MichaelJay
New member
Recently, I purchased a TZ-99 from AIM Surplus. This is an ambidextrous control, 9 mm, steel frame, fixed sight, auto with two fifteen round magazines. It is manufactured in South Africa from tooling that came from the CZ factory in Czechoslovakia. It looks very similar to a SIG-Sauer P226, although the internal workings are somewhat different. Fit and finish are good with no noticeable burrs or flashing on any parts. As delivered, it required a good cleaning to remove excess packing lubricant.
I used Sellier & Bellot 9mm ammunition for this trip to the range. This 115-grain, FMJ in brass ammo was $110 per 1000 rounds. I picked it up from AIM Surplus at the time of pistol purchase. Different ammo would obviously change the outcome of the shoot, but this was all we had on hand at the time and it proved to be sufficient for target practice.
Indoor lane shooting took place at 7 and 15 yards, on various targets. Targets were mounted on corrugated cardboard so they suspended to the proper height and didn’t wave in the air exchanger breeze. The target range didn’t have rests available – Glock day – very busy, in fact we were limited to one hour only. So all shooting was done off-hand using the Weaver stance.
Participants were my wife, teenage daughter and myself. All of which enjoy shooting and family competition for the best grouping of the outing. The shooting began with warm-ups with the TZ at 7 yards for 10 shot groups. Once everyone was comfortable with the gun we proceeded. We noted a few cartridge miss feeds. Later we realized this was due to trying to ease the slide forward, like on the Glock. Once we began to use the slide release, this problem stopped.
The trigger is DA or SA. The take up is similar to a revolver, but does have some “slack” before engaging to fire. The biggest change noted by everyone was the lack of “kick” compared to the Glock. Second shots (double taps) were steadier and target acquisition was quicker with this gun.
The sights are slightly difficult to pickup in moderate to low lighting (which we were in, someone caught one of the lights with a broom, while sweeping up brass). In good lighting they are adequate. Out of the box they are set well enough for close work – 7 yards, however at 15 yards, it is down and right about 1.5 inches from point of aim. A quick disassembly and assembly to see if this would make any difference – it did not. Keeping the point of aim steady on the first selected target at 15 yards, yielded groups from 2.5 inches to 5 inches for all shooters (dad being the worst!) Due to poor down range lighting we made a light area on one target using chalk and this helped somewhat. Continuous retrieval of the target to see groups, consumed a great deal of our precious hour.
For comparison we were also shooting at the same session: S&W 686 revolver in .357, Glock Model 23 in .40 cal and a Star Starfire in .380 auto.
Generally, the TZ is heavier than a Glock or Star but lighter than the revolver. It is easy to aim like the other autos, but more difficult (for smaller hands) than the revolver. The Star has an ejector problem that places all ejected shells in a trajectory for your forehead. So anticipatory flinching caused us to put away the Star early.
Overall impression: For a New-In-Box pistol at $269.00 before taxes, this is quite the gun. Compare at double the price for a SIG, Beretta or similar. It is more than accurate for self-defense and target shooting/practice. Would need some serious work for a competition gun, but then why would you by this gun for that purpose? For home or self-defense, I would consider enhancing the sights or a “Crimson-Trace” [tm] type of laser addition. Which I checked with CTC and they don’t have a package for this gun.
Ammunition totals for the outing:
1. 9 mm – 250 rounds, S&B
2. .40 – 80 rounds, Winchester FMJ round nose
3. .380 – 70 rounds, UMC FMJ round nose
4. .38 - 18 rounds in the S&W, hand-loads, SWC lead
Respectfully submitted,
Michael.
I used Sellier & Bellot 9mm ammunition for this trip to the range. This 115-grain, FMJ in brass ammo was $110 per 1000 rounds. I picked it up from AIM Surplus at the time of pistol purchase. Different ammo would obviously change the outcome of the shoot, but this was all we had on hand at the time and it proved to be sufficient for target practice.
Indoor lane shooting took place at 7 and 15 yards, on various targets. Targets were mounted on corrugated cardboard so they suspended to the proper height and didn’t wave in the air exchanger breeze. The target range didn’t have rests available – Glock day – very busy, in fact we were limited to one hour only. So all shooting was done off-hand using the Weaver stance.
Participants were my wife, teenage daughter and myself. All of which enjoy shooting and family competition for the best grouping of the outing. The shooting began with warm-ups with the TZ at 7 yards for 10 shot groups. Once everyone was comfortable with the gun we proceeded. We noted a few cartridge miss feeds. Later we realized this was due to trying to ease the slide forward, like on the Glock. Once we began to use the slide release, this problem stopped.
The trigger is DA or SA. The take up is similar to a revolver, but does have some “slack” before engaging to fire. The biggest change noted by everyone was the lack of “kick” compared to the Glock. Second shots (double taps) were steadier and target acquisition was quicker with this gun.
The sights are slightly difficult to pickup in moderate to low lighting (which we were in, someone caught one of the lights with a broom, while sweeping up brass). In good lighting they are adequate. Out of the box they are set well enough for close work – 7 yards, however at 15 yards, it is down and right about 1.5 inches from point of aim. A quick disassembly and assembly to see if this would make any difference – it did not. Keeping the point of aim steady on the first selected target at 15 yards, yielded groups from 2.5 inches to 5 inches for all shooters (dad being the worst!) Due to poor down range lighting we made a light area on one target using chalk and this helped somewhat. Continuous retrieval of the target to see groups, consumed a great deal of our precious hour.
For comparison we were also shooting at the same session: S&W 686 revolver in .357, Glock Model 23 in .40 cal and a Star Starfire in .380 auto.
Generally, the TZ is heavier than a Glock or Star but lighter than the revolver. It is easy to aim like the other autos, but more difficult (for smaller hands) than the revolver. The Star has an ejector problem that places all ejected shells in a trajectory for your forehead. So anticipatory flinching caused us to put away the Star early.
Overall impression: For a New-In-Box pistol at $269.00 before taxes, this is quite the gun. Compare at double the price for a SIG, Beretta or similar. It is more than accurate for self-defense and target shooting/practice. Would need some serious work for a competition gun, but then why would you by this gun for that purpose? For home or self-defense, I would consider enhancing the sights or a “Crimson-Trace” [tm] type of laser addition. Which I checked with CTC and they don’t have a package for this gun.
Ammunition totals for the outing:
1. 9 mm – 250 rounds, S&B
2. .40 – 80 rounds, Winchester FMJ round nose
3. .380 – 70 rounds, UMC FMJ round nose
4. .38 - 18 rounds in the S&W, hand-loads, SWC lead
Respectfully submitted,
Michael.
