[Shot Show 2016] New Fab Defense Vz58 Polymer Magazine

This year touring around the Las Vegas show floor, I was on the look out for small things with big Canadian implications. As much as I love the X95, the MDR, and other “big launches” I know it will be quite some time before we see those guns become a reality here in Canada.

But small things can make all the difference to revitalizing an existing platform. And this one got my jimmies rustled:

Fab Defense finally launched a Vz58 magazine.

The Vz58/Cz858 is effectively Canada’s Kalashnikov replacement, but until now only military surplus magazines and KCI clones were available. And never in large numbers. Additional magazines could easily cost $30-40 and the Korean made KCI’s had some serious reliability issues.

Fab Defense has been making polymer AK and AR mags for years, but in 2016 they’ll be expanding the line to include everyone’s favourite Czech rifle. As you can see from the photos, it’s a windowed polymer mag, designed for the Vz from the ground up, and includes a weird littly doohickey on the bottom.

That device is a spring loaded magazine pull. The idea is that it sits flat against the base when stowed, but makes pulling the magazine out of a pouch that much easier. It’s not a loop like a traditional magpul, but instead relies on the shooter pinching or hooking the pull. I’ll have to try that part before I form an opinion on it.

Fab is planning to produce a pinned version at the factory specifically for the Canadian market, which I’m hoping will be available sooner rather than later.