Our review sample arrived fitted with a fixed stock. Along with the rifle were four 30-round magazines, mag pouch, sling, cleaning gear, bayonet and a folding stock. Built on a machined steel receiver and fitted with an original .vz 58 barrel, the VZ2000 looks much better than your average Kalashnikov.

Picking up the VZ2000, the first thing you notice is the light weight. At only 6.4 pounds, it's a very quick handling piece that is comfortable in the hands. The bolt handle is located on the right side of the weapon and, unlike an AK, the VZ2000 does feature a bolt hold-open latch.

The safety is located on the right side of the receiver and is fairly easy to manipulate with your trigger finger (right-handed) or thumb (left-handed). The magazine release is an AK-style paddle.

Sights are similar to an AK's and consist of a post front sight adjustable for windage and elevation and an open notch rear tangent. The rear sight is calibrated from 100 to 800 meters and has a 300-meter battle sight setting marked U (univerzalni).

One interesting feature is a stripper clip guide that is machined into the bolt carrier. This allows empty magazines to be quickly reloaded using stripper clips.

Another nice feature is the folding stock, which is easily mounted in place of the fixed stock. A simple, durable and fairly comfortable unit, it features cast-off like an expensive shotgun to make the weapon more comfortable. A much more durable design than the underfold stocks utilized on AKs, it locks up solid with no wobble.

For testing I ditched the fixed stock and mounted the sidefolder. This makes for a compact package barely 26 inches long with the stock folded. With the stock unfolded, length is still only 34 inches.

The rifle zeroed without incident and shot acceptably well off the bench at 100 yards. Average group size for five five-shot groups using Wolf Performance Ammunition's 122-grain FMJ load was three inches. Average velocity for 10 shots measured with an Oehler 35P chronograph came in at 2,330 fps.

Running it through drills showed it to be quick to the shoulder, fast handling and capable of rapid hits on steel inside of 100 yards. Recoil was similar to that of an AK, but the pulse was a bit different due to the short-stroke gas system.

One nice feature is that the bolt locks back on the last round. The safety proved easier to manipulate than your average rack-grade AK but not as user friendly as an AR. Due to the magazine release being protected, though, magazine changes are a bit more difficult than with an AK when firing left-handed.

I finished testing by engaging steel silhouettes at 100, 200 and 300 yards. Again, the VZ2000 performed well during these drills, providing rapid hits when I concentrated on the sights.

All in all, I came away fairly impressed by Ohio Ordnance Works' VZ2000. Mated to a good domestic 7.62x39mm load, the VZ2000 would provide very good terminal performance on medium-size game or for defense. Price is a bit steep at $1,250, but for your money you get an extremely well-made and well-built rifle.