What makes CZs so great (an honest question)

[jmr40]

I'll be the one guy to go against the grain and not care for CZ's. I've owned 3 so I do have experience with them. The gun does not fit my hand. The beavertail curves down and digs into the web between my thumb and trigger finger. The slide is too narrow to easily operate. I like the safety better than the High Power, but not nearly as well as a good 1911. They are too heavy for a 9mm. All 3 of mine gave problems with springs on the gun as well as magazines pretty quickly. While they are accurate enough the triggers were terribly gritty.

One day I looked at the magazines I had to keep up with, Sig, Beretta, Glock,1911's and CZ, and decided to simplify. The only advantage I saw in the CZ's was price so that was what I sold.

 

[CZF]

 

[rockinrussky]

One of my friends has a P01 and loves it. Having shot it I agree with pretty much everything already said about the guns. I also own a CZ model 82 and even for a milsurp gun its very ergonomic, surprisingly accurate, easy to disassemble and did I mention only $200? Can't go wrong even with the older models IMO.

 

[Comanche180]

CZ++

I have a CZ97B and a CZ75B (not to mention a CZ52 and CZ70 which are a different class). The 97B is expecially accurate, both are exceptionally reliable and the fit my hand very nicely and to my eye are attractive. Other than that, they are just guns.

 

[schmeky]

Railroader,

I would love to have 75B in SA. I want to do a little trigger work on my 75. The DA on my 75 is incredibly smooth out of the box, feels like a hand tuned S&W revolver. The SA is smooth, but with quite a bit of take-up.

I broke my own rule with CZ's. I reserve owning 2 of a similiar model to S&W and Colt, only. I now have 2 CZ's the 75 and this Angus Hobdell Custom Shop tuned SP-01. This SP is just simply remarkable.

 

[sarge48]

12K thru my CZ85 Combat. I had it converted to SA by EGW and it is by far the most accurate pistol I own. 92fs are good but feel like a 2x4 in my hand plus 92f's locking blocks go down all the time at our police academy range. To each his own.

 

[YakCZP01]

I picked a P01 about 2 months ago no FTE's or any kind of malfunction thru the first 400+ rounds. Accurate, reliable, great bang for your buck. Plus everybody who sees it or wraps their hand around it loves it.

 

[SDDL-UP]

What makes CZ so great?

I can tell you what makes CZ-75's so great

Ergonomics
Reliability
Accuracy
DA/SA
Beauty

I own quite a few handguns but the CZ is the one that for me is "the whole package". Are my Kimbers bad guns? No. Are my HK's pieces of junk? No. Is my Hi-Power an antiquated clunker? No. Is my Glock a worthless piece of plastic? No! Most guns have their strong points and many guns these days are very good performers, but for me... CZ is where it all comes together.

I can see those with small or very small hands not liking the CZ, but that's just the way things are. Many people find the CZ-75 fits their hand even better than the Hi-Power.

Is the CZ a Hi-Power knock-off? No way! It's a very different gun with a similar appearance.

 

[Chindo18Z]

Acknowledging that:

All pistols are machines subject to failure...

All manufacturers let lemons slip through the production line...

Individual examples of almost any design can deliver excellent reliability...

I still believe that there are only a handful of widely used and time-tested semi-auto designs that monotonously deliver on demand (as a design class):

Glock series
1911/A1 (full-sized stock G.I. gun)
BHP/P-35
SIG 2XX series
HK USP/C series
Beretta 92 series (usually)
CZ 75 series
Walther P-38
Makarov
S&W 2d/3d Generation Semi-Autos
Ruger P-series

There are lots of other models and makes out there which are excellent firearms, but these are the ones that come to mind for passing my "Trouble Inside the Next Room Test".

If you had to walk into a room with a new boxed handgun on a table, load the weapon, and walk directly into a possible shootout in a second room...what weapon would you be satisfied to find in that box (without any chance to inspect, disassemble, practice with, or other wise manipulate that handgun). Simply load and go...

My mental winners list includes the above weapons because they all have proven military and/or LEO service records. Hard use guns for hard times. Almost all examples will prove to be dependable bullet launchers the first time you have to use them.

Of these, I think the CZ75 equals or betters all the others in terms of reliability, ergonomics, accuracy, capacity, effective caliber, controllability, and PRICE.

Admittedly, the 1911 comes in .45 and the Mak is cheaper, but all of these weapons can be had in a caliber-change variant (if that's important) and the NIB variants of the Milsurp P-38/Mak aren't really cheap.

Some younger members may not realize that the CZ 75 was a "Grail Gun" back in the late '70s and the 1980s. They were as sought after as Colt Pythons and HK P7s are today. Prices were in the $1200 to $1800 range for rare examples purchased (usually in Canada) and brought into the U.S. This was at a time when most premium handguns (Python, S&W M29, Colt Govt Model, BHP, etc.) were priced from $450-$600 (in 1980's dollars).

Besides being a GREAT semi-auto and delivering quality and performance equal to some wonder-nines costing twice the money (SIG & HK), I simply like the '75 because of looks and feel. It does remind me of my Hi-Power...it's got heft, but with svelte looks...and defies the Teutonic penchant for slapping a box on top of a handle (and yes, I own those too...).

Oh well...the coffee is cold...enough of this IMHO rambling.

 

[schmeky]

SDDL-UP,

Very well said. I agree. I have Kimber, Colt, Sig, Glock, Benelli, Star, Rock Island, Astra, and Ruger autos. When I go shooting, there is always a CZ in the bag.

 

[jdh]

Besides all the above there is one very good reason. Because Jeff Cooper said so.

 

[robertbank]

I have the Tanfoglio clone of the CZ in 9MM with a .40cal and .22lr conversion kits. Great gun. Had an older CZ85 Combat that I sold only because it had very small sights that could not be changed. Will get another 85 Combat again real soon. Justfor all the reasons stated above.

Take care

Bob
ps The grip for me is the best in the business. The new S&W M&P comes close and is my newest shooter but there is nothing like a CZ.

 

[gallo]

The CZ is the perfect combination of form and function culminating in artistic expression. Damn sexy guns.

I still bought an XD because the slide release lever of the CZ is to far to the front.

 

[ZeSpectre]

To quote EasyG

1) It's very accurate.
Maybe it's because the slide rides inside the frame instead of outside the frame, or maybe it's because the trigger is so nice and crisp....but for whatever reason, the CZ is one of the most accurate straight-out-of-the-box pistols that I have fired.

Gotta agree with that.


The only pistol I'm better with is my old "war horse" Ruger Security Six revolver.

Mine is .40 S&W, just a personal preference over 9mm. My only complaint with the CZ75 is (as someone else mentioned) the grip area of the slide is kinda small. I do fine with it but the wife needs more traction to work the slide.

 

[MachIVshooter]

The CZ is just an awesome platform. It takes the classic lines of the BHP and blends that with a very simple, modular sear assembly that is easily adapted to TDA, DAO, or SA and can use either a frame or slide mounted safety or decocker.

All the other attributes that make them great have already been mentioned.

IMO, the CZ platform is the best thing to come along in the autopistol world since the 1911. I have never been disappointed by a CZ or a quality CZ-based gun from another maker such as Tanfoglio/IWI.

 

[His]

Can you take your CZ apart to replace springs or do deep cleaning?

 

[Zip06]

The attraction to the CZ, for me, was the fact that most of the designs are a refinement of the Browning design, are made of all steel, have good ergonomics and are of high quality.

 

[-terry]

I just think they're beautiful. Here's my IDPA 75B.



OK, mine also fits my hand very well. When I pull it up, the sights line up perfectly and automatically. It has little recoil and is quite accurate. What's not to like? (Well, I do have about $700 in this competition gun. Maybe that's not to like.)

 

[boogalou]

Although I own 8 CZ/Tanfoglio pistols, I will admit that the 1911 design shoots very well in my hands. That being said, the flexibility of choices, reliability, and competitive pricing of the CZ design influenced my decision to sell all my 1911 handguns a few years ago. I can't say that I've ever regretted that decision.

This is no knock on the 1911, I still feel it's the best SA .45ACP pistol on the market today, and possibly the best .45ACP pistol period, but CZ firearms just offer so much more for me in what I desire in a handgun.

 

[ZeSpectre]

Can you take your CZ apart to replace springs or do deep cleaning?

Can and have though a detail strip is a pain in the backside. However I've only done it once and then just because I wanted to do a mild trigger job.

 

[ninja45]

Pointability, reliability, accuracy, and a price that belies its quality!

What's not to like?

Ninja45

 

[His]

Thanks, my question ha been answered.

 

[AndyC]

There are some historical reasons behind the adulation. When it came out in the mid-70's, it was an unusual bird for the combination of features it had - and the fact that it couldn't be commonly had in the US.

First, it was designed in a Communist-controlled country - but made in a NATO caliber (very unusual, but apparently a deliberate strategy to earn foreign income).

Second, it had even higher magazine-capacity than the legendary Browning Hi-Power.

Third - it had both DA and SA trigger.

Fourth - the safety allowed the user to carry cocked and locked, as opposed to the hammer-drop safety so prevalent in Europe.

Fifth - the slide rode inside the frame rails, giving rise to claims of better accuracy.

Sixth - the rounded frame was extremely ergonomic and described as feeling like "a melted bar of soap in the hand".

Seventh - it was extremely reliable.

Eighth - Col Jeff Cooper said something along the lines of "If it has to be a 9mm, make mine a CZ75".

I believe that the combination of all of the above birthed the CZ75 legend.

 

[Myles]

Very well put together, but personally, I feel about CZs the same way that some feel about Taurus. (I am an ardent Taurus fan - my pt92 has over 30k rounds through it, with one rebuild, logged)

The only CZ that I ever (briefly) owned would stovepipe every other shot, regardless of ammunition. No exaggeration. I decided I would never trust one, again. I've never tried one since. I'm sure that I was/am unfair to them, since they have such a large following, but <shrug> my mind was made up.

 

[Gary G23]

I like CZs just because I seem to shoot them better than anything else. I switched to a CZ-75 SA 9mm for IDPA competition four years ago. I have been really pleased with the results. I have bought four S&W M&Ps in the last two years. I've been trying hard to acclimate to them but I just can't hit the long shots as well as I can with the CZs.