Witness compact and CZ 75 compact

[brianidaho]

I ordered a Witness compact in .40, Wonderfinish a couple of weeks back. Stopped at the dealer today to see if it was in yet (no go, backordered ). Anyway, they had a CZ compact there as well as a blued Witness compact. My first chance to handle the two side by side. I've got a few observations/questions for you guys and girls.

Both felt very similar, quite naturally (and both very good, at least in my hands). The CZ had more edges rounded off, especially at the muzzle. Slide to frame fit on the CZ was perfect, couldn't feel any play. The Witness was good, at least as tight as the Para Ordanance and Glocks I was also handling, but not as tight as the CZ. Working the slides on both, both were very smooth.

Dry firing (dropping on my thumb- they weren't mine after all) I felt that the Witness had a better SA trigger. General finish seemed a bit better on the Witness as well. This is a tough call, the CZ had what I assume is their polymer finish, looked like it had been dipped in paint and allowed to dry. Makes it tough to evaluate quality of the machine work. Probably tough as hell though. How does this finish compare with the "wonderfinish" on the Witness, for durability?

The CZ has what the factory claims are night sights. They look like normal 3-dot sights with glow-in-the-dark paint. Do they work, especially after being in a dark room for a few hours? Both sights seem pretty tall and "grabby".

Witness compact is available in 9mm, 40, 38 super, 45, 10mm. CZ compact looks to be 9mm only, am I right on this?

Witness is $279, CZ is $399. Both seem like good deals, compared to some of the more expensive hardware out there. Is the CZ worth the extra?

Has anyone had experience with either/both of these handguns and can you give me any comments/comparision? Thanks.

Brian



------------------
I will choose a path thats clear-I will choose freewill-Neal Pert

I swear-by my life and my love of it-that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine-Ayn Rand

 

[JiminCA]

Brian-
I recently bought a CZ75 compact and am quite happy with it. I like the ergonomics. 1911 types like me can ride the safety with their thumb - high grip wrap around the front of the trigger guard feels right, the safety works in the "right" direction, and the darn thing is a tack driver. Accuracy is EXCELLENT. Not a Les Baer or a SW945 (both of which I own) but better than any other 9 I own, and far better than most DA/SA production guns. Maybe I just got a good one but I'm thrilled in the accuracy dept.

You could carry cocked and locked but unlike a 1911 you wouldn't have the grip safety for added confidence.

It feels a lot like a high power. Just fits your hand nice. I bought it over the full size CZ for that reason.

Like you I wish it came in .40. The sights are good in normal light - I acquire them quickly. But the "glow in the dark" spots of luminous paint remind me of a cheap watch. I'm thinking about a set of replacements. So far finish appears to be durable (reminds me of Beretta 92 type finish). I maybe have 500 rounds through the gun with no misfeeds or other reliability problems. Have fired reloads and a box of cor-bon through it.

When you take it apart there are machining marks, etc on the inside. But it is really smooth and tight where it counts. Barrel is a bit rough between the lands, but it doesn't seem to affect accuracy.

Shot it in an IDPA match and was very happy with the results. Felt smooth and accuracy was not an issue. Not as fast as I shoot a 1911, but faster than any other non-1911 that I shoot, including Glocks that I shoot a lot.

The only thing I've had to do to the gun is correct a situation where the mags didn't drop free. Discovered that during the IDPA match. The fix is to tweak the leaf spring that rides against the mag when it is inserted. A bit less friction and the mags drop no problem. Remove the grips and the fix is self evident.

Got a third mag after a bit of a search for just under 30 bucks. They're out there.

I intend to use it in the compact match that my IDPA club runs.

So to sum it up the CZ compact is a great value. Too bad they don't have other calibers available.

Can't comment on the witness in any significant way. Seems like it was just reviewed in this month's Gun Tests?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Has anyone had experience with either/both of these handguns and can you give me any comments/comparision? Thanks.

Brian

[/B][/quote]

 

[shiroikuma Anchorage AK]

Well the finish on the CZ polymer is supposed to be parkerizing then polymer on top so it shouldn't rust. The wonder finish is supposed to be a tenifer process just like on glock slides..it doesn't rust much either and it's hard as heck. I think the CZ's are way better guns in finish and looks but that's a personal call. I also believe they are much better made. CZ USA is also very good to work with if you have a problem. I've heard nothing but horror stories about trying to deal with the Witness US distributer..no help at all. IMHO the only reason to pick the witness is that you can't get the caliber you want..the compacts are only offered in 9mm. I love the design so some day I'm going to get a 10mm witness but only cause CZ doesn't make that caliber.

The CZ's also come in different finishes even the compacts. I have a full size nickel plated one and it is so goooood looking. No witness comes close. Go to www.cz-usa.com and look at what's available. I like the PCR compact it's alloy framed and has a decocker..polymer finish only.

Plus CZ makes the best .22 conversion I have ever seen, it's way better than the Ciener ones. I paid $200 delivered to my door for mine and it's very very accurate plus you can shot all day for $10 bucks. The Witness co. has promised one for a long time but I've never seen one available.

think, for $600 you could get a 1st class 9mm and a .22 conversion so you could practice enough to be really really good.

shiro

 

[DougB]

I also like the CZs and plan to by one (an alloy framed PCR Compact model). I was a little concerned about the durability of the polymer finish and wished the PCR model came in a hard chrome or nickle, but I know someone who has carried a polymer finished CZ for about 6 or 8 months. He isn't a gun lover, and carries it loose in a fanny pack or bag (no holster) with whatever other junk he throws in. I'm sure its been knocked around plenty. I looked at it a couple of weeks ago. No visible wear on the polymer finish. Some of the blued parts showed minor wear, but the polymer was 100% intact. I'm convinced. CZ Polymer finish is good.

I am also tempted by the Witness line, especially the polymer frames (for the light weight). If they made a compact polymer in 10mm, I'd have to have one. But they don't.

Doug

 

[Joe Klug]

Brian,

I just picked up a CZ-75 compact for my wife and it's a nice pistol. I've had a full size CZ-75 for a while and I've been very impressed with it so I expect the same from the compact. Only been out to the range with it once so far but accuracy was very good and it feels good in the hand. Is it worth more than the EAA? I think so. CZ has impressed me to no end so far. Bonus is the safety is in the correct place which seems to be rare these days.

No, the glow in the dark paint on the sights isn't worth much but the stock sights are good and I believe you can get true night sights if you want to spend the money.

In my experience, the polymer finish is very durable. Personally, I like that kind of finish or parkerizing on my guns. I'll take functional over pretty any day.

Joe/Ga