CZ 97B feedback

B

Brutus

New member
Was at the range last week and they had one on consignment, couldn't resist so I bought it. Grip is a little large for my medium size mitt and I'm taking it to the range today for the first time. What is the general consensus on this pistol? Sure seems to be built like a tank.
 
I have one. Angus Hobdel and Eric Zinn at the CZ custom shop did a trigger job on it and it is a great shooter. The trigger is way TOO light for a carry weapon but for the range it is near perfect. Typical CZ machining. Not much effort put into cosmetics. They machine to gun to work and it does. I also have an SP01 that is the same way. CZ has long flown under the radar here. They are good guns with machining to get the job done. The internals are not very pretty but they work.
 
Along with the 220, the CZ-97B is one of the best non-1911 .45s for out-of-the-box accuracy and reliability.

The only negative, and there are ways around it -- is that the grip is large (and suprisingly larger than the similar Witness .45s) and can be a handful. This is made worse by the LONG DA trigger (if you're not happy with cocked & locked starts). Standard .45 Mec-Gar mags (for the Witness or CZ) work beautifully.

There are places, like the CZ Custom Shop and Cajun Gun Works where you can find kits to upgrade and shorten the trigger pull. Thinner grips are also available. (Had one some years back before these other options were available.)

If, after shooting it, you still like it -- check out the sites above. Thinner grips might be the cheapest solution to the "bit big" issue.

It's a BIG, NICE GUN!!

.
 
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I held one in a shop. Big grips just doesn't really describe it!!

Also the grip panels seemed really cheap and plasticky and the hammer did not look so nice. Nothing major but I think I've been spoilt by my SP-01's standard rubber grips and skeletonised hammer.

I'd be interested to shoot one.
 
Got mine not too long ago, and am simply infatuated with it. What's the point of my 1911s now?
While the grip is rather large (in length), it's actually not that thick. After a range day with it, I picked up my CZ82 and it felt like a pea-shooter!

I love the sight picture, the perfect serrations on the slide, superb trigger pull in DA and SA, the knurling on the pistol grip, and lack of rail out front. Beautiful handgun indeed!

Only detraction I can think of which isn't that big a deal; the magazines are not drop free. My only real complaint is that I didn't buy one sooner! It would have saved me a lot of anguish with my 1911s!
 
Only detraction I can think of which isn't that big a deal; the magazines are not drop free. My only real complaint is that I didn't buy one sooner! It would have saved me a lot of anguish with my 1911s!
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You can make the mags drop-free by adjusting (bending) the mag brake, the thin strip of metal in the grip (Part #24 in your user manual.) Remove the grips and bend the brake. (You can see from the manual how it presses against the mag because of it's shape.) The top is held by a roll pin and taking that pin out gives you more room and leverage without having to take the bottom loose, too. (The bottom is attached with a different type of pin through the bottom of the grip -- and removing and installing THAT pin, which releases the hammer spring, is more of a pain...) I've made it a practice to remove the bottom tab -- its more trouble than it's worth.

I broke the top tab once on a mag brake once -- but the gun will work without the mag brake -- until you order a new one.

The mag brake metal is brittle so be careful -- but it can be bent and semi-straightened. That takes the pressure off the mag. (This was standard practice with 75Bs until CZ started making drop-free more common on most models.)

The little tab on the bottom
 
It's been my 'holy grail' gun since I fired a tuned one 12 years ago, and finally got it four years ago.

People need to understand something about the 97b. The grip is NOT wider than the 75b, it is DEEPER due to the 45 cartridge. In turn it makes the DA trigger reach rather absurd, even at half cock. It is also the same exact width as a 75, despite how the full dust cover makes it look 'bigger'.

I converted mine to SAO with the help of CGW. I really feel this gun should have been SAO from the start, but just my opinion.

Much as I like mine, it has not been without a few glitches, as has been with all of my CZ's. Watch the barrel bushing, it is prone to breaking. Get a spare when you can. The stock mag springs tend to be weak so Wolff springs assure feeding.

On a side note, the Tanfoglio 45 mags fit the 97 just fine, but are a hair off on the baseplates. I suspect MecGar made the bodies for both.
 
I am debating between the 97B, and another 1911 for my next .45. I am leaning towards the 97B. I have large hands with long fingers so appreciate larger grips, and long trigger reaches. With the CZ's C&L capabilities, its not a real issue for people anyway, but people need to complain about something.

The primary use will be range, and HD pistol, so I am not worried about the large size, and will not be carrying it typically.
 
They are great guns they are just really big. Too big for my hands. I have looked at them so many times. I have shot them and they are deadnuts accurate but I always find my grip is off.

I have talked with Cajun Gun Works and they can make some modifications which help. There is one that has been sitting in a LGS case for almost 6 months. I am tempted but never seem to be able to pull the trigger on it. Other things are a higher priority.

They are a soft shooting 45 and if they fit your hands I would pick one up in a heartbeat!
 
chris in va said:
On a side note, the Tanfoglio 45 mags fit the 97 just fine, but are a hair off on the baseplates. I suspect MecGar made the bodies for both.
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At one time, some years ago, I had an ASAI OnePro (a Magnum Research .45 based on the Tanfoglio version), a Witness Sport Long Slide in .45, and a CZ-97B. The 97B was the only one that didn't really fit my hand. All three, at that point in time, had Mec-Gar-made mags, and the only way to keep them straight was to mark them -- but they were interchangeable.

I wish CZ had made the 97B grip frame a bit smaller.

The ASAI OnePro was an exceptional gun, with the smoothest, lightest double-action and single-action trigger, out of the box, of any gun I've owned. It was so light, it scared me, and I eventually traded it away. (I've since learned that I could have just installed heavier hammer springs: duh!... but I was much newer to handgunning back then.)

I've been looking for another nice ASAI OnePro ever since. I've had a bunch of SIG P220s since then, including a MATCH and, more recently, a SUPER MATCH, and I would rather have the ASAI...
 
Well I finally got a chance to take to the range and must confess to being a little disappointed. I didn't think the oversize grips would be an issue but they are, I tend to pull to the right with it because it effects my trigger pull. Most discouraging though is the fact it won't feed hollow points or FP's with a full magazine. Load it down to eight rounds and it works fine but I bought a ten shooter. Need to investigate my options.:(
 
Well I finally got a chance to take to the range and must confess to being a little disappointed. I didn't think the oversize grips would be an issue but they are, I tend to pull to the right with it because it effects my trigger pull. Most discouraging though is the fact it won't feed hollow points or FP's with a full magazine. Load it down to eight rounds and it works fine but I bought a ten shooter. Need to investigate my options.
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If the mags work fine with 8-rounds but not more, leave the mags fully loaded for a week or two, to accelerate springs taking a set (which all new mags springs generally do). After a week or two of that, you'll probably find that the spring-related issues will go away.

Thinner grips will help with the trigger pull problem. And, as I noted above, there is a trigger kit available (I think from the CZ Custom Shop, and certainly from Cajun Gun Works) that shortens the length of the pull and should fix the trigger pull length issue if thinner grips don't.

If you're not comfortable doing the work yourself -- it's not rocket science, and the CZ Forum will likely have illustrated instructions -- a local gunsmith can do it for you, relatively inexpensively. Here's a link to the CZ Forum. http://www.czforum.com/

Fixing these issues should leave you with a gun you love... trading/selling it will likely cost you as much or more.
 
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Honestly, as a CZ fan, the .45 platform is the one calibre were I would choose a CZ 'clone' over the CZ. The 'Baby Eagle', or Jericho 941, has been around for years and is really the .45 CZ should be making:

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/...earch+BE4500RS+Baby+Eagle+II+10+1+45ACP+3.93"

They manage to make a 10+1, reliable and soft shooting .45 pistol of the CZ design type without being HUGE like the CZ-97. I'm almost positive that CGW can do custom work on these guns as well if you like.
 
Neal_G. said:
Honestly, as a CZ fan, the .45 platform is the one calibre were I would choose a CZ 'clone' over the CZ. The 'Baby Eagle', or Jericho 941, has been around for years and is really the .45 CZ should be making:
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The Witness .45 is slightly smaller and fits the hand better than does the CZ-975B... (like the Baby Eagle and Jericho, and various other CZ-pattern guns, most of the smaller .45s [through the grip area] are based on the Tanfoglio version of the CZ.)

I've always found this strange, as nearly all of these .45s use the same magazines...
 
Interestingly when I take measurements with a caliper:
width 1.312 both 1911 and 97
grip length 2.0 for a 1911 2.2 for a 97
SA length of pull( trigger to back strap) 1911-2.79(depressed grip safety) CZ97-2.75

Hard to imagine that a mere 3/16 of grip lgth. could make such a difference.
I have a medium size mitt and when I tried it in the store it didn't seem as if it would be an issue.
 
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