The bad Czech

[sigp220.45]

I was in my local place when I saw a pistol sitting on a police evidence bag. Turns out the gun had been stolen from the gun shop 15 years before, and had been recovered from a drug house in Albuquerque, about three hours away. The owner said I could have it for a hundred bucks. I figure almost anything that shoots is worth a hundred bucks these days, so I grabbed it.

Its a CZ Vzor 70, .32 ACP. God only knows what mischief it had been up to in ABQ, a town noted for plenty of possibilities. Somewhere along the way it lost every bit of its bluing and its magazine.

I stripped it, cleaned it, got it hot in the oven and slathered on some cold blue I found in the junk box. It still looks crappy, but its darker now.



I guess CAI brought in a bunch of these. You can just barely see the import mark:



It seems to be a well put together gun. It has nice little touches, like the topstrap.



I found an aftermarket magazine. Its a bear to get out with the slide locked back, but I'm hoping it will smooth out. I haven't picked up any .32s to try it out yet.

Its pretty big for a .32, and the trigger pull requires a Herculean effort in double action, but I kind of like it so far. Disassembly is very easy.



I'm not sure what to do with it and I think even at a hundred bucks it wasn't a steal, but it starting to grow on me. I'll see how it shoots.

 

[G-Mac]

I've owned a few CZ dirt bikes, but never a pistol. Good find!

 

[shouldazagged]

"Bad Czech"?

Nay, My Liege, the Frenchman is wearing the plate armor, the Czech is in the mail...

Sorry.

I'll just go away now.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Was it blued in the first place ? I have a wartime CZ-27 with the phosphate
finish, yours looks very similar.

 

[Marshwheeling]

I suppose you paid way too much for it, but you would have a hard time buying another one for a hunnert. I have a vz.50, predecessor to the 70 and virtually the same gun. I really like it, even though it is not yet as reliable as I would like.

None of them has a good DA trigger, but I have read that some of the 70s can be really bad. CZForum dot com has a thread on improving the 50/70.

Holsters for the Walther PPK will fit it. It may like the slightly hotter european ammo better than made-in-USA. Mine chokes on hollow points, but YMMV. In any case, the guys who seem to know say ball ammo is preferable for SD in these guns.

Mine was one of my first guns. It came to me along with a vz.52 because I was known to be partial to Jawa and CZ motorbikes.

 

[Teddydog]

You know they say that one should never pass a bad Czech.

I have one. One of my earliest guns, too. Maybe even the first handgun purchased after I turned 21. My is parkerized/phosphate over some pitting. I had two magazines for it but one has been MIA for many years. I think I paid around $139 or $159 for it at Old Sac Armory in Sacramento in 1991 or thereabouts. Also bought an M1 Carbine there. They always had a bunch of interesting surplus guns and ammo.

Rob

 

[Double-O-Dave]

I think you did pretty good. I have one that cost around $150.00 if (fading) memory serves me correctly. Spare magazines can be difficult to find, as well as pricey. Mine is accurate enough, but the front sight is horrible. DA trigger pull is heavy, SA is okay. Much like you, I couldn't resist a quality pistol at such a low price. Besides, it's a lot more fun to shoot than my .32ACP Seecamp.

Regards,

Dave

PS: Sorry, I should explain my photo: top is my Model 638-1 on top of an M&P 40C, below: CZ-70 on top of a CZ-82 for size comparisons of different small handguns.

 

[boatme99]

Did you get the evidence bag, too?

Your right, $100 for anything that shoots is pretty good, these days.
Enjoy it.

 

[moosedog]

They are cool looking guns and usually very reliable.

 

[islamoradamark]

i always heard cz s have always been good shooters

 

[Arik]

They were imported in batches. The last batch came in about 2 years ago. I believe Aim Surplus was selling them for $250 with holster and 2 mags Most by CAI.

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