Advertisement for gun shop.rngame.rnMy new friend draws a map of thernCzech republic showing tlie best liuntingrnareas. I show him a business card ofrnthe CZ firearms factory I am planning tornvisit. He draws a picture of a rifle cartridgernon the map to show where an ammunitionrnfactory is located. I then takernout the gun magazine I bought inrnPrague, and my friend instantly recognizesrnIPSC action pistol matches andrnother shooting sports now openly pursuedrnin the Czech Republic. I surmisernthat mv random encounter with thisrnshooting enthusiast could be duplicatedrnanywhere in the country.rnThe train arrives at Brno, and it isrntime for the longest taxi ride of my life—rn100 kilometers (60 miles) through thernCzech countryside, passing horse-drawnrncarts, stout peasant women in traditionalrnclothing, and hillsides of grapevines forrnmaking good Czech wine (priced at 50rnCzech crowns, or about $1.50 a bottle).rnThe taxi driver speaks no English butrnplays “Drivin”‘ b Richie Havens andrnother American disco tunes throughoutrnour ride. Rock and roll is played all overrnthe republic.rnAt last I arrive in Uhersky Brod, homernof Ceskd Zbrojovka, manufacturer of thern”CZ” line of rifles, pistols, and shotguns,rnhi addition to making the classic Europeanrnhunting bolt rifles and double shotguns,rnthis firm produces about 50,000rnCZ75 semiautomatic pistols per year.rnOne of the nicest 9mm pistols ever designed,rnthe CZ75 was a’ailable to Americanrnconsumers in the mid-1980’s untilrnthe United States State Departmentrnsomehow decided that discouraging thernEastern European arms industry wouldrnweaken Soviet domination over thoserncountries. (I even tried to persuade thernBATE to reissue the import permits; thernBATE claimed that the State Departmentrnwould not consent.) The dissolutionrnof the Soviet Union has again madernthese superior firearms available tornAmericans. The firm does beautiful engravingsrnon special orders.rnMilton Kubele and Ing. Antonin Vaclavikrnexplain that the Czech firm beganrnin 1936 but was moved during communistrnrule in the 1960’s to the center of therncountry to be further away from Germany,rnwhich precipitated World War IIrnby invading Czechoslovakia in 1938.rnThe factory at Brno had made guns inrnWorld War I and still manufactures longrnguns. Confusion about the two factoriesrnpersists because both engrave theirrnfirearms as being made in Brno.rnMy hosts explain that the “Velvet Revolution”rnof 1989 heralded the right ofrnlaw-abiding people to buy guns. Anrnordinary citizen can own a CZ75 andrnpartake in pistol matches. There werernmany hunters before the revolution,rnthough nonparty members found it veryrndifficult to get permission to ownrnfirearms.rnThere were only one or two gun storesrnin Czechoslovakia during the communistrnregime. Today, there are 27 gunrnshops in Prague alone, and about 120rnacross the country. There are also manyrngun clubs and shooting ranges, and citizensrnmay use both private and militaryrnranges.rnThe CZ factory makes several variationsrnof 9mm pistols, including the 75,rnthe improved 85, and the 75 Cadet (arn.22 with the same frame size as the 75).rnOne hundred thousand pistols are maderneach year. The Skorpion submachinerngun is made for “special” purposes, andrna look-alike semiautomatic is also produced.rnEully automatic, it fires at a raternof 850 rounds per mmute. It is heldrnsideways because of unacceptable muzzlernclimb in the upright position.rnCommunism did not bring gun controlrnto Czechoslovakia—it only continuedrnNazi atrocities. Milan Kubele, arnpostwar baby like myself, related what hisrnfather told him and what is generally rememberedrntoday: the first day the Nazisrnoccupied Czechoslovakia, they put uprnposters in every town ordering the inhabitantsrnto surrender all firearms, includingrnhunting guns. The penalty forrndisobedience was death. Lists of potentialrndissidents and other suspects were alreadyrnprepared, and those persons disappearedrnimmediately. Gun owners werernactually easy pickings for the Nazis, becausernregistration of firearms with thern34/CHRONlCLESrnrnrn