I've not owned an AK and have never tried a VZ58. I wonder what you folk think of this article. Is the VZ-58 better than the AK-47?

http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/28/why-the-vz-58-is-better-than-the-ak-47

The VZ58 is a nice firearm.

The pros are:

* it's a light gun, lighter than most AK's
* safety lever is much easier to use than the AK
* seems to be more ergonomic than the Standard AK


Ths cons are:

* proprietary, and expensive magazines (no cheap surplus ones)
* zero aftermarket support ;good luck finding accessories and upgrades
* discontinued ( production has discontinued on these rifles which means it will be even added to find replacement parts )


I'm sure there are more pros & cons but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
While it is a nice firearm worthy of being in any collection, I personally don't believe it's necessarily better than an AK.

AK's are and have been built in dozens of countries around the world. Finding replacement parts, upgrades and accessories is easy.
The design has been adopted by many countries for a reason. The guns just work. Even in its cheapest crudest form, the AK is reliable.
Once you start to spend a little more on a higher quality AK, you start to get excellent accuracy as well. ( I personally own AK's that will give me 1 to 2 moa accuracy. While that is not sub moa performance, it is incredible when you consider the fact that I can do that with almost any cheap ammunition that I can find.
I've never tried match ammo or expensive hornady custom ammo.

Ultimately whichever you decide is right for you is the one you'll buy but these are my observations and opinions.

Good luck.

Thanks for your thoughts, KK. I can't think of anyone I know who has more hands on with these AKs so I value your opinion.

Yeah, I don't like getting something that only a small minority of people use... Usually, not enough vendors pay attention to stuff with a small user base and you find a hard time getting any parts or support.

If you do get a VZ I have some brand new czech mags for sale. I bought them by mistake lol. After buying them I did a lil research and it turns out the rifles are pretty good stuff. they're lighter than an AK and I really like the last round hold open feature.

Sa vz. 58 Comparison to AK-47 Type Rifle with Stamped Receiver
All vz. 58 rifles possess a milled receiver; the vast majority of AK-47s are stamped.
Even with the milled receiver it is almost one pound lighter than a stamped AK-47.
CNC machining on a vz. 58 receiver takes 2 1/2 hours; a stamped AK-47 receiver takes seconds to produce.
The bolt of the vz. 58 stays open after the last round in the magazine has been fired.
The vz. 58 can be reloaded with stripper clips while the magazine is inserted in the rifle.
The vz. 58 has a more natural point of aim and is faster handling.
The safety is more ergonomic making a faster first shot possible with the vz. 58.
The ejection port is HUGE. There is no chance of an empty case getting stuck in the action of the vz. 58.
The vz. 58 gas piston can be removed or exchanged without tools.
The alloy magazine of the vz. 58 is half the weight of the steel AK-47 magazine. (.42 lb. vs. .84 lb.)
The vz. 58 is striker fired unlike the hammer fired AK-47. This reduces the number of parts and possible points of failure.
By the end of the 1950s, the Sa vz. 58 military issued assault rifle had obtained the impressive combination of weight and length (6.42 lbs and 33.30 inches for fixed stock) to make this rifle the elite among military issued assault rifles of its class.

It remains the only assault rifle of its size that has achieved an empty weight of under 3 kilos.