CZ 97 BD vs SR11. I'm not sure of my next .45 acp purchase

Get the SR11.

I have nothing but great things about it. I have a SIG GSR 1911 myself. I held a CZ 97 BD but put it back. It was OK but did not feel the great in my hands and the trigger left a lot to be desired.

A nice 1911 is a really fun gun to shoot.

I suspect these two guns will feel very different from one another in the hand and you really need to hold (and preferably shot) both of them to figure this out. I wouldn't necessarily judge the 97 by it's stock trigger, as a lot of CZ's perform their best trigger-wise with a bit of work. Were it me, I would try and first decide do I want a CZ or a 1911. If the answer is a 1911, I wouldn't limit myself to the Ruger, as they're hard to find and untested at this point. Not saying I would definitely not get the Ruger, but you have a lot of options around that price range.

The 97 is a big ole' honkin' thing of a gun. I love CZ's, but the 97 is just too big IMO.

These are very different 45s. I would suggest shooting them if you can before making your choice. The CZ is big and I have found only fits those with larger hands. The 1911 can be made to fit a lot of hands.

Both should serve you well but without more info it's hard to say which one will be better for you.

The 97 reminds me of my Witness, which I LOVE. Maybe one day I'll get to shoot one and compare them.

Hossfly68 said:

The 97 reminds me of my Witness, which I LOVE. Maybe one day I'll get to shoot one and compare them.

Click to expand...

IIRC the Witness is a 97 clone.

I have both 1911s and a CZ 97B. Both are great guns, but the CZ is the more accurate of the two types. That is, more accurate than my mid-level 1911s. I'm sure a high end 1911 will give it a run for it's money, but if you're looking at $500 to $800 1911s, the CZ will probably out shoot them. For me, it does not matter much, as both types tend to be more accurate than I can consistently shoot.

The downside of the CZ is the size. It really is not too big for an average person to shoot, but it's big. I'm 5'7" and am comfortable with the 97, but the 1911s do fit me better. Best of all fit wise for me is a CZ 75. The CZ is about 2 ounces heavier than my Springfield full size 1911, but can carry 10+1 vs. 8+1 in the springer. If you are thinking about adding night sights, you may have an easier time finding some 1911 sights than you would with the CZ sights. Then again, mine is the B, not the BD and I think the CZ 97BD already comes with night sights. Not so with the B.

Another gun to check out is the Sarsilmaz K2 in .45. It's a CZ clone that carries 14+1, but it's a heavy gun. The workmanship is excellent and they have fully forged frames and slides. I have an Armalite AR24, also built by Sarsilmaz and love the workmanship on it. But, it's heavy.

The CZ, like a 1911 can be completely taken down to the last pin and put together again without too much trouble, but the 1911 is nicer in that category. The CZ's need a couple of slave pins to completely take them down and reassemble, but only if you pull the trigger spring and sear cage apart. The CZ also tends to make use of roll pins captured by friction where as the 1911 tends to use solid pins that are mechanically captured. The only real difference there is that the roll pins have a greater chance of deforming on removal than solid pins do.

I'm really nit-picking to try to find anything that better with one over the other. Both are great guns though. The one thing I do like better with the 1911 is the safety placement. The CZ 97 has it a bit farther forward than is found on 1911s and my medium sized hands need to roll the gun a bit to reach it with my thumb. That would be different on the CZ 97BD though, as I think the decocker sits aft of where the safety sits.

Just some thoughts that might be helpful.

Thanks,
Tim

I started with a Sig 220, couldn't deal with the ergos, fiddly controls and single stack.

Bought a 21SF, happy with the simple controls and lower bore axis but that stupid grip angle messed up my scores. Trigger was abysmal.

Got my years-long object of affection, a 97b. Now all is well with the world again.

Hey guess what guys, the 97b is the same size as a 75b. Same height, length, width. The only difference is the LOP is longer, and it has a long dust cover. It might be 1/4" longer in slide length, barely noticeable.

Ok, since everyone likes pictures...the 97b is on the bottom. Yes, there are two guns in there.

I find the CZ97 to be my most accurate .45.
It does feel bigger in my average size hands than a CZ75, but it's for sure shootable. Interesting picture. I would have never guessed.
I

chris in va said:

Ok, since everyone likes pictures...the 97b is on the bottom. Yes, there are two guns in there.

Click to expand...

How about grip width with the 97 vs. the 75? Is the overall grip size of the 97 closer to something like a Beretta 92?

I'm just curious, since I have a compact CZ 75, had a Beretta 92, and find the CZ 97 very interesting.

I really want to get a 97B.

buddhas- just make sure to grab both. I would recommend the CZ but I think once you compare the grip to the 1911 you will end up with the Ruger.

Get the CZ. I've owned the Ruger but don't recommend it. Go with a forged Springfield as your first 1911.

The 97 and 75 are close, but are not the same size. There is a bit of a difference in grip width and the grip is a bit longer. That's why you have to heat a set of Hogue grips to be able to stretch them to the 97 frame. Here's a couple of photos to illustrate the difference for me. First is my CZ 75 and the second is my CZ 97. Notice how far forward my thumb extends on both. I tried to keep the photo angles the same and the grip the same.

The Sig and Ruger SR 11 line of 1911s are hard to beat.

The CZ is a good gun. I don't think it's fair to compare it to a 1911 though. Two different operating types.

I'd also look at other 1911's:
Colt
Remington
Dan Wesson
Les Baer

This is what you can expect from an out of the box 97 at 25 yards from a rest with good handloads.