CZ 9mm Makarow

[Catpop]

Yesterday I looked at a practically new CZ (sorry don't know model #) a fellow was wanting to sell for $250 incl. 4 boxes of ammo. The slide was blued and high polished; the frame, also blued, appeared to be cast. As I always do, I racked it open, flipped out my ss lock-back to reflect light down the bore and proceeded to examine the bore.
To my surprise there was NO RIFLING! NONE, ZILCH, NANAD, NOTHING!What is going on here? I quizzed the owner about this and was told he had shot less than a box of bullets through it. I know him well and believe him. It had nice sights, but why even with no rifling!
Is this the norm for CZ to produce smoothbore pistols?

 

[Telekinesis]

It's likely a CZ 82 with Polygonal rifling. Instead of traditional lands and grooves, the rifling looks like a smooth barrel that twists a little bit. Several types of guns use polygonal rifling (HK P7 for one) and there's nothing inherently wrong with it, it's just different.

Haven't kept up with prices, but $250 sounds like its in the ball park for a CZ82. You'll have to determine overall condition (or post pics) to get a better idea of what price it should go for.

If he wasn't that good of a friend or you were at a pawn shop, I might try to get them to knock the price down considerably by saying "well, I would give you $250, but the bore is completely shot out..."

 

[Pilot]

Polygonal rifling. Jump on it.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

yep, a deal on the 82 if as described - and with ammo.
the mak 9mm has more punch than the 380acp.

 

[mgmorden]

As noted - CZ-82's use polygonal rifling which looks like its not there but it is, and works very well.

Also, you might want to double-check the finish. I've never known any CZ-82's to be blued unless it was done after the fact by someone who owned it. Pretty much all of them were coated in a black paint type finish.

 

[North Bender]

What mgmorden said. If you couldn't read the model number on the slide to know what you've got I wonder if it's been reblued. Or if it's a CZ 83, commercial variety with the squared trigger guard, it would be blued.

 

[rocksolid]

Does it look like this? If so, I would jump on it. Polygonal rifling, extremely accurate and dependable. CZ 82

 

[Willie Sutton]

CZ82

Polygon rifling.

Superb handgun.

It's worth much more than $250 with the stuff included. Jump on it.


Willie

.

 

[Wishoot]

Buy it.

Ridiculously accurate pistol.

 

[BSA1]

Relax.

Glocks also have Polygon rifling as do some other manufacturers.

The CZ-82 is a surplus Commie gun that is very well made able to handle thousands of rounds.

 

[Catpop]

Polygonal rifling, well I didn't even think of that! thanks guys, But I'm still gonna shoot it first to see if it will group.
XXXXXXAlso if it is an 83, not an 82, is it still worth the money?XXXXX Just found out it is an 82
Catpop

 

[mgmorden]

Polygonal rifling, well I didn't even think of that! thanks guys, But I'm still gonna shoot it first to see if it will group.
XXXXXXAlso if it is an 83, not an 82, is it still worth the money?XXXXX Just found out it is an 82
Catpop

They're worth similar amounts - 83 probably worth a tad more. Only real difference is the 83 is chambered in .380 and the 82 is chambered in 9mm Makarov.

I own a CZ-82 but would personally rather it be an 83, just because .380 is a bit more mainstream (you find it in Wal-mart - you don't find 9mm Mak), and for reloading it can share some components with 9mm Luger.

Power wise they're pretty close. 9mm Mak is just a tad bit more powerful than .380 but its way closer to .380 than it is to 9mm Luger.

 

[il.bill]

As just about everyone else said, buy it - before someone else does. The 9x18mm Makarov ammo is worth at least 25 cents per round (have not seen any priced that low for a couple of years) so four boxes is easily a $50 value, making that a $200 pistol! Even if it is refinished, a CZ82 in decent shape is currently bringing $250 - $300 just for the pistol alone.

 

[morcey2]

If it's an 83, it could be either 380 or 32 ACP. If it's 32 ACP, the slide will be marked "7.65 Browning" on the slide. It also came in 9x18, but those weren't sent to the US at all, IIRC. I also believe that the 380 and 32 versions have standard rifling, not polygonal rifling.

I've got a CZ-82 and the only downside I've found is the expense of extra mags. They're usually in the $40+ range. That's why I only have two mags at the moment. Love the gun. It's extremely accurate. I'd jump on it.

Matt

 

[cuervo]

Wideners has CZ-82 magazines for $30. They're the same magazines for the .380 CZ-83.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

CZ-83s are available (but no longer produced) in .32, .380 and 9x18. CZ discontinued the CZ-83 in 9x18 a few years ago, then discontinued the CZ-83. The .32 version is very rare and highly sought by people who like the CZ-82/83 models.

The 83 is a newer gun with some minor changes, and parts will be easier to find (although only a few are different) than with the CZ-82.

Either gun is a great shooter, and both have reputations for durability, accuracy, and reliability. The price is good.

(I had one and shot it some without paying attention to the rifling -- or lack of it. When I got ready to sell it, I cleaned it up and looked at the barrel and saw ... no rifling! Did a little reading, and found that it was OK -- and you can see a mild twist if you look closely.) Great little guns; I like them better than the Makarov, but they're a bit larger.

 

[Furncliff]

CZUSA still services the CZ 82, they did a great job with mine. THe CZ 82 and the CZ83 share 99% of their parts. All parts are available from CZUSA.

 

[North Bender]

... Great little guns; I like them better than the Makarov, but they're a bit larger.

For some reason mention of the CZ 82 always seems to bring out this comment, or the vice versa comment that someone likes their Makarov better. The CZ 82 and the Makarov are completely different pistols and only shoot the same caliber. I don't follow 9mm conversations much but does the same phenomena happen with that caliber? If you ask a question on a specific Glock model do people routinely post that they like their Sig better?

 

[agtman]

Picked this one up for a song. We got rid of the chipping Commie black paint and re-did it in "Multi-Cam" with GunKote (ODG slide; FDE frame).

Turned out to be great little shooter. Just wish the 9x18 Mak surplus ammo was still widely available & cheap.

CZ 82

 

[TennJed]

CZ-83s are available (but no longer produced) in .32, .380 and 9x18. CZ discontinued the CZ-83 in 9x18 a few years ago, then discontinued the CZ-83. The .32 version is very rare and highly sought by people who like the CZ-82/83 models.

The 83 is a newer gun with some minor changes, and parts will be easier to find (although only a few are different) than with the CZ-82.

Either gun is a great shooter, and both have reputations for durability, accuracy, and reliability. The price is good.

(I had one and shot it some without paying attention to the rifling -- or lack of it. When I got ready to sell it, I cleaned it up and looked at the barrel and saw ... no rifling! Did a little reading, and found that it was OK -- and you can see a mild twist if you look closely.) Great little guns; I like them better than the Makarov, but they're a bit larger.

You don't hang around revolver threads much do you? S&W and Ruger will forever be compared when the topic of 357 or 44 comes up. The reason is, there are only a couple of big players in that game. Your 9mm glock/sig is not a fair comparison because there are lots of companies with lots of fans. In the Makarov round, the CZ 82 and Makarov are the 2 big players, so it is natural for you to see the comparisons.

 

[PabloJ]

Yesterday I looked at a practically new CZ (sorry don't know model #) a fellow was wanting to sell for $250 incl. 4 boxes of ammo. The slide was blued and high polished; the frame, also blued, appeared to be cast. As I always do, I racked it open, flipped out my ss lock-back to reflect light down the bore and proceeded to examine the bore.
To my surprise there was NO RIFLING! NONE, ZILCH, NANAD, NOTHING!What is going on here? I quizzed the owner about this and was told he had shot less than a box of bullets through it. I know him well and believe him. It had nice sights, but why even with no rifling!
Is this the norm for CZ to produce smoothbore pistols?

If you need reliable defensive handgun that is very good price for CZ82 in excellent condition with four boxes of ammo. I would rather have that over Keltec, Taurus or R51.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

For some reason mention of the CZ 82 always seems to bring out this comment, or the vice versa comment that someone likes their Makarov better. The CZ 82 and the Makarov are completely different pistols and only shoot the same caliber.

They are completely different pistols -- but so were the TT-33 and CZ-52, and we see them compared regularly.

While the Makarov and CZ-82 were different pistols, they were BOTH designed to function in the exact same role: to serve as a military sidearm for those who needed them. The Czechs could have adopted the Makarov, but chose to do their own thing. Both guns did what they were designed to do, and did it quite well.

Had I been a Warsaw Pact soldier who had to carry a sidearm, and was given a choice, I think I would have picked a CZ-82. It was slightly larger, but had 50% more rounds (12 rather than 8) in the mag. I doubt that any had the choice offered to them.

 

[Byrd666]

If you don't want it. I DO. GREAT lil' pistols

 

[PabloJ]

They are completely different pistols -- but so were the TT-33 and CZ-52, and we see them compared regularly.

While the Makarov and CZ-82 were different pistols, they were BOTH designed to function in the exact same role: to serve as a military sidearm for those who needed them. The Czechs could have adopted the Makarov, but chose to do their own thing. Both guns did what they were designed to do, and did it quite well.

Had I been a Warsaw Pact soldier who had to carry a sidearm, and was given a choice, I think I would have picked a CZ-82. It was slightly larger, but had 50% more rounds (12 rather than 8) in the mag. I doubt that any had the choice offered to them.

Since stripping down to small parts isn't required I would also take CZ82 over PM. It is light has better sights and higher magazine capacity over original Makarov pistol.

 

[North Bender]

They are completely different pistols -- but so were the TT-33 and CZ-52, and we see them compared regularly.

While the Makarov and CZ-82 were different pistols, they were BOTH designed to function in the exact same role: to serve as a military sidearm for those who needed them. The Czechs could have adopted the Makarov, but chose to do their own thing. Both guns did what they were designed to do, and did it quite well.

Had I been a Warsaw Pact soldier who had to carry a sidearm, and was given a choice, I think I would have picked a CZ-82. It was slightly larger, but had 50% more rounds (12 rather than 8) in the mag. I doubt that any had the choice offered to them.

Walt .... just because someone has compared a TT-33 to a Tok ... back to my original question. Why say one pistol is "better" than the other? They are different guns.