someone tell me something bad about the CZ97B

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K.L.O.sako

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thinking of making this my next 45 and all i've heard so far is very good. just wondering if anyone has bad experience with it. even small problems, let me know what you know. thanks.
 
It's a long trigger reach and big gun. Maybe that's not bad?

Ditto. For someone with big mitts it's probably not an issue, but those of us with Ewok hands prefer something smaller, thank you very much.

jm
 
If they fit your hand, they're The Bees Knees. Getting them to feed HPs can require a little creative polishing and reshaping of the feed ramp, but I was of the impression that the newer production units had the reshaped feedramp from the factory. I have two ('99 and '02 production), and would love a couple more.

I will always have a 1911 around for GP reasons. I will always have a couple/three Sig P220s around for their accuracy and reliability. But I will always turn to the CZ97B first if making accurate first-round hits are my primary concern. They just fit me better than anything else out there.
 
Well, you are in the autoloader section already(unless this post just got moved here), but I don't think you are going to find too many negatives about any of the CZ's. Unless you just flat out don't like great accuracy and reliability.:D
 
I can tell you absolutely nothing wrong with em :)
They just aren't 1911s, you know? You get double strike and they have a different recoil feel. They also fill your hand more then a 1911 so felt recoil is tiny bit less sharp as if a 1911 has sharp recoil anyways. Nice beavertail, prefer it to a grip safety which I think is redundant. You won't get a 1911 like trigger without conversion and replacement parts, that is the one downer.
 
Friend of mine purchased a new CZ97B,he's had 4 jams in about 200 rounds,using 230 Grain hydro-shok JHP.He called the CZ-USA office and they told him it was designed to shoot ball only.:(
 
Aftermarket do-dads are few and far between as compared to 1911s. For example, if you want adjustable sights, I'm not sure there are any that drop in (the LPAs for the 75 may work, but they may not). It will also be harder to find, holsters, qualified gunsmiths, etc.
 
That's true Mayo. They were designed and are manufactured in a country where hollow point ammo is banned. Some have problems with HPs and some don't. A good clean up job on the feed ramp will usually do the trick. I found the best roto tool tips at Harbor Freight a while back. They're made out of rubber. They will polish the hell out of a feed ramp. If that doesn't work, try Power balls. Or if all else fails, take it to a smith.
 
I traded a Llama MAX-I .45 for one a couple of weeks ago, and I love mine!
NO FTE or FTF's even with hollowpoints (hydra-shok's)
after the first cleaning (right after I got it)
it's fired almost 900 rounds so far, Wolf, american and winchesters.
 
They are big and heavy

They are big with a long trigger reach. You definately need to try before you buy. They are heavy all steel frame and full dust cover. This makes them shoot very softly and they are accurate.

I seem to remember something about them being over an IDPA weight limit but I don't know the details.

Also the tirgger on mine is a nice double/single action but it isn't a 1911. I would use it before my 1911 though.
pete
 
Downsides:

About the largest .45ACP made, my 14-rnd double stacks fit my hands better than the 10 round CZ97.

Its a crap shoot as to if it'll feed JHP. Mine won't feed my 200gr lead SWC reliably. Not tried a significant number of JHP in mine.

Basically its a good shooter, but by far the worst of the CZ line IMHO.

--wally.
 
my 14-rnd double stacks fit my hands better than the 10 round CZ97
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I sold my Para and BUL/Kimber double stacks because they were less comfortable/ergonomic to my hands than the CZ. It's all an individual thing; I have average size palms but long relatively thin fingers and the -97B seems to fit that combination very well.

but by far the worst of the CZ line IMHO
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I feel just the opposite; you can have my -85B in 9mm, my two -75B (satin nickel) in 40S&W, my -75B semicompact 9mm, and my PO1 9mm long before you get my -97Bs. I look at it this way; the -97B is simply more accurate for me under stress and motion than any other pistol I own. That's worth a little dorkin' around.

The big issue with the HP feeding problem is usually a nosedive on the second round out of the mag. It's a combination of feedramp geometry and the magazine letting the round slide forward too far before the slide smacks it in the butt to feed it. If your pistol does this with your choice of carry ammo, a recountour of the feed ramp will usually clear things up, and a heavier-than-stock magazine spring helps as well.

It's annoying, but it should not be a showstopper. It's also the one recurring issue with the pistol, other than hand fit.
 
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The one I shot would not feed some hollow points at all. Period.

The up side,

you may not find a more out of box accurate .45 for twice to 3 times the money maybe more. CZ is a great buy as long as you avoid spring related issues. Have not heard of 97's with weak springs but it is a problem with the 75's.

-bevr
 
I sheared the barrel lug off it with factory ammo and it jammed up so tight I had to hammer the slide and barrel off the frame. If you do a search you will find that a "few" folks had similar problems.

side3.jpg


Look closely at the front linkdown lug and you will see how I set it back up there. It sheared nicely absolutely jammed it tighter then a tick!


I totally lost faith in the gun. I used to have it as a carry gun and relied on it heavily. This failure occurred somewhere around round 3000 out of it. All 230 grn hardball and 200 grn JHP's.

I did send the gun into CZ. The did replace the barrel but never said much. To bad it took like 3 months to get it fixed.


I ended up selling the gun to my boss. He only uses it at the range and not for protection. Its a nice gun. It shot well. BUT, once you are standing there, trying to clear the jam out of your carry gun and you realize if it was for "real" you would be dead. Then well the gun goes down the road.
 
Can't hold mags in place.

I just picked one up with an 04 date on the slide and after 40 rounds it won't hold the Mec-Gar mags anymore. It is very accurate though and is solid beast.

Matt W.
 
I bought all the hype about the model 97 and got one ..a 2004 vintage...new.

It did not feed hollowpoints; it dropped magazines after a few shots. Customer service was terrible. They even lost my gun, sent me a crappier one and sent mine that they claimed to fix to someone in Florida. I finally got the right gun back and it seemed to work OK, and the mags did not drop every other shot. But, it came back with a scratch on the frame that was not there before (it was 99+% when sent in). The famed CZ Customer Service refused to acknowledge my concern about the scratch and would not return e-mails or telephone calls.

I never even got the courtesy of decent apologies for the screwup with the guns. I loved the gun, yes. Accurate, good looking etc. But, given the horrid customer service I would never buy another.

Now, my 2 model 75's are great!
 
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I had Matthew Mink customize a CZ97 for me. He smoothed the trigger, polished the feed ramp, installed CZ competition sights, and tuned the magazines. I have large, thin hands and the ergonomics are excellent. It is very accurate and has easily manageable recoil with full power ball and light recoil with my 170 power factor loads. I love the competition sights but wish they were adjustable.

The single action trigger has become even better with use and dry-firing.

It feeds 200gr and 230gr ball bullets flawlessly. Feeding hollow point and round nose flat point bullets is irregular at best. The chamber must be pretty tight and I've several rounds partially seat and lock up the slide. Lesson: check all reloads with a case guage.

I had problems with loaded magazines falling out when I first got the gun. The magazime springs were extraordinarily stiff and I needed a lever-operated magazine loader to load the last three rounds. The mag springs loosened up after I kept ten rounds in the mags for four days. After that the mags stopped falling out. Nevertheless, the mags need to be seated firmly.

The fit is very good but the black polycoat finish is only average.

It may be too large for concealed carry. After a few tweaks it is a very good range and competition gun in Limited 10 Division.

Chris
 
I got an early model used and had to bump up the recoil spring to the current factory standard weight to get it to feed consistantly. Since then it's been great and as long as I make them right it will even eat Magtech Guardian Golds which have a huge hollowpoint. It won't feed Berry's 185 gr SWC more than 50% of the time, but they're a horrible profile. I'm going to try the 200 gr SWC and see how they do.

Never had a problem with mags, breakages, or accuracy.
 
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