecek in Prague.

Later he joins forces with his younger brother Franticek at CZ to form a partnership claiming no less than 130 firearm patents.

Together with his brother they designed in the sporting arm line the ZKK rifles, the famous rimfire ZKMs the ZKWs as well as the CZ 75 pistol.

Josef Reti res in 1965.

Younger brother Franticek was born on 20 July 1907 in Krnso

He joins CZ in 1926.

1933 he moves to irm Kotek and designs Stella airguns. In 1943 he moves back to CZ where is head engineer for their rifle manufacturing plant. He retires in 1970 and dies in 1981.

Together and individually the Kouckys produce and hold no less than 130 patents and are particularly remembered for some of the worlds finest, rifles, machineguns and pistols.

More to follow.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

Second part...

About BRNO rimfire rifles...

This is from one of the stickies above:

A Guide for Brno Rim Fire Rifle Facts and Specifications:

Dated by two digit number seen at left side forward receiver, behind barrel proof marks. Non dated receiver may indicate military contract firearm.

Brno 451 (#1)
Bolt action operated, .22 long rifle chambering, Classic beech stock, straight comb, no checkering, Schnable fore end tip, front and rear sling swivels. Hooded front sight, integral barrel collar w/ 3 leaf folding rear sight (50 / 75 / 100 meter), in-line bolt shroud safety, 22 ¾” barrel. Oval shaped port, 16mm receiver sight rail, recessed magazine well. Weighing approximately 4 ¾ pounds, 41” overall. Manufactured 1946 - 1957.

Brno 451 – Ex
Premium model of above model, w/ 200 meter maximum tangent sliding rear sight. Grip checkering noted on some models.

Brno 452 (#2)
Same as #1 above w/ 23 ½” barrel (25” option early models), select Walnut stock (D models – Action Arms importer). Three gas escape holes in receiver / bolt were added, as well as squaring off receiver port for more chamber access. Safety operation altered to work perpendicular to right side. Some select few models noted to have 12 band rifling. Manufactured 1946 – 1957.

Brno 454
Training rifle for the vz.24 7.92 bolt rifle. Has full length beech stock, finger groove in fore end. Wood hand guard above, w/ single band and ‘H’ pattern nose cap. Military tangent sights.

Brno 468
Entry level / garden single shot bolt rifle. 14 ¼” pull beech stock w/ grooved stock butt and schnable fore end. Bolt pull rotary safety with sliding feed tray, case extractor (no ejector). Sourdough shaped windage adjustable front blade, simple screw elevation adjustable rear sight. Overall length 37 ¼” w/ a 20 ½” barrel. Weighs approximately 4 pounds. Manufactured 1948 – 1950. Often referred to as ‘Garden Gun’.

Brno 455-2
Hybrid Pre-production Brno #2 rifle. #1 rifle action and safety, with 200 meter adjustable tangent sight. Has plain Trainer stock. Imported by PW Arms – Redmont Washington.

Brno 455 (#3)
Heavy target beech target stock w/ thickened forearm band forward the magazine, no checkering (Early models have checkered pistol grip), and had a single adjustable trigger. Heavy 27 1/2” bull barrel w/ rear barrel rail for open micrometer sights. Wide loop sling swivels for target sling. Front sight had globe w/ inserts and rail bar mount mounted vernier micrometer peep sight option. Weighing 9 ½ pounds. Manufactured 1949 – 1956
.
#3 Stecher Variation Same as above #3, with optional double (set) trigger w/ longer trigger guard. Due to possible litigation with Walther because of trigger design, most models of Stecher were destroyed to remove threat. Only 60 known models are known to exist. Manufactured 1949 – 1956.

Brno 456 (#4)
Same rifle design as #3, with wider, improved adjustable trigger design, heavy target full forearm, single trigger. Some rifles noted to have screw operated barrel tuner spring for more accuracy. Manufactured 1957 – 1973.
456 Brno #4 Model Variations
Many of these variations were imported only by Bohemia Arms, Fountain Valley California (1992 – 2000). Most (all?) were stocked with Beech stocks. Weights shown are without accessories.

ZKM 456 LK: Target .22 lr. . Full beavertail forearm. 27 ½” bull barrel, 45” o.a. 10 1/4 pounds.

ZKM 456 LUX MI: Sport (Turned down) 24 ¾” barrel, Sporter stock model, white liner at grip cap and buttpad. 6 3/4 pounds. Barrel mounted front sling swivel. 42 ½” o.a.
Approximately 300 units made.

ZKM 456 L: Sporter rifle similar to Lux Mi. 24 ¾” light barrel, 42 ½” o.a. 6 ¾ pounds.
ZKM 456 ST-MATCH: Adjustable cheekpiece / butt pad w/ flat forearm – stock design by AERON Brno. 10 pounds. 27 ½” bull barrel, 42 ½” o.a. Designed for 50 meter UIT target competition.

ZKM 456 Biathlon: Fitted with optical sights. 22 ¾” bull barrel, 41 3/8” o.a. 9 pounds. Designed for Biathlon target rifle competition.

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

About the ZG47, one of the best Mauser Sporting actions made...

1. THE GALAS RIFLE: ZG 47:
   
   This rifle is viewed by many as the pinnacle in Mauser action development and represents arguably of the finest factory production rifles ever made.
   
   The ZG47 unfortunately is relatively rare and short lived, in that production only saw 20,000 rifles made.
   
   The heart of the Galas rifle lies in the modified standard length Mauser 98 action with solid left sidewall and double squared action bridges. The originator of this rifle was the engineer Otakar Galas of Zbrojovka Brno and is designated by the model number ZG 47 indicating design in 1947.
   
   The rifle with SN 00001 with date stamp 50 (1950) was made in cal 9.3x62 Mauser and belonged to the late Tony Harrison of Cape Town South Africa. It was originally imported by Bren Arms formerly of Cape Town in the RSA. The rifle is currently in possession of Mark Harrison, son of the late Mr. Harrison Snr.
   
   The rifle itself is in pristine condition and I have had the pleasure to actually handle and photograph it
   
   Although early advertisements claimed that the ZG47 was only made in 8 calibers it would appear that other rare and unreported calibers were found in this rifle.
   Rifle ZG 47 with SN 05217 dated 1956 was made in cal 8x68S and a rare 9.3x64 Brennecke SN 02862 with barrel date stamp 65 and action stamp 57 is noted.
   
   ZG 47 rifle configurations:
   
   There is a paucity in the gun literature regarding the specifications on the Galas rifle and specifically regarding origins.
   
   The following variations are noted from early factory parts catalogs on the ZG 47 rifle.
   
   BARREL CONFIGURATIONS:
   
   The basic barrel length on the ZG 47 was given as a 60 cm / 4 groove barrel in two weight configurations.
   
   1. HEAVY BARREL: 7X57, 7X64, 8X57JS, 8X60, 8X64S, 30-06, 270WIN, 9.3X62
   
   2. LIGHT BARREL: 7X57, 7X64, 8X57JS, 8X60, 30-06, 270WIN
   
   STOCK TYPES:
   
   1. Standard Stock: In 3 configuartions: BASIC, RELIEVED and LIGHT
   2. Deluxe A: also in BASIC, RELIEVED and LIGHT (No schnabel but with a rounded black tip and Monte Carlo cheekpiece)
   3. Deluxe B: Schnable fore end in Basic, Relieved, and light configuration.
   4. Deluxe C: Slender stock
   5. Mannlicher Stock: Optional
   6. Super deluxe:
   
   Caliber choices:
   
   The ZG 47 was offered in the following standard caliber choices:
   
   7x57 Mauser, 8x57S, 8x60S, 8x64S, 30-06, 270 Win and 9.3x62 Mauser.
   
   Special order rifles could be had in 10,75x68 and 5.6x61 Vom Hofe.
   
   ZB also offered as special order any Rimless cartridge no longer than 3. 33 inches or 85mm thus rare rifles have known to exist in calibers such as the 9.3x64 Brenneke and the 8x68S.
   
   The factory poster for the ZG 47 rifle recommends the 8x64S caliber as the universal caliber for all hunting.
   
   Apart from the sporting configurations two sniper rifles were also made. The ZG47 SN as well as a ZG 51 SN.
   
   The ZG 51 was originally submitted by Galas with the ZG47 action but the then russian influence desigantated that the rifle be built on a Mannlicher 1891 / 30 action. The ZG51 production was very limited and was replaced by the Vz 54 built between 1954 and 1957. This too was built on the Mannlicher 1891/30 action.
   
   These were built in cal 7.92x64 and a single shot target rifle ZG 474 in cal 7.92x57 is also noted in the literature.
   
   Scope mounting:
   
   The ZG 47 like its predecessors sported the doubled square bridge action with integral dove tail grooves for scope mounting. This feature was part of the latter 721 and 722 models ( post serial number 23,000 ), the ZG 47 series, the later Koucky brothers series ZKK as well as the current CZ range of sporting rifles.
   
   The origin of this mounting system is not known to me but I summize it may be a Galas design as it's use falls within his tenure at ZB
   
   The original BRNO scope mount for the ZG 47 utilized as one piece mounting system used to mount the Meopta scopes made in Czechoslovakia
   
   Who was Otakar Galas: ( Otagar ?)
   
   Born 1904 Syrovice in former Bohemia
   Graduates from State technical college in 1927.
   Joins Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Brno after graduation.
   
   After the occupation of the Sudetenland in 1938 and subsequent take over of the rest of Czechoslovakia Galas flees to the UK in 1940.
   
   Although he is not part of the design team of the BREN gun he also works at BSA on it's production in the UK. Also accredited with work on the Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun system and the BESA machinegun.
   
   At the conclusion of the war Galas returns to Czechoslvakia in 1945 where he is responsible for the design of the ZG 47 and its derivatives.

   
   Reply With Quote

 

[Clodo Ferreira]

To be continued...

 

[CoElkHunter]

Welcome to AH! You have some very nice rifles. Although not Brno, I really enjoy shooting my CZ 550s.

 

[SPLITTING IMAGE TAXIDERMY]

Welcome to AH. Enjoy the forum, it's very addicting.