CZ 75 SP 01 9mm Failure to Extract

[razorback2003]

About every 50 to 100 rounds I am having failure to extract problems with my CZ 75 SP 01 9mm. The gun will feed the fresh shell in the chamber but not fully eject the old shell out. This is with various factory Remington, Winchester, Federal 115 grain FMJ brands of practice ammo. I have about 800 rounds now in the gun. Is this common? The gun is cleaned as usual. Should it be sent to CZ USA to be fixed? Get a new extractor and/or extractor springs?

This is a great shooting handgun and cheap centerfire ammo. I even plan on reloading 9mm ammo for it. I sold a Glock 19 9mm that I didn't shoot well originally and another gun later to eventually end up with this gun. The Glock, though I didn't shoot it as well as this gun, had 9,000 rounds through it....no problems except for cheap CCI Blazer and once when using aftermarket mags.

This was supposed to be my house gun! If this is a quirky gun that is mainly just supposed to be a fun range gun, should I have gone with a Sig or Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm? Reliability is #1 since this is a self defense gun.

 

[Pilot]

I don't think its a common problem. However, you may need a new extractor spring, which are easily replaced in a few minutes. Get a CZ or Wolff extra power extractor spring and install that, and see if the problem goes away.

 

[schmeky]

Pilot is giving good advice, and he's right, it's not a common problem, but it can happen.

I would take the barrel to a local smith and have him polish the be-jezuz out of the chamber. Stop at about 1,000 grit, finish with a fine polishing compound. Then it would dern near extract w/o an extractor.

Should cost very little; I doubt CZ-USA would do this, but you never know.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

Springs are the weak point on all CZ's I am betting it's the extractor spring. I would by a replacement Extra power spring from wolf which is a cut/sand to fix spring but is worth the time. Also not a bad idea to replace the recoil springs and hammer springs. Note: if you get a recoil spring from wolf it's said to be better to get a hi power recoil spring as they don't have CZ recoil spring they are made for the EAA witness. Or you could just get them all for CZcustom and they should drop in. Also check to see if your extractor hook is broken. After that it should ran all day.

PS.
extra 10% mag springs are also a good idea.

 

[schmeky]

Springs are the weak point on all CZ's

Based on?

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Based on?

He's right. Springs are the number one culprit in most CZ issues. Extractor springs in particular have been responsible for more than their fair share of issues.

 

[armoredman]

All my CZ pistols, 11 so far, no issues, so it's not that common. First things first, call 1-800-955-4486, and tell CZ-USA, they have an excellent customer service department

 

[Thompsoncustom]

Not much really that was just my own research lead me to after it happened to me. Got my cz 75b and put about 200 rounds through it before the extractor spring went out that's why I did research on it and found it a problem also I have about 1500 rounds through it and both my stock mag springs need replace. Now i'm not CZ hating I love my gun and wouldn't trade it for many but it just seems to me that springs are something they could improve on. I have had no problems with my recoil spring and still use the stock one but I replace the hammer spring just because I wanted a lighter one. The trigger return spring seems a lot stronger than it needs to be. But like I said still a wonderful gun and springs are easy to replace and cheap.

 

[razorback2003]

Yes, the empties are frequently thrown towards my head instead of towards the right. That is what gave me a hint that this could be an extractor problem.

What is interesting is shooting 124 +P Remington Golden Sabers I haven't had problems empties getting stuck extracting, except for empties popping up high straight up, instead of to the right.

The CZ 75 SP 01 is an AMAZING handgun. I like the all steel weight, ability to have it cocked and locked, or hammer down. I can shoot dead center with this rig out a good distance over and over I think because it is heavy and single action trigger. I also like cocked and locked or hammer down for Action pistol shooting VS my old Glock. I was trained in shooting when holstering to put my thumb on the hammer of an automatic (or under if cocked/locked) to help prevent discharge...well the Glock no hammer...that got on my mind a lot the more I did live shooting at my action pistol range with the fairly light trigger, no safety, no hammer to hold when I holstered. Maybe I am extra cautious, but I don't want an accident!

I'm just ready to get this gun shooting reliable with practice ammo and eventually my reloads for fun. Then I can feel confident to put it in my nightstand to take the place of my snub 642 (heavy DAO!). Thanks folks for the advice.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

My carry is a CZ 75b and tho it's a bugger heavier gun I think it carries well. As far as reliability goes I would get a ex extractor spring and if that does fix the problem probably send it in you cz. I carry with a 15lb mainspring hammer down the lighter spring really helps with the heavy DA and improves the SA. over powered mag springs is another thing for reliability not that there is anything wrong with the stock ones but I think the over powered ones would take longer to wear out.

 

[TexAg]

I had some issues with my CZ-85, changed the recoil and extractor springs and problem solved.

 

[Pyzon]

Ditto the re-spring opinions. If you get the right person on the horn at CZ you'll get the Wolff upgraded power extractor springs sent to you absolutely free, and if you are really lucky, maybe even a new extractor, also free. These folks are old fashioned about customer service.

And I almost forgot to mention, my 75B in .40 S&W is not usually happy with WWB stuff for some reason, but everything else works great.

 

[armoredman]

Ask for Adam or Matt.

 

[eerw]

not very common problem..Have seen two guns that showed this problem. One was cured by recutting the ejector. the other was determined to be one particular brand of brass.

Never have had a problem with extractor springs, have seen people run too heavy of a recoil spring though.

 

[jmr40]

Weak springs are VERY common on CZ's from the factory. Between my brother and I we have owned 6 of various configurations. Everyone of them worked just fine for a few months and all started giving problems. Read the forums enough and you will note this is a very common problem.

I wouldn't trust my life to any CZ until every factory spring in the gun and all magazines had been replaced.

 

[schmeky]

ThompsonCustom,

Your post indicated "all" CZ's, I respectfully say this is inaccurate. I have several personal CZ's and have worked on several dozen. Not seen a defective spring yet.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

Ya my bad I didn't mean that CZ's come from the factory with bad springs more that just if something happens to be or go bad on a CZ it is most likely the springs than say the extractor. Most people report no problem with there springs it just seems that they have a bad few now and then.

 

[ckone]

I'd echo the others that it could be that the extractor spring is worn out and it may need a new one, but that said, it also may be as simple as breaking out a punch and hammer and removing the extractor and getting all the gunk out from behind it that can collect there.

Another thing to consider is that the SP-01's come from the factory with a way too strong 18-20lb recoil spring, I'd go down to a 13 or 14lb spring which is standard in 75's and heavy enough if you shoot a fair amount of +P stuff now and then, and not only will it probably extract better it'll feel better too and shoot flatter with less felt recoil. Myself and many others run 11lb springs in our Shadows and they run like fine watches through several thousand rounds of target FMJ and even enough +P SD/HD stuff to know it could be used for that too if needed.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

For a brief time, a few years back, CZ had a episode when batch of trigger springs were bad. They acknowledged the problem and replaced any springs if someone asked for or wanted replacements.

The extractor spring could have been stronger in the older guns, and ARE stronger in the newer ones. Cleaning out behind the extractor keeps gunk from building up there. (If crud builds up in the extractor slot in the slide, the extractor can't "close" fully and won't grasp the rim as tightly as it should. Junky/dirty ammo is the biggest offender.)

Except for that, the springs I've seen (and heard of) have been pretty good. I've had bunches of CZs and the only springs I're really replaced are the extractor springs (going to the Wolff extra strength extractor springs on my older guns). I've replaced a few mag springs, but that's not a problem unique to CZ, and many of my mags aren't "factory" -- so it's hard to blame CZ. (Mec-Gar now makes all of CZ mags, and they are the "gold standard" of magazines.)

(Note: I was a senior moderator on the old CZ forum for many years and participated there daily for years. Spring problems weren't common, nor something seen with all CZs. Nor were broken slide stops -- another myth about CZs you're see on these forums.)

 

[ckone]

Good info from Walt, no doubt, but worth mentioning (considering the particular gun), while the mag springs are indeed better these days, it still doesn't make up for the fact that CZ drops the same mag springs they use in their 16rd mags into the SP-01/Shadow 19rd mags, so the springs in them ARE pretty weak in the 19rd mags just based on poor product follow through... in competition circles it's pretty much considered essential to change out to using the +10% mag springs in the 19rd mags if you want them to run as they should, the stock ones end up biting everyone eventually (manifests itself in feed issues appearing out of the blue in a gun that was running perfectly), so I'd do the same upgrade to a SD/HD SP-01 also.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

it still doesn't make up for the fact that CZ drops the same mag springs they use in their 16rd mags into the SP-01/Shadow 19rd mags, so the springs in them ARE pretty weak in the 19rd mags just based on poor product follow through...

We've had some extended discussions on spring, spring life, and spring design here on TFL over the past year.

CZ probably uses the same springs in the 19 round mag that are used in the 10-rounder, too -- but that doesn't imply weak springs, in any case.

It does suggest, based the discussions here -- which included input from some engineers and support people familiar with the steel used in gun mag springs -- that the springs used in the 19 round mags will have to be replaced more frequently than when used in the 10 or 16 round mags.

You argue that the steel is weak, but that may not be correct. It may be that the steel used in the 19 rounders is simply the best available. There's only so much you can do with mag spring steel, and it may just be that there is no "magic bullet" available for the higher cap mags given the state of the art, when you have to push more rounds into a given space.

As I suggested in these related discussions, it appears that gun designers are increasingly considering mag springs as disposable resources, easily replaced, but pushed closer to their design limits in newer gun design. Doing so let them make guns do things that couldn't be done before.

According to the experts, pushing the springs to their design limits (and beyond) is what wears them out. So, a spring in the 19 rounder may not be an inferior spring -- just a shorter-lived spring, and there simply may not be any better solutions available.