Newbie to the World of CZ

[chicharrones]

That newbie would be me.

Today I picked up a new CZ 75 D PCR COMPACT.

It is a pretty nice pistol with alloy frame, steel slide/barrel, and rubber grips. It is just a bit bigger than my Glock 36, but the CZ holds 14 rounds of 9mm in each magazine. I like all-metal auto-loaders, especially since there seem to be less models coming out in all-metal every year.

The range trip will have to wait for about a week, but here are some pics I took after doing the usual field strip, clean, and lube.

[sparks9293]

Very nice concrats on the cz.

[dbeardslee]

You're going to love that puppy. I've got a CZ75B in 9mm, and it's a tack driver. I wasn't real happy with the trigger when I got mine, but there's an excellent pictorial on CZForums - CZ75 Trigger Job - Lots of pics. You can tell if it needs it (aside from the obvious) if it cams the hammer a lot when you pull in single action mode. That's a beauty, and great pics BTW. Now you've got me wanting a compact. Have fun with it!

[chicharrones]

You're going to love that puppy.

I think you are right! Thanks for the link.

[chicharrones]

Very nice concrats on the cz.

Thanks, Sparks. What is that in your avatar?

[dbeardslee]

Now all you have to do is learn how to pronounce Ceska Zbrojovka for when people ask you what it is .

I noticed they're putting a full length recoil spring guide in the compact 9mm. That's a really nice feature, and on a CZ it's a big plus for reliability. I had to buy a full length guide for a .40 and drill the slide myself to get one in my 'B'. I cogitated on that longer than any hole I've ever drilled in my life .

[chicharrones]

That took big ones to drill if you were doing it with a hand drill.

I will probably never learn to pronounce Ceska Zbrojovka.

For me, this CZ kind of reconnects me to the Adast printing presses I was trained to work on in the '90s. Those presses were from the Czech Republic back when the C.R. was still fresh from when the iron curtain had fallen. The quality on the Adast were . . . spotty. I had plenty of work due to that before I quit working on printing presses.

This CZ pistol on the other hand is built very well. The only thing that would have made it nicer in appearance were if it were all steel and polished blue.

*Omni ADAST 807 line of offset printing presses | ADAST printing presses

[dbeardslee]

My drill press didn't have enough room to get the slide in vertically, so I did have to do it by hand. I clamped it in a padded vice and leveled it, and used my trusty DeWalt with the built in level to drill the hole. I located the spot and put a good dimple in it with a punch, and used a brand new bit to do the nasty. It's pretty easy to drill the carbon steel slides, but the SS one's are a true MF.

When they first started selling CZ's in this country many years ago, they took some crap for the painted finish. I think that was mostly because, at that time, it wasn't what you normally found in this country. It's some tough stuff, though, and I actually prefer it to blued - the polycoat finish won't rust.

Everytime I put a reply up, I find myself scrolling back up to look at the pics. MAN I like the looks of that 'D' model .

[chicharrones]

Do you already have a decocker model? I really like the way this decocker works compared to the way Beretta or Bersa does it. The CZ decocker gently lowers the hammer to the safety notch with a quiet click-click noise. Unlike the other two that release the hammer at full speed as if the gun was dry fired.

I also really, really like the size of this CZ Compact pistol. Here are a couple pics of it next to my Glock 36 and Firestorm FS22. The FS22 is the same exact size as a Bersa/Firestorm .380 single stack model.

[dbeardslee]

Mine has a 1911 style safety on it - no decocker. I could see it though. I usually just drop the hammer with my thumb covering the firing pin, and carry it with one up the spout and the safety off - when I carry it. The other thing I did to mine was to install a lighter hammer spring, and a heavier recoil spring - really made the double action pull nice. My CZ is one of the only pistols I own with removable grips on which I didn't change grips. It just fits the hand so well and the ergonomics can't be beat. I wish you'd quit posting those pics, though - now I have to change shirts again as I've got another drool spot on this one .