The day after the Inauguration, I purchased a new CZ 75 B. Today, I finally got to the range to try it. I had heard good things about the CZ75 line of handguns and had decided to try it out.
Some first impressions: the gun can be fired in either single or double action. Racking the slide cocks the hammer for single action. Since this particular weapon does not have a decocker, I find double action of limited utility. I just don't like dropping the hammer on a loaded chamber except when actually shooting and this is the only way to get into a "double action" position.
The finish is black enamel, apparently over parkerized steel (judging by places where the enamel is not present, like on the bearing surfaces of the slide rails.
I'm not particularly fond of the safety. I like the oversized ambi thumb safety on my 1911 better. The slide release, however, is a bit easier to operate to my hands.
In some ways field stripping is easier than the 1911, in one way it's a bit harder. The harder part is removing the slide release/disassembly pin. On the 1911, I can draw the slide back a bit and push the release out with my forefinger. On the CZ I have to whack it with something or press it against something hard. However, once that's removed they come apart much the same except that I don't have to fuss with a bushing at the front of the slide to remove the barrel. Going together, however, favors the CZ. You assemble the slide barrel, and recoil spring, slide it into (another oddity of the CZ--slide goes inside the frame rather than over it) the frame, push it back a bit, and insert the slide release. Can't do that with my 1911. Have to put slide, barrel, and guide rod together, put them on the frame, then fiddle with the bushing to slide in the recoil spring. Overall, I'd give ease of field stripping and reassembly to the CZ75.
So shooting:
A friend of mine had turned me onto the Zombiehunters.org web site and the zombie head targets. When he introduced me to it there was a "postal match" on the theme of a battlefield pick-up gun. Basically, shoot 10 rounds, 5 rounds each at two targets, using an unfamiliar gun (as if it were something you had picked up or been handed in a crisis), at a distance of 7 yards. Well, I intended to do that with this gun but forgot to take the targets with me to the range. Result was that I simply shot 10 rounds at a bullseye and then overlaid it with the zombie target to get what the score would have been. About 95 out of 100 possible.
Wow. The bullets just go where I aim them. I haven't tried anything like that with my 1911 (my regular carry gun) but I don't think I would have done much better with it.
I completed the CZ portion of that range trip shooting another 90 rounds into a fresh target and ended up with 76 in the "black" (which was thoroughly chewed up--I "scored" by simply counting the hits outside the black). When I add up the original 10, that means 86% of all my hits were in the black (using a "law enforcement targets" B-16 OC). The one's outside the black were all clearly "shooter error" and I could generally identify the mistake as it happened.
I tested both of the magazines that came with the gun. No problems with either of them except I found getting the first round in (the shape of the follower feels odd) and the last couple of rounds (spring tension) somewhat difficult.
Pros:
16+1 capacity with the magazines that came with it.
Very accurate in my hands, even "cold."
Cons:
Don't like the thumb safety.
Isn't as comfortable to hold (in my hands) as the 1911.
Trigger's a little mushy.
Pics to come.
Some first impressions: the gun can be fired in either single or double action. Racking the slide cocks the hammer for single action. Since this particular weapon does not have a decocker, I find double action of limited utility. I just don't like dropping the hammer on a loaded chamber except when actually shooting and this is the only way to get into a "double action" position.
The finish is black enamel, apparently over parkerized steel (judging by places where the enamel is not present, like on the bearing surfaces of the slide rails.
I'm not particularly fond of the safety. I like the oversized ambi thumb safety on my 1911 better. The slide release, however, is a bit easier to operate to my hands.
In some ways field stripping is easier than the 1911, in one way it's a bit harder. The harder part is removing the slide release/disassembly pin. On the 1911, I can draw the slide back a bit and push the release out with my forefinger. On the CZ I have to whack it with something or press it against something hard. However, once that's removed they come apart much the same except that I don't have to fuss with a bushing at the front of the slide to remove the barrel. Going together, however, favors the CZ. You assemble the slide barrel, and recoil spring, slide it into (another oddity of the CZ--slide goes inside the frame rather than over it) the frame, push it back a bit, and insert the slide release. Can't do that with my 1911. Have to put slide, barrel, and guide rod together, put them on the frame, then fiddle with the bushing to slide in the recoil spring. Overall, I'd give ease of field stripping and reassembly to the CZ75.
So shooting:
A friend of mine had turned me onto the Zombiehunters.org web site and the zombie head targets. When he introduced me to it there was a "postal match" on the theme of a battlefield pick-up gun. Basically, shoot 10 rounds, 5 rounds each at two targets, using an unfamiliar gun (as if it were something you had picked up or been handed in a crisis), at a distance of 7 yards. Well, I intended to do that with this gun but forgot to take the targets with me to the range. Result was that I simply shot 10 rounds at a bullseye and then overlaid it with the zombie target to get what the score would have been. About 95 out of 100 possible.
Wow. The bullets just go where I aim them. I haven't tried anything like that with my 1911 (my regular carry gun) but I don't think I would have done much better with it.
I completed the CZ portion of that range trip shooting another 90 rounds into a fresh target and ended up with 76 in the "black" (which was thoroughly chewed up--I "scored" by simply counting the hits outside the black). When I add up the original 10, that means 86% of all my hits were in the black (using a "law enforcement targets" B-16 OC). The one's outside the black were all clearly "shooter error" and I could generally identify the mistake as it happened.
I tested both of the magazines that came with the gun. No problems with either of them except I found getting the first round in (the shape of the follower feels odd) and the last couple of rounds (spring tension) somewhat difficult.
Pros:
16+1 capacity with the magazines that came with it.
Very accurate in my hands, even "cold."
Cons:
Don't like the thumb safety.
Isn't as comfortable to hold (in my hands) as the 1911.
Trigger's a little mushy.
Pics to come.
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