Why isn't the CZ-97 more popular?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Not sure why it doesn't have a higher capacity. I'm sure it could be squeezed into the gun.

The 97 fits me just fine. I can shoot it very well, and the trigger in SA mode is a bit more crisp than my 75. Maybe not as smooth, but more crisp. If that makes any sense.

I figure this gun was a great alternative to any 1911 in its price range that may or may not have reliability issues.
 
My brother and I are both huge fans of the CZ line of pistols. I think each of us would own a 97B if CZ offered a model with a factory ambi-safety.

As it stands, my brother opted for a Baby Eagle in .45 that "feels" a bit smaller than the 97B and has the ambi-safety (albeit a slide mounted safety).

I would love for CZ to update the 97 series. Bump the magazine capacity and put a tacticool rail on it...I'm in!
 
I found mine today at a gun show. Apparently the fellow selling it did not like the fit in his hand, and offered it to me for $525 out the door, even took a personal check to boot. The pistol looks unfired, let alone probably not even field-stripped for an initial wipe-down of the shipping lubricant. I feel like I stole it.

I agree that it is a LARGE handgun. I also concur that CZ is not doing a lot of advertising on not just the 97B, but the entire line of handguns. The rifles get more advertising, but that's just my opinion.

Now I need to pick up a range pack of .45 ACP at the next gun show (next weekend, by coincident), and get up to the nearby indoor range. Probably wouldn't hurt to pick up some extra mags.
 
Just picked this NIB 97 for a grand total of $550.00. sanded the grips down to narrow the width a tad and found this beautiful banded wood grain hidding under the lacquer and checkering. Plan on shooting it tomorrow.
IMG_0426.jpg
 
I just pulled out my 686P and did some dry firing DA 3 or 4 and then did the same thing with my CZ 75B then did SA with each....

Actually I think the CZ 75B DA is smoother and just a tad lighter but in
SA mode the 686 is breaking glass with little over travel in comparison to the SA CZ 75B.

WHich doesn't have much to do with this thread but that's what I felt
so I thought I'd share.

Seems to me the 97 oughta be a 15 rd .45 ACP with
it's length in height but I haven't figured out the width of a
Para P14

Randall
 
I haven't seen too many 97Bs , I think they're just not around to BE popular.

I saw in this years CZ catalog that they actually came out W/ 97BD that has a rail but doesn't have the condition one option
 
I have shot the CZ 97 and I can say they shoot NICELY!

I wouldn't mind adding one to my small collection some day. My CZ 75 needs a stable mate!

I didn't have a problem with the size or weight.... but then I carry a Glock 20 IWB...

Tom
 
I have liked 97s every time I have shot them, but nothing ever tipped me over to actually buy one.

It is a bit too big and heavy for me to consider as a carry pistol (although I realize some folks are able to comfortably conceal very large pistols, I am not). I do find the grips and trigger reach a bit large/long, but not horribly so. Being outside my optimal comfort zone for size and weight, I probably would not consider this gun for use as a primary self defense piece.

Therefore, that puts it in the category of a range gun (for me). As a range gun, the 97 is very pleasant and fun to shoot. However, for a really primo range gun I would prefer a better trigger and sights.

I guess if I ran into a great deal on one, I'd pick it up. But there's really nothing to make me go out hunting for one or pay full retail price - I just don't have any overwhelming need for one.

I'm not sure about other people's reasons, but if I am not alone, perhaps the reason the CZ 97 is not more popular is that it does not fill an ideal niche for most gun owners.

If I had to arm a bunch of troops with pistols anticipating a lot of close quarters combat, I would certainly consider the 97. Capacity, effective caliber, reliable, and affordable price.
 
I am a .45 guy and I fancy the cz P01 and the 75 compact. I have no interest in the 97 unless they make a decocker that is close in size to the 75 compact or p01.
 
Two reasons:

1. They have somewhat large grips for some people.
2. People haven't shot them.

After shooting one, I really liked them. Didn't up and buy one, but I don't own a .45 of any kind at the moment.
 
Kudos to all of you with mitts to comfortably hold and shoot, particulary in DA. I agree with all on the CZ/EAA grip configuration as just about optimal, but the 97 never felt good in the hand to me. I'll add that I never shot one but I never knew anyone who had one or a range that had them as loaners/rental guns. Folks at the CZ forum seem to rave about the accuracy...
 
When dealing with steel or alloy framed handguns, double stack or otherwise high capacity .45 caliber autos will always have a little girth.

That is not what concerns me.

I am 6'5" and have fairly large hands. I've carried my G20 IWB, and though not totally comfortable, I managed fine. And it, and my .45, will never been intended for concealed carry. It's a bedstand gun. I have no problems with the grips of fullsize Glocks, HKs, or even Desert Eagles. I just want another option for fullsize steel or alloy framed .45 caliber autos with the features I want not demanding the cost the 1911s with these features seem to demand.
 
The EAA/Tanfoglio Witness Elite Match is what the CZ97 should have been and is a tad less expensive to boot! In fact, they share the same magazines.

--wally.
 
"CZ strikes me as the AMC of guns."

That is how I feel about 'GLOCKS' . Both AMC and Glock make/made the ugliest products ever made.
 
Funny, it strikes me as 'the Mercedes of Guns'... but that's what makes the world go round!!
 
Eh - CZ is more like the Peugeot or Renault or Saab (pre-GM). Different than most with sometimes brilliant engineering, but stuck with poor marketing and the cross of always being upstaged by their Teutonic neighbors.
 
Ahhhh... Hate to admit it but your right rbernie... but I just like CZs!!

PS: Your slant on their 'Marketing'(or total lack-there-of) is dead-on!... You can hardly find a CZ anywhere... must be great to be a CZ Salesman collecting that paycheck!!
 
IMO, my CZ97B is the best bargain I ever got in a .45 ACP pistol, especially for the money I spent. $459 NIB w/2 mags OTD about 5 years back.

It came out of the box every bit as accurate as the Big Name custom 1911 that cost me more than 3X the money and 9 mos of waiting.

It wasn't really conceived or designed for CCW: it's a service pistol, plain and simple. Compared side-by-side with a full-sized 1911, a S&W 4586, a Taurus PT100 and full-sized Witness 9x19 one can see where and how little actual differences there are dimensionally.

Granted, how you're built determines which differences matter and how much, but if you can conceal a full-sized Beretta or S&W, you can hide a 97B just as well.

Personally, I have largish hands and long fingers. I LIKE having that tiny bit of extra reach, as I don't have to assume an awkward hold to position my finger properly on the trigger for DA and don't need to reposition it at all to transition to SA fire.

I ,too, wish that there was more aftermarket support for this fine pistol. Jeez, even CZ-USA doesn't offer so much as tritium sights or an ambi thumb safety for it! I had to buy a part from EAA and have it installed by a custom 'smith to get it mine southpaw-friendly and'll have to do much the same if I want to upgrade the sights.

I can't really fault CZ for choosing to concentrate their relatively limited resources where their bread is buttered, so to speak. They chose to buy Dan Wesson to get a piece of the biggest slice of the .45 ACP market - the 1911 - instead of trying to carve a new niche of their own in a crowded and highly competitive business.

Fortunately there are a good many items made for the popular CZ-75's/clones and some skilled 'smiths out there who can adapt some of them to work on the 97B. There are also a growing number of small entreprenuers for grips and the like.
 
97B

My first CZ was a 97B. Yes it's a handful but it fits and I thought I had an average sized hand. It was also very accurate from the first shot. I now also have a 75B which I can't shoot as well as the 97B. I'll keep working on it.
 
I love my CZ97 even more now!

I was over at Carter's Country outside of Houston having a blast with my Mosin, FAL, and a little Mossberg Plinkster .22 with a good friend of mine I have around the Spring area. When we were done, we went inside and he showed me the "used mag" bin. All bargain-priced at 10 dollars!

So I'm looking through it, showing him different mags, even got him a mag for his little bersa. Then I found a mag that looked like a CZ97 mag. Turns out it was an EAA mag. I picked it up, went out and tested it at the range, and it ran just fine!

10 dollars for a mag is a wonderful thing.
 
Yup, it's a handful. The double action reach is really stretching it and not for small or possibly even medium sized hands. Some have also reported problems feeding hollow points but ramp polishes seem to deal witht that.

I have found it to be incredibly accurate and one of the most accurate out-of-the-box .45's in existence, even edging out the P220.
 
Not too sure besides the aforementioned CZ's not too great advertising.

I talked to some like-minded individuals and it's pretty much that the majority of people go for the XD, USP, or Glock due to all three of these pistols have a bigger capacity than the 97B. All three guns have lights rails, with the option of different sights, and there are a number of aftermarket parts for them.

The CZ series is nice but I don't see any rising popularity for the 97.
 
I think the biggest competitor to the CZ97B is the Sig P220. I can buy a decent used P220 for not much more than a CZ97B and it will be lighter, better supported within the industry, and will reliably eat every brand of HP I can buy (unlike the CZ, which can be finicky).
 
I love my 97B. It was my second handgun and my first CZ handgun. I got a 452 in exchange for the fifty bucks a friend owed methe spring before that. Guess who made out in that one?.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
  • Locked
Cz 97?
Replies
11
Views
823
Kamicosmos
K
T
  • Locked
CZ 97 vs Baby Desert Eagle (45 acp)
Replies
11
Views
3K
Pilot
P
N
  • Locked
Cz 97 45
Replies
3
Views
501
Mr.Revolverguy
Mr.Revolverguy
K
  • Locked
Why SAO
Replies
11
Views
702
k9870
K
MTMilitiaman
  • Locked
Differences between SAO trigger mechanisms
Replies
0
Views
291
MTMilitiaman
MTMilitiaman
Back
Top