[allanschisel]

These pistols are selling for so little now, I had to have one. Haven't shot it yet, but here's what I think after playing with it. It's grip is more comfortable than any 1911 I've ever held and I do like it's sites. What I don't care for is the safety position. It gets in the way of reaching for the slide release. I have larger than average hands, but still have to change my grip to take the safety off. In a 1911 type pistol, the safety is in a much better postion for for cocked and lock carry. Nice pistol, but I can see why they are going out of production (so I've heard). The CZ75 has better ergonomics, so why get a CZ40? The only reason would be price, and if a gun doesn't feel right, that's a false economy.
Allan Schisel

[Marko Kloos]

The CZ40 is supposed to emulate the grip angle of a 1911. They're fine guns, but the CZ-75 frame fits my hand a little better.

[Sean Smith]

I think the CZ-75B .40 S&W is better, too. The CZ-40 was the side effect of a joint venture with Colt that went south. Oddly enough, the virtually identical Z-40 used to be cheap too but now costs 2-3x as much... :rolleyes:

[allanschisel]

What's a Z-40?
Allan Schisel

[Freightman]

It is the ones that have Colt on the frame and slide, they only made about 800 of them I have read.
That is why they are so high.

[Walt Sherrill]

The Colt Z-40 is DAO. Everything else except the marks on the frame and slide is the same.

I had a CZ-40B for a while. Nice gun, but preferred the CZ-75 line.

There is little real difference between the CZ-75 and CZ-40; a single parts diagram would suffice for both. The parts are dimensionally different and darned few pieces interchange. The design is pure CZ-75, tweaked a bit to fit a more compact .40 package -- originally intended for the LEO market in the US.

The gun was to be jointly marketed with Colt, but Colt was having "direction"/management problems, and backed out of the joint venture. Nothing in the design is Colt -- the grip angle is Browning, everything else is CZ. Colt did make sure that the DAO trigger was very nice -- according to those folks lucky enough to find and shoot them.

Both guns will use the standard CZ-75B .40 mags, but not vice versa.

[Andrew Wyatt]

The CZ-40 is awful fat, and the trigger is rather far out there.

The double action pull is good, for a double action pull.


Single action is just okay.


Dad seems to like his.

[Spot77]

I just got my CZ-40 (used) and put 50 rounds through it. When I got home I compared my target with the factory test target, and the results were almost identical....a little low and to the left at 25ft.

I agree that the CZ75B is a lot nicer, but I still love my 40.

[J. Parker]

I too, had a CZ-40 for a short time. Good, solid, reliable pistol. I put about 200 rounds through it without a hiccup before I traded it for somethin' else. Best, John

[CZSteve]

Have the 40B I had picked up locally for $275.00 + tax.

I'm probably in the minority that the 40B fitted my hands better than the 75B.
I personally LOVE the looks of the 75 and had to let the 40B grow on me. But, I'm a form-follows-function kind a guy anyway.

Only change I have made is to install a heavier recoil spring.
I use the 'sling-shot' method to release the slide and treat the lever as a 'slide stop' (yes I know; to each his own);) .
Plan on having XS Express Big Dots installed in the future.

Overall, have been VERY impressed and PLEASED.

Steve

[wingman]

Only change I have made is to install a heavier recoil spring.


what spring did you use.??

[CZSteve]

Ordered an 18 lb spring from Wolff made for the CZ75B, don't have a direct replacement for the 40B.

Ended up cutting a total of 7 coils off to provide proper fit and prevent 'stackin'.

Check out this thread currently on www.czforum.com

http://pub105.ezboard.com/fczechpistols82792frm20.showMessage?topicID=369.topic

[chaim]

I had a CZ 40B that I just sold (Spot77 here on this very thread).

It was a very good gun, in fact just before turning it over I was in a converstation w/ my best friend and it came up that this was my only current auto with absolutely ZERO problems (other than a very slightly loose rear sight that simply needed the correct size allen or hex wrench to fix). My CZ 75 had so few hiccups you could count them on one hand in about 4-5K rounds, my Bersa did a few odd things in dry fire when brand new but nothing while firing or after about 100 trigger pulls, my Charles Daly is great, but this CZ 40 had nothing ever go wrong.

However, it still isn't for everyone.

It is a slightly downscaled full-size gun. It has a 4" barrel so it loses a little accuracy v. other full-sized guns (like the nearly 5" CZ 75) and the alloy frame makes it a little lighter and thus recoil is snappier than a steel frame would make it. However, it isn't a compact either being quite thick so concealment isn't really any easier than a full-size.

For me it was just that I didn't need a compromise gun (half-carry, half-fullsize/range gun). I have enough guns that I may as well have one that solidly fits each desired niche (and this isn't quite a service caliber compact) and I don't have so many as to have one that doesn't really fit my scheme of things solidly just because I like it.

I also didn't like the caliber much. I love .45acp and .40s&w will never be a .45. I also like 9mm and feel that if you think through your ammo choices carefully enough (stay w/ premium self defense loadings) you will be well served by 9mm.

For me it just wasn't a good fit. Despite that though, I really did like that gun alot and I hated to see it go.

For many people there is much to be said for it however. CZ quality! It is incredibly reliable. It is as accurate as most service pistols. The gun weighs only 28oz (great for a service pistol) so it would carry pretty easily for most people. Despite being a little wide, I think many people could manage to conceal it (it is just that I plan on IWB so I'd prefer a more trim auto). I think that for someone who needs/wants something that is better at the range than most compact guns and better for carry than most full-size guns it is a great compromise. Many people feel comforted by the .40S&W chambering- lighter and smaller than .45acp but you don't have to think through your ammo choices as carefully as you'd have to for a 9mm. It would also make a darned good police or armed security gun where concealability isn't such an issue (in fact this is the market it was originally designed for when Colt had CZ design it for them).

[lazhuward]

I got a CZ-40 a few months ago. The price was around $280, which seems pretty incredible.

At the gun shop, I spent a long time handling a 75B and the CZ-40 side-by-side. Strangely enough, the ergonomics of the CZ-40 were more appealing to me, even though my hands are slightly small.

So far, I really like the gun. It is fat, but it's surprisingly light for its size. The trigger isn't perfect, but it's gotten a lot better in SA with use. I also see why people put a stronger recoil spring in the gun, but I haven't felt it necessary to do that myself.

[chaim]

I got a CZ-40 a few months ago. The price was around $280, which seems pretty incredible. Man I can't wait to get out of MD. The CZ 40 is around $380-400 here now. Then again we pay $550 for a SA Mil-spec and around $500 for most new S&W K-frames.

I'm glad you like yours. I've had good luck on CZ triggers, not eveyone likes them but my CZ 75B has an incredible trigger (SA is slightly better than my best friend's 85 Combat and the DA is much better than his) and the CZ 40B had a good trigger. As far as ergonomics, since it is highly subjective I'm not that surprised that some people prefer the CZ 40B (though most do like the 75 better).