Can you accurize a CZ 75?
- Thread starter Shmackey
- Start date
Walt Sherrill
New member
Its been my experience that they're accurate enough, and that there's little reason for a different barrel. This is especially true of the Single-Action CZ-75 (SA).
The firing pin block messes up the trigger a little on the "B" models (75B, 85B and 40B), but its not a big deal.
What you CAN do, and it makes a big difference, is get the Champion sear, hammer and trigger. (The Champion line is CZ's serious IPSC gun line.)
Changing out these parts will make the gun single-action only, but will do marvelous things to the trigger, and will make it far easier to shoot well.
I've got a very nice Browning Hi-Power, just sold a SIG P-210-6, and I also have CZ-85 Combat. Out to 20 yards there wasn't enough difference in accuracy between them to matter. Beyond that, the P-210-6 was supreme. But, truthfully, beyond 20 yards we should be running for cover or looking for a rifle.
The firing pin block messes up the trigger a little on the "B" models (75B, 85B and 40B), but its not a big deal.
What you CAN do, and it makes a big difference, is get the Champion sear, hammer and trigger. (The Champion line is CZ's serious IPSC gun line.)
Changing out these parts will make the gun single-action only, but will do marvelous things to the trigger, and will make it far easier to shoot well.
I've got a very nice Browning Hi-Power, just sold a SIG P-210-6, and I also have CZ-85 Combat. Out to 20 yards there wasn't enough difference in accuracy between them to matter. Beyond that, the P-210-6 was supreme. But, truthfully, beyond 20 yards we should be running for cover or looking for a rifle.
I was thinking of the CZ 75B SA (single action) as an inexpensive "centerfire" pistol for one-third of bullseye competition. That, and the ammo costs about 1/2 the price of ammo for my .45, which is currently doing double duty. If it costs about $300 street price (I'm guessing), I would recoup the cost in ammo very quickly.
If I got my hands on a 75B SA (who has these, anyway?), would I want/need to install the new hammer/sear/trigger? It's already SA. Oh, and just as importantly: can I remove the "B" (firing pin block) in a 75B SA? I don't really see why there is one anyway in a single-action pistol, and if it interferes at all with the trigger pull it might as well go.
Thanks for the quick reply, Walt.
If I got my hands on a 75B SA (who has these, anyway?), would I want/need to install the new hammer/sear/trigger? It's already SA. Oh, and just as importantly: can I remove the "B" (firing pin block) in a 75B SA? I don't really see why there is one anyway in a single-action pistol, and if it interferes at all with the trigger pull it might as well go.
Thanks for the quick reply, Walt.
slickpuppy
New member
Putting Champion Parts in a Regular CZ75B, B SA, or 97
You can do this. I did it and it is NOT a simple drop-in.
First, the sear is made for the Champion, which does not have a firing pin safety depressor in the ejector housing because the Champion lacks a firing pin safety. The Champion firing pin is held in place like the Pre B models with a plate at the end of the slide. Kind of like a 1911's firing pin is retained.
What you have to do is either
1. Remove the firing pin safety from the slide.
NOT RECOMMENDED because the firing pin will be held in place by a wimpy little hollow roll pin.
or
2. Mill the sear width down to the width of the
regular CZ sear so that you can use your old
fp safety plunger. That is what I did.
The next is the ejector assembly. The Champion part is finished a bit smoother than the regular CZ part where it contacts the trigger bar. This makes your takeup really smooth. You can opt for simply stoning the contact points of your existing ejector housing as long as the darned thing doesn't look like it was cut out by CZ with a chainsaw. The Champion ejector I bought also has two little holes in the rear of it that CZ says takes screws, but there is no way in hell I am stripping one of my Champions down to see what they are talking about to see how that works. I see no threads in the extra assembly I bought. I kept it as a spare and refinished my existing ejector assemblies.
Third thing is the Champion hammer. The hammer is a bit oversized and requires milling in two places, otherwise, you can not get your regular safety to work. The Champion hammer engages the full width of the sear surface and is a bit smoother during the hammer sear engagement phase of the trigger pull. If you look at your regular CZ hammer you notice it is cut out in the center and engages the sear in two small areas about an eighth of an inch wide each.
*****Edit here: The hammer is not drilled to accept a disconnector so it is a single action only unit. Also, there is no cutout for a disconnector in the Champion hammer*****
Finally, the Champion sear's angle is a bit smaller so that the hammer sear engagement is a tad longer during the trigger pull. It is noticable. This is the area of a typical CZ trigger that you have the "gritty" feeling. There is no gritty feeling after installing these parts. They are finished MUCH better than the standard CZ parts. It also allows for a nice crisp letoff.
Now to the firing pin safety. If you remove it and polish the plunger hole of the slide with rubber bits impregnated with polishing compounds to smooth it and also do the same to the plunger itself, then lightly lubricate same with MolySlide you will slicken it up nicely.
Also, in the ejector assembly, you will want to lightly stone the fp safety plunger depressor sides where it contacts the side of the sear and the other side that contacts the ejector housing. Then, lubricate lightly with MolySlide as well.
If you do the above to the firing pin safety system you will not see any discernable difference in the trigger pull weight. You will see a noticable difference in the smoothness though. One thing I did not do, and that is to reduce the length of the firing pin block stop spring.
Also, with the double/single action guns like the 75B or 97 you will need a single action trigger bar. Those are impossible to get. CZ is converting those guns but they must be hoarding the trigger bars to use for themselves because I have been unable to get one for my 97.
What did all this crap get me? With my SA model the trigger pull from the factory was 5.5 pounds. Now it is 4 pounds total. My Champions are 2 pounds from the factory. With the SA model about 3 pounds or so of the trigger pull is the initial takeup and the remaining pound is the hammer/sear engagement.
Still, the trigger action on the SA is now so darned smooth compared to a stock CZ, it doesn't feel like 4 pounds at all.
The pre B models do not have a firing pin safety so the Champion sear should just drop right into the stock ejector housing BTW.
Drop Free Mags
You need to install the CZ85 or CZ75B SA Magazine Brake. It is a piece of sheet metal that protrudes to stop the mag on Pre B, regular 75Bs, and 97s. The 75B SA and 85 have a magazine brake that is flush so that mags drop free.
75B SA Cost
The SA costs the same as the regular 75B. My dealer's cost was $347 and my cost with overnight shipping from RSR Sports was $399 + tax and gun nazi background check.
You can do this. I did it and it is NOT a simple drop-in.
First, the sear is made for the Champion, which does not have a firing pin safety depressor in the ejector housing because the Champion lacks a firing pin safety. The Champion firing pin is held in place like the Pre B models with a plate at the end of the slide. Kind of like a 1911's firing pin is retained.
What you have to do is either
1. Remove the firing pin safety from the slide.
NOT RECOMMENDED because the firing pin will be held in place by a wimpy little hollow roll pin.
or
2. Mill the sear width down to the width of the
regular CZ sear so that you can use your old
fp safety plunger. That is what I did.
The next is the ejector assembly. The Champion part is finished a bit smoother than the regular CZ part where it contacts the trigger bar. This makes your takeup really smooth. You can opt for simply stoning the contact points of your existing ejector housing as long as the darned thing doesn't look like it was cut out by CZ with a chainsaw. The Champion ejector I bought also has two little holes in the rear of it that CZ says takes screws, but there is no way in hell I am stripping one of my Champions down to see what they are talking about to see how that works. I see no threads in the extra assembly I bought. I kept it as a spare and refinished my existing ejector assemblies.
Third thing is the Champion hammer. The hammer is a bit oversized and requires milling in two places, otherwise, you can not get your regular safety to work. The Champion hammer engages the full width of the sear surface and is a bit smoother during the hammer sear engagement phase of the trigger pull. If you look at your regular CZ hammer you notice it is cut out in the center and engages the sear in two small areas about an eighth of an inch wide each.
*****Edit here: The hammer is not drilled to accept a disconnector so it is a single action only unit. Also, there is no cutout for a disconnector in the Champion hammer*****
Finally, the Champion sear's angle is a bit smaller so that the hammer sear engagement is a tad longer during the trigger pull. It is noticable. This is the area of a typical CZ trigger that you have the "gritty" feeling. There is no gritty feeling after installing these parts. They are finished MUCH better than the standard CZ parts. It also allows for a nice crisp letoff.
Now to the firing pin safety. If you remove it and polish the plunger hole of the slide with rubber bits impregnated with polishing compounds to smooth it and also do the same to the plunger itself, then lightly lubricate same with MolySlide you will slicken it up nicely.
Also, in the ejector assembly, you will want to lightly stone the fp safety plunger depressor sides where it contacts the side of the sear and the other side that contacts the ejector housing. Then, lubricate lightly with MolySlide as well.
If you do the above to the firing pin safety system you will not see any discernable difference in the trigger pull weight. You will see a noticable difference in the smoothness though. One thing I did not do, and that is to reduce the length of the firing pin block stop spring.
Also, with the double/single action guns like the 75B or 97 you will need a single action trigger bar. Those are impossible to get. CZ is converting those guns but they must be hoarding the trigger bars to use for themselves because I have been unable to get one for my 97.
What did all this crap get me? With my SA model the trigger pull from the factory was 5.5 pounds. Now it is 4 pounds total. My Champions are 2 pounds from the factory. With the SA model about 3 pounds or so of the trigger pull is the initial takeup and the remaining pound is the hammer/sear engagement.
Still, the trigger action on the SA is now so darned smooth compared to a stock CZ, it doesn't feel like 4 pounds at all.
The pre B models do not have a firing pin safety so the Champion sear should just drop right into the stock ejector housing BTW.
Drop Free Mags
You need to install the CZ85 or CZ75B SA Magazine Brake. It is a piece of sheet metal that protrudes to stop the mag on Pre B, regular 75Bs, and 97s. The 75B SA and 85 have a magazine brake that is flush so that mags drop free.
75B SA Cost
The SA costs the same as the regular 75B. My dealer's cost was $347 and my cost with overnight shipping from RSR Sports was $399 + tax and gun nazi background check.
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Walt Sherrill
New member
Chances are you can MODIFY the existing mag brake to allow the mags to drop free. All you have to do is bend the top of the spring, wrapping it a little MORE around the retention pin. This takes up some slack in the spring (in effect, shortening it, and taking some of the bulge that presses against the mag, out), and keeps it from holding the mags in place.
Be warned, however, that the spring metal is VERY brittle, and if you aren't careful, the upper tang will break, and then you'll HAVE to order the drop-free part from CZ. (I speak from experience. I did it right on my gun, and screwed up a friends. I bought him the 85 mag brake...)
The replacement part from CZ is about $6, and its a drop in. Just order it from CZ and save yourself some anxiety. <grin>
My local gunsmith has done great trigger jobs on two CZs for me, the last on a CZ-85 Combat. When I'd shot it a LOT (6-7 thousand rounds) I started having some problems with double-action cycling. I ordered and the gunsmith replaced the factory sear with the Champion sear. It took a LOT of fitting, but it now has a SUPERB DA trigger, and just the least little creep in SA -- almost unnoticeable. Great gun, great trigger. (The Combat doesn't have the Firing Pin Block.)
Rereading this several days later... I remembered that we had to install a new disconnector, too, to finally get rid of the short-cycling problem. That was ALSO a pain to fit, when used with the Champion sear, according to the gunsmith. He put a lot of time in on this gun, and I probably didn't get charged enough...
I'd love to have a Champion -- without the compensated barrel.
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George Hill
Staff Alumnus
Yeah, you can... and here you can see them being used in competition.
George Hill
Staff Alumnus
Okay... I'm freakin SOLD. Where is my local dealer?
BarSto for barrel, and EGW, AP&W, and others (www.americanpistol.com) for tweaking.
slickpuppy
New member
And the Swedish bikini team members ain't bad either bro!