Come and CZ's

[5ontarget]

Just got back from the gun shop, Czech these out.
(ok that's about enough of the bad puns)
Here's a quick shot of the pair. I'll work on better photos and a range report later.



The gun on the left is a CZ82 9x18, and the one on the left is a CZ52 7.62x25.
The 82 was a suprise to me. It points well for me, although I haven't shot it yet. I'm not use to looking at a polygonal barrel, so it looks a bit smooth to me, but I'm told that's normal for those of us used to looking at traditional rifling. The trigger is remarkably light in both DA and SA, considering the normal military/LE type triggers. magazine capacity is 12rds.
The CZ52 has a substantially heavier pull, although I didn't get a great feel on it yet, as dry firing these pistols is bad on the firing pins. So my test was to pull the trigger and catch the hammer before it fell, and that doesn't come natural to me. I still have to decosmo it and then I'll test fire it. I'm sure there's some cosmoline gumming things up some too. Hopefully, within the next week I'll have them both up and running.

[Callahan]

Nice pair of Czech pistols, 5ontarget! I remember reading about the CZ52 when it first became available in the U.S. Apparently that 7.62x25 is a pretty hot cartridge. You have any trouble finding ammo? Is there someone making it now or is it all surplus?

The other one is in 9x18 Makarov. Either one has more punch than the puny .380 ACP I tote around!

[5ontarget]

There is plenty of surplus 7.62x25 on the market right now. I've heard rumors that new production ammo is banned from importation due to its ability to defeat body armor. I'm not sure why surplus stuff is legal though. Like I said, that is just some internet rumoring I've heard. Current price on ammo is somewhere about $110/1,224rd for surplus. This cartridge was the fastest cartridge for a while. It surpassed the venerable 7.63mauser. I could see where that little round nosed bullet could defeat body armor. It has a nice fireball, and very loud report. I'm thankful the gun is a big heavy chunk of steel.

I haven't written the review for the 52 yet, but I take back what I might have said about the trigger not being too bad. Once I got it cleaned up, the trigger seemed to get worse. I'll definitely be doing some additional trigger work on it. I have a couple "how-to" pages downloaded that I'll be examining in the up coming weeks.

[TMan]

5OT, I'll be interested to know what you do for the trigger. When I completely tore mine down to clean it, after buying it, I had a hard time getting the sear back in right. I'm kind of nervous about taking it apart again, but if I could get down under 3lbs, I'd really like the gun.

See my modification post about the firing pin: handgunforum.proboards3.com/index.cgi?board=interest&action=display&n=1&thread=1887

[ron]

Local shop has a barely used CZ75B for $350. Great price for a fine gun, but I just bought a Springfield 1911A1 (with the U.S. on the grip) and an immaculate 1974 Remington 1100, so there's no more hobby money in the jar.

Ron

[TMan]

Ron, maybe you can "borrow" from another jar? ;D

5OT, I shot the 52 today for the first time after putting in the Harrington firing pin. It definitely reduced the trigger pull, but I really noticed the "trigger slap". This is the first time I've noticed this in a semi-auto. My buddy shot it and he didn't notice it. I guess I'm extra-sensitive because of the surgery I had done on my trigger finger.

And my wife thinks I'm insensitive.

I only shot 25 rounds because my finger was getting numb. Next time I'll wear gloves that cover the trigger finger. (Uncle Mike's don't).

[5ontarget]

I haven't done anything to the trigger yet. I've just ordered 31 new windows for the old house, and I'd like to get them in as soon as possible. I'm planning on getting to the pistol some time in the next month, or maybe by Christmas.

I've read some quicky hack trigger jobs that disable the decocker, and drop safety. Not the options I'm looking for. From what I've read, a 3-4lb trigger is possible, mainly from polishing the retractor/lock plunger and replacing the spring with a retractable pen spring.

Beyond that, I'll have to fully dissasemble the pistol. If I do that, I'll get the Flitz out and work on the trigger face, and then the hammer/sear interface. I've read about stoning certain aspects of this, but I'm a little leary as I've also read these parts are only case hardened. That, and I'm pretty sure I'd screw it up somehow. So, these will probably only get polished, if at all.
I'll polish the trigger bar, and the sides of the trigger.

There was also a section on pretravel adjustment, but that doesn't bother me so much.

[ron]

tman said:

Ron, maybe you can "borrow" from another jar? ;D

I scraped the bottom of the jar with a butter knife and found a few more $$ there. Now, the gun shop has a dual-tone - black poly coated slide; matt nickel frame CZ 75B. The price is a little high (for me right now), but he will talk to the fellow who put it on consignment to bring the price down. I should know tomorrow.

(I gotta stop walking into the gun shop. My resistance to impetuous purchasing is way down)

Ron

[TMan]

ron said:

... My resistance to impetuous purchasing is way down)...

Resistance? What is that? ;D

I found out yesterday afternoon that my gun budget for next year is going to be zero. Like 5OT, I knew my windows needed replacing, but I had no idea what they would cost. The bottom line is $48,000 including tax, and they are made out of vinyl, not even wood. Part of the expense is because of the eyebrows, and I've got some 96" windows in height. It was a toss-up between Pella and Quantum2. I opted for the Quantum2: www.quantum2.net

[ron]

We put new windows in a few years ago. It was quite a financial hit. I saw all my motorcycle and gun fly out the window...or into the windows.

Ron

[5ontarget]

Just finished with the exterminator, and the windows have now been delivered.

I was looking at some of the fiberglass frames, or the vinyl clad wood from Marvin, for a long time. They would look better in our house. Then I got estimates on the windows and installation.

I've decided on vinyl replacements, and I'm doing the install myself. (well, I will have some help. I bribed a friend of mine to help me out. I drove him up to Camp Perry and bought him a M1 Garand. And since I was in the area, I bought another M1, and a project M1. I plan on rebarrel/chambering it to .308.) My windows are pretty good size (32" x 72"), all 31 are the same size. Currently, they are all in a room I was renovating. They aren't saving me much money leaning against the wall. I hope to get to them starting next week. Looks like the gun modifications will happen much later than sooner. Once the windows are out of the room, and where they are supposed to be, I can get back to restoring the fireplace, mantle, and repairing the floor, and working on my gun projects.

[TMan]

5OT, the windows here are like the "storm windows" up there. They have a metal frame and are set into the bricks. I have no idea on how to even remove them vs. how to put the new ones in. Also, because of the eye-brows, they have to be specially made. So, I'm kind of stuck. It is a disappointment to me wife too because she was thinking of spending the money on more cosmetic changes to the house like a new kitchen, tile, and rugs.

It is good that you can do the work by yourself. At least you have the gratification to know that if you screw it up, you did it yourself, you didn't pay someone good money only to have them screw it up.

[ron]

Sorry - off topic for windows ;D, but

I bought the CZ 75B dual tone. It fits great in my hand and points nicely. The trigger action is a little rough, but with an overall nice feel. From the looks of it, it's never been fired! The fellow who brought it in is really strange that way. The shop owner said that he has purchased literally hundreds of handguns from him. He then changes mind without ever firing it, or shoots it once and brings it back in. The CZ still has the original grease from the factory on the outside.

I'll take it over to the range on Sunday.

The CZ came with a little, plastic snap cap. Is it OK to dry fire a CZ without a snap cap?

Thanks,
Ron

[TMan]

Ron, unless you set in front of the TV for hours dry-firing it, just a few dry-firings won't cause any problems with the CZ-75. The same is not true with the CZ-52 that has the original firing-pin; with it you will likely break the firing pin.

My CZ-75B trigger has always been creepy. According to the AGI video, you need a couple of slave pins to completely reassemble the pistol, which has kept me from doing it. It may be possible to do it without the pins, I don't know.

The other problem I have is that my rear sight is slightly off to one side, and I've been unable to move it over with reasonable force. Getting a bigger hammer would probably work, but I haven't attempted it yet.

It sounds like you got a really good deal there. If I was you, I'd keep a close relationship with that dealer/customer. I only got a deal like that once, and it was on the Glock 34. The guy bought it for his girl-friend, cleaned it, presented it to her and was told what to do with it. My dealer bought it back from him as a used pistol because he had cleaned off the factory grease. I bought it from her for what she had paid him for it. She said she had made her profit from selling it to him.

The CZ-75 is a fine pistol and I've used it a lot for teaching others to shoot. I start them off with the CZ because it is easy to handle and has little recoil. If they don't do well, I just tell them that I don't shoot well with it either because the sights are off. Well, I'm not lying. However, I now have another pistol that I'll using for training new shooters and that will be the S&W M&P in 9MM with the DMP recoil-reduction system. It is sweeeet.

[5ontarget]

I think the CZ75 series is definitely one of the best deals going to a steel framed 9mm. For $350, you got an even better deal. Is it new enough to have the full capacity mags (16rds)?

There is also a Kadet Conversion kit for it, so you can shoot .22lr, and save money...eventually.

Maybe I "need" a CZ 75 too. That would help round out the CZ handgun collection. Of course there's still the 85, 97, 100, the new P01 (which is basicaly a compact and updated 75), then going back I have to get the 50, and the 70. On second thought, maybe I just "need" a 75 to shoot, and not start on a collection. I still have at least three guns higher up on the list than it though. Unless, it is a deal I can't refuse.

[ron]

Thanks for the tip on dry-firing.
I think that this is the second gun I bought at the shop that once belonged to this same fellow. In fact, most regulars at the gun shop have one of this guy's former guns.
The CZ came with two, restricted mags, so I bought one high capacity mag.

Ron