The author examines an M750 sniper rifle, one of few military arms produced at Uhersky Brod.

In 1991 Brno suffered cash-flow problems and was not able to pay for the hydraulics delivered by Uhersky Brod. At the same time, Russian payment for airplane gears dried up. So CZ Uhersky Brod was directed to halt production of everything except firearms. Ironically, Strakonice revived its gun production about then, with the debut of its Model TT 75 (not the CZ Model 75) and a run of survival rifles marketed in the U.S. by ADCO.

In 1995 CZ Uhersky Brod resumed manufacture of gears and began producing precision parts for the auto industry (air-conditioning systems, for example). Meanwhile, political changes in Czechoslovakia affected the company's future. In 1989 a revolution led by poet Vaclav Havel overthrew Communist rule. Two years later Czech industries were privatized. In 1993 the country split, amicably, to form a pair of autonomous governments.

"Historically, the western part of Czechoslovakia had strong cultural and political ties to Austria," Milan explains. "Hungary's influence lay to the east. The division came naturally, given the changes in this region following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918." Czech and Slovak are both Slavic languages, close enough to be dialects. Neither resembles the Teutonic German tongue spoken in neighboring Austria. English is a foreign language indeed and has only recently made its way into schools. Few Czech people of my generation speak fluent English, save those whose work requires international contact. The Czech Republic in the West (which includes Strakonice, Brno and Uhersky Brod, as well as Prague) and the Slovak Republic to the east remain independent countries.

In 2004 Zbrojovka Brno went bankrupt, a result of what Milan calls "tunneling" -- improprieties within the company. Two years later a new firm with the Brno label emerged to produce shotguns and single-shot, hinged-breech rifles, all to be marketed by CZ. By this time, CZ was ramping up firearms production at Uhersky Brod. Pistols and rifles now accounted for 75 percent of output, and the firm was probing new markets worldwide. Its owner, apparently bullish on sales prospects for sporting arms, even bought himself a part of Brno Rifles.