Correct! Confirmed with the factory - serial #s all match - build sheet does show it as a 75BD. I offered to send it back if they would send me the latest and greatest CZ 75 but they said it was not that uncommon.

You can't have just one..I was picking these up when they were cheap, before the secret was really out. I paid $285 for the hi polish compact, $385 for the Rami. You can see that rails aren't my thing and I won't own any that have it. Not pictured is the Kadet, not just the conversion unit. Ran into a dealer that was getting rid of them and I paid $199. Should have bought several.

The cz85db is a amberdexterious cz75. Now I can shoot mine left handed.

This thread needs another pic so here's my CZ's.

By far my favorite CZ is my CZ 75 Compact. It's the Pro-Tek version from CZ's custom shop. They dehorn the gun, change the sights and do a great job on the trigger. Not cheap but just a fantastic self defense hand gun. If I could only keep one gun this would be it.

This one's coming home to me. It's a surplus that I had restored to even better than it ever was. It's fully Cajunized and rust blued. I can't wait to shoot it (and change the grips).


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I posted earlier, but I didn't have a picture of my CZ 75. Just pulled it out of the safe today, and snapped a couple of quick pics with the iPhone. As I said, this is one of the Israelis that were imported by CDI, and they very discreetly import matk them on the barrel, so unless the slide is retracted, you cannot see the mark. This has always irritated me, disfiguring firearms for some obscure bureaucratic purpose, which accomplishes nothing in the long run.....sorry, rant over, back to the CZ. In this photo, it looks like there are some dings, and there are, but the photo makes them appear much more pronounced than in person.

I had wanted to get an early gun, I'm not a fan of rails, and I also wanted one that had the early round trigger gaurd, as well as one made in Czechoslovakia rather than the Czech Republic. This one was made in 1991, and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist at the end of 1992, and divided into two countries at the beginning of 1993.

I have visited there in the 1990s, and have a weakness for the products of this interesting country. (Beer, crystal, and firearms are some of the things that they excel in the manufacture of!!.....The "real" Budweiser was first made there, and is still made ther, I have toured the brewery....).



I'm not sure if these guns are still available, (see edit below) but they represent a great value, as far as I'm concerned, and allowed me to find one of the older versions in excellent shape, and at a bargain price. Bore is like a mirror!! Very little wear, and those nicks that you see are just storage and handling type marks.



One thing about the old sights...the color had been scrubbed out of the machined recesses in the front and rear sights, and I used a toothpick and some white fingernail polish to dab on just enough for my old eyes to see the sights again.

They don't look perfectly lined up in the photo, but try holding a gun in your left hand, and an iPhone in the other, then snap the pic at exactly the right second!!

Of course, it scrubs off when throughly cleaning the gun, but only takes a second to put back on again. Use a toothpick instead of the brush that comes with the nail polish. I always keep a bottle of black, clear, white, and international orange fingernail polish on the workbench. Cheap and I use it for all kinds of little jobs.



Edit: Boy, I'm glad I bought this when I did. CDI had bunches to choose from, in all different conditions. Just checked their GB site, and they don't have any listed now. I know that I have read some posts here in the past where some of us have bought these Israeli surplus guns before, but looks like they are dried up at least for the present.

Note: replaced the Photobucket photos with ones stored here on the forum. July 29th, 2017

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Anyone try the CZ Kadet .22 LR adapter kit? I'm thinking about getting one for my new 9mm SP-01 and would like to here any comments on it.

They may had a bunch of them a couple of weeks ago. Mine is an Israeli import from a different seller and I briefly flirted with the idea of getting one from CDI, too.

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The pre-Bs are elegant, graceful guns, and mine remains my favorite, no matter what else I've added.

They do have one flaw/weakness, Les; the extractor claw will tend to break off. Takes awhile to occur, but with the older guns, that time is coming soon.

I've replaced the extractor on both pistols I've got, my 91 and my son's 88. I had a smith do it the first time, but after looking into it, it's really not hard to do. I did it myself the second time, and I'm not very mechanically inclined. No problem at all, you just need a punch.

CZ USA has the extractors for $30 or so, and the pin is another couple bucks.

scoobysnacker:

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into buying a spare extractor and pin. CZs aren't really something that I have much experience with, but I admit that back when they were first being produced behind the Iron Curtain, I remember Jeff Cooper giving them grudging praise, Mainly, IIRC, because they could be carried in condition one, or cocked and locked.

But I was intrigued by their appearance, and wanted one, but since they were being produced in Czechoslovakia, we couldn't directly import them, so I never aquired one until this one.

And I like your description: it hits the spot..."elegant, graceful guns"... And indeed they are. I am not a big fan of rails, or the shaped and serrated fronts on the trigger gaurds which appear on the later ones.

One thing that I do think is attractive are those posters above who have had their guns stripped, polished and blued. Those look even more elegant, especially with some nice wooden stocks fitted.

Well, it's not a pressing priority, but maybe one day I'll do a little cosmetic work....do any of you guys have suggestions on bluing services?

Best Regards, Les

__________________
SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

I did a small comparison between the Glock 26 and CZ RAMI. The specs and dimensions are almost identical apart from the weight. The CZ weighs about 4 ounces more. I own both these guns and both are priced about the same. Hands down the CZ is a superior gun than the Glock. Both guns are very reliable, no problems with either. The Rami just shoots better for me and is a better quality gun.

After you own a CZ, glocks become kind of Meh.....

Not ONE mention of MY favorite CZ....the CZ40B which was a join venture between Colt and CZ...was only on the market for several years and the partnership ended...don't really know as to why either...I have 2 of them and they are my favorite IDPA/USPSA gun!

AND they use standard CZ75B magazines although EAA Witness magazines are much less money and run like a champ...

Randy

PS. I have a number of CZ75 and 75B's as well as the CZ 82 in Makarov that is awesome! They are ALL awesome.......

PSS. Just found this...The CZ40B was created when Colt requested a .40 S&W DAO and DA/SA handgun from CZ that had a similar outward appearance to the 1911. Because it was designed during the AWB, it was limited to a 10 round magazine in the US market. Some of these CZ40B were also sold as Colt Z40s.



The reason for Colt's decision to work with CZ was that it was losing market share in the handgun market. Neither its 1911 nor its SAA revolvers were holding their own vs the plethora of 1911 clones, polymer wondernines and ruger single actions. Colt had lost confidence in its ability to produce profitable firearms after the catastrophic failure of their 9mm DAO 2000 All American and their 45 ACP Double eagle.

and great timing for my family on this thread. My brother was in from out of town last week. Honey and I took him to the range one afternoon. We all shot 100 rounds each out of my new to me CZ 75B SA. We can all shoot, the darn CZ made us all shoot well, my older, more experienced brother declared it the best pistol he ever shot (my S&W 25 disagrees). So he goes to my LGS, tells them what he wants and to call me(!) if they get one in. They call me on Tuesday and this came home on Wednesday. He is coming back to my town soon. It is clean, lubed and ready. It is a CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical, I will post pics(I hope).

I found an unusual CZ several years ago...a CZ75 Compact P02 Omega, safety only model. My understanding is that they are more common in Europe.

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He is going to to love that SP01, I guarantee.

There's a batch of about 500 CZ 75 Compacts with the rail and stainless frame. Basically a CZ 75 SP01 compact. I came across one like New from Cabelas. With a coupon code and discounted gift cards I picked it up for about $290.

I saw one of those at the last gunshow I went to. It was priced right but I really want the alloy frame P01 for the weight savings. That was a right nice price you got that for.

Love my CZ 75 PCR.

I've had my Tanfiglio P19 (now the "Witness") for about 25 years. Before I decided to go to 1911's in IPSC Classic division it was my only competition Auto.

Early on I replaced the double action trigger with a single action unit. I still have the original trigger tucked away but I found shooting in Standard instead of Production division no handicap.

As far as "leather" goes I chose a simple belt slide holster. With never a holster problem or difficulty in drawing the pistol.

I had 3 problems with the gun itself.

1. The rifling protrudes right to the chamber mouth. Even after having the chamber reamed twice the wrong profile bullet would stick in the rifling before the slide was fully forward. The day that I opened another 250 factory rounds on the 3rd stage of a competition to find that they would not chamber after the first mag change was not a good days shooting. That night I turned my bullet seating die down a couple of turns and ran them all through the press. The answer was to chamber drop all commercial competition rounds
before a comp.

2. While it shoots minute of IPSC with standard 115/124/125 projectiles this particular gun prefers light (100-105) grain bullets going 1275-1300 fps. With these I used to shoot ISSF Centrefire at club level using a 12O'clock hold on the target centre. For a long time these projectiles were unavailable so I stopped shooting it, but with the advent of Cowboy Action Shooting 100 - 105 grain .357 projectiles are readily available again and so I have drawn my pistol out of "semi retirement" for some speed shooting.

3. The damm thing insists on shooting low. I filed down the front sight as far as I dared but it still shot about a foot low at 25 meters with most loads. I recently had a higher Bull Cherokee rear sight installed. It looks oversize now but the gunsmith assured me it will now be regulated properly, I just have to take done time and make final sight adjustments. Unfortunately I have been away from home for the last 16 weeks as my wife recovers from some pretty drastic surgery. But once I get back and get some range time ....

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Nice shooting handguns with a very comfortable grip!

Here's mine with another favorite.

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The trigger on the pre-B is a pleasure not equaled by the later guns either. Mine came from the Grafenwöhr Rod & Gun Club three decades ago. I think it has a nicer trigger than my S&W Model 39. Some comments were made on the superficial resemblance to the Browning High Power. Truly, the best High Power trigger I ever felt was like dragging a reluctant cat across broken milk bottles in comparison.

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I have both and prefer the alloy frame, especially for carrying. If it wasn't for the low price I might have let it pass. Handled the new CZ P10C but it didn't do much for me, still prefer the 75 Compact allow frame.

I took a brief glance at CZ's website, and the results were disheartening; emphasis placed on the mentioned P10C (a polymer, striker-fired gun), and with other polymer guns like the SP01 Phantom, the P 07 and the P 09.
These are prominent in the Updated/New section.

Looking for all the different varieties of metal pistols, I didn't find many of them until I checked under the Dsicontinued/Limited Edition section.
Not as many options for the 'flagship' gun, but via the Dan Wesson label, there's a lot of 1911 choices.

We saw this progression occur with S&W when they phased out the 3rd Gen guns, a change over to polymer, entry into the 1911 market, and decline/disappearance of original design metal guns.

Sig Sauer is in the early phases of this too- while their P series is still prominently featured for now, the polymer guns are becoming more and more prominent, as are the 1911's.

Beretta, also... while the majority of the pistols they list are of the 92 style, the first 4 on the page are polymer, and they're touting the APX- a polymer striker fired gun.
Still no 1911s, so there's some hope left... I like the 1911 as much as anyone, but I think it's a bad sign when prominent manufacturers give up on their own, more modern designs, and go with that instead. I think it means their marketing and sales divisions have concluded the market is closing.

I'm glad I have the steel guns I do.

Huh?
Plenty of fine Czech steel here:
CZ USA
27 Metal pistols.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Ron:
Is your CZ50 still for sale? If so, how much. I am interested.

CZ has a long and well deserved reputation for building quality firearms. Even after WWII they took left over (dou,dot swp) K98k receivers, scrubbed the Waffenampts off and produced really excellent K98s for export. I love mine. And here's their most recent entry into the polymer framed striker fired pistol market, and it's a good one, the P10c.
Beretta is no slouch though with their late entry into the strker fired market with the excellent APX. We're blessed to have so many good options to choose from.

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Ah, CZs. My only regret was not buying one earlier - I missed out on the last run of cheap surplus guns about 5 years ago, but I was smart enough to miss out this time.

My first experience with CZ pistols was not a memorable one - I shot a .40 S&W example during a pistol class soon after a turned 21. I wasn't impressed with the trigger or the hard to rack slide, no doubt made more difficult by the heavier recoil spring used on the .40 S&W models.

I looked at them again after it became glaringly obvious a few years back that S&W had no interest in supporting 3rd gens anymore. After shooting - and loving - a 5903 for two years, I decided I should spend my money on a design still supported by the factory. I tried an SP01 at the local shop and range and fell in love, hard. As much as I love S&W automatics, the CZ blew it out of the water. An SP01 Tactical soon followed, along with a bunch of trigger upgrades by CZ Custom to make an already good gun exceptional.



Next came a blued CZ75 Pre-B from CDI Sales on Gunbroker. It's a recent Israeli surplus gun, and its far nicer than you'd expect for something coming out of the Middle East. I usually mount a .22LR Kadet kit on it, but I shoot the gun with it's original slide and barrel regularly. I may send this out for trigger work, and possibly refinishing, but that's a ways off now that CHP 4006TSWs are hitting the surplus market and sucking up my spare cash.



But I'm getting ahead of myself. My first CZ ownership experience wasn't a pistol, it was a CZ rifle. I bought a 455FS
in .22LR back in early 2013, soon after they came out. I had seen pictures of the 452FS and fell in love after holding one in person. With the 452s being discontinued, I jumped on a new 455. It hasn't disappointed, though I wish it had the sliding tangent sights of the 452s.

My next CZ rifle was a 527FS in .223 - the next logical step up from the 455FS. That's a recent purchase, joining the fold in the winter of last year.

My latest is a 455 Varmint in .22LR for target use. I figure after collecting a series of walk about rifles, something dedicated to bench work would be a smart move. Hopefully I'll shoot it soon.



Overall, I'm very happy with every CZ product I've owned and shot. They seem to hit the sweet spot in quality, good design, and price that no one else seems capable of. Until that changes, they'll be my favorite firearm manufacturer.

No more 85 series (gives you the ambidextrous safety and slide stop on a black gun), no more 82/83 series (gives you .380, 9 Mak, .32 acp), no full Kadet anymore.
What they have, they've had around awhile, and the selection is less than it used to be.

And it wasn't that long ago that they didn't have ANY polymer guns, now they have 10.
And they've added in 3 "pistols" that aren't true handguns; the Scorpions and the Bren.

Yeah, I know, being an old fuddy duddy, "get off my lawn" fella here, but I like the aesthetics of a nice steel pistol. As good as the P10C, the Sig 320, the Beretta APX might be, I don't get excited about them the way I do the 75, the 226, or the 92.

You found a blued one from CDI, not the polycoat? That's a great deal. Most of the hard work is done now, if you move to refinish it.

That Israeli looks perfect.
Here's mine before a bunch of work:

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

While I greatly prefer blued guns, it makes you respect the durability of the polycoat finish, seeing one like yours

Mine look basically the same as les.b's, a smooth (if nicked under closer examination) matte black


Hmm- I think I said it was a 91, my bad. Mine's a 92.

I do have a scuff on the rear backstrap, about the size of a thumbprint.
Got mine used, with box, from Robertson's Trading Post, I think it was from Czech police. Had the wonky "ergonomic" grips, which I have kept in the box. I did have some wooden grips (I think meant for a Springfield P9, I had to fit them), but have since settled on the factory rubber as seen in the picture. My Star 30MI came with grips like that, and they look right (not like Hogue wraparounds) and feel great... I've since done the same with the Beretta (Hogue rubber panels), and the Sig (Uncle Mike's).

I think the best thing about the CZ's, to me at least, is that they point so well. If you are dry-firing, and just point the gun at a small target, and then look down the sights... it's on target. The grip is a huge factor in that, it's so comfortable and natural.

You add in the great balance and silky trigger of the full size pre B's, and that combines to make it a wonderful shooter. There's little flip, and it's very manageable. It's heavy, but most of the weight is centered on the hand, the barrel is tapered and light. The gun feels lighter than it is, easily moved.

To compare it to some similar guns- my Sig feels better than it looks, but it's a bit blocky. The slide feels a bit higher.
The Beretta is another solid gun, seems like the weight is more equally spread over the barrel and slide, not as much at the hand.
My Smith (the 915) has a shorter barrel and slide, seems to flip just a bit more.
None seem to point quite as well, although all are good.

I, too, am a big fan of the CZs. I've got a PO1, 75BD and a 97BD.
I also have the .22LR Kadet and wanting to add a .22 Hornet CZ rifle to the collection. My wife liked the PO1 so much that she's kinda confiscated it for her bedside and EDC pistol. The 75BD is one of my best shooters and the 97BD is also a nice .45ACP shooter.

Yep. I have the Kadet .22LR Kit and use it on my 75BD every once in awhile. It's not cheap, nor is it easy to find one, but if you do, it makes for a pretty nice .22 conversion. It's accurate and works great. Mine was a little tight fit at first, but use over time, it's freed up nicely. The Kadet has the same great quality as the CZ guns themselves. You may want to do a double-check and make sure it will work on that SP-01 before you invest in one....as I said, they aren't cheap.

Before anything else, I had CZs. Before I got the guns, I had the motorcycles. From the way they are made, I knew I would like the guns. CZ52, vz.50, and most recently, a 75BD. If I have a grail gun, it would be the 82.

__________________
Not in jail.

Nothing at all wrong with Tanfoglios. I have several Tanfoglio 75 clones, my Tanfoglio Bullseye pistol is as consistent as many custom made 1911 Bullseye pistols.I bought a Tanfoglio .22 conversion kit from Bud's , it fits all my large frame Tanfoglios, shoots great with CCI MM. I also own a Armalite AR 24/15 TC and it may be overall my favorite pistol. The 24-15 is sized exactly like an original CZ-75 but has a hump at the rear of the slide under a LPA sight, kinds looks like a SIG 210. These Armalite pistols were made in Turkey by Sarlimaz and are completely forged.
Bullseye with .22 upper.
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My first handgun (M&P9) doesn't get shot much anymore once I discovered CZ. I have a Rami and SP-01. I wish I could have gotten a surplus pre-B when they flooded the market. I am happy with mine and looking to get them cajunized.

I bought it in early 2016 when the most recent wave of imports started. CDI had one or two mint blued guns listed that sold for $500+, so when that gun came up for $425 I jumped on it. No one else bid on it, so it was mine. Since the phosphated and painted guns frequently go for $400+ these days, I think I did good.

The gun photographs well, but it has a bunch of scratches and nicks. There's also some discoloration on the front strap, back strap, and there's a spot on the slide (which you can barely see in the picture). Its nice, but if I decide to do trigger work I'm going to make it perfect. I'm thinking reblue the slide and hard chrome the frame and controls, but we'll see.

I'd kill for a .32ACP CZ83, but the age of good sized pistol chambered in mouse gun cartridges is long past. Even European police departments are going for locked breech 9mms. It's a wonder that Beretta still makes the Cheetah new. On the bright side, they're common on the surplus market for now.

Also, the 'pistol' Scorpion and Bren are a ploy to get around the stupidity of the NFA. It's easier to SBR a pistol by adding a stock then it is to chop the barrel on a rifle, so they're 'pistols' only as long as it takes for the stamp to process.

Just a the Kadet from GB last Monday. Shot it once and will take it this Tuesday morning again to try different ammo. Nice gun, always liked the look of the CZ 75's. The grip is very comfortable. Have a Drulov model 75 single shot made by CZ. It's simple, rugged and accurate. Has a set trigger, it's a basic free pistol that's fun to shoot. Slows down the ammo consumption and gets you back to the basics of sight alignment and trigger control. It's for sale because I bought a Hammerli 100 free pistol and don't need two single shots. Larry

I don't own a CZ yet, and Glops are meh.

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Sure you did

I never did post a pic of the finished product (with grips). I recently took it to the range and the RO came over to see what I had now (seems I always have a new gun when I go there). He handled it, shook his head and handed it back to me. He came back a few minutes later and said he [I]had[I] to shoot it, and I was glad to let him. He put three holes in the smallest space on the target, put it down and said "I'm serious - don't ever sell this gun!". I wouldn't - as much as I love my higher dollar guns, this would be the very last to go.

Why would he shake his head. 1911 or Glock snob?

__________________
Release the Kraken

I feel the same way. If forced to keep one it's my CZ 75 Compact. Take my safe queens, this bad boy does exactly what it says on the tin!

CZ makes some mighty fine pistols for sure. But the best I've ever shot were made by Sig. The early P220's were exceptional. The ones that say "Made In W. Germany" are as solid as they come. And CZ got the idea for the slide being inside the frame from Sig. The P210 has the reputation of being the best pistol ever made. It carries a price tag to match though. But that's the first pistol with the slide inside the frame. The P220 is a mighty fine pistol too.

Actually, the P210 is a development of the French Modele 35A which Sig licensed from the French developer.
The 35A had slide rails inside the frame.
The first to do so? Probably not..

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

CZ makes great firearms. I've got one of the 75B's from the Turkish Army over run contract from years ago as well as a matte 97B. Looking to add a 75B Tactical Sport in the near future as well as one of the Skorpion carbines or pistol with the arm brace.

__________________
BCCI Life Member #2068

I went through a bunch of Sigs (P229, P226, P239, P290RS, P938, M11-A1 (my favorite), P229 Legion, Nightmare Carry)... I loved something about them all but I eventually sold or traded them. I will buy another M11-A1, soon. That pistol was butter smooth...

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