$275 at the Berlin Rod & Gun Club 1989-90, and you could import it with your PCS orders since it is a commercial handgun. If you bought a military firearm you would have to use a licensed importer to file your ATF Form 6. Some former Polizei Walthers PPK, PPK/S were up for sale, too $350+
My friend I worked with a technician that had a East German marked CZ75. I never saw one before. Circa 2000. He told me a pilot brought it back. I've done a lot of research on it and I can't find shit. I offered to buy it multiple times, but he would not sell. I'm very happy I own one now. Not the East German one unfortunately.
I've owned at least one CZ-75 continuously since the first ones entered the United States. The pistol on my hip at this moment is a CZ-75 Compact. A few weeks ago, I shot a perfect score with it when I qualified for my concealed carry permit. If I have to fight for my life, a CZ-75 is the pistol I'll reach for.
It's a sturdier take on the old Browning hi-power but with its own unique flavor prefer the full size variant just bought the CZ 75 Bravo yesterday and it is a delight to shoot
If you put the the hammer in the quarter cock position, it will automatically line up with the disassembly line. Makes it for a super simple way to take the slide off with no fuss. Great video as always!!
Gotta admit CZ is genius for consolidating Colt and Dan Wesson in a way where neither of their product lines really interfere with each other, or CZ's own lineup for that matter. I would really like to see the DWX rise to fame alongside the CZ75 because it's a genius design, miraculous in its simplicity and elegance.
Very nice review! CZ 75 is an outstanding pistol. Well made, accurate, and reasonable price. I've been shooting for many years since a young age. Mainly Walther and 1911. A buddy introduced me to CZ 75B in 2013. Was beyond impressed with it and promptly purchased one. Just an all around well designed steel classic pistol. In my opinion, it seems like the final evolution of the Browning hi power.
I love mine with the Omega trigger. The double-action pull is long enough to be safe, but smooth and not heavy, and the single action is one of the best. I'd take it over a striker-fired pistol any day.
Jeff Cooper liked dthe CZ75 and praised it in articles several times even though earlier he had disliked the other DA/SA 9mm pistols. I nuch prefer my CZ75 over my Glocks or Beretta pistols.
Cooper didn’t “praise” the gun so much that he just didn’t despise it like all of the other 9mm’s out there. Cooper said that the CZ 75 was a “descent” 9mm that “wasn’t bad.” I worked under Jeff Cooper at Gunsite and spoke with him often. I as well as many others that worked at Gunsite, drank iced tea at his house, just down the dirt road from Gunsite academy.
@@colt10mmsecurity68 Praised as in he was not negative about it in magazine interviews, but with other DA 9mm pistols he had asked what is their purpose? About the CZ75, gun magazine readers of the era never saw anything disparaging about the CZ75.
In the early 1980s I managed to acquire an original first generation commercial CZ75 from an individual who had brought it back from Lebanon. He told me the pistol was intended to be carried by soldiers in condition 3 (hammer down on an empty chamber). Once chambered and fired, it could be carried in condition 1 (chambered, cocked, and locked). Condition 2 (hammer lowered onto a loaded chamber) was not a sanctioned method of carry because of the chance of an accidental discharge while manually lowering the hammer. He said the only reason for incorporating the DA feature was to allow the soldier the opportunity to make a rapid second shot attempt if the hard primers of East Bloc SMG ammo failed to ignite on the first try. As for CZ clones, the nicest one I ever handled was the Swiss Sphinx AT-84.
Unfortunately that guy was wrong about almost all of that. 9mm SMG ammo...In the east bloc? 1980. At the time when no one in the east bloc used 9x19mm in any significant numbers? And the CZ-75 was intended for export from the very beginning. It is true the DA was only begrudgingly added though.
@@RocketPropelledGuy I don't know what the correct answer is, and it's possible he may have said European military primers instead of East Bloc SMG primers (I'm trying to recall 40 year old memories). I do find the DA design seriously flawed since the lack of a safe decocking feature makes the pistol highly prone to accidental discharges.
@@Paladin1873 Yeah, that would make more sense, I was thinking that may be what you meant. I dunno if I'd call it highly prone, but it is very feasible. In their defense safe decocking mechanisms were not a common feature on autoloaders at that time. Oh, and here's something dumb: early iterations of the very first generation (with the severe scalloping of the slide and frame, it looked cooler) would sometimes come with a hammer that didn't have the half-cock notch, despite the manual indicating it should be there. These hammers had a slightly different width, but I can't remember if it was bigger or smaller than the correct one.
@@RocketPropelledGuy Mine was an early version with the scalloping. I can't remember if it had a half-cock but I do remember the manual safety did not click on and off. It was surprisingly loose. A gunsmith friend fixed that for me. He said it was missing a spring-loaded bearing, but I don't recall the frame having any recess for fitting such a setup. The gun I bought years later as a replacement for my first CZ75 used a small internal cam to lock the safety up or down. While trying to modify the frame to accept later versions of the CZ75 magazine, I managed to lose that piece and had to fabricate a replacement.
They just look right. I remember seeing them in movies when I was a kid, and I always thought they were some kind of fancy 1911 until I got older and watched a Japanese animation called gunsmith cats. They talk about the CZ75s specifications, so I immediately look them up and the more I looked the more I knew I had to get one. I've had 1911s I also have a Beretta M4 I've had almost every model of Glock and none of them compared to the CZ. They all fall short in every aspect outside of capacity maybe. You can tell these guns are still being made in an old school way. Just look at the lock work of the hammer and trigger mechanism you can see it and you can feel it when you pick one up. I just can't go on enough about this gun if you dont have it get it.
Got a CZ-75 B, good pistol and everything but I regret not waiting for the LGS to get the BD model in. Discovered I'm not a big fan of lowering the hammers by hand after accidentally slipping a few times while practicing the technique on my CZ and 1911 while they were unloaded 😑 With my Beretta M9A1 all I have do is just flip the decocker and we're all good.
I think the big reason that the 1911 stuck around among civilian shooters is actually because the single action actually leads to a more crisp and clean trigger with a short travel that breaks like glass. You have to imagine that having a firing pin block, double action hammer or half-cocked striker must add a lot of extra stuff that the trigger must do to drop the firing pin compared to a simpler single action mechanism. And a double action has more slop even when the hammer is cocked. That's not desirable for competition shooters, which I think is exactly why the CZ Shadow series dropped the firing pin block and made it a functionally single action trigger - same with the new Beretta 92 SAO competition oriented models. A modern, refined, hand-fitted M1911 is probably comparable to those kind of competition oriented models of "newer" designs (still from the 80s, 40 years old at this point...). It's also worth noting that the US Army still insists that you do not load a live round into the chamber. Not exactly modern civilian CCW "doctrine."
I have a SP01 PO1 RAMI P07 75 compact , 75 B and a Pre B , and a Soviet edition 75B there's a few like the 85 97 Shadow and Shadow compact on the list ...
You are in error. The Czech military never used the Tokarev or the Makarov Soviet designs. They used the vz-52 and the vz- 83 pistols, which were Czech designs and differed in operation.
1911 fan here. No , i fully acknowledge that it is obsolete. It wasn't till the sig P320 X -compact came out that i found something to replace a nightstand / kitchen counter pistol. For those of us who have small hands and just can't stand a grip angle not being more like that of the 1911 , the market was very limited. Back in the late 80s , i tried the Beretta 92fs / centurion , great grip angle , just too chunky for my hands.
I spent the early 1990's shooting various matches with the 1911. I grew up with all the storied lore of battles past. My Grandfather's carried it and my Dad carried it during the Vietnam war. I've carried 9x19 mm hand guns now for the past ten years. I agree with you fully regarding the 1911's obsolescence!
Thanks for giving a truly classic pistol some attention! Another Wonder-9 series was the S&W 59 and its variants. I have a pre-B that is a great shooter. My only complaint is that it has a black paint finish that flakes off easily. I believe that the reason the originals didn't have a decock feature was because most doctrine at the time was to carry with an empty chamber, and the DA capacity was for a second-strike feature. Another little-known variant was the Springfield Armory P9, a Tanfoglio rebrand. I had a compact model, and interestingly the safety could be applied with the hammer down!
Other "copies" and varients were the "Sphinx" from Switzerland and the famous Bren 10 which took much from the CZ in its design. I have a Bauska import CZ75 along with an Action Arms import CZ75 and a CZ85 ambidextrous version.
I have the B model. I got it right after they started getting imported. It has the funky thumb ramp grips, which I should replace with the regular checkered ones. Great shooter. Thanks for the great information!
I have actually heard of the AR-24. I have been, for over half a century, been interested in firearms and before the Internet used to peruse all the catalogs. I actually have a Tanfoglio clone. It is an odd one, though. It is the polymer frame version of the FAB92. I saw a video once of the president of the Tanfoglio company discussing why they put the slide mounted safety/decocker on the slide. Since it was the first gun I ordered online, I plan to keep it. The CZ75B is on my to buy list. Although my state has recently restricted handguns to 15-round magazines I have lots of 17-round mags I bought for the FAB92. At least for now, we don't have to give up any mags we had before the change in the law.
Going to pick up a cz75 D compact tomorrow at my local scheels brand new 😁 every time they have that middle of the sp01 they fly off the shelves , I called and they put the last one on hold for me
I believe the Israeli version of the 75 (IMI) had parts manufactured by Tangfoglio. Im not really sure on that as it doesnt make sense. I examined a Sphinx 3000 in a gun shop that was a Swiss made 75 clone. It was kind of blocky and from what I understand it was one finest 75 clones out there. I should have bought it. The company is now defunct. Ive shot the IMI Jericho and I can say its a joy to shoot. Its on the heavy side but uncanningly no matter what hand size you have the gun is comfortable.
SP-01 tactical is king when it comes to shootability of a DA/SA pistol. I wish they'd make one with an aluminum frame so it could compete better with the M9 or the P226 for duty use.
@SmallArmsSolutions great video again. Thank you. Small correction...Czechoslovak army never introduced CZ75 but it was introduced into Czech Army in 2011/2012 in limited numbers and certain units as model CZ75 Phantom with plastic frame and slide with reduced weight. It replaced CZ82 ( in 9mm Makarov with Polygonal rifling ). In case of CZ75 there is further evolution with CZ75 OMEGA where user can set type safety himself. Personal favourite is CZ75 P-01 PCR which was designed specifically for Czech police and introduced around year 2000. It was first railed dust cover CZ75 and as standard with decocker like SIG226 instead of safety. First CZ75 assembled without hand fitting barrel locking.
The -B series came out after the fall of the Soviet Union and Cold War. It was intended for the US market. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, CZ pistols could not be imported easily.
First at 3:50 in there are SERIOUS errors or mistakes in this video, First the Czechs NEVER adopted the Tokarev it was the cz52, Secondly the NEXT service Pistol was the CZ-82. YES You are right in stating the CZ-75 was for commercial sale. Never the less I expected better info on this video.
I carry a CZ75D PCR as my EDC, I just wish they made an optics ready variant with a decocker. The Shadow 2 Compact would be great but it doesn't have a drop safety and it doesn't have a decocker. I really don't know who they made that gun for.
The original mass-produced CZ 75 was the Cold War classic, not the CZ 75 B. The original gun has round handguard, spur hammer, slide serrations that are the same as those on the P-01, and can only accept the similar-looking but different 15-round magazines.
Cz75 barrels are hammer forged fyi.. Doesnt seem Czechoslovakia was using the makorav or tokarev for the most part, they had the vz46 and their own 9x18s like cz82 etc
100 years ago? In the overall scheme of things, they are quite insignificant. But yes they did a hundred years ago. No major world powers, no allies during WW2 or any other war.
@@SmallArmsSolutions exactly! Sir, if able, could you look into a video about service intervals in the 92 series? Have several and already rebuilt an Italian made (2017) at about 19,000 rounds after a slight fold started to appear left locking lug. Recoil spring replacement was regular. Just curious about your thoughts. PS, we turned in our M9s at Drum summer 2023. They were arsenal rebuilt somewhere along the way and reissued in 2016. Had a uniformed gray finish on all components of any metal type, mix of type 2 and type 3 locking blocks and had spent a while digesting the M1152 ammo with no noted issues. If interested I could codify further via different means.
The M9 has a parts replacement schedule. The problem is, the Army rarely follows. They wait until the gun fails to replace components. Aniston has a higher refurbishment cost on the M9 than what they cost to refurbish. The parts used are mixed OEM and others sources which is problematic due to the non OEM parts are not made properly. As far as your locking blocks, when any deformation is skin on the lugs it is time to replace. The type 2 and 3 locking blocks will exceed 15 to 20K rounds. I had had this conversation with a contact at Beretta not so long ago.
The only thing i really hate about the original models is the super curved triggers actually hurt my finger on the first pull and it only gets worse subsequent shots
Can the DA trigger pull be improved? I may have been spoiled by the one on my 92x. I tried an older CZ75 at my local store (imported by Springfield Armory by the way) and I couldn't pull the DA trigger. I have muscular dystrophy, so my hands are weaker than normal anyway. But i'd love to have a CZ75 if I can make the DA pull better.
Greetings from the Czech Republic. If you don't mind, I'll offer a correction: Czechoslovak army _never_ used the same weapons as other Warsaw Pact countries. Due to the well-renowned arms industry, we were allowed to keep our domestically designed and produced weapons. While other Soviet countries and satellites used Tokarev's TT-33, then Makarov's PM and Kalashnikov's AK-47s (or their clones), we used pistols vz. 24/27, vz. 52, later vz. 82 and sa. vz. 58 and vz. 61 "Škorpion" SMG/PDW. The only requirement from USSR was to standardise on calibre---so vz. 52, originally developed for 9x19, had to be adapted to 7.62x25 (which turned out to cause problems with durability of the roller-locking system) and vz. 82 pistol was chambered in 9mm Makarov as opposed to the civilian market versions CZ 83, chambered in 7.65mm or 9mm Browning (aka 32 ACP and 380). Sa. vz. 58 was chambered in 7.62x39, of course. There were several attempts to make the Škorpion use more potent calibre than its original 7.65 Browning (e.g. 9mm Makarov), but they all proved to be impractical. Otherwise, good informative video. CZ 75 ages very well; I own several variants, including a CZ 75 from 1986 (no firing pin block safety yet) and it's one of the best pistols I have, shooting it is a delight.
A small update (I have to correct even myself… ;-)) I wrote that pistol vz. 82 was chambered in 9mm Makarov-well, technically, that’s kinda incorrect. It was actually chambered for a Czech variant of the round, dimensionally exactly the same, but loaded for higher pressures (energies). That’s why the pistol had polygonal rifling as well. But the unique calibre didn’t survive; eventually, std. Makarov cartridge was used.
One thing that really made a CZ75 a great choice were the Cadet 22lr conversions. These were extremely accurate and allowed cheap practice with your full size gun. Sadly they discontinued these some years ago. Once discontinued, I lost interest in the CZ.
I own a 75 omega and a 75 compact. Great shooters never a problem but i dont shoot em much anymore cause the internet scared me with talks of broken firing pin retainer pins and slide stops. 😔 dont know how true it is and i dont dry firebut i wanna keep em running.
You could always replace the roll pins with better pins? They're pretty bulletproof pistols either way. We only hear about the edge cases on the internet. That stuff rarely happens.
@@life_of_riley88 thats what i was thinkin to. I got extra parts incase it goes down just dont want it to happen at the wrong time. Its crazy with the 75s some people get 20,000 rounds out of original parts n some say theirs broke less than 1000. I love the platform. They carry and shoot great. You ever had any issues?
@@life_of_riley88 i also hear that the upgraded steel pins can cause premature breakage on the firing pin shoulder. Thats why i just got factory spare parts. Again i dont know how true any of this is. I take the internet with a grain of salt
@@FirstLast-ff7qx Interesting. I've not had any issues with my modern production 75BD. Shoots awesome, feels great in the hand, and has given me zero malfunctions in ~2500 rounds so far.
@@SmallArmsSolutions True, that one just struck me because of how high end it is. I agree with you it's a fantastic design, but I could never buy that any CZ75 clone is worth more than north of two G's, not any more than I can help but laugh at folks lining up to pay four, five or even six grand for some polymer framed 2011... hilarious and unbelievable!
I shot over 1k rounds that day. I also have arthritis issues. Im no precision shooter. I talk far more mechanics. Plenty of channels who show shooting footage as their primary content.
Comparing the CZ75B to the Beretta 92 to the SIG226, there ain't much to talk about. With any of them YOU ARE WELL ARMED. I carry the CZ. If you just HAFTA, go ahead and separate the fly shit from the pepper. In the end it means NOTHING.
@@SmallArmsSolutions OK. Sorry. In your case, the hot air is free. In the end, these comparisons still mean nothing except maybe to an easily impressed Pilgrim. The gun don't win the gunfight.
How dare you talk negatively about Jesus' pistol the 1911!!!??? He was a friend of mine from Culiacàn Sinaloa Mexico. His was chambered in 38 Super though. 😁😆
CZ makes some of the finest firearms in the world. They are very underrated.
I remember when the only way to get a CZ-75 was to get stationed in Germany, buy one, then bring it back.
$275 at the Berlin Rod & Gun Club 1989-90, and you could import it with your PCS orders since it is a commercial handgun. If you bought a military firearm you would have to use a licensed importer to file your ATF Form 6. Some former Polizei Walthers PPK, PPK/S were up for sale, too $350+
My pre-B CZ75 apparently got into the States via a serviceman purchase. It has no import marks.
That's crazy.
Or, ya know, use the secret ingredient….
My friend I worked with a technician that had a East German marked CZ75. I never saw one before. Circa 2000. He told me a pilot brought it back. I've done a lot of research on it and I can't find shit. I offered to buy it multiple times, but he would not sell. I'm very happy I own one now. Not the East German one unfortunately.
I've owned at least one CZ-75 continuously since the first ones entered the United States. The pistol on my hip at this moment is a CZ-75 Compact. A few weeks ago, I shot a perfect score with it when I qualified for my concealed carry permit. If I have to fight for my life, a CZ-75 is the pistol I'll reach for.
It's a sturdier take on the old Browning hi-power but with its own unique flavor prefer the full size variant just bought the CZ 75 Bravo yesterday and it is a delight to shoot
I’m getting a brand new 75 D from my local scheels Friday 😁 I’m excited
If you put the the hammer in the quarter cock position, it will automatically line up with the disassembly line. Makes it for a super simple way to take the slide off with no fuss. Great video as always!!
Great tip. Thanks.
Yep, I’ve done that with my sp-01 when I de cock it.
Genius! Thank you!
Taking my SP-01 to the grave with me
Same here.
Yup. It's my go-to for home defense
Best gun ever I have fully customized mine and it's better than anything I've tried
I own all three on the table and the CZ75B is the most accurate for me.
Yup, lot of to do with slides inside of frame.
The Czechs were using pistols chambered in the same rounds as the Tokarevs and Makarovs but were using their own unique designs, the CZ52 and CZ82
I still shoot and carry my CZ 85 pistols..They are still a great hand gun..
Love to get an 85 and 97
Gotta admit CZ is genius for consolidating Colt and Dan Wesson in a way where neither of their product lines really interfere with each other, or CZ's own lineup for that matter. I would really like to see the DWX rise to fame alongside the CZ75 because it's a genius design, miraculous in its simplicity and elegance.
Very nice review! CZ 75 is an outstanding pistol. Well made, accurate, and reasonable price. I've been shooting for many years since a young age. Mainly Walther and 1911. A buddy introduced me to CZ 75B in 2013. Was beyond impressed with it and promptly purchased one. Just an all around well designed steel classic pistol. In my opinion, it seems like the final evolution of the Browning hi power.
Colts acquisition by CZ just makes General Key's opinions on wonder 9s even funnier.
I have two 75 Pre B’s, 3 75B’s and a 75 Compact..some of the best pistols out there.
I love the cz75b! Bought it two days after turning 21. Been with me ever since
I love mine with the Omega trigger. The double-action pull is long enough to be safe, but smooth and not heavy, and the single action is one of the best. I'd take it over a striker-fired pistol any day.
Thank you Chris!! I love ur videos bc ur doing stuff that no one else is and u have the knowledge to back it up! Keep em coming!!
Jeff Cooper liked dthe CZ75 and praised it in articles several times even though earlier he had disliked the other DA/SA 9mm pistols. I nuch prefer my CZ75 over my Glocks or Beretta pistols.
Cooper didn’t “praise” the gun so much that he just didn’t despise it like all of the other 9mm’s out there. Cooper said that the CZ 75 was a “descent” 9mm that “wasn’t bad.” I worked under Jeff Cooper at Gunsite and spoke with him often. I as well as many others that worked at Gunsite, drank iced tea at his house, just down the dirt road from Gunsite academy.
@@colt10mmsecurity68 Praised as in he was not negative about it in magazine interviews, but with other DA 9mm pistols he had asked what is their purpose? About the CZ75, gun magazine readers of the era never saw anything disparaging about the CZ75.
In the early 1980s I managed to acquire an original first generation commercial CZ75 from an individual who had brought it back from Lebanon. He told me the pistol was intended to be carried by soldiers in condition 3 (hammer down on an empty chamber). Once chambered and fired, it could be carried in condition 1 (chambered, cocked, and locked). Condition 2 (hammer lowered onto a loaded chamber) was not a sanctioned method of carry because of the chance of an accidental discharge while manually lowering the hammer. He said the only reason for incorporating the DA feature was to allow the soldier the opportunity to make a rapid second shot attempt if the hard primers of East Bloc SMG ammo failed to ignite on the first try. As for CZ clones, the nicest one I ever handled was the Swiss Sphinx AT-84.
Unfortunately that guy was wrong about almost all of that. 9mm SMG ammo...In the east bloc? 1980. At the time when no one in the east bloc used 9x19mm in any significant numbers? And the CZ-75 was intended for export from the very beginning.
It is true the DA was only begrudgingly added though.
@@RocketPropelledGuy I don't know what the correct answer is, and it's possible he may have said European military primers instead of East Bloc SMG primers (I'm trying to recall 40 year old memories). I do find the DA design seriously flawed since the lack of a safe decocking feature makes the pistol highly prone to accidental discharges.
@@Paladin1873 Yeah, that would make more sense, I was thinking that may be what you meant. I dunno if I'd call it highly prone, but it is very feasible. In their defense safe decocking mechanisms were not a common feature on autoloaders at that time.
Oh, and here's something dumb: early iterations of the very first generation (with the severe scalloping of the slide and frame, it looked cooler) would sometimes come with a hammer that didn't have the half-cock notch, despite the manual indicating it should be there. These hammers had a slightly different width, but I can't remember if it was bigger or smaller than the correct one.
@@RocketPropelledGuy Mine was an early version with the scalloping. I can't remember if it had a half-cock but I do remember the manual safety did not click on and off. It was surprisingly loose. A gunsmith friend fixed that for me. He said it was missing a spring-loaded bearing, but I don't recall the frame having any recess for fitting such a setup. The gun I bought years later as a replacement for my first CZ75 used a small internal cam to lock the safety up or down. While trying to modify the frame to accept later versions of the CZ75 magazine, I managed to lose that piece and had to fabricate a replacement.
@@Paladin1873Yeah, it is another change. The ball bearing (and it's spring) recess was actually in the safety lever itself in early ones like that.
I like that height over bore level. It's low. What a good looking gun.
They just look right. I remember seeing them in movies when I was a kid, and I always thought they were some kind of fancy 1911 until I got older and watched a Japanese animation called gunsmith cats. They talk about the CZ75s specifications, so I immediately look them up and the more I looked the more I knew I had to get one. I've had 1911s I also have a Beretta M4 I've had almost every model of Glock and none of them compared to the CZ. They all fall short in every aspect outside of capacity maybe. You can tell these guns are still being made in an old school way. Just look at the lock work of the hammer and trigger mechanism you can see it and you can feel it when you pick one up. I just can't go on enough about this gun if you dont have it get it.
Got a CZ-75 B, good pistol and everything but I regret not waiting for the LGS to get the BD model in.
Discovered I'm not a big fan of lowering the hammers by hand after accidentally slipping a few times while practicing the technique on my CZ and 1911 while they were unloaded 😑
With my Beretta M9A1 all I have do is just flip the decocker and we're all good.
A must have for any gun aficionado.
I think the big reason that the 1911 stuck around among civilian shooters is actually because the single action actually leads to a more crisp and clean trigger with a short travel that breaks like glass. You have to imagine that having a firing pin block, double action hammer or half-cocked striker must add a lot of extra stuff that the trigger must do to drop the firing pin compared to a simpler single action mechanism. And a double action has more slop even when the hammer is cocked. That's not desirable for competition shooters, which I think is exactly why the CZ Shadow series dropped the firing pin block and made it a functionally single action trigger - same with the new Beretta 92 SAO competition oriented models. A modern, refined, hand-fitted M1911 is probably comparable to those kind of competition oriented models of "newer" designs (still from the 80s, 40 years old at this point...). It's also worth noting that the US Army still insists that you do not load a live round into the chamber. Not exactly modern civilian CCW "doctrine."
Own 3 CZ pistols P01, SP01 and Gods Caliber 97B
I was stunned to learn that there were 9mm cartridges LONGER than the 9x19 with less power before WWII.
I swear by them
I have 3 of them
Got the sp-01 tactical variant... my favorite pistol
I have a SP01 PO1 RAMI P07 75 compact , 75 B and a Pre B , and a Soviet edition 75B there's a few like the 85 97 Shadow and Shadow compact on the list ...
You are in error. The Czech military never used the Tokarev or the Makarov Soviet designs. They used the vz-52 and the vz- 83 pistols, which were Czech designs and differed in operation.
Earliest one I owned was a 75 Semi Compact from 1994. I still have a Semi Compact from 2004.
You did a great job on this video. Informative, well presented, excellent.
1911 fan here. No , i fully acknowledge that it is obsolete. It wasn't till the sig P320 X -compact came out that i found something to replace a nightstand / kitchen counter pistol. For those of us who have small hands and just can't stand a grip angle not being more like that of the 1911 , the market was very limited. Back in the late 80s , i tried the Beretta 92fs / centurion , great grip angle , just too chunky for my hands.
I spent the early 1990's shooting various matches with the 1911. I grew up with all the storied lore of battles past. My Grandfather's carried it and my Dad carried it during the Vietnam war. I've carried 9x19 mm hand guns now for the past ten years. I agree with you fully regarding the 1911's obsolescence!
You small hand guys have it ruff
Thanks for giving a truly classic pistol some attention! Another Wonder-9 series was the S&W 59 and its variants.
I have a pre-B that is a great shooter. My only complaint is that it has a black paint finish that flakes off easily.
I believe that the reason the originals didn't have a decock feature was because most doctrine at the time was to carry with an empty chamber, and the DA capacity was for a second-strike feature.
Another little-known variant was the Springfield Armory P9, a Tanfoglio rebrand. I had a compact model, and interestingly the safety could be applied with the hammer down!
Other "copies" and varients were the "Sphinx" from Switzerland and the famous Bren 10 which took much from the CZ in its design.
I have a Bauska import CZ75 along with an Action Arms import CZ75 and a CZ85 ambidextrous version.
Used to have an IWI Jericho in .45ACP. Was a pre-ban model with Beretta style de-cocker. Very inaccurate but fun to shoot. Don't really miss it.
Good video Mr B., thank you.
I have the B model. I got it right after they started getting imported. It has the funky thumb ramp grips, which I should replace with the regular checkered ones. Great shooter. Thanks for the great information!
The SIG did see limited military use as the M-11 and was bought by fed law enforcement in droves.
To this day several European shooters are still winning competitions with the gun.
I have actually heard of the AR-24. I have been, for over half a century, been interested in firearms and before the Internet used to peruse all the catalogs.
I actually have a Tanfoglio clone. It is an odd one, though. It is the polymer frame version of the FAB92. I saw a video once of the president of the Tanfoglio company discussing why they put the slide mounted safety/decocker on the slide. Since it was the first gun I ordered online, I plan to keep it. The CZ75B is on my to buy list. Although my state has recently restricted handguns to 15-round magazines I have lots of 17-round mags I bought for the FAB92. At least for now, we don't have to give up any mags we had before the change in the law.
Always great info.
Going to pick up a cz75 D compact tomorrow at my local scheels brand new 😁 every time they have that middle of the sp01 they fly off the shelves , I called and they put the last one on hold for me
Will say this ..I love my sp-01 .. I have had maybe 100 or so handguns and that ones a smooth lady
Thank you. 👍
To me, the CZ75, particularly the Compacts, are some of the most comfortable handguns ever. A Glock feels like a brick in comparison.
Love the CZ 75 family. The CZ 75 SP-01 Phantom is their biggest disappointment. Probably my favorite handgun, but no longer made.
I believe the Israeli version of the 75 (IMI) had parts manufactured by Tangfoglio. Im not really sure on that as it doesnt make sense. I examined a Sphinx 3000 in a gun shop that was a Swiss made 75 clone. It was kind of blocky and from what I understand it was one finest 75 clones out there. I should have bought it. The company is now defunct. Ive shot the IMI Jericho and I can say its a joy to shoot. Its on the heavy side but uncanningly no matter what hand size you have the gun is comfortable.
I < 3 the BD.
Pairs well with the M-9A3-G. :)
SP-01 tactical is king when it comes to shootability of a DA/SA pistol. I wish they'd make one with an aluminum frame so it could compete better with the M9 or the P226 for duty use.
I love my CZ 75s. There is an Armalite version on GunBroker right now for 750. Not going to lie i am a bit tempted to buy it.
I have a 75b and I love it. My wife's grandfather has a I think a pre B said made in czechloslovokia (unsure how to spell it)
@SmallArmsSolutions great video again. Thank you. Small correction...Czechoslovak army never introduced CZ75 but it was introduced into Czech Army in 2011/2012 in limited numbers and certain units as model CZ75 Phantom with plastic frame and slide with reduced weight. It replaced CZ82 ( in 9mm Makarov with Polygonal rifling ). In case of CZ75 there is further evolution with CZ75 OMEGA where user can set type safety himself. Personal favourite is CZ75 P-01 PCR which was designed specifically for Czech police and introduced around year 2000. It was first railed dust cover CZ75 and as standard with decocker like SIG226 instead of safety. First CZ75 assembled without hand fitting barrel locking.
The finest copies of CZ75 was produced in Switzerland under designation Sphinx 2000 and later Sphinx 3000 with redesigned split frame.
@@araxonUK Yeah buy you a bunch of them.
The -B series came out after the fall of the Soviet Union and Cold War. It was intended for the US market. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, CZ pistols could not be imported easily.
Could you make one on the different Iterations of the cz75
First at 3:50 in there are SERIOUS errors or mistakes in this video, First the Czechs NEVER adopted the Tokarev it was the cz52, Secondly the NEXT service Pistol was the CZ-82. YES You are right in stating the CZ-75 was for commercial sale. Never the less I expected better info on this video.
His point was the cartridges that they were using not the exact pistols
He specifically said those were what Warsaw Pact countries were using in general, not specifically Czechoslovakia.
CZ wins I'm a big enjoyer of their offerings be well!
I carry a CZ75D PCR as my EDC, I just wish they made an optics ready variant with a decocker. The Shadow 2 Compact would be great but it doesn't have a drop safety and it doesn't have a decocker. I really don't know who they made that gun for.
The original mass-produced CZ 75 was the Cold War classic, not the CZ 75 B. The original gun has round handguard, spur hammer, slide serrations that are the same as those on the P-01, and can only accept the similar-looking but different 15-round magazines.
Cz75 barrels are hammer forged fyi.. Doesnt seem Czechoslovakia was using the makorav or tokarev for the most part, they had the vz46 and their own 9x18s like cz82 etc
🇺🇸
Gasping in 1911.
I must now explain how Mexico and Norway were major militaries. Let me think on this
100 years ago? In the overall scheme of things, they are quite insignificant. But yes they did a hundred years ago. No major world powers, no allies during WW2 or any other war.
@@SmallArmsSolutions exactly!
Sir, if able, could you look into a video about service intervals in the 92 series?
Have several and already rebuilt an Italian made (2017) at about 19,000 rounds after a slight fold started to appear left locking lug. Recoil spring replacement was regular. Just curious about your thoughts.
PS, we turned in our M9s at Drum summer 2023. They were arsenal rebuilt somewhere along the way and reissued in 2016. Had a uniformed gray finish on all components of any metal type, mix of type 2 and type 3 locking blocks and had spent a while digesting the M1152 ammo with no noted issues. If interested I could codify further via different means.
The M9 has a parts replacement schedule. The problem is, the Army rarely follows. They wait until the gun fails to replace components. Aniston has a higher refurbishment cost on the M9 than what they cost to refurbish. The parts used are mixed OEM and others sources which is problematic due to the non OEM parts are not made properly. As far as your locking blocks, when any deformation is skin on the lugs it is time to replace. The type 2 and 3 locking blocks will exceed 15 to 20K rounds. I had had this conversation with a contact at Beretta not so long ago.
@@SmallArmsSolutions Makes sense RE Anniston. Grams stamped “AN” “A” “D”. I didn’t know Aniston Army Depot was still kicking.
Mostly uses civilian contractors
you're not going to talk about gunsmith cats
What?
That is a classic.
The only thing i really hate about the original models is the super curved triggers actually hurt my finger on the first pull and it only gets worse subsequent shots
Can the DA trigger pull be improved? I may have been spoiled by the one on my 92x. I tried an older CZ75 at my local store (imported by Springfield Armory by the way) and I couldn't pull the DA trigger. I have muscular dystrophy, so my hands are weaker than normal anyway. But i'd love to have a CZ75 if I can make the DA pull better.
Good audio balance 👍🏽
But….you forgot the Omega version
Greetings from the Czech Republic. If you don't mind, I'll offer a correction:
Czechoslovak army _never_ used the same weapons as other Warsaw Pact countries. Due to the well-renowned arms industry, we were allowed to keep our domestically designed and produced weapons. While other Soviet countries and satellites used Tokarev's TT-33, then Makarov's PM and Kalashnikov's AK-47s (or their clones), we used pistols vz. 24/27, vz. 52, later vz. 82 and sa. vz. 58 and vz. 61 "Škorpion" SMG/PDW. The only requirement from USSR was to standardise on calibre---so vz. 52, originally developed for 9x19, had to be adapted to 7.62x25 (which turned out to cause problems with durability of the roller-locking system) and vz. 82 pistol was chambered in 9mm Makarov as opposed to the civilian market versions CZ 83, chambered in 7.65mm or 9mm Browning (aka 32 ACP and 380). Sa. vz. 58 was chambered in 7.62x39, of course. There were several attempts to make the Škorpion use more potent calibre than its original 7.65 Browning (e.g. 9mm Makarov), but they all proved to be impractical.
Otherwise, good informative video. CZ 75 ages very well; I own several variants, including a CZ 75 from 1986 (no firing pin block safety yet) and it's one of the best pistols I have, shooting it is a delight.
A small update (I have to correct even myself… ;-))
I wrote that pistol vz. 82 was chambered in 9mm Makarov-well, technically, that’s kinda incorrect. It was actually chambered for a Czech variant of the round, dimensionally exactly the same, but loaded for higher pressures (energies). That’s why the pistol had polygonal rifling as well. But the unique calibre didn’t survive; eventually, std. Makarov cartridge was used.
I see 1,000 round case of the Federated Ordnance 124 gr 9mm for $280 at Bone Frog.
🔫😀😊 Excellent Pistol Chris
Love my PCR to death
You’re right 1911 was obsolete
Guatemalan police !!! Well shit count me in!!! there some real fast movers
One thing that really made a CZ75 a great choice were the Cadet 22lr conversions. These were extremely accurate and allowed cheap practice with your full size gun. Sadly they discontinued these some years ago. Once discontinued, I lost interest in the CZ.
I own a 75 omega and a 75 compact. Great shooters never a problem but i dont shoot em much anymore cause the internet scared me with talks of broken firing pin retainer pins and slide stops. 😔 dont know how true it is and i dont dry firebut i wanna keep em running.
You could always replace the roll pins with better pins? They're pretty bulletproof pistols either way. We only hear about the edge cases on the internet. That stuff rarely happens.
@@life_of_riley88 thats what i was thinkin to. I got extra parts incase it goes down just dont want it to happen at the wrong time. Its crazy with the 75s some people get 20,000 rounds out of original parts n some say theirs broke less than 1000. I love the platform. They carry and shoot great. You ever had any issues?
@@life_of_riley88 i also hear that the upgraded steel pins can cause premature breakage on the firing pin shoulder. Thats why i just got factory spare parts. Again i dont know how true any of this is. I take the internet with a grain of salt
@@FirstLast-ff7qx Interesting.
I've not had any issues with my modern production 75BD. Shoots awesome, feels great in the hand, and has given me zero malfunctions in ~2500 rounds so far.
@@MDyna32 brother i do the same. Moly is awesome. And i do not dry fire any of my czs
Chris, you didn't mention another CZ clone, the very high end and very well made Sphinx AT 2000, about two grand if you can find one these days.....
I only mentioned a few, there are many closes
@@SmallArmsSolutions True, that one just struck me because of how high end it is. I agree with you it's a fantastic design, but I could never buy that any CZ75 clone is worth more than north of two G's, not any more than I can help but laugh at folks lining up to pay four, five or even six grand for some polymer framed 2011... hilarious and unbelievable!
You don't seem to hit consistently. Fast with misses isn't accomplishing much.
I shot over 1k rounds that day. I also have arthritis issues. Im no precision shooter. I talk far more mechanics. Plenty of channels who show shooting footage as their primary content.
1911=>Norway, Argentina, RPI?
Wow🤷🏻♂️
Yep, in fact Argentina built 1911’s in-country, under a licensing arrangement with Colt.
Comparing the CZ75B to the Beretta 92 to the SIG226, there ain't much to talk about. With any of them YOU ARE WELL ARMED. I carry the CZ. If you just HAFTA, go ahead and separate the fly shit from the pepper. In the end it means NOTHING.
Nobody pays me to talk, especially youtube!
@@SmallArmsSolutions OK. Sorry. In your case, the hot air is free. In the end, these comparisons still mean nothing except maybe to an easily impressed Pilgrim. The gun don't win the gunfight.
1911 will remain relevant longer than it’s critics
How dare you talk negatively about Jesus' pistol the 1911!!!??? He was a friend of mine from Culiacàn Sinaloa Mexico. His was chambered in 38 Super though. 😁😆
Chris, absolutely great review of these great pistols!👍