CZ 83 discontinued?

It's my understanding the Kadet pistol will also be on the chopping block. Probably due to excessive cost compared to cheaper offerings on the market.

I can see why. Truthfully while the nearly identical CZ-82 has enjoyed great popularity I think that was mostly due to its price. At the full price of a new CZ-83, most people don't want a rather large double-stack .380. While that round itself has been experiencing renewed popularity its mostly been in little pocket guns.

About the only place I could see wanting such a .380 in quantity would be Mexico where .380 is the largest caliber auto-loader they can own.

I can see a surge in CZ 82 and Makarov s as a result of this .

Just to clarify, only the full Kadet was discontinued. The slide will still be offered.

Could we get a link to the story or something? I have a hard time believing they would discontinue the 83. I have one and love it. If it does go away I guess I'm glad I have mine. It is a great design.

any CZ pistol is good IMO

It's my understanding the Kadet pistol will also be on the chopping block. Probably due to excessive cost compared to cheaper offerings on the market.

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But, they are still making the Kadet upper. If you place a Kadet upper on a 75 frame you have a Kadet pistol.

I don't understand why they are discontinuing the complete model. They are still making all the parts. All they have to do is assemble it.........

I don't understand why they are discontinuing the complete model. They are still making all the parts. All they have to do is assemble it.........

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Because the stand alone CZ 75 Kadet never really got enough traction in the market and no longer makes good economic sense to keep in production. the production capacity previously used to make the Kadet can now be, most likely already has been turned toward making more of the 75-series guns that actually sell.

the overwhelming majority of folks interested in the Kadet (both the full gun and the conversion kit) are owners of regular CZ75/85 pistols. Most of those people are going to simply buy the conversion kit, because it has the advantage of letting you practice with the trigger, controls, etc of your fullbore gun and does so at a lower inital cost than a new complete gun.

then on the side of the folks looking for a stand-alone .22 $600+ is a bit of a stretch for most of them, just the conversion kit has a higher MSRP than many of the popular .22 pistols on the market.

Both the Kadet and 83 are priced new below the Beretta comparable offerings so if they ain't selling it's not all price point.

I always wanted a CZ83. When I found the CZ82 at the LGS, I got it. It was much cheaper than the 83, since it's a surplus gun, and it's 9x18, which I like better than .380.

Well, I'm glad I got mine this year, then. I love the 83, even prefer it to the 84 FS Inox I had before it.

Both the Kadet and 83 are priced new below the Beretta comparable offerings so if they ain't selling it's not all price point.

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No, it's not all price point. In the case of the Kadet (i offer no oppinion on the 83), CZ simply sells noticably more of the conversion sets than they did of the "pistol" version.
So if a decision was/is made to trim back the offerings, the stand-alone Kadet makes a real easy target for elimination.

I think the main reason the non-conversion Kadet didn't sell as well as CZ expected (or more likely suffered a drop in sales) is that the functional market for the gun turned out to be shooters that already had a 9mm or .40 CZ75/85 and frankly it's a lot easier for someone who already has a 75/85 to simply buy the conversion kit (since it's a "part/accessory" and not a "firearm") regardless of any price issues.

and those berettas (the 87 is what i assume your talking about) have what a decade or more head start over the Kadet outside of the former eastern bloc? that makes a difference. The Kimber Rimfire Target is a better direct match market wise, and again Kimber admits they sell more conversion kits than complete .22lr 1911s.

But where price point does come in is when one considers what the majority of the .22 pistol market in the U.S. is. whether a shooter wants a dedicated plinker, or a practice gun with a lower "feeding cost" most American shooters are not looking to pay north of $600 for it. this means guns like the Kadet, Beretta 87, and Kimber rimfire target have rather shallow markets here

It makes sense to me that they'd cut it because they're competing with surplus 82's that sell for 1/3 of the price.

I don't get why they discontinued so many different finish options though. For instance the satin nickel CZ75B is being discontinued as are the two tone models. I'm just kind of surprised, I own a CZ75B in satin nickel and they look very classy.

84 FS Inox

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Is that a European offering? or are including nickel in the Inox catagory? I've only seen blued and nickel 80 series.

But where price point does come in is when one considers what the majority of the .22 pistol market in the U.S. is. whether a shooter wants a dedicated plinker, or a practice gun with a lower "feeding cost" most American shooters are not looking to pay north of $600 for it. this means guns like the Kadet, Beretta 87, and Kimber rimfire target have rather shallow markets here

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And getting shallower thanks to plastic/zinc, how long before the Ruger MK line joins the Colt woodsman in the dusty bins of American gun history.

I wish Beretta would sell a .22 M87 conversion kit so I could put it on my M85FS .380.

And getting shallower thanks to plastic/zinc, how long before the Ruger MK line joins the Colt woodsman in the dusty bins of American gun history.

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I don't know about that. Do you think Ruger will come out with a polymer framed MK III with the same grip angle, ergos, etc? Interesting thought. I do prefer the steel framed MK II.

I don't foresee the Ruger going away any time soon. They sell a metric buttload (to use the technical term) of those guns and there's no plastic alternative that's catching up to them. There are a few good looking plastic guns (Sig/Walther make some, for instance), but they're often plagued by malfunctions and are largely considered toys. The Ruger Mark II/III pistols are inexpensive, reliable and proven guns - it's no wonder they sell so many.

When the polymer framed 22/45 came out, I thought maybe Ruger was going to replace the MK II with it. Glad they haven't although I do have a MK II era 22/45, I have three other MK II's that I prefer. The polymer is nice for field use though, and a Paclite barrel would be awesome on it.

I doubt the MK series is going anywhere anytime soon. It is one of the best selling pistols in it's class. The reason alot of people get it is because of the steel frame.

I don't believe the 83 is going away. From what I understand, only glossy blue and nickel 83's are gone. The poly-finished 83 will continue to be manufactured I believe. Most of what got hit are pistols that use the nickel finish. That means CZ is not going to be making nickel-finished arms any more. The pistol that has gotten the axe in any significant way is the CZ-97 (though supposedly they are being replaced by a new model that is just an upgrade).

CZ sells remarkable pistols at an almost unbelievable price point. I would imagine their executives have decided to cut production costs -- by limiting finish options rather than by taking quality shortcuts -- so they can maintain that price point. I would applaud that action.

If they really are nixing the 83, no worries. There are plenty of used ones, and since they shoot that anemic little .380 round, nobody likes them. So if you want one you'll be able to find one.

Glad the Kadet conversion kit isn't being axed