Posted on 09/19/2009 4:30:14 PM PDT by Lurker
I promised a review of my latest firearm acquisition, so here it is.
It's a CZ-82 pistol purchased under my C&R License from J&G Sales in Arizona. The ad promised a CZ-82 in "good to very good" condition, one magazine, a cleaning rod, and a holster.
Here's what I received:
As you can see it's a pistol, magazine, a decent leather holster, and a cleaning rod just as advertised. Total price for one example was $209.00 plus shipping.
I also ordered 500 rounds of Silver Bear 94 grain Jacketed Hollow Point ammunition for $125.00 plus shipping. Extra mags run about $30.00 each, plus shipping.
The pistol arrived within 5 business days and the ammo arrived the same day on a separate UPS truck.
The pistol was 'well oiled' to say the very least, but there was thankfully no trace of cosmoline anywhere. So a thorough cleaning was in order before a trip to the range.
It is an all steel pistol and weighs just a hair under 28 ounces unloaded. It's chambered for the 9X18 Makarov cartridge which is NOT interchangeable with 9MM Luger (Parabellum, or 9X19) ammunition. Use ONLY 9X18 Makarov ammo in this pistol.
The magazine release and the safety are both ambidextrious. The pistol functions in either single action or double action mode. One can safely carry it with a round chambered and the hammer down, with the safety in the "Off" position. Or it can be safely carried "cocked and locked" with the safety in the "On" position. The controls are a bit small, but they're well placed and I had no trouble operating them.
I'd say that this pistol is in 'good to very good' condition. The bore is clean and bright and the pistol shows some honest holster wear as evidenced by this image.
One can easily imagine this thing riding on the hip of a Czech Police Officer or Border Guard every day. Mechanically the pistol is sound. Field stripping it is a breeze. As that information is easily available on the web I won't go into it here.
I started out at 21 feet with a full magazine of the Russian hollow point ammo. I'd have to rate accuracy as pretty darned good for a surplus service pistol.
Here's a pretty typical groupt at 21 feet:
I take complete responsibility for the shots outside the 5X.
The single action trigger pull has some creep but it breaks cleanly. I'd guesstimate it at about 5 pounds or so. The double action pull is pretty long but it also breaks cleanly.
Here's a typical group at 30 feet:
A quick note on loading the magazines. Capacity is 12 rounds, but it's a cast iron b**** to get those last two in there. After 3 or 4 mags I opted to load 10 just to save wear on my thumb. I'm going to look around for a loading tool. Function wasn't affected in the least with 10 rounds instead of 12 in the mag.
Functionally in one hundred rounds I experienced NO failures to fire, NO failures to eject of any kind, and only 2 failures to feed and those were in the first 4 magazines. I discovered the source of that issue. The rounds MUST be seated well against the back of the magazine.
So a quick, sharp rap against the table to insure that the rounds are well seated in the magazine took care of the problem. I experienced no further failures to feed. Not too bad considering this pistol was designed for FMJ ammo.
The feed failures were quickly remedied by a quick rack of the slide and the pistol was back in action.
The 9X18 Russian Silver Bear 94 grain hollow point bullet leaves the barrel at between 935 and 1005 fps according to my chronograph. That's quite a spread but I'm chalking that up to Russian quality control more than anything. This is definetely NOT match grade ammo.
With these figures we're looking at between 180 to 200 ft/lbs of energy delivered. While definetely on the lower end of the scale it's acceptable for self defense work at close range with proper shot placement.
Bottom line? For about $400.00 US I got a good shooting solid little service pistol. This example will get a DuraKoat finish applied (thanks to Squantos for the tip), and ride in the Camelback I keep under the seat in my truck.
While I wouldn't feel as well armed as I would carrying a Colt or Springfield XD in .45, this pistol would certainly be 'good enough' in my view.
I'd recommend picking one or two of these nice little examples of Czech craftsmanship up if you have the opportunity.
As always the opinions posted are mine, your mileage may vary, and any technical errors are mine and mine alone.
That can't be cheap.
L
it’s still cheaper than 380ACP which is it’s nearest equivalent
Thanks for the Saturday evening gun porn.
Looks like a knock-off of the Walther PPK.
That's surprising. You would think that the .380 popularity would drive down the production cost and subsequent price of the more boutique type of ammo. My .45 is costing me an arm & leg to go to the ranch. I'm looking for a more inexpensive alternative, but I don't really want to schlep all the way down to a 9mm.
Recoil on this piece is very manageable. I had no trouble with a quick follow up shot or two.
I do have to say that the sights are crude and would benefit from a drop of white paint on the front.
I've ordered a couple of thousand more rounds; 1K of FMJ and 1K of the Russian hollow points. I'm going to order two more of the pistols, too. One will go in Mrs. L's Camelback after a Durakoat treatment and the third will be used for parts should we ever need them.
Like I said, these things ain't Colts or Kimbers. But they ain't $900 a copy, either.
L
You’re quite welcome.
But the PPK is chambered for the weaker .380 cartridge (.32 is available but why bother), has a magazine capacity of only 8. The Walther also retails for over $500 new. You can buy two of these AND ammo for the price of one Walther.
Nothing against the Walthers, they're damn fine pistols. But if you're looking for a low-cost, well made, reliable, and cheap to shoot pistol I think these CZ's are worth picking up.
Strictly my opinion.
L
yeah everything is still expensive right now, I’m lucky that I had a good supply on hand and I reload for everything I can.
That is cheap - about $9 a box less than what I'm paying now. And, about $7 bucks a box cheaper than my local gun store sells .380 (Federal).
CZ is an old and well respected firearms maker. I have had a couple of old CZ made K98s that I liked a lot.
Reminds me of the Makarov, which I love. If it’s good enogh for the KGB, it’s good enough for me.
Used to have a Hungarian PA-63 pistol in 9X18 Mak. Looked like a PPK with an light alloy frame. At the time, 9X18 Makarov was not comon in the US. Surplus hardball ammo was about it. I worked up some handloads and discovered that bore diameter could range from .363 to .367, making a difference in accuracy. The bore on my gun was toward the higher side so I got best results with a Hornaday hollow-point with a .366 diameter. Accuracy was good for a gun of this type and the ballistics were between a .380 and a 9X19. The PA-63 served as a “house gun” for some time, including an incident when the little PA-63 was stuck in my belt when the police arrived. Later, Hornaday marketed a load similar to the one I had worked up. While I’d be partial to a handgun with a bit more “oomph,” you could do a lot worse than one of these Eastern Bloc handguns for home defense.
Heck it's even cheaper than far weaker .380 ammo. So I figured 'why the heck not?'.
Nobody is ever going to win a match with one of these, but that's not why I bought it. These guns are going into the "Oh Crap!" kits we keep in our cars. The gun, a couple spare mags, and two boxes of ammo will set us back less than $350 or so a piece.
You can't beat that with a stick.
Believe me both Mrs L and I own and regularly shoot 'better' guns, but we're not going to toss the Colts, Springfields, or S&W's into the trunk and just leave them there.
While not perfect, I think these things are a pretty good choice for that purpose.
Thanks for the info. As frequently as I go the range, it would pay for itself in well less than a year just from the savings on ammo.
As you can see from the images I posted this particular gun seems to be 'combat accurate'.
Thanks for the review of the CZ-82. I brought a CZ-82 from J&G earlier this year along with a PSL-54C and a Mosin 91/30 and I agree with your review. The CZ-82 is a nice, cheap handgun for someone who is a first time gun buyer as well.
Glad to know that I was not the only one struggling to get the last two bullets into the mag.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.