Mossad marked Tanfoglio CZ 75 vs. real CZ

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I would be skeptical. Why would a super-secret organization like the Mossad mark their guns (in super large letters on the slide, even) at all? And if they were marked, why wouldn't the markings be in Hebrew? If anything, they would want "sterile," untraceable weapons.

I'm pretty sure those "Mossad" markings are spurious. Just something to promote sales.
 
Whether these guns were ever actually issued to (or stockpiled for issuance to) Mossad agents is questionable. There is a claim that they were issued to members of that agency for their personal protection - not as, say, mission weapons - but who knows if that is true. It is definitely true that the Israeli government got a lot of CZ-ish stuff from Tanfoglio, and a lot of CZ-ish guns marked "IMI" were actually made by Tanfo' and/or from Tanfo' parts.

In any event, they are likely to be pretty solid guns. These were fairly early in the divergence between Tanfo' patterns and CZ patterns, so a lot of CZ stuff will work with them.
 
Tangfoglios are great guns. I'm sure this Mossad is just a model name possibly made for or imported into Israel. I'm sure they are not saying that they were made for the Mossad.

I have a Witness Elite Match in .40. One of the best pistols I have ever owned. Out of the box it came with an SA trigger that was awesome and better than guns I paid 3 times as much for. Definitely a keeper!
 
Mongoslow is 100% correct, the "MOSSAD" markings, and others, were for private shooting clubs.
As to the TZ comparison.....I knew a couple of Israeli National Police "pistoleros" in the Yamam unit that preferred the TZs over the CZ or Jericho. To me, that's a pretty good endorsement.
 
I have two Israeli surplus Tanfoglio CZ75 "clones". I paid around $300 apiece for them. They are stamped "Cohai" and my understanding is that they were used for military-affiliated shooting clubs. I believe the Tanfoglio model designation is "TA90".

Mine are excellent shooters. After my FiL shot one for the first time, he purchased himself a CZ75 within a week. My silver-colored one is my favorite service pistol of the many that I own. The trigger is excellent. The blued one is almost as good and has slightly better sights. I couldn't be happier with them.

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I'd consider the Tanfoglio if I was sure I could get parts if I ever needed them. Aftermarket parts may be hard to find, but companies that support the EAA Witness line might be able to help.

Magazines from a CZ are about the only thing that will work in the gun, and recoil springs. Factory Tanfoglio magazines for the compact models are shorter than a CZ mag -- hold 1 less round, I think -- and won't work in a CZ compact, but CZ compact mags will work in the T-gun but stick out just a bit. Many key parts are slightly different -- although some of the slide stops will interchange with a CZ Compact. Only the very oldest Tanfoglio guns are almost-clones -- and these are NOT that old. Slides won't interchange, you can't us a Kadet Kit, pins have different diameters on most of them. I think the sight dovetails are different.

What I like about the Tanfoglio version is the longer beaver tail, which you now see on some of the newer CZ compact guns. The few "new" Tanfoglio/Witness guns I've owned had pretty good triggers out of the box, and all of them were generally every bit as reliable/robust as a true CZ. I also think the Tanfoglio firing pin block design is slightly less noticeable than the CZ firing pin block.
 
To elaborate on my response...

I have the two Israeli surplus Tanfoglios. My FiL decided he might as well get "the real thing" and bought a brand-new CZ75.

He was mildly disappointed that the CZ has a slightly smaller frame. (He is 6'8".) Other than that, he is extremely pleased with it and shoots it very well.

Neither the Tanfoglios (which were obviously shot plenty before I ever got them) nor the CZ has ever given either of us a lick of trouble. They both feed anything we stuff in the magazines, normally reloads or cheap bulk ammo. None of them have malfunctioned that I can recall.

Even if they were all brand-new, the CZ would probably still have a slightly nice finish. Other than that, it would be hard to say that either the Tanfoglio or the CZ is "better".
 
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These guns were not used by Mossad. It was just a marketing gimmick. Tanfoglio copies of the CZ-75 were common in Israel. The early IMI Jericho pistols were made with Tanfoglio parts.
 
I just received the advertisement below. They're sold out but I wondered what the quality of the Mossad marked Tanfoglio CZ 75 copy compared to the real CZ 75. Anyone know?

https://www.themosincrate.com/shop-1?utm_source=so

I don't know about those, but I seen kool one years ago. It was steel CZ clone made in Israel. It had London proof marks on slide, action and barrel just like Holland & Holland shotgun. We figured it landed in USA not long after handguns were nixed from private citizen ownership. One could always claim it was used by agent of SIS. Never seen another. I will never understand why I passed on that one. It was priced just like any used 9x19 Jerico.
 
I'm skeptical. I never had the opportunity to work with any Israeli forces, but I'm putting the "authenticity" on the same level as the old Colt "Delta Elite" 10mm and AR15. Remember those? With the little triangle logo?
 
As others have said, a weapon used by Mossad would not be marked Mossad. Much of the Mossad's work is undercover, and doing that would be like an undercover FBI agent carrying a gun that said FBI Issued.

I think it's like the CZ that was produced some years back showing the hammer and sickle markings from the Soviet Union. The CZ-75B or the original CZ-75 were not military-issued weapons, and they fired 9mm, which was NOT a caliber used by the Eastern Bloc militaries. (The East German State Police used 9mm in their WWII captured Lugers...)

It was a marketing gimmick that not everbody bothered to buy.
 
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