To all of you CZ fans . . .

HAD a Compact 75 in a nickel finish. This is the gun that turned me on to CZ's. HAD a P-07. Good gun, but IMO not exceptional like my current PCR D and Rami. NOTHING feels as good in the hand as the Rami with the 14 round mag. Perfection. Both are crazy, stupid accurate and anytime a friend shoots them for the first time they are more accurate than with their guns. The PCR gets most of the carry time. My oldest daughter took my first PCR to TX when she moved, but as soon as I scrounged up enough jack I got another one. For me, the only other gun to perform as well as these CZ's was my Mod 2 .45. You want a fantastic, small .45 to carry with good capacity? Check out the Mod 2. (Not a thread jack.)
 
I have two 75Bs... one 9mm and one 40sw.

They are great shooters; I did some polishing of the triggers, and put in lighter hammer springs that made the pull very nice. They were a tad gritty and heavy when new. (I used 18lb springs for reliability without the need for changing other components, it is an easy swap, and low cost from Wolff)

The triggers are known to smooth out with use... I have never felt a "bad" original 75B trigger, but some do have a little gritty/notchy feel at first. Once the parts wear into each other, things smooth out. The positive sear engagement can give the triggers a little creep, but nothing like some striker pistols have.

There are plenty of aftermarket parts available for the original trigger, should you feel the need. There may be Omega parts as well, but I have not had the need to look for them personally.


CZs come in a safety or decocker version. The safety can be cocked and locked, or manually lowered for DA carry... the safety will not engage when the hammer is not cocked. (the Omega trigger may differ here, I have no personal extended experience outside a store with one)


The Omega trigger is a simplified system, and is smoother out of the box as a result. General consensus is that they do not respond to trigger work as well as the original trigger. The original system has dual trigger bars and that may balance out forces helping trigger work shine.

Unless you plan on doing competition and need the best trigger possible, either would serve well.

The Omega trigger allows for switching between a safety and decocker in the P-07/9, and now there is a version of the 75B Omega that allows this as well; though the original version of the 75B Omega did not allow this conversion, so if you want this feature in a 75, make sure you get a newer manufacture. (the manufacture date is on the pistol's slide)


Some different models...

The P-07 and P-09, are polymer framed. The P-07 is G19 sized, and the P-09 is full sized and holds 19+1 in 9mm. They have the Omega triggers.

The P-07 has a gen II version (it has the angular hammer of the P-09, rather than the original rounded version, for easy identification in the store) Basically they refined the design a bit and made some improvements with the p-09 that made their way to the P-07. One of the most popular changes is the flatter trigger, rather than the sharply curved original.


The SP-01 is a 75B with an extended dust cover/rail. The added mass of the extended dust cover of the SP-01 reduces muzzle rise a bit over the 75B.

I really like the rubber grips that comes with the SP-01 over the basic plastic versions that many models have. They were a cheap upgrade to my standard 75B, at less than $20, and worth it to me. Some like the thinner aluminum grips that come on the fancier models.

There are the compact versions as well, steel or aluminum framed.

The P-01 is a variant of the 75 compact, with an aluminum frame and extended dust cover. (the P-06 is the 40sw version)

There are variations of the 75B and SP-01, that mostly come down to setup. The 85 for example has an ambi safety.

Then there are some variants, like the Shadow line, that start to tweak the pistol to improve performance, like the trigger, but that starts to add to the cost.

The CZ-97 is a 45acp version, it is physically larger as a result. I owned a clone copy of this pistol, and found it a nice shooter, though a bit large for my hand.


Any specific questions... ask.
 
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Than you, one and all, for the information. I've clearly got some research to do, and it's going to have to include some hands-on research. Unfortunately, Neither of the places in the are that rent guns has any CZs on their rental lists. :(
aarondhgraham said:
. . . .P.S. Told ya.
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You did indeed. :D
Cyanide971 said:
Spats, since you already have the Glock 19 and played around with the full-size CZ 75, wouldn't you just love having a compact, poly frame CZ to go with your Glock as well?
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Actually, the one I shot was the CZ 75 Compact. I actually looked at a P07 at Academy sports way back when I was searching for a polymer 9mm. I remember thinking that it was very rough and pointy for concealed carry in a suit. (I've lost more than one sport coat liner to aggressively textured grips.) I just may have to go back and re-examine the P07.

The flagship CZ 75 is certainly a good-looking gun, but the ones that I really have my eye on are the compact, alloy-framed models. With my limited budget, I'm always looking to have guns fill multiple roles. I could carry a full-sized gun concealed, but I'd rather carry a compact. And virtually all of my range time is dedicated to keeping my (meager) skills sharp on my carry pistol, so I'm not sure the big pistol makes any sense for me.
 
I got a CZ75BD so I could have have another Wonder Nine to compare to my SIG P229. This CZ simply makes me a better shooter.

My CZ75BD also has a not-cheap hiccup-free Kadet .22LR conversion kit.

So thoughtfully made are CZs (I also have a 452 Lux), I'm looking at a CZ97BD, now that my affair with the .45ACP has resumed.
 
If you are looking at CZ pattern compact I would look at the CZ PCR, CZ P01 and the CZ Compact.

If you are carrying the PCR and the P01 will be lighter. The Compact has the nice advantage that you can carry it DA/SA or SAO cocked and locked but its all steel construction will make it heavier. I am not a fan of the Omega trigger. It is a simpler design but does not lend itself to improvement the way that the standard 75 B triggers do. The only advantage is the ability to switch from DA/SA to SAO on the same frame on the newest Omegas. Older ones have no advantage IMHO.

I have owned 6 different CZs and still have a P01 and a 75B and they are keepers. I was looking to add a compact but stepped it up in the CZ game with a Sphinx Alpha.

I would take a long hard look at the Sphinx if you like the CZ pattern. You can still find the Swiss made guns, they are moving production to the US, for right around $800 and they are slick. They are a spring change away from being amazing IMHO. They are a refined CZ IMHO. They offer Compacts and Subcompacts. I like their subcompact too but I did have some teething issues with mine.





 
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It felt FANTASTIC in my hand; the trigger was smooth and clean; and it shot like a danged laser!


I am not surprised Spats. The same thing happened to me thirty years ago and I have acquired a number more since.
 
SPATS said:
I actually looked at a P07 at Academy sports way back when I was searching for a polymer 9mm. I remember thinking that it was very rough and pointy for concealed carry in a suit. (I've lost more than one sport coat liner to aggressively textured grips.) I just may have to go back and re-examine the P07.
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If you looked at an early model the P-07 was known to have some very crude edges on it. The next generation had the front cocking serrations among other improvements. But those sharp edges went away. I absolutely love my P-07.
 
The Omega is a much simpler single-bar trigger system - it's definitely easier to manufacture and maintain (thus the lower cost), but more experienced CZ owners have told me that there's more 'upside' to the standard trigger. The Omega more or less comes out of the box already broken in, while the 75 needs some rounds through it to smoothen out. Keep in mind that a rental gun has probably been shot a ton - a factory new model might be a little rougher by comparison.

The thing that hooked me on CZs is the shape of the backstrap; it fits right into the curve in the palm of my hand that it feels like the gun just disappears into my hand. This is a very subjective thing, but I remember shooting dead on with it back when I was still new to guns and spraying my rounds all over the place.

As to which one to buy... take a look at what the CZ Custom shop has to offer before you decide on anything. I already have a broken-in, smooth-as-silk PCR, but that compact SDP is beckoning to me.
 
CZ's have been praised worldwide for a long time... There are WELL over a million CZ75s in use and growing popularity of all variants in the US. I love mine. Wiki has an interesting fact-filled article which includes a listing of clones, copies and variants near the end:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CZ_75
 
I had little experience with CZ until about 3 years ago when I talked with them about a test pistol.
I have done 3 CZ pistol reviews since then and have bought every one after the review.
I just shared a review of the new Urban Grey P-01 silencer ready on the handgun forums and it is my favorite so far.
I am loving CZ like I love Colt, and that is saying something.
 
Well, another vote for the "classic" 75b.

Mine sports Guy Hogue rubber grip panels, but is otherwise stock

Never heard anything bad about the "clones", so I guess you can't go wrong there either.
 
Here's another vote for the PCR.
Once I shot it some years back, it replaced every 9mm I had.
It is more accurate than I am, uber reliable and has 14+1.
What's not to like?
I replaced the clothes gripping factory rubber grips with some nice wood grips (I also like wood to rubber for looks) and never looked back. I see no reason to tinker with the trigger. It's fine as it is with many thousands of rounds thru it.

 
I too really like my PCR. Only complaints are I hate the serrated trigger, puts a blister on my finger after a 100 rounds and I wish the rear sight was farther back on the slide as my old eyes need all the sight radius they can get. Sent a request into CZ custom and Cajun gunworks inquring about a trigger job with an 85 combat trigger and the new style night sights which sit farther back on the frame. Cost will be about what I paid for the pistol but worth it in my opinion, need to start saving up now.
Damn things are like Harleys you only get a starter kit from the factory.:rolleyes:
 
It all depends on what you plan for your collections future

if I were to buy just one CZ(NEVER buy just 1)--it would be the cz 85b combat.

If I were going to collect a few, I would start(as I did) with a 75 b or bd. I then bought aan sp-01, then the 85 b.

of course now that I am hooked I have bought lots of czs. I am waiting for CZ custom to build my CTS long slide now

my collection contains many CZs and Dan wessons--enough said!

quality, accuracy, fun to shoot

the ONLY 2 draw backs--the slide lick is hard to get out and the barrels have NO coating--still never stopped me from wanting more

enjoy!
 
I have two "carry weapons". One is a Sig P229 and the other a CZ75 SP-01.

I like the SP-01 so much that I carry it as long as I don't need a smaller weapon. Then I carry the P-229 which is a little more compact.

There's something about having a firearm carrying 20 rounds ready to go and is as accurate as can be. Fits my hand well. I just put two 19 round mags on the other side of my belt to offset the extra weight so my pants don't sag to one side :)
 
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