I just received this from SOG Inc as a Curio and Relic. In my humble opinion, its the best value in curio and relic firearms at this time.
Designed in Czechoslovakia by the famous Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ) company to be the military sidearm in 9mm Makarov caliber for the Czech army to replace the CZ52, its a very impressive firearm.
It has a 12 round double-stack magazine, double action / single action operation with ambidextrous safety and magazine release and truly excellent three-dot fixed sights for a military firearm. The trigger pull is nice and smooth in both double and single action. It is one of the first pistols fielded with a polygonal rifling barrel - making it seem to almost be smoothbore at first glance as there are no traditional lands and grooves visible. It is a blowback firearm, with a fixed barrel that gives impressive accuracy.
It is easy to field strip and clean, following the Walther PP and Makarov take down procedure - make sure its empty, pull down on the trigger guard, pull the slide all the way back, lift the rear and gently slide the slide off the frame. Remove the spring from the barrel and there you have it. Easy to clean and reassembly takes place in reverse order.
Here's a video of Czech troops demonstrating field stripping the CZ vz 82:
Size wise, it has a 3.8" barrel, is all metal, weighing 28 ounces. It is small enough to disappear in a front jeans pocket, even with the double stack grip. It is very ergonomic and comfortable.
Accuracy was very good indeed hitting coffee cans with aplomb out to 50 yards in low light while holding a surefire light. No failures to function, just a nice smooth trigger and it went bang every time.
With it being in 9x18 Makarov, with a decent hollowpoint like Hornady's XTP, I'd have no problem carrying it as a nice compact Concealed Carry firearm.
Mine has the standard Czech military black paint baked on finish. It has some definite character wear - some scratches, some wear points on the grip but mechanically is perfect making it a very nice addition to my collection. Mine has a stamp indicating it was made in 1985 and has a Czech military acceptance stamp - a nice piece of Cold War Eastern European history.
The pistol came with 2 12 round magazines, a lanyard loop, cleaning rod and a huge ambidextrous holster that holds the pistol, spare magazine, cleaning rod and lanyard in a very clever design - great for military use, useless for CCW as its real big.
In short this is a can't miss purchase for the Curio and Relic FFL holder.
It is also a decent affordable choice for a self defense CCW pistol for those on a budget who can shoot well. 9mm makarov ammo is readily available, relatively inexpensive and effective in capable hands, and the CZ 82, with its negligible recoil, excellent ergonomics, capacity and accuracy make it a perfect platform for the cartridge.
I'd highly recommend the CZ vz. 82.
Update 1/24/09 I had an opportunity to take the vz.82 pistol out to an indoor pistol range and shoot it at some targets in decent lighting conditions.
Feeding was flawless, including firing 25 rounds of the Hornady XTP hollowpoints. Accuracy was ridiculously good, tearing the X out of a target at 7 yards in a very tight group. No real recoil allowed for very quick shot-to-shot times. Over 225 rounds through it and not a single problem. To say that I'm pleased and impressed with this purchase would be an understatement.
6 comments:
That is a nice pistol.
Thanks for the nice description of a beautiful pistol. I'd like to have one. Any ideas on modifying the 12 round clip to meet California's legal limit of 9 rounds?
I know that JG Sales was selling 10round magazines for the CZ82 to comply with the 10 round ban. I don't see them listed for sale at the moment but you may want to give them a call.
The magazines do have a couple witness holes in the back and you could likely insert a metal rod or pin and solder it in place to block the magazine down to the desired limit. Or you could put a lego block under the base of the magazine to cap the number of rounds.
Good luck and do let us know how it turns out.
I picked one up, and modifying the magazine was no problem, as the magazine opens from the bottom with a spring latch. I used the "Lego Block" approach. Trimed a block of aluminum to fit inside the spring, ground away the rivet from the baseplate and threaded a screw into the block through the rivet hole. It was necessary to turn and grind the screwhead to match the dimensions of the old rivet head, but it all went smoothly. Now I'm Ca legal with a great gun! Without access to a lathe, it would have been harder.
Yes, I'm necroposting, but I just ordered one of these last night. Can't wait to try it out.
Awesome Scott. It's a great pistol and I think you're really going to like it.
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