The Škorpion freakin’ ROCKS (and rolls)!!!Those of y’all dear readers who remember 5 May 2025 article titled “Firing the Full-Auto Steyr AUG” will recall that I kvetched about that rifle having “that frickin’ progressive trigger made the Steyr *THE* most difficult of the bunch to keep my shots on target, even at a measly 7 yards—it was an absolute bear ! More like a regressive trigger IMHO!”
Well, as the saying goes, “Opposites attract.” Or if you prefer, you need that yin to accompany the yang. On the same day that fired the persnickety Die Hard gun, I also fired a weapon that was the polar opposite in terms of ease of full-auto fire. Say “Ahoj” (that’s Czech for “Hello”) to the (in)famous Škorpion vz, 61 machine pistol.
vz 61 Backstory in Brief
In the spirit of “Work smarter,” not harder, I shall refrain from reinventing the wheel here. (Please pardon the mixed metaphors.) In other words, I shall conveniently quote my buddy and fellow hoplophile Ronnie Serrano:
“The story and history of CZ Sa Vz.61 Škorpion began in 1958; when the Czech Ministry of Interior put out a requirement for a new small machine pistol for their security and law enforcement units. While that was going on, the inventor of the weapon, Miroslav Rybar, who was at the time was finishing his education, wrote a thesis on the machine pistol when he was at the Czech Military Technical Academy. After completing his thesis, he’d presented the design to the Academy in which the Czech military was impressed and put him and a team together to work on the new gun. After improving his design, the Škorpion went into production in 1961. Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, also known as CZ, became the primary producer for the Vz.61 Škorpion and already had previous experience with firearms counting the Sa. 25 Samopal (Sa Vz.48), Vz.58 rifle, and the Vz.52 pistol some years prior.”
Guilt By Association
Ronnie also notes that this machine pistol “has become famous or infamous depending on which side used the firearm.” Indeed, much like the AK-47, the Škorpion became much maligned due to its usage by many bad guys around the world, from Com, as munist nations’ military forces (such as the Viet Cong and East German Nationale Volksarmee as well as various Cold War era international terrorist groups. Regarding the latter, the Italian Red Brigades were particularly notorious for using the vz. 61 to “kneecap” their victims.
But then again, the weapon has also been used by its fair share of post-Cold War good guys’ forces as well. Among these are the post-Communist military forces of the Czech Republic and Slovakia alike. Which of course goes to show that guns are only as good or evil as the people firing them. (Yeah, I know: “Thank you, Captain Obvious!” Preaching to the choir here, yadda yadda yadda…)
Slinging the Stinger (In Other Words, Shooting the Škorpion)
So anyway, that same 28 March, 2025 day that I fired the AUG, I also fired the Škorpion. This was thanks to the excellent rental gun menu selection at the top-notch XCAL indoor shooting facility in Ashburn, Virginia. I termed the outing “FAFF (Full-Auto Friday Fun,” not to be confused with “FAFO [Fuck Around and Find Out]”).
Renting the Škorpion cost be $85.00…and was totally worth every penny! (Even though .32 ACP/7.65mm ammo is expensive as hell, even by ammo inflation standards!)
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Normally when I test-fire a small arm, I do so at multiple distances, namely 7 yards and either 15 or 25 yards…and sometimes even 50 yards (depending on the limitations of the individual range’s lane length). However, I make an exception when it comes to full-auto, limiting my testing to the 7-yard line. Moreover, I limited the full-auto portion to torso shots only (for what should hopefully be obvious reasons that I shouldn’t need to ‘splain to our weaponry-savvy readers).
The ammo purchased was 50 rounds of PMC Bronze 71-grain full metal jacket (FMJ aka “hardball”) ammo. I started off with five rounds of head shots in semiautomatic mode for familiarization fire (“fam fire”) purposes.
Then it was rock ‘n’ roll time, i.e. time to switch to full-auto mode for some serious fun!!! Man, oh man, this sooooo much was fun. And of all the full-auto weapons I’ve fired, this was the easiest for keeping the majority of shots on target. Only one complete miss and three hits in the non-vital zones), with the rest staying in the torso, including 15 hits in the A-zone. Six hits landed in the (paper bad guy’s) heart for good measure.
I suppose that’s due in part to (1) the closed-bolt operation (just like with the HK MP5) and (2) the low-recoiling .32 ACP (7.65mm) cartridge.
Minor Druthers and Parting Thoughts
Only two gripes:
–The gun was in bad need of a cleaning, with three feed failures.
–The charging handle was a bit on the stubby side (which is kinda understandable for such a compact weapon) and therefore a tad challenging to manipulate.
Those minor gripes aside, overall ‘twas a very fun and memorable shooting experience!
NOTE: This article is partially based upon one published on the author’s Patreon page, “The D’Orr-senal of Democracy.” Be on the lookout for his upcoming first book, “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series,” which will hopefully be published sometime this summer! Stay tuned, dear readers!
Read the full article here
