** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
The Skorpion Machine Pistol was invented by Miroslav Rybář as his graduate thesis for the Czech Military Training Institute, and it has changed very little from its original design. The gun was adopted by Czech security forces in 1961 and saw service until 1979. Also known as the Vz 61, it is chambered in .32 ACP and feeds from detachable box magazines, is equipped with a folding buttstock and could be fired semi-automatic or fully-automatic. The Vz 61 Skorpion is not legal in the United States due to the National Firearms Act and import bans, however, they are gaining popularity in the U.S. with a version on the market that is a fully-legal semi-automatic-only pistol. For more on the Czech Skorpion Pistol, watch this "I Have This Old Gun" segment from a recent episode of American Rifleman TV.
Following World War I, Czechoslovakia needed to equip its new army, and one of its priorities was to select a service sidearm, which ultimately became the vz.27.
Italian manufacturer Chiappa is not afraid to take an original design and give it a modern twist. New for 2026, the company is taking its rimfire M1 carbine design one step further with the Bushranger.
Established in 1996 by the father-and-son team of Gus and Ryan Bader, TriStar Arms has grown into one of the firearm industry’s most respected names in value-driven products.
Why is it that, suddenly, it seems like everyone is running around with little red-dot sights mounted on top of low-power, variable optics? Well, it turns out there are reasons for that.