Need opinions of CZ-97B owners

O

Oris

Moderator
Being a happy owner of CZ-75B, I would like
to continue to stick with CZ family. Anyway,
my second CZ pistol will be CZ-97B, of course. Printed reports on this gun in
gun magazines are very favorable, and I suspect that this pistol is indeed a fine weapon. But, if practical users of CZ-97B would like to share their experience, I would really appreciate it.

I'm generally interested to hear if this pistol has some "hidden" problems and also, if it works with all kinds of ammo, and if not, what ammo does it like the most.

Thanks.
 
Oris,

Ditto your comments above. :) I had a hard time choosing which one to buy when I got my CZ-75B. I love the 9mm and am looking forward to the .45 version.

My main question is if the 97 is as accurate as the 75. If I had to pick one thing I don't like about the 97 it is the plastic screw in barrel bushing. Just seems to be a weak link in an otherwise very good design. Don't know why they didn't just stay with the 75's design on that item.

Anyway, I'll definitely look forward to the replies you get on this thread. For now I have to live with only reading about this pistol.....at least until I get the new safe paid off. :)

Joe/Ga
 
I got my 97B in May and have been very satisfied with it. It will take any kind of ammo I feed it with no problems.

Accuracy is very good to excellent for a stock pistol. My very first two targets had nine 10's and X's and one 9. I was impressed from the start. I have been loading some 155 gr. Laser-Cast TC wadcutters and am getting superb accuracy with them. With that bullet, there is no guessing where the bullet hole is. The target looks like you took a .45" hole punch to it.

Joe the screw in bushing isn't plastic, it's a light metal, probably aluminum. But I do agree that it is a weak link. After about 500 rounds the threads are getting beat up a little and it is getting hard to screw in and out. CZ does supply a bushing wrench with the gun. You might be thinking about the plastic guide rod. I called the CZ gunsmith about the bushing. He said they usually don't cause any problem after a little wearing in. And he said if I have any problems they will send me a new gun. Not a new bushing, a new gun! Might be only talk, but he sounded sincere. He asked, "Is it accurate?" I said, "Absolutely." He said, "There you go. If the bushing were bad, accuracy would be the first to show it."
 
I hve had a CZ97B for several months. It is extremely accurate and utterly reliable. The weight and the shape of the grip reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip. I recommend it highly.
 
Mal,

My mistake on the barrel bushing. It looked to be plastic to me. I guess being metal will help it last longer.

The plastic recoil guide rod on the 75 has given me no problems. Same with the plastic guide rods in recent Beretta 8045 and Kel-Tec P11. I was not fond of plastic in this area to start with but it seems to work well enough.

Glad to see the reports of accuracy. :)

Joe/Ga
 
Thanks, gentlemen.

Another question: I'm also looking at EAA
Witness .45, just because it seems to be a bit cheaper but still has all steel CZ design which I obviously prefer.. I do recall hearing good things about it, but if
somebody would share some practical experience with this one, it would be nice too...I do think about 97B as my first choice
at this time, but why not to learn a bit more
before opening my wallet, right?
 
Hmm, I would probably reccomend the cz over the EAA. If seen the 97B's for as little as $419 if you look around. I don't know what the EAA's go for, but wouldn't you rather have the original?
 
I have the EAA Witness full size 45 with the "Wonder Finish" It has worked very well for me. Very accurate, very reliable, good trigger. There is no barrel bushing used in this gun, and the guide rod appears to be stainless steel. I've only shot 230fmj bullets, and it's never jammed on me. I paid $309.00 for it new with one mag. Mags are easily found by Tanfoglio or Mec-gar. I have no experience with the "origional" but this clone works great.

------------------
Good shootin to ya
Plateshooter
 
Oris,

I also own a EAA Witness .45. I bought it after looking at both it and the CZ97B. I also have shot both, and all in all, they were very similar(not suprising). I went with the witness because of the following reasons:

1) Many of my friends own Witnesses, .45, 10mm, 9mm, and all are happy with what they have. I have been fortunate to shoot them all before making a decision. All of them have been utterly reliable. I have heard of Witness quality control being spotty, but I have not seen that to be the case.

2) Though I don't have the numbers, the Witness feels lighter than the CZ. The feeling of the CZ in my hand was that it was HUGE, compared to the Witness, with a longer DA trigger reach. Because of the Witness profile, it was easier to conceal(it too is a large gun).

3) Price. I bought mine at just over $300, including the tax, in Washington State. The "cheapest" CZ97B I could find was $569.

4) The ability to upgrade. This pistol is the platform for their race guns. I was told that the winner of this year's IDPA World Champion shoot used a Tanfoglio (Witness) in the Philipines.

Hope this helps. Like I said, I have heard of people having problems(here on TFL), but my experience and those of my friends are that if anything, the .45 Witness is an underrated pistol.

Mike
 
Ummm. The race guns that Tanfoglio makes is very, very different than the "Witness" models.

Fit, finish and quality control are all worse in the sub-$300 Witness pistols. The race gun Tanfoglios go for hundreds of dollars more.

Skorzeny

------------------
For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
Oris,

Just got the new issue of Gun Tests magazine in the mail today. One of the pistols tested this month is the CZ-97B. They had nothing but good things to say and called it a "best buy".

Just thought you might want to know.

Joe/Ga
 
Thanks, gentlemen.

Your info is very helpful.

I'll probably go with CZ-97B, although Witness is still quite interesting piece.
CZ-97B is just looking so right for heavy
duty .45 cal. pistol, it's difficult not
to consider this...

BTW, spare barrel bushings are available from
CZ-USA for $15.80 (talked to CZ's Mike, the
gunsmith). He also prefers polymer finish
via. blue finish (CZ-97B is available in both).

Thanks again.
 
Just some additional info to Joe's post-
Gun Test rated the CZ 97B best out of the following non-1911 type 45s: CZ 97B, Charles Daly DDA 10-40/45, G36, Ruger KP97DC and the Slick&Wannabe 4586TSW. I find that my CZ 97B is more accurate, in my hands, than my CZ 75B. My only complaint is that it is heavy, but then I believe it is intended as a service sidearm.

The Aug 2000 issue of Guns&Ammo (Featuring an article on the 25th Anniversary of the CZ 75) mentions the CZ 97. G&A found the CZ 97 to be "exceptionally controllable and very accurate" after firing "25-yard groups between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 inches with several loads, notably 200gr Speer GDHPs and Federal 230gr JHPs."
 
Gregg,

Thanks a lot,

I've seen your post on makarov.com byt didn't
respond hoping that somebody else would jump in. So far, I have better luck over here...

I do like external apperance of 1911, but
it seems to me CZ-97B as a production gun
w/o all these special 1911 effects is better
.45 cal. pistol, on average, of course. At least it doesn't have this silly grip safety.
Interestingly, I always wanted 1911, but for
some reason, 3 of them (modern production pistols, nothing special) I've happened to shoot were either awfully inaccurate or not reliable. May be I just can not shoot 1911 correctly...in any case, I'm "forced" to go with CZ-97B, which seem to work fine even for such dummies as myself... Czech guys know
how to design pistols for dummies...(smile).
 
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