Why are CZs unpopular in this country?

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Those of us who own CZs know that they are one of the best out of the box pistols out there. Yet, I never see gunstores carry them and many gun store owners never have even heard of CZs. I think if more people actually tried them out that they would become more popular. Can anyone come up with reasons why CZ is unknown and / or unpopular in this country?
 
Simple.

$$$$$

How much profit is there in a CZ vs a Ruger or a S&*? Then couple that with CZ's just recently became a domestic distributed commodity. 2 years ago, CZ USA hardly existed. Look at Honda and Toyota back in the 60's and 70's. They were in the same position. In the '70's you had trouble finding a place that even heard of a Toyota or a Civic. LOL! The first Honda Civic I saw back in '1971 was in a bicycle shop of all places. The guy sold bicycles, Honda motorcycles and a strange looking thing called a Civic. Believe it or not, Glock had the same teething problems until the late 80's. This is one reason I tell people that NOW is the time to buy a CZ. 5 years from now, people are going to hit themselves in the head for not jumping on the "cheap" CZ's.


*Thinking about it, I REALLY should go back and buy that Silver Anniversary CZ75b for $599.00. Yes. I'm going to lament it in 2006 if I don't.
 
My shop has just begun to get them in stock. There is still very much a bias against former eastern block weapons(the commie factor I guess). As more of these fine weapons are imported and are handled by others, this bias will disappear. That is my 2 cents.
 
Huh?

"...I never see gunstores carry them..."

I think you live in the wrong neighborhood, my friend. ;)

I was in my favorite gun shop today and they had five different models in the "new" 9mm and .40Auto display cases.

I share your enthusiasm for CZs...they are great bargains these days; I'm old enough to remember when a man who really wanted a CZ had to pull at least one "big one" out of his wallet.
 
Now that is a good question.

Maybe it's the price? You can get a brand new CZ-75b for under $350. Maybe people are so used to paying $500 for a name-brand gun that they think a $350 gun must be fatally flawed in some way.

Maybe it's that CZ-USA doesn't do a whole lot of advertising.

Maybe it's that the Czech Republic isn't really well-known as a Mecca of firearms manufacture.

Maybe it's just the untennable whims of the American shooting public.

I don't know.

I just know that I love my CZ!

Later,
Chris
 
I think they are 'unpopular' [if they are: I love them] due to a combination of factors. One of which is the fact that they were not readily accessable in our country until after the wall came down in 1989. Another is that there parent company didn't put the advertising blitz on that we saw from Glock, Sig, H&K, or Kimber. A third is that they ARE a 25 year old 'commie' design. [I do love them, but they were designed in a communist nation] A fourth is that they didn't have the most stable distribution system until CZ-USA was set up [1996?]. And, of course, they don't have the 'bragging' rights that we see in the other 'popular' pistols. After all, which military or law enforcement organization is advertized as using the CZ75? Now, how about the Glock? Sig? H&K? Beretta? Springfield?

CZ has been making a lot of strides toward 'popularity' in the past couple of years. One of the hardest things to do for them is to overcome gunstore buyers' financial bottom line: Brand name recognition translates to easier sales, translates to faster movement of inventory. From a business perspective, I would want to stock 10 items of a brand everyone knows and loves before taking a risk on 1 that is not well known. The CZ takes more 'salesmanship' to sell: glocks reputation sells itself many times.

One thing to keep in mind is that popular doesn't mean jack ****. People like something for no concrete reason other than image a lot of the time. CZ's are about quality and performance first. As long as CZ gets enough business to stay in business, I wouldn't worry about the popularity issue.

I have to admit that, despite loving the CZ, I don't own one. In fact, I recently bought a cz-clone, a Baby Eagle. There is only one problem with the CZ lineup, as far as I'm concerned. The problem is the 'trigger reach'. I don't feel that I can control the trigger in the DA mode on the CZ. I know I can 'cock and lock' or just cock or even 'stage' on the first notch, but I want to be able to control the trigger in ALL positions. The Baby Eagle uses the same system [basically] and the trigger is just a hair closer to the grip: thus giving me that control I want.

jmstr
 
I just hope that eventually CZs become more popular. That way, they should be more available (both guns and spare parts). The CZ 75/97 design is a great one that every shooter should at least give a try.
 
I think it has to do with CZs coming from a long time enemy of the US. They are great pistols and everyone should shoot one. My roommates dad works for the Army War College and he said the Czech(sp?) Republic was regarded as the best firearms makers in the Eastern Block.
 
The reasons for the CZ not being popular are numerous. The product it self is not the reason.
I purchased a CZ75BD in October 00 for $319.00 and have since put over 5,000 rounds through it with no problems at all. A friend of mine has a SIG P210 which many consider the most accuarate production pistol in the world. He paid over $1,500.00 and has spent big bucks on accuarizing it. When compared to my CZ75 it is only slightly more accurate. We used a Ransom rest and he was amazed at the CZ accuaracy.
I think many Americans feel that if something does not cost alot it can't be very good. In most cases that is true. With the CZ pistols you get more than what you paid for.
 
They are still a growing concern in this country, but the word is spreading fast.

One of my favorite dealers just dropped his S&W dealership and replaced it with a CZ dealership. He says he can't keep them on the shelves, they sell so fast.

Still the best deal on a service pistol, IMHO.

Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC
 
Czech firearms makers are some of the best period. The Czechs designed the gun that was the inspiration for the Uzi (CZ-24)and the CZ-75 speaks for itself. BRNO rifles are recognized for their quality throughout the world.

As far as the Czechs being commies, the Western governments basically handed them over to Nazi Germany without asking the Czechs about it during the Munich agreement and then Churchill and Roosevelt handed them over to Stalin at Yalta.

They never sought to have a communist government and were one of the few countries to openly rebel against the Soviet Union (and get the requisite tank parade for their trouble) They eventually managed to overthrow the communist government on their own. They are now in kind of a "junior partner" status with NATO and are making tremendous strides for improvement.

I visited Prague just recently and the country is like the CZ-75 - a wonderful, quality place that is remarkably cheap to visit and enjoy.

I'm with the crowd that says buy Czech products now because they are quality stuff and the price is going to go up on them.
 
I visited Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic, back in 1979 and the Czechs hated being under the communist regime. I bought a CZ75 Compact last year when I saw that Mega Sports in Joliet had them in their display case. Great store selling a lot of great guns! For someone with a Czech heritage it's only natural to own a CZ and be darn proud of the quality craftsmanship.
 
Don't forget that CZ is competing against EAA's Witness line of pistols which are basically the same design manufactured in Italy by Tanfoglio. I don't think the Witnesses are as good as the CZs but EAA advertises heavily and their prices are a bit lower.
 
First, UN-popular is much different from just NOT popular.

I hear hardly anything bad. They seem quite respected but just haven't caught on. Yet? Don't know that they ever will. Like some semi-obscure rock bands, it will always have a sizeable, reliable and comparatively small following.

I see three possible reasons (more or less important to various individuals in the buying market) for this:

1. Though often in the "bargain" price that Glock USED to occupy, they don't have the exotic polymer element.

2. Compared to other pistols (even the all-metal jobs), they are heavy at a time when light weight is now all the rage (they became more widely available at the beginning of this trend).

3. Their double-action pull (for those of us not hankering after the new SA-only version) starts out at almost full-weight, instead of gradually increasing through the trigger stroke. THAT, and the then-current lack of a firing pin block safety, is why I did not buy a compact Italian CZ clone about 15 years ago. SIGs are much better in this respect.
 
My next pistol is going to be a CZ! I checked out the 83? Nice little gun i`m just not interested in 380. I will wait till they get a 9 or 45 in.
 
What about the hammer drop?

Everyone has given really good reasons, but don't forget that up until only a couple of years ago, if you wanted a CZ you had to be willing to carry SA or lower the hammer manually. A lot of people don't like the idea of lowering the hammer manually on a live round. The CZ decocker models are the answer, but they're recent. Get your CZs now, they're only getting more expensive. I remember back in 1997 you could get a NIB CZ 75 with two prebans for $250.
 
I like 'em

I fired a CZ97B at the local range a few weeks ago and just last week purchased a NIB CZ40B (aka the now defunct Colt Z40) for only $290.00. Fantastic shooter. I'm now a card carrying CZ fan!
 
CZ 75 is in the same quality and durability category as Sigs and HKs. The only reason why we can buy them here for less money is because of US Dollar vs Chech Cronas.
The quality of Chech firearms is trully exellent. And don't forget that these guns are built, not manufactured. All CZs are hand fitted and test fired. If these guns would cost $600 (and they used to cost $1500 in the early 80's) I would still buy them.
 
because they look like ass.

I think Rugers look good
I think Glocks look good

CZ's..

Good lord... YUCK!!

But... they shoot very well, recoil is nice, accuracy is great, they go bang all the time, and the price is outstanding.

But god damn... they look... ... UGLY! They look ugly and they look stupid.

The newer ones are gettin better, but man oh man..
 
Glocks look good? :rolleyes:

We all have our own preferances but I think Glocks are ugly (they perform well though). I'll take the looks of a CZ over a Glock or Ruger anyday. YMMV
 
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