The CZ Scorpion

By Home Defense Gun staffer Travis

The VZ 61 is a somewhat of a famous submachine gun. Most people however know the weapon as the Skorpion, a sub machinegun that reeked of Eastern European design. It was an ugly little creature that rode the line between machine pistol and submachine gun. The weapon was designed to be small and compact, and equipped with a top folding stock, and chambered in the anemic 32 ACP.

The weapon was small and light, and the little 32 ACP round produced almost zero recoil. This made the little Skorpion easy to control in full auto. This little Czech SMG was popular, but was due for an update. The premier Czech Republic weapon’s manufacturer, CZ has taken the challenged of producing the newest Skorpion. Now known as the Scorpion EVO 3, this 9mm subgun has become a favorite of Eastern European law men, and Special Forces.

Welcome to America.

Due to a whole mess of unconstitutional weapons laws we may never see the Full SMG variant of the new Scorpion, however CZ has began importing the Scorpion as a semi auto only pistol into the United States.

The Scorpion comes in a box designed for the full sized, stock equipped SMG variant. This acts as a total and complete taunt to gun owners. The pistol ships with two 20 round magazines, a bit odd when the standard is traditionally 30 round. I believe this was for two reasons, as a homage to the original Skorpion and it’s 20 rounds magazines. The second reason is pure capitalism, to release 30 round mags after the fact to simply sell more mags.

If Looks Could Kill

The CZ Scorpion is a sharp looking weapon. The Scorpion is ultra modern, and the heavy addition of rails gives it a menacing look. You have a right, left, and bottom rail for accessories, and a full length top rail for optics. The weapon looks mean, looks aggressive, the kind of gun that gives Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi nightmares. The Scorpion earns it’s name as a sleek little arachnid with some sting behind it.

The Scorpion is a large pistol, but that’s because in reality it should be a submachine gun. I purchased my model with the AR buffer tube adapter that allows the user to use an AR pistol buffer tube and the SIG brace. If someone goes the NFA route they could screw on a standard AR rifle tube and use any AR stock. Pretty handy for those looking to go that route. I plan on making my Scorpion a short barreled rifle once CZ releases the actual Scorpion stock.

The magazines are a translucent polymer that gives the Scorpion an even more aggressive look when loaded. The charging hand is similar to the H&K MP5. The charging handle is non reciprocating, and can be swapped from left to right. The weapon has a last round bolt hold open, and the bolt can be locked backwards with a locking notch.

The Magazine release is ambidextrous and can be activated with a simple press of the index finger. The mags drop free and clear with any wiggle or effort. The weapon comes equipped with a forward hand stop to prevent your hand from getting in front of the barrel, this hand stop is adjustable and completely removable. The sights that top the rails are excellent, honestly I want these as back up irons on all of my guns. The peep sight has four different sights that rotate, from large open peep for close range to small sites for precision shots. The front sight is pretty standard post, adjustable with an AR type tool.

The Bang Bang

So does it have form and function? Right out the bat the mags are nice and stiff but they work, and feed perfectly. I ran the weapon right out of the box without so much a slube and had zero problems. Accuracy was top notch out of the cold hammer forged barrel.

The superb sights helped quite a bit, as did the long sight radius on this pistol. The worst part was the trigger was stiff and very heavy. I’m sure why when most CZ pistols have a superb triggers but the Scorpion is a bit of a disappointment in the trigger department.

Of course the pistol is a bit larger than your average hand cannon and it feels a bit awkward. It definitely requires two hands to get the most out of it. Pressing the weapon outward and locking the support hand gave me the best results. Since the weapon comes with more sling mounts than you’ll ever need I suggest using a one point sling for more support.

Utilizing the SAS method with a one points gives even more support. If you’re not familiar the SAS method is to keep the sling tight to the point when you extend your arms to shoot the sling is taunt. This aids in support of the weapon and makes it easier to fire.

Perhaps you’ve fired and AR or AK pistol? Well this weapon is a bit easier to handle. It’s lighter in weight and the 9mm has less recoil and concussion than 5.56 or 7.62 x 39. In fact the weapon has barely any recoil and is quite easy and enjoyable to shoot for anyone regardless of shooting experience or size.

The main downside is the ambi safety. Handy for lefties but terrible for right handers. You see the safety is nice and big, but it digs into the hand of righties. It’s not exactly painful, but it’s not pleasant. Luckily CZ has released a safety for righties and it’s about 12 bucks from CZ directly. Not too bad of a compromise.

Purpose

So what is the purpose of this weapon? Without a stock it’s just a very bulky pistol right? Well yes this is half true. The weapon is a bit awkward to handle. It’s best purpose would be to do the paperwork and turn it into a short barreled rifle, equipped with a nice solid stock. However as a pistol it could serve a number of functions outside of range toy.

The weapon small size makes it a good option for a truck or trunk gun for those situations where a concealed carry pistol might not be good enough. For home defense there maybe better options but the Scorpion does have some unique advantages. First it’s handier than a rifle and shotgun, but has more capacity than most pistols. The longer sight radius, or the fact an optic is easily mounted makes it easier for reaction shooting than iron sights.

The pistol’s 7 inch barrel is also going to help in the velocity department and give your pistol some real added velocity and oomp right out of the gate. The magazines are easier to change, and a light can be easily mounted near anywhere you’d want with all the available rail space.

The Scorpion is an excellent fun gun though, and that’s where it shines. Definitely something that will draw the eye at the range and gets attention. The weapon is put together extremely well and excludes quality. While I can nitpick the small things I do love this little pistol.

 

Photo credit – CZ-USA &  Nowork114