Gabe Suarez, founder of the Halo Group:
http://www.thehalogroup.com wrote the following quote. I agree with Gabe 100%
This is an article printed in his The Tactical Operator news letter. TO is good reading... I find that his philosophy on personal safety and the proper application of focused violence to respond to a threat is exactly like my own as I had been teaching for years. Go check out the Halo Group's page... and subscribe this news letter. You'll like it.
Also - Gabe is a TFL Member who we wish to see more of around here.
This is long - but worth the read.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The CZ75B .40 S&W -
A Modern Alternative
There was a time when the only handguns found in the holsters of American Lawmen (as well as military operators) were made by Colt or Smith & Wesson. This all began to change when the U.S. Armed forces adopted a pistol made by Pietro Beretta - the excellent 92F. Almost overnight (in terms of the snail-like speed of police weapons acquisitions), European weapons began appearing in American holsters. Names like Beretta, SIG, Glock, and Heckler & Koch became household names to even the most gun-averse police-politician.
Private citizens have always shadowed the military and police choices in terms of defensive pistols, and this was no different. Everyone wanted a "Wunder-nine" with 15 or more chances at dragon-slaying before the need to reload became evident. Sometime after this, the .40 S&W became available and offered the first real compromise between the nine-millimeter, and the forty-five.
As we all know, magazine capacity became an issue of contention with the so-called Crime Bill to end all Bills. Magazines became limited to ten rounds, and the price for replacement magazines for the "wunder-nines" went through the roof. New weapons came as-issued with ten round magazines. In some locales, even police officers had to turn in their high-capacity magazines for ten round magazines (so much for supporting, and taking pictures with the liberal clowns, eh boys?). This began the death-song for the high-capacity nine in America. After all, why would anyone want a large wide-framed, full-size pistol that held only ten small 9mm rounds? The move toward smaller pistols and larger calibers began.
One such pistol is the CZ75B in .40 S&W. Almost ignored by professional operators in this country, the CZ is the top choice among many Eastern European counter-terrorist teams, and some in Central America as well. Many of these operators, in fact, purchase their own CZ75s in preference to the issued pistols. These teams get a great deal of practical experience in light of the situation in those parts of the world. American shooters would be wise to take a look at their choices.
Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ) has been producing weaponry for over 60 years. They were producers of weapons for the governments of Eastern Europe for many years, including during WWII. With the communist takeover, CZ was absorbed into the National Enterprise (Narodni Podnik) factory system. Their manufacturing facility in Uhersky Brod became a member of the Zbrojovka Brno Narodni Podnik in 1965. At some point during these transitions, the trademark BRNO Arms was used, but the pistols remained the same. With the falling of the Iron Curtain, and the return of capitalism to Eastern Europe, the national enterprise in Uhersky Brod is once more "Ceska Zbrojovka". Realizing the massive market for arms in the United States, CZ opened up shop in Kansas City as CZ-USA, giving American shooters access to the CZ pistols.
I had taken a contract to train a group who issued the CZ as their duty weapon. In order to tune up for the assignment, and learning that they were now available in .40 S&W, I obtained a CZ75B in that caliber. The pistol came in a plastic (lockable) storage box with a single magazine, a cleaning rod and brush, and the mandatory manual and miscellaneous paperwork.
Beyond its sleek visual lines in a time of boxy, blocky, and clumsy pistols, much of the CZ's appeal is due to its rugged reliability. The CZ internals are largely based on the Browning design with some notable improvements in both barrel lock-up, and internal linkage. I've spoken with operators who've used the CZ in "the Dark Place" who speak highly of its reliability under less than ideal conditions, as well as its specific features.
The CZ offers a number of features that have made it popular with "advanced operators". The pistol is described as a double-action pistol, and it does have this capability, thereby making it saleable to those fearful of single-action designs. Of the stock DA triggers on various modern designs, the CZ's is by far the easiest to manage. Although somewhat long for my taste, it runs a very smooth 9 pounds without the gritty stack-and-creep-stop-and-go feel of the competition's triggers from Western Europe. More importantly, the CZ is a selective DA, which means that it may be carried cocked-and-locked. This, in effect, over rides the double-action feature, and is the recommended carry method, as far as I am concerned. The single action feel of the trigger is approximately four pounds, with very slight creeping prior to let-off. Although not perfect, this was quite manageable, and acceptable for a stock military weapon. For those desiring a crisper trigger break, remedial gunsmithing should be no problem.
The pistol has a frame mounted safety lever reminiscent of the Colt/Browning pistols. On the 75B, it is ambidextrous, and of suitable size to disengage quickly. The other controls (slide stop, magazine release, etc.) were all easily accessible and again reminiscent of Browning's designs. The pistol has a few sharp edges evident, most specifically, the bottom of the trigger guard and the tang extension of the frame needed. The weapon was tested as issued, but I eventually removed these sharp edges prior to carrying it. The rest of the weapon felt smooth in the hand. This "feel" is perhaps the biggest selling point of the CZ. The pistol sits in the hand easily, and points exactly in line with the bones of the arm. The only other pistol with this essential "feel" is the Glock.
The pistol came with high visibility three dot sights. They were painted with some sort of luminous material. When these sights were exposed to bright light (Surefire 9P), they retained luminescence in dark environments. They worked fine, and the pistol came with a computerized test target from the factory certifying a cursory "sight in". Eventually, the sights would be replaced with Trijicon Tritium Sights.
The stocks on the pistol are held in place with single phillips head screws. They are checkered plastic, and slim. They are simple, and without frills, as pistol stocks should be. The frontal frame and backstrap are smooth and uncheckered. In spite of the lack of checkering, the pistol behaved well in shooting drills. This was due in part to the well-designed grip frame angle, as well as to the low profile of the weapon in the hand.
The magazine that came as issued mirrored the pistol in quality. I'm advised that Mec-Gar will be manufacturing the magazines under contract for CZ. All of these magazines are ten-round capacity.
The CZ75B in .40 S&W offers many important advantages over the various other competitive weapon systems. First of all, it is available in .40 S&W, which I consider the ideal defensive/tactical caliber. The CZ75B's magazine holds exactly ten rounds of ammunition, fitting within the ridiculous magazine limit law. Most importantly, it allows cocked and locked carry, thereby bypassing while satisfying silly policy issues requiring double action linkage.
My recommendation - Try it, you'll like it.
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You might laugh in the face of FEAR... but unless your armed, its a nervous, unconvincing, little laugh.