I fixed my CZ-52

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Apple a Day

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A couple of months ago I took my "new" CZ-52 out for a test drive and after ~120 rounds the extractor pin worked its way out and the extractor assembly went walkabout. I found the pin and it was the wrong size. I have no idea what the assembler was doing and evidently neither did he.
I took it back to the gun shop and asked them if they'd front for the new extractor. They did and after several weeks they got the new one in. They offered the name of a good gunsmith but, heck, it's just an extractor. I put it in myself, added a dab of guntite to make double-sure it stayed put...
... and then I waited around until the range at which I have a membership and which allows all calibers opened again. First it was renovations, then it was hurricane damage. Sheez! In the meantime I put a new recoil spring on it.
The good news is that I cranked another hundred rounds through the beastie and had no problems with the extractor. I had a few FTF and some hard primers that required a second strike to set them off but nothing I can't tolerate in a "fun gun". That should improve with better quality ammo. I bought several boxes of Serbian surplus ammo and that stuff is pretty naughty. Makes a whale of a flash and a bang, though. :D
 
Congrats on getting your CZ52 operational again. These pistols are a HUGE bargain at $99.
 
Re:CCW = The -52's are nice and slim. I've never considered carrying it concealed before... more because of the cartridge than the size. I'd probably load it with a hollowpoint/frangible round if I did. If you are into Eastern european pistols and are looking for a CCW piece then also look into a Makarov. It's about the same price, smaller, with a different cartridge.
Good luck with it. :)
 
George Hill
Moderator... wrote

"No, they carry well"



Only SOB carry unless you are a wide body.
 
It would be a fine carry gun if only someone made an extended safety for it. The mil spec part is tiny.
 
"Only SOB carry unless you are a wide body."
Click to expand...
:confused:

Why would that be? They are slim in profile, and the grips are no larger than anything else out there. I carried mine in just about all positions other than shoulder and ankle.

With some gunsmithing, a CZ-52 can become an outstanding carry gun. Some melting here and there, some better sights, Slide release and Safety lever redone... have the firing pin and decocker redone... It would be outstanding for EDC duty. (Every Day Carry) The only thing after that is your ammo selection. You wouldn't want to carry the Mil-Surp FMJ ammo because of its HUGE overpenetration potential.

Remember seeing the ads for a .38 Casull? The CZ-52 ammunition has the potential to SMOKE that and it's doing it from a much shorter barrel. This is really more of a "Poorman's FN Five-seveN"... Especiall with those .223 Timbs rounds. That hot FMJ ammo... it's like packing a rifle in your waist-band.

Let's put it this way - The CZ-52 remains one of my very favorite handguns of all time. It has so much potential, it's sick that it's not getting more attention. Yeah, the grip angle is a little funky - but you get used to it easily. I'd love to see Cor-Bon make up some CZ-52 loads for it. Insane potential. Mine was perfectly reliable too, after I replaced the firing pin and found ammo that didn't have diamond hard primers. No failures to feed or extract even from the tough ammo.
 
Concealed carry would be fine with a good holster as it is slim and not overly long on barrel length.

However, I think the trigger sucks. And mine isn't nearly accurate enough for defense.
 
Don't the aftermarket pins take away the firing pin block safety? OR can you get an aftermarket pin that still has that safety?

It occurs to me that the heavy trigger is from pushing up on the lever to release the firing pin, and that a lighter spring up there might reduce trigger pull without compromising safety-- the spring just needs to be strong enough to keep the block blocking the firing pin, not so strong that you can't pull the trigger. :D

But I don't know, just had a few minutes looking at one.

Also, it seems the CZ52 is still in the specialty catagory-- not a lot of aftermarket parts out there, but I've assumed that is merely because they weren't on the market in the 90s, really, and its only been in the last couple of years that they've been imported... and the price is still dropping, meaning volumes are growing.

So, I've been assuming that in a year or two, there will be 100-150k of them in the US and hte aftermarket will pick up. Maybe someone will start making holsters for them!
 
I have GOT to get some better ammo. When I bought the gun I also picked up several boxes of the cheapo, surplus, Serbian ammo. Maybe I got a bad batch but it's inconsistent like a congressman before the polls. There is a noticable difference in some of the shots. I haven't had any squibs but, since I put a new recoil spring in, the number of failures to feed has gone up from one every couple of mags to one or two per mag. I believe it's because some of the rounds are weak and aren't causing the slide to recoil all the way to the rear. There's no difference between the two mags I have for it, so I don't think that's it. I can feel the difference in some of the shots; the full strength ones are no problem but the weaker ones are the shots which precede failures to pick up the new round.
It's an extra strength recoil spring but, sheez! One day soon I'm going to go try some S&B ammo and see if there's a difference. :fire:
 
There's some ammo out there sold as surplus that was made in 1955. The dealers at my local gun show say its "non-corrosive" but I suspect that's their auto-response for all surplus ammo.... but someone else on a forum said that in 1955 all Tokarev ammo was corrosive. I don't know.

The local range that rents CZ52s requires you use their ammo, which was Winchester and went for $10 for 50, which didn't seem too bad.
 
If you can find a good holster they are surprisingly easy to carry/conceal since they are very slim and don't have anything sticking out the sides (like slide releases or big safeties, etc.)

Due to the firing pin safety, I don't find it necessary to deal with the small safety--just leave the safety in the fire position. But then I would carry it in condition 2, not cocked & locked.

They are heavy, you'll need a good belt.

While the round isn't what most folks think of as a conventional "manstopper", it will penetrate to the central nervous system from any angle, even if the attacker is very large, is wearing soft body armor or a helmet. This is truly a professional's gun if there ever was one. If you can place your shots, it will do the trick every time.

Of course, overpenetration will always be an issue...
 
As mentioned..... yeah .. surprisingly slim .... definitely carryable.

Must add ... recommend the 16.5# spring from makarov.com .. mine runs like silk! In many ways (leaving aside penetration issues) ...... a much under rated piece.

BTW ... with practice, the slide lock/release can be used ..... just not so easy.
 
So, what holsters fit these guys? Looked around a bit, and it seems only the european flap-over fairly generic holsters are offered for them.
 
I found a really nice leather holster made in Czechoslavakia. It's a high-ride thumb break strong side holster. I think I paid about $50 for it.

Been awhile but I seem to recall it came from K-Var.
 
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