Action Arms/Solothurn CZ75 Clones. AnyGood?

M

MAD DOG

New member
I just saw one of these at the local gunshop, used but in excellent condition.
I need another nine like a hole in the head, but it had a certain appeal to it.
Made in Switzerland by Solothurn, reveresed rails, and a safety that allows cocked and locked carry. All blued steel, hardchromed barrel, and a really nice action. Price was $399.00 w/two hicaps.

Normally I am a dyed in the wool Browning/1991 freak, but seemed to be very a nice gun, and I don't have one yet, so...

Comments or criticisms?
 
If that says Sphinx on it post it here. I don't know what company you are talking about but, Sphinx CZ's are supposed to be the best of the breed. Saw them in SGN but didn't pay attention. Wish I did. Saw one the other day at a shop, $900+ for used 80% condition.
 
That is exactly what peeked my interest in it. Solothurn made the Sphinx as well.
So far as I can tell, it is the same weapon with a different importer stamp on it.
This one is conspicuously stamped "Solothurn" right on the frame, the "Action Arms" logo looks more like an afterthought.

Now, If I can only figure out a way to convert it to .40...
Bwahahahaha!
 
I'm thinking there was a Swiss CZ copy called the AT-84 available in the mid '80s for a year or so. It received excellent reviews in the gun rag articles I read at the time. I recently saw what appered to be a nice example of one at a gun show I attended but did not handle it. The price was around $400 as I recall. I only remember this because it is the first one I can recall actually seeing. If I would have had the extra money at the time, I would have seriously considered buying it.
 
Does it have ambidextrous safeties? If so, it's an AT-88. If not, it's an AT-84. I've got one (high school graduation present). Mine is hardchromed with walnut grips. It doesn't have a firing pin safety (true to the original CZ pattern) but otherwise is an exceptional weapon. Accurate, reliable (except for Blazer ammo which it hates) and little to no recoil. All in all a great piece that I highly recommend as a fun/home gun.
 
The AT-84 and AT-88 were imported in limited numbers by action arms. They are not a Sphinx and did not receive the level of attention that supposedly justified the high price. The frame and slide castings came from the same caster in Italy that does them for what we today know as the Witness from EAA. Back then it was FIE and Excam that were using the castings. The Action Arms import, because of the craftsmanship, is probably the best of the clones, BUT for $350-$399 you should be able to get a NIB real forged CZ-75B and the high caps are $45 each from CZ-USA. The AT-84 and AT-88 should only bring about $300 used IMHO.
 
Hello. I had an AT84 back in the '80s. It had extraction problems. I don't know if that's indicative of all AT84s as that's the only one I owned. I do have an interesting CZ-75, however. It is marked CZ-75, has the CZ logo, has the CZ test target, and came in the CZ box of old. Yet, it is marked, "Made in Switzerland and has "Solothurn" above that. NO, it is not an AT84 nor a Sphinx. I think that probably CZ and Solothurn were to make a manufacturing deal and it didn't go through or last. I've checked with both CZ USA and CZ at the home country with no luck and NRA was unable to provide details on this CZ variant. Interesting. I've never shot this pistol, but may. Best to all.
 
Stephen A. Camp,

Don't fire your pistol. It sounds like you have a valuable item on your hands.

Jeff OTMG,

So the Sphinx is in fact entirely Swiss made while the ATs are only assembled from Tanfoglio parts?

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
No, the AT's are made from Italian bare castings. It was my understanding that all the machining was done in Solothurn. The EAA, Excam, and FIE guns are assembled from machined castings. The Sphinx may be forged for all I know, I have never examined one closely or talked to any of the engineers.
 
I also had an AT-84 with extraction problems that I got rid of. About the only advantage they may have over the CZ-75 is that the magazines for the witness and all its variants will also fit. I haven't priced them to see if hi-caps are cheaper than CZ hi-caps.
The history on these is interesting. So far, everyone is correct, but you left out the last link of the marketing chain. Czech design, copied in Italy, assembled in Switzerland and sold by the Israelis! Quite a mix!

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Dorsai
Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. The possession of a good rifle, as well as the skill to use it well, truly makes a man the monarch of all he surveys.
-- Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle
 
Hello, Telecote. I likely won't fire it as there's no need. Just wish I "knew" for sure if it is rare and how much it's worth if that is the case. Best and thanks.
 
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