For plinking my RugerP97 is really fun to shoot, shoots better than me. Don't know about defense though... but Hydrashok's seem to shoot best out of this gun. Informal target practice? well it made a really cool hole in this old hard drive I brought home from work one day, hehehehehe
If this gun is going to be for concealed carry go with the Ruger, as it is a lot lighter than the CZ. If it is going to be a house gun and trips to the range, go with whatever feels best.
I have the all steel EAA Witness 45 with the "wonder finish" which looks to me to be the same as the CZ97. It shoots great.
It takes a few loadings to get the mags broke in. I wouldn't like loading them with out my HKS mag loader. The gun is pretty heavy, and I wouldn't use if for a carry gun. But for target and plates, it's great. It shoots to point of aim and has a much better trigger than my Ruger P90.
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Good shootin to ya
Plateshooter