I set out bright and early tomorrow for my Defensive Handgun – Level One course.

I have:

• two guns
• six mags for each gun
• mag loader tool
• holsters for both guns
• 500 rounds of ammo
• cleaning supplies
• eyes and ears (both plugs and muffs)
• gun oil
• sunscreen
• band-aids
• Tylenol
• munchies
• 3 big bottles of Powerade
• directions to the range
• fully charged iPod and cell phone

Should be a fun day if the weather holds out; there’s a significant chance of thundershowers in the afternoon. Watch this space for an after-action report!

I pack a 9mm these days, actually…

My more gun-savvy readers surely know this already, but it could be useful information for the n00bs and casual shooters…

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s CZ Update that I went to the range partly to test out 4 new magazines before putting them to work in next week’s shooting class. I like to have at least six mags for my guns, and a dozen is not unreasonable when you consider that they’re the most wear- and damage-prone part of the system.

The standard – and sensible – advice is to buy only factory magazines, which are most likely to fit and function well in your gun. Unfortunately, they’re also remarkably efficient at draining cash from your wallet. You can take a gamble on aftermarket magazines but, well… you’ll probably lose. My own experiences with non-factory magazines have been uniformly dismal.

Unless, that is, you do a bit of homework beforehand. It’s important to know that almost all gun companies contract out their magazine manufacturing to an OEM source… and that OEM source often sells the same magazines under their own name, at a HUGE discount.

Take my CZ, for example. On the left is a Genuine, Authentic, 100% Grade-A Pure factory magazine that shipped with the gun. On the right is a Mec-Gar aftermarket mag. They are identical in every way, made by the same people in the same factory on the same equipment. The only difference? Magazines that come in Mec-Gar boxes cost $20-25; mags that come in CZ wrappers cost $40-60.

So if you’re in the market for extra magazines, do a little research and see if you can save yourself a bundle by buying OEM instead. Actually, take the money you save and send it my way; I need ammo.

Some time back I promised an update on my CZ 85 Combat, but I wanted to wait until I’d accumulated enough experience shooting and carrying it to make for a worthwhile report.

The last time I mentioned the piece it was choking on Winchester White Box ammo after developing a record of 100% reliability with Remington UMC and Speer Gold Dots. This was, naturally, confidence-rattling… but the same WWB also caused stoppages in my ultra-reliable Hi-Power and Squeaky’s XD. Bad ammo? More than likely. A consultation with Dr. Strangegun revealed that his CZ 75 malfs in exactly the same way when fed WWB; a weak powder charge and an out-of-spec extractor groove allow the extractor to slip off the empty case and tie up the gun with a double-feed.

So… WWB is off the menu. I switched to Blazer Brass since I needed 500 rounds for an upcoming defensive pistol course and the case price on Blazer Brass is, well, slightly less outrageous than the going rate for other practice ammo.

This afternoon I put 100 rounds of Blazer Brass and 32 Speer 124-grain +P Gold Dots downrange with no malfunctions, great accuracy and minimal fouling. Why 32 Gold Dots? I was cycling through my carry ammo (2 16-round magazines) and the damn things are just WAY too pricey to shoot in greater quantities. I really should have just burned up the top few rounds in each magazine (since they’ve been in and out of the chamber more than once) but I wanted to restore my confidence in the gun’s reliability.

A few random notes on the gun:

Accuracy and shootability

When we talk about accuracy, most of us are really talking about two separate things: the mechanical accuracy of the gun, and how well we’re able to tap into that accuracy. For example, a little J-frame snubby has great mechanical accuracy with its short, stiff barrel, but taking advantage of that accuracy demands significant skill. Ross Seyfried once wrote, “Snubbies with barrels less than 3 inches are real tough. These little guys do have a purpose, as teachers. To hit, they make you do everything perfectly.”

This CZ is just the opposite; I find I have to put in very little effort, both physical and mental, to produce my usual level of accuracy. I really do need to sit down and shoot it over sandbags to see just what it can do; I think I’ll be pleased.

Ergonomics

The thumb safety on the CZ 75/85 series works like those on the 1911 and the Hi-Power, but it’s situated farther forward on the frame. This makes for more comfortable thumb-on-safety shooting, at least with my somewhat weirdly-shaped hands. On the down side, it’s also a little harder to engage the safety with my thumb. I’ve found that putting the gun on-safe by swiping up against the right-side safety lever with my trigger finger is quicker and easier.

A criticism: the inverted slide rails reduce the exposed area of the slide, so there’s less for you to grab onto. Racking the slide with sweaty or oily hands is tough with any gun; I don’t see any reason to make it harder.

Carrying

My carry rig for the CZ is a Comp-Tac C-T.A.C. riding on a 5-stitch Wilderness Instructor Belt. Bear in mind that the CZ 85 is a full-size, all-steel pistol weighing 42 ounces fully loaded; it needs decent carry gear.

The holster itself:

As you can see, there’s a molded-in sweat guard that also helps to prevent accidental disengagement of the safety.

Here’s the gun in the holster. I have it adjusted to ride relatively low and canted well forward.

And here’s how it packs:

It’s comfortable, discreet, and reasonably quick to draw; highly recommended.

Future changes

Overall I’m very happy with the gun. A few modifications will make it just about perfect.

Around 700 rounds of live fire and a few thousand dry-fires have smoothed up the trigger significantly… but not quite enough. I’m going to have a trigger job done and one of Jim Miossi’s hard sears installed. Don’t get me wrong, it has a decent trigger pull that would satisfy most people; I’m just a trigger snob.

The adjustable sights will be swapped out for a set of fixed Trijicon night sights that are better suited to concealed carry. Again, the current sights aren’t *bad*, they’re just not what I want.

Finally… matte hard chrome. Just ‘cuz it’s purty.