The Big Deal About CZ's?

[Bully 749]

Every so often, at least once a month or so, there is a thread on here about someone finding a CZ. A lot of excitement and chest thumping happens and everyone's happy. Now, I get the guy getting a new gun and everyone thinking it's cool and all but with the CZ's there is almost a cult like fascination about it.

 

So, what gives?

 

To me, it's another cool gun. I've shot one. It was nice, but not earth shattering. Seemed accurate enough and smooth. I own a Canik, which is a CZ clone and again is nice enough. But really, the CZ's are nothing more than decently made 9mm semis with an ok trigger out of the box. So why all the hoopla? What exactly am I missing?

 

C

[FLHX 1]

Out of the box they are just a regular pistol!!! actually with some rather poor sights...I don't think much of CZ's until you get one back from CZ Custom or Cajun Guns works and then you have a great competition gun. The only thing better is a 2011 that has been worked over. The ultimate CZ in my opinion is an Sp01 Shadow ACCU that has been worked on by CZ Custom. The are hard to find and if you do buy it if you are into shooting USPSA!!!

[DSD1026 48]

CZ's are inherently accurate because of the slide-in-frame design (at least that's what most people think).  They are very balanced, they are very ergonomically (almost) perfect (something that, as a clone-owner, you might not give much time to, but when coming from a different gun is REALLY noticeable), hefty but not unwieldy and they are just a damn nice-looking gun.  Part of it is also the somewhat rarity of them (although that's becoming less prevalent these days as more people get them).  Most triggers are only "OK" out of the box but get better with time (CZ's are one of those that loosen over time) or with a trigger job.  The price point USED to be a major point to the CZ's (much less than comparable guns) but that seems to be fading now that they have become more popular. 

 

I am decidedly no expert, as I am a relative newb compared to many, but these are the things I hear over and over and over and over again about the CZ's.  The other thing I hear about them is the reliability (leaving my extractor issue aside, which has been hopefully resolved now). 

 

That aside, you get this with a lot of different manufacturer/guns..  Some people are Glock fanatics.  some are 1911 fanatics..  some are Sig fanatics..  some are S&W fanatics.  The CZ being so unavailable compared to those other manufacturers/guns is what gives it part of its mystique.  Given some of the reasons above, there is a reason that it is the most used gun across Europe in law enforcement.  Some people are just more inherently comfortable with certain guns and not with others.  For instance, I shot a Glock and I was incredibly uncomfortable with it.  For my grip and shooting style, a Glock was just all wrong for me. 

 

I remember when i first got mine, brought it home, let the wife handle it and her first reaction was "wow..   this feels GREAT and is such a great looking gun" (my wife is a very weak person in terms of strength and she didnt have a problem shooting it)..

 

Just my 2¢..  Others will chime in I'm sure.. 

[Vlad G 345]

The CZ has a couple of things that make it popular. For one Jeff Cooper liked it, and although he is long dead his endorsement still carries a lot of weight for some reason. Second, it is one of the few remaining all machined steel, old fashioned, hi-cap 9mm guns. Sure, you can get the turkish or italian copies, but the CZ is the daddy, and everyone else has gone to either alloy or polymer frames, outside a few outliers no one cares about. Third, it is a very reliable, very soft shooting, very well made gun. Fourth, it can be tuned to be a superb competition gun and it is winning national and international matches left and right.

 

The flip side is, Col Cooper didn't have that many options, most people prefer lighter guns, all guns are reliable now, and competition winning is about the shooter not the gun.

 

On the other other side, why are Glocks popular, they are just cheaply made plastic and square steel? Why are 1911s popular, they are just old design that needs hand fitting or will be not so nice? Why is any gun popular? The answer is because it captures people imagination for one reason or another.

[RUTGERS95 890]

just a fantastic, accurate, reliable, well made firearm that flew under the radar far too long

 

If you want to see cult, start talking Colt.  Better yet, head over to ar15.com and ask about any firearm vs colt and you'll see what a cult is.   Think SNL 'da Bears'

[Howard 538]

I think they are great.  The slide design is somewhat unique and makes for a very tight and accurate gun.  The ergonomics, for me, are just perfect.  They are similar to a Beretta but the grips are much thinner and I can get a much better hold on them.  The grips on the Beretta are so wide that I have to shift my strong hand grip to push the mag release button and then shift back.  That may be fine at the range, but it ain't so cool for competitive shooting.  I think they look cool, and shoot well.  I have a Glock, Beretta, S&W revolver, and two expensive 1911's and I just shoot the CZ-75B the best.  I liked my stainless one so much that I just picked up a lightly used black one that had lots of work done on it at the CZ custom shop.

[Night Prowler 0]

Same as everybody else has said. Also their customer service is top notch.

[njluger 5]

As a fellow Eastern European, originally from CZ's neighbor to the north, I have a soft spot for anything of quality that comes out of that corner of the world. CZ's firearms represent to me that quality, cold war era design philosophy. Out of the box, they are built and weight like tanks, have pretty heavy/gritty triggers, crappy sights, and on the inside they are rough, covered in tooling marks. However, they function well, are put together pretty solid, and give you a confident feel in hand. They also represent a great value...some recent online vendors had the 75BD for $459 shipped! Not many manufacturers are still producing steel framed guns which are available at that price point. Heck, most plastic framed guns go for much more.

 

As many already mentioned, the nice part is that all of the negative qualities I mentioned above, can be tuned out. Now there are some really quality CZ gunsmiths and custom part manufacturers, like CZ Custom or Cajun Gun Works, that can take a very good pistol and turn it into an excellent pistol. For those that like to tinker themselves, CZ also provides a pretty nice platform to learn about as it slots somewhere in the middle in terms of learning curve. It's definitely not as simple of a design as a Glock to detail strip, but it also doesn't require all of the hand fitting that the 1911 platform does.

 

The CZ 75B was also my very first pistol and I've been very happy with it's performance so far, hence the excitement you often see when CZ focused threads come up!

[Howard 538]

.... Out of the box, they ...., have pretty heavy/gritty triggers, crappy sights, and on the inside they are rough, covered in tooling marks....

I don't agree with the above.  I bought my matte stainless one factory stock and the workmanship is great.  There are no rough spots or tool marks or anything like that.  The workmanship is up there with my Kimber and S&W Performance Center 1911.  The trigger is not gritty, but not as smooth as one that has work done on it.  The sights are actually not bad on my stainless either.  They are three dot quasi night sights.  By that I mean they are like the luminous dial on a watch in that if you shine a light on them they glow in the dark for a while.

[gleninjersey 2,141]

THE AWESOMENESS!!!.....DUH! 

 

But really, to echo what several have said....for me the ergos are just fantastic.  It is almost as if the gun becomes part of my hand.  It is like its not even  there....if that makes any sense.  Not to get all Zen like but I become one with the gun.  Very accurate shooter right out of the box as well.  Price point is very good for such a good gun as well.

 

The fact that many have never heard of CZ before adds to the mystique.  Having one is like belonging to a special secret club.

 

I really like the way the Berreta 92s look but as another poster said the thickness of the grip is just a turn off for me...especially compared to my CZ75-B. 

 

Different strokes for different folks.....

[mikka1 2]

I had my first experience with a handgun only less than 2 years ago at one of the few USPSA-like ranges in Russia. I took a class from them (probably something similar to NRA First Steps Pistol), but the point was that there were, I think, 6 or 7 people in the group and the first half an hour of practice there was a drill when each in the group had a chance to try one of 5 or 6 handguns. There were 2 Glocks, Beretta 92, SIG 226, CZ 75 and, if I remember correctly, something Russian-made (I think it was called MP466 Viking, but I might be wrong). After this drill everyone was asked to choose a handgun they liked most to continue all other drills with this gun. Guess what happened? :-)

 

Out of 7 people who had from little to absolutely no experience in handguns 6 (including me) have chosen CZ and one girl has chosen SIG. In fact, I have not even HEARD about CZ pistols before that day... (so no "brand recognition", "fashion" elements etc :-) )

Instructor just smiled, asked his assistants to bring a couple of more CZs from the vault and told us that this is very typical situation he is absolutely not surprised about.

 

Is it an evidence of CZ being a good gun and, e.g., Glock - a bad one? I don't think so. But it might be a very interesting observation, because at least for a person who knows almost nothing about handguns, who probably has wrong grip, weak hands etc etc. CZ provides the most natural and comfortable feeling.

 

At that point I knew nothing about handguns at all, but I had a feeling that Beretta 92 is extremely hard to manage, much harder than any other gun I tried that day (in fact, even after 2 years I have never touched any Beretta again... maybe I'll try some day). I didn't like Glock either, but more I rented it later on, more appreciation I've been having of Glocks (so now Glock became my first own gun). I had the hardest time choosing between SIG and CZ, but still liked CZ much better...

 

But again, people are different. Last month we went to Heritage Guild Easton with 2 of my friends from NYC who never shot a handgun before. We rented CZ 75 SP-01 and Glock 19 (I still didn't have mine at that point). I was curious if they both say that CZ is better, but no luck :-) A guy liked CZ, and a girl - Glock (and for a first-timer her Glock shooting was much better than with CZ...)

[Bully 749]

Cool.  Thanks all.

 

C

[njluger 5]

I don't agree with the above.  I bought my matte stainless one factory stock and the workmanship is great.  There are no rough spots or tool marks or anything like that.  The workmanship is up there with my Kimber and S&W Performance Center 1911.  The trigger is not gritty, but not as smooth as one that has work done on it.  The sights are actually not bad on my stainless either.  They are three dot quasi night sights.  By that I mean they are like the luminous dial on a watch in that if you shine a light on them they glow in the dark for a while.

 

Not meaning to bash the CZ with that description! Perhaps your stainless is more polished inside and out, but comparing my black polycoat 75B to a Beretta 92FS or Sig P-series, two guns I see as comparable alternatives, it definitely feels "rougher" around the edge. Again, a bit of work and all of those issues go away!

[Howard 538]

Not meaning to bash the CZ with that description! Perhaps your stainless is more polished inside and out, but comparing my black polycoat 75B to a Beretta 92FS or Sig P-series, two guns I see as comparable alternatives, it definitely feels "rougher" around the edge. Again, a bit of work and all of those issues go away!

Not to worry, I did not take it as bashing and have no vested interest in CZ - although I wish they would send me a fee for each gun they sell   The stainless probably does have some more workmanship since they charge almost $200 more for it.  It also comes with nice rubber grips rather than the cheap hard plastic on the base gun.  I have a 92FS also, and think the stainless CZ is made better.

[DargZ 5]

Darn, all this talk about CZ.  I've ordered one as I'm looking to try something different in the production division.

[Howard 538]

Darn, all this talk about CZ.  I've ordered one as I'm looking to try something different in the production division.

You are going to love it!!!  Which one did you order?

[sof 0]

And another victim gets hooked.

[DargZ 5]

You are going to love it!!!  Which one did you order?

ACCU Shadow.  Minds of well go all in.

 

I spoke with CZ Customs about whether it would be production legal.  He said the gun has been reviewed but the paperwork has not been submitted as they were not able to get any guns until this past October.  It should be production legal by the time I'm ready to compete with it.

 

The trouble is trying to find magazines for it.  $50 a pop for a magazine is outrageous, let alone a 10 rounder.  Ideally, I'd like to find 15 rounders.

[Underdog 1,593]

The only gun I regret getting rid of is the CZ 75B SA.  

 

 

Some people don't like the fact fact that the standard CZ doesn't come with a decocker, and when shooting double-action, the reach, although shorter than a Beretta 92 (and dependent on grip size) can also be a bit to long.  I think the Limited Edition Stainless CZ 75B two-toned with night sights and custom work is one of the best looking and most beautiful and well-made guns out there. It would hold its own against guns that cost much more, SIGs etc..