CZ52: Before and After

[barnbwt]

This was a gun-show impulse buy I picked up for 200$ with 1 mag.
The photos pretty much speak for themselves...

In case they don't:
- I sanded off the most offensive machining marks on the slide/frame.
- Sanded down the top-strap (?) to remove mill marks and crummy front sight
- Full brake down completely and polished every mating surface I could
- Replaced factory locking rollers and firing pin with Harrington version
- Replaced worn out factory recoil spring with 18lb Wolff upgrade
- Replaced slide hold-open catch with aftermarket slide release lever
- Filework on the new slide release lever handle to match CZ 52 safety handle
- Re-blued every externally visible part minus pins
- Hand-made ebony grip scales to replace the factory beaver-barf furniture
- Filed-off front sight replaced with staked-on tenon sight (hand-made)
- Tiny rear sight replaced with talled hand-made version
- Magazine floorplate was replaced with a version that has a pinkie-extension

Lessons Learned:
- Bluing was easier than I thought; I bought some BC browning solution, and boiled the parts in distilled water once they rusted to turn them black. Rinse and repeat. This worked well for everything but the trigger and side plate cover, which didn't get as dark (I'm guessing an alloy difference).
- You learn a ton about a pistol and its virtues and flaws by doing a full tear-down. I was suprised by how few parts, pins, and springs were in this pistol, and by how complicated some of the machining was.
- I know exactly how each safety function of my pistol works now, and that they are all functioning properly, so I have more faith in the CZ 52 than I had previously.
- Sanding out the machine marks was tough, but I didn't learn why until drilling the tenon sight hole. The slide on this gun is ridiculously hard, like, chews up two 1/8" carbide bits to drill through .1" of slide tough. I'm not suprised that other hardened parts like the firing pins have fracture issues. I'll be checking the slide for cracks, but I doubt I'd get a warning if there were any. This slide will probably shatter like glass if you hit it hard enough.
- Having a proper shop is important, since I didn't. This was a tough one to do over a kitchen sink and an apartment balcony.
- Resolving one problem reveals others. Now that I fixed the crummy recoil spring that was causing the slide to slam around, I can tell that the trigger is slapping badly and will need some work.
- Restoring an ugly milsurp is a good thing, not an unholy sin. What was cobbled together from a mish-mash of arsenal parts, is now whole again.

If anybody has any suggestions for other modifications that I should try, speak up!
TCB

PS: these photos were from just before I installed the sights, I'll get pics of the new hardware up soon

 

[brigadier]

CZ-52 is a hot rod. You're going to love it.

There are some things you should probably change out though.

Sights, firing pin, slide-stop which you seam to have already done.

Allot of people say you should change grips but this is mostly aesthetic.

Another thing, accuracy is dramatically improved by giving it a trigger job. I've never seen another gun's practical accuracy improved by a trigger job as much as the CZ-52.

The 7.62x25 Tokarev is basically a 5.7 FN that punches harder. Range and penetration are about the same.

If you want to give it a quick and easy aesthetic makeover that'll make it look beautiful, refinish the frame in OD green and the grips in black-gray pebble stone texture. Here's an example:

If you can find a local hobby shop that sells testors model spray paint in OD green, you can pr probably complete that entire make-over for around $15.

If you're going to do any of that, you may want to look at these two tutorials. Neither are specific to the CZ-52, but both specific to the above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYmrNZOgNHs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPDxcpkceEQ

I hope I'm not breaking any rules by doing this (I checked and couldn't find any that say I can't) but here are a couple tutorials made for the CZ forum, one by myself and one by someone else.

Trigger improvement tutorial by one of the members:
http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=4980.0

Magazine release adaptation tutorial by yours truly:
http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=19365.0

 

[barnbwt]

Here's some shots of the new sights I made installed:

Before anyone asks, I am aware the front sight is way too tall. I wanted to be sure I had enough material to work with before peening it in place. It needs to lose about 1/8" I think (4" low at 3 yrds). The new sights are so much easier to use than the old ones though; I got 2" groups at ten yards (like a foot low, though) easily, even with the trigger smacking my finger.

All in all, I think I didn't do half bad for a totally inexperienced Bubbasmith,

TCB

 

[jj1962hemi]

You guys have got me thinking about a CZ 52! I just sold my CZ 70, which wasn't that pleasant a shooter, then bought a Polish Tokarev T33 which feels great and is really accurate. The 7.62 x 25 seems to be an underrated cartridge. My manual says 1,390 fps at 365 lbs/ft of energy. I'd call that a potent little cartridge!

 

[barnbwt]

jj, It is a snappy round, even in a gun as heavy as a CZ52. I've heard it's a hoot to shoot in low light. Since it's basically at magnum pressures, I would imagine a lighter gun would be quite painful to shoot. If you can, try to hold a CZ52 before picking one up, seems most folks can't stand the long/narrow grip, and instead prefer the grip of the Toks. Fortunately, the third digits on my shooting hand are long enough that the grip is quite comfortable for me (still need to fix the trigger slap, though). The ergo's of the CZ 52 can be improved somewhat, but that would be a question Brigadier would be more qualified to answer

Personally, I find it an usual but effective design, both functionally and aesthetically, which is why I'm a fan. It reminds me of those old Soviet-era trains that were way cooler looking than ours.

TCB

 

[bikerdoc]

All in all, I think I didn't do half bad for a totally inexperienced Bubbasmith,

Great job, good learning experience on the sights

 

[jj1962hemi]

I like Eastern European guns generally and am now debating whether I go CZ-52 next, or buy the Polish P-64 (9X18 Makaorv) I've been looking at. I have Polish ancestry and a Radom P-64 for $200 seems like a bargain, but the 7.62x25 is a more potent round. So much to do and so little time!

 

[thagunman]

i have both a yugo m57 and a cz52. i just got done converting an m57 mag to fit and function in the cz52. bout 5 minutes with a dremel tool. fit and function are flawless. im going to convert the rest in the morning so i can shoot both with the same mags. oh and by the way it increased the capacity to 9 rds instead of 8. m57 mags are pricey but way more accessible than the cz mags.