Settling This Nonsense
Alright, looks like I have to step in and restore order here. Last week pdb tried to rev up his SiteMeter by posting his Tupperware Jihad bit, which set off a spirited discussion between Tam and James R. Rummel, among others (see comments on pdb’s post). Tam followed up a few days later with Everybody’s an expert, which got KdT all butthurt and drew its own swarm of comments. Then Uncle linked to pdb’s piece, drawing still more commentary about Intarwebz fanboys and the One True Gun. Now we all hate each other and want to trade in our guns for whiffle bats, just to end all the arguing and bitching.
:sigh:
Alright, let me serve up The Truth so we can put this whole thing to bed.
- Glocks are for dilettantes.
- 1911s are for parvenus.
- HKs are for poseurs.
- XDs are for dilettantes who won’t admit to it.
- Real men carry single-action CZs.
I kid, of course. What I really want to do here is show off my freshly-overhauled blaster 
Back in mid-May I shipped my CZ 85 Combat down to Coal Creek Armory for a little fine-tuning and tweaking. I’d put a thousand rounds through the gun, found it highly satisfying, and decided that it was worth investing a bit more to make it Just Right.
Here’s what was done:
Single-action-only conversion with a steel CZ-USA trigger and a Miossi Gunworks custom hard sear. I specified 4.5 lbs with minimal take-up, overtravel and creep. Basically, I wanted to get as close to a 1911 trigger as the design would allow. I also asked for the adjustment screws on the trigger to be staked and/or Loctited to keep them from moving after they’d been dialed in. I got exactly what I asked for; the pull is crisp and the reset is as short as you can get on a CZ.
Factory adjustable sights replaced with fixed Trijicon night sights. I prefer Trijicons over Meprolights and I like to support local businesses (Trijicon is here in Michigan). You can see the little flat spot behind the sight where the adjustable sight used to fit, but it doesn’t look bad at all.
Wolff extra-power extractor spring installed. The factory spring was working fine, but extraction problems in CZ 75/85 pattern guns aren’t unheard-of. The Wolff spring is cheap insurance.
Beveled magazine well. Not really a necessity, but since the gun was going to be refinished anyways I decided to get it done. It’s a cheap modification that helps a bit and has absolutely no drawbacks. Plus it shaves 1/100 oz. off the gun’s weight, which is important when you’re a High Speed Low Drag type like myself. :cough cough:
Full matte hard chrome finish on the gun and six magazines. Internet Wisdom holds that CZ’s polycoat is indestructible. Dr. Strangegun, whose opinion I value, reports that his Compact still looks new after 10 years. For whatever reason, my gun’s finish wasn’t holding up as well. It was showing scuffs, scrapes and shiny spots, and there was chipping around the magwell. The hard chrome should last as long as the gun and looks GREAT. Plus it’s corrosion-resistant, slick, and easy to clean.
CZ-USA thin Cocobolo grip panels. They’re purty and they do away with the fat palm swells on the factory plastic stocks.
As I mentioned earlier, Coal Creek Armory got this project turned around in about 10 weeks, which is FANTASTIC. Lots of ’smiths have waiting lists of a year or more; some of the Big Name 1911 guys are booked solid through the middle of the 2010s. CCA’s speed is even more impressive when you take into account the chrome, which required a round-trip to a plating house (almost all gunsmiths farm out their plating jobs to one of the half-dozen specialty outfits that service the gun industry).
Cost was quite reasonable, especially considering the quality of the work. If you’re thinking about a similar project, bear in mind you’ll be spending over $100 in shipping ALONE, and that’s not the gunsmith’s fault; UPS and FedEx both require overnight service on firearms. If you have a friendly local FFL, I believe he can ship it for you more cheaply via USPS.
I’m going to try to take it out to the range tomorrow afternoon; I expect I’ll be even more pleased then.
Thanks to ColtCCO and the rest of the crew at Coal Creek!
That is the most pimptastic 9mm death launcher I have ever seen.
Comment by pdb — July 29, 2008 @ 7:31 pm
Here’s a minute’s old photo of said CZ75 Compact:
yours looks INCREDIBLE. I wish I’d had the chance to fingerf… uh, examine it before it was sent.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go nurse this benadryl overdose I’m on…
Comment by drstrangegun — July 29, 2008 @ 9:14 pm
Crap.
http://www.posterboard.tv/firearm_misc/cz75-likenew.jpg
There you go.
Comment by drstrangegun — July 29, 2008 @ 9:14 pm
Suh-weet!
(And you know more than most that I don’t say that lightly. I know the cats that worked on it, too. That’s a blaster to be proud of of which to be proud.
Comment by Tam — July 29, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
PS: I think I’m going to sell all my pistols except for a J-frame and a 2″ .38 Spl K-frame to keep under my pillow…
Comment by Tam — July 29, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
That is swank!
I think I’m going to send my 75 stainless to Angus for a Single Action conversion and FPS-ectomy.
When I traded my old 85C in on the 75s, I was going to do what you did with an 85C, but I chickened out, worrying about what that flat spot behind the rear sight would look like. Turns out it looks kinda cool actually: kind of a Detonics vibe going on there.
Congrats,
Joe
Comment by Joe Allen — July 29, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
[...] You’re both wrong: Real men carry single-action CZs. [...]
Pingback by SayUncle » Speaking of 1911 v. Glock — July 30, 2008 @ 8:52 am
What’s a CZ?
Comment by Ben — July 30, 2008 @ 9:27 am
“What’s a CZ”
It’s like a Volvo, but it shoots bullets. LOL
Glocks rule!
Comment by ATL — July 30, 2008 @ 10:01 am
Nice piece…
Comment by DJK — July 30, 2008 @ 10:32 am
““What’s a CZ”
“It’s like a Volvo, but it shoots bullets. LOL”
It’s a very quick way of discerning who knows their shit and who doesn’t.
Comment by drstrangegun — July 30, 2008 @ 11:45 am
Good stuff. I’ve always dug hard chrome, but never had any of my guns finished in it, just the high luster stuff on a 1911. This thing *may* have just changed that. Even though it does make the gun look a bit like a tarted up whore…just sayin’.
Comment by Josh — July 30, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
Nice looking piece. It looks remarkably like my customer CZ-75 (no B) that was worked on and hard chromed by APW in Florida. The gun has run flawlessly through LFI 1, LFI 2, and much more informal shooting.
Comment by Trebor — July 30, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
Beautiful work they did there.
Comment by MauserMedic — July 30, 2008 @ 2:29 pm
My sarcasm was totally lost, apparently, since there was no
as a clue. Here’s to “knowing shit.”
Comment by Ben — July 30, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
I’ll keep my Kimber & HK 45’s. 9mm is for small varmint aggravation. If you have to have all that done, is it still a CZ?
Truly, seriously jealous here. You have a fine artistic sense. The only other thing that gives a man such a consistent feeling of trust and appreciation as such a firearm is a good dog. Well done.
Comment by twolaneflash — July 30, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
“My sarcasm was totally lost, apparently, since there was no
as a clue. Here’s to “knowing shit.”
LOL! Indeed, Don’t worry I am glad at least one person has a sense of humor. CZ’s are great pistols, they are starting to gain some ground over at the range nearby here. Overall, the dilettantes that stray from the fold of Luddite dogma I think may have shot of making it in this world. Maybe if we showed up with muzzle loading musket pistols then they would truly respect us!
LOL
Comment by ATL — July 30, 2008 @ 4:39 pm
I knew you’d love it when I saw it - I have got to stop buying custom 1911s long enough to trick out a CZ, truly one of the gun world’s best kept secrets.
Comment by coltcco — July 30, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
Well, seeing as how I recently picked up an EAA (Tanfoglio) Witness recently I have to agree about the CZ style pistols. OTOH, my Witness is the Elite Match version with a single action trigger stock, chambered in .45.
One of the things I like about the current Witness models is the safety. I can carry it as a DA/SA with the hammer down on a loaded chamber, or I can carry it cocked and locked.
Comment by Gregg — July 30, 2008 @ 5:45 pm
Can you get one in .450 Marlin or .375JDJ?
I’ll stick to my Contenders and Encores.
All you magazine and revolver pistol people are silly modernists and you can’t kill Bears with them effectively.
=]
Comment by tom — July 30, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
Uhhhmmmm dood, of course I can’t kill bears with my HANDGUN, that’s what rifles are for!!
Comment by Gregg — July 30, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
How did Beretta not make the list? I’m offended. Where’s my wiffle ball bat?
Srsly, that is one SMOKIN Czech. Very nice work.
tweaker
Comment by Speakertweaker — July 30, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
Thanks for the compliments, everyone. All credit goes to the ’smiths; all I did was give ‘em my credit card number
Comment by TD — July 31, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
Just get a stock Dan Wesson/CZ 1911 - I prefer the bobtail Commander
Comment by JB — August 1, 2008 @ 3:17 pm
*1911s are for parvenus.* Made me look that one up, yadid. I plead exception on the grounds of having shot 170XXX for the last thirty odd ( some very ) years, and not feeling at all like that thing you said. As is customary I also plead reduced capacity, 8 rounds all up.
Comment by Ritchie — August 2, 2008 @ 12:09 am
My inside source says Shannon is the man what worked on your pistola.
I have a couple pieces worked over by him. Possibly the best-kept secret in gunsmithing.
Comment by Tam — August 3, 2008 @ 6:39 pm
Cool! Thanks, Tam!
Comment by TD — August 3, 2008 @ 7:07 pm
[...] in case you were wondering, the CZ 85 Combat still rocks after its recent overhaul. I had a few failures to return to battery in the first 50 rounds due to the new, extra-power Wolff [...]
Pingback by The Unforgiving Minute » Yeah, it shoots. — August 12, 2008 @ 6:20 pm