Saddly not mine, as such wonderful guns are “Unsafe” in Massachusetts, not to mention those pesky High-capacity magazines.
Nope this gun comes from the collection of my buddy Waldo’s. All text below are his impressions reprinted with his permissions:
I bought a CZ 75B HP Stainless with wood grips, a configuration exclusive to Cabela’s. I thought the wood looked nice, and would have gotten those anyway, as the gun typically comes with some perfectly serviceable black plastic grips which aren’t very aesthetically appealing. Factoring in the price of the gun and the grips separately, to buy them as a package saved me a small bit of money, especially with my employee discount.
The gun is stainless steel, handsomely buffed to a high polish. All markings and stampings are clean and easy to read with the model, caliber, logo, and serial number deeply stamped on the slide. The serial number is also stamped on the frame and barrel in the same manner. CZ USA’s Kansas City location appears to be very finely and neatly laser etched on the right hand side of the frame. My only real complaint is that “Made in the Czech Republic” is dot peened on the left hand side of the frame, and is a bit incongruous with the rest of the markings.
Serrations all around are deep and neatly done, with no too sharp edges, and give one’s hands a pretty good purchase. This is particularly helpful on the slide, which as it rides inside the frame leaves a rather slender surface to grasp. As well, the serrations on the hammer are deep enough to give one’s thumb an especially aggressive grip, which is helpful as the pistol is a double action without a decocker. That being said, the gun, as noted by the “B” designation, does have a firing pin block, which disengages only when the trigger is pulled to its most rearward state. Decocking the pistol, when loaded, is not as sketchy as one might think. Interposing one’s off hand thumb between the hammer and firing pin before gently lowering it is a good method to ensure no accidents occur, but once the sear has disengaged, the trigger can be released, and the firing pin block should prevent any further complications should one accidentally drop the hammer. Stainless 75Bs come with an ambi safety, a deviation from the standard models. With the hammer cocked, it engages and disengages cleanly, and is relatively easy to reach, even for shooters with small hands. The slide catch is not as forgiving, and I find that I have to either alter my grip on the pistol significantly to actuate it with my firing hand, or use my off hand to do the same. As I typically use a two handed Weaver stance, this is not really a problem for me, as my off hand thumb can easily reach either control. Left handed shooters would have no issues disengaging the slide catch with their index finger. More serrations are to be found on the front of the trigger guard, which is squared off similarly to the Beretta M9, although my hands are not large enough to utilize this feature. The magazine release protrudes generously, and is very easy to find and press. Mags drop freely and easily, and the well is large enough to cram them in without having to give the issue much thought.
Double action trigger pull is a little on the long side, and a bit heavy, which makes sense for a duty pistol. It isn’t glassy smooth, but it’s definitely not bad, and I’ve heard that these tend to smooth out over time. Single action is decent for a double/single semi. There’s a bit of take up, and then a small amount of travel, as the gun seems to have a rather generous sear to hammer engagement, but on the whole, I’ve felt much worse triggers, and it’s still head and shoulders above any striker fired system I’ve used. Years of 1911s have spoiled me on triggers and, while it’s not the best trigger I’ve ever felt, it’s by far not the worst, and perfectly adequate. For a shooter transitioning from 1911s to a double action, it’s a good choice for, although I still have to get used to two different trigger pulls, the option of carrying cocked and locked negates my need to.
Sights are of the fixed three dot variety. The rear is dovetailed in the usual fashion, the front dovetailed in lengthwise and secured with a roll pin. They line up well and are easy to acquire. Otherwise, there’s not much to say about them.
The high polished stainless steel makes for a particularly slick surface area, but the gun is contoured in such a way that it doesn’t really mater that much. The grip angle and shape are very ergonomic, and the high ride beavertail seats the pistol firmly and deeply in one’s hand. Bore axis is fairly low as a result, and the pistol points very naturally.
Disassembly is quick and easy. There are two witness marks on the left hand side of the gun. Just retract the slide to line them up and press the slide catch from the right hand side of the pistol. There’s a retaining spring, so this is best accomplished with some sort of tool, but the manual suggests the baseplate of a magazine, and this seems to work well. Once the catch has disengaged from that spring, it’s easily removed my hand, and the slide assembly slides off. From there, it’s a simple matter to remove the recoil spring and guide rod, and then the barrel which has some deep, generous locking lugs. Reassembly is just as easy, if not more so, and as a result the entire pistol is very easy to clean. The gun does not have any goofy internal locks or magazine disconnects.
Admittedly, 50 rounds is not enough of a trial for me to really speak of how the gun shoots or functions, but for those 50 rounds, it shot and functioned exceptionally well. Load was 124gr FMJ Winchester 9mm Nato, which is 10% hoter than the standard 9mm Luger. Seemed a good break in load, and it was on sale. All 50 rounds cycled perfectly with no stoppages. Ejection was clean, consistent, and vigorous. Hits were easily scored at a distance of approximately 15 to 20 yards against a variety of cans and bottles. Even with the hotter loads, I could easily shoot this gun all day. As noted before, it’s well put together ergonomically, and the added weight that an all steel gun brings as opposed to a polymer frame dampens perceived recoil even less.
BII for this gun is a plastic case, two 16 round magazines, bore brush, cable lock, multi lingual manual, and a DVD-Rom which doesn’t at all pertain to an English speaking 75B owner, as it has several more manuals in a variety of languages and some instructional videos which only pertain to mechanical procedures on other model pistols.
In conclusion, I bought this pistol as a range toy, since .45 and .357 aren’t getting any cheaper. I wanted something that was inexpensive to shoot and would make me smile, and it’s not failed me on those counts. Machining, fit, finish, and design are all top notch. Everything fits tightly with one another, there’s not one bit of rattle or slop to be found. The gun is handsome and well made. The proliferation of roll pins will make it a small nightmare to do any work on it if I should take a notion to do so, but I’m not sure that I will ever really need to. I am satisfied with this pistol, and anticipate many decades of faithful service from it.
-Waldo
Seriously, Waldo, I gots some serious Gun-lust for that piece! CZ makes some solid guns for very nice prices. Too bad I live in Massachusetts….
-Weer’d
