A Longtime Loyal Reader (also a good friend who’s broken bread in my house) had occasion to, and I quote, “Replace a light bulb in my #3 gun safe.”
This necessitated emptying the thing of the guns stored therein, which required the assistance of his Son&Heir.
Then (and I quote again): “I realized that I had about four CZ 75s tucked in the back that I’d forgotten about. I bought them during the Obama years when there was all that talk about gun confiscation and mag-size regulation, then forgotten about them since.”
And then came the part which made me choke on my morning gin: “Would you like one?”
Feebly I protested that I’d love one, but being one of the Poor Of The Parish, I couldn’t afford it, no matter the cost. “Never mind all that,” was the airy response, “I need to make space in the safe. What’s the address of your FFL?”
So I picked the 75 up yesterday, and raced off to the range to make its acquaintance. What follows is the range report.
I should point out that when I divested myself of the Browning High Power early last year, I also divested myself of all my remaining 9mm ammo, donating it to Doc Russia because, “Oh hell, I’m never going to need all that again.”
Foolish man, right? Anyway, I picked up two boxes of self-defense hollowpoint 9mm at the Merchant Of Death’s place, because I have decided that I’m only going to shoot what I carry. So on with the show…
Hahahaha! Glad you like it, Kim. And that story is not QUITE accurate, but close enough in the details that I won’t quibble. BTW, however, I only have two gun safes, not three, and have been told by the missus in very clear terms that should more guns and the need for gun safe #3 should arise, I will most certainly be single again. That proposition bears some serious cost/benefit analysis, but for the moment I think my gun buying days are over, but Son & Heir, who lives in the Communist state of New Jersey may continue to fill it up.
That Sig ammo is wonderful stuff, and your .45 main carry and CZ 75 backup plan should, indeed, suffice for whatever situation you find yourself in. And if it doesn’t, you’ll go out in a blaze of glory people will write songs about, no doubt.
I did purchase four of the same model handgun back when I was anticipating a somewhat less permissive environment in the immediate future. That did not come to pass, thankfully, but I still worry about it. With regard to firearms freedoms, we are never really out of the woods. But I am selling one of the others and will keep two. After the 1911 this is one of the toughest, most reliable, and most pleasant pistols, ergonomically speaking, ever devised. The Lord’s Only Pistol will remain my favorite, but this is a very close second. Very close.
The history is fascinating, as the designers were given carte blanche to build any gun they wanted at a time when the Soviet Union and it’s satellites all used the same ammo, either Tokarev or Makarov, but no 9mm, so there was no domestic market. And the design was so perfect the paranoid Czech government did not allow the filing of international patents on it (military secrets doncha see?), and so it became one of the, probably the most copied pistol design of all time. The Italians made it, the Izzies made it, there are clones everywhere.
The one I sent Kim was exactly the pistol I saw at U.S. Army bases in Germany in the early 90s when I was there in the Air Force. I believe it was $369 at the time but with a young toddler daughter I decided not to argue that purchase with the wife. It was not an inexpensive pistol then, inflation adjusted price today would be about $870, so I passed, not getting one until the sample I sent Kim many years later. Now they are quite affordable.
It is interesting to me that for some deep-seated psychological reason if there is a safety mechanism on a pistol we feel compelled to use it. I ordered a custom holster for this from a maker and for the boning for the sweat shield he said, “You’ll be carrying this hammer down, of course?” NO! Why would I do that when it has such a positive and crisp safety? He seemed confused. Yes the 1911 can only be carried cocked and locked (well Condition Three for the unintelligent is an option, I suppose), but why would you not carry it in Crunchenticker mode? The answer is because this does not have a decocker, so you either carry in Condition Three, or you have to put it in a clearing barrel, hold the hammer, pull the trigger, and lower the hammer manually after pulling the trigger. I have done this, for the sake of experiment, and it works, but who in their right mind thinks THAT’S safer than carying it cocked and locked? Honestly, I don’t know how some peoples’ minds work.
Anyway, I think the Koucky brothers designed this to be carried cocked and locked (just speculation) but the DA/SA feature was deemed necessary for marketing reasons and military requirements at the time. At any rate the safety is very positive, and I carry it Condition One, but I’m used to over 40 years of shooting 1911s that way. As Kim says, the SA action is very good, although the pinnacle of the 1911 trigger action will never be exceeded, but this is very good. In fact, this is the pistol LTC Jeff Cooper used for the ill-fated Bren Ten 10mm experiment. Yes, it’s that good.
Enjoy it, Kim! It warms the cockles of my domestic terrorist little heart that it has found a warm and loving home. Enjoy!
…and after all my attempts to keep your identity anonymous… which, by the way, is why I altered some of the details of the backstory.
Oh Crap, I wasn’t that observant. DOH! I just got on my OCD missive on the CZ 75. I gotta slow down and be more observant. Anyway, enjoy!
Engage brain before putting mouth in gear. Been a lifelong struggle!
Now, we’ve got to get Kim behind a CZ Shadow 2, in order to make his submission to the europellet complete.
Congratulations, Kim. After decades of Glocking it, I bought a 75 BD at the urging of my non-gunnie brother. Through the CZ’s handfilling grip, I discovered the joys of handgunning that had long been submerged under Nazi tupperware. More than a few CZs followed quickly, all to make up for lost time.
I, too, started Glocking a few years back, but I find it impossible to really love them.
Go to the range. Shoot them. Come back, clean it, though your heart is not really in it. Lock it away. Forget about it. Range time is always fun, but with a Glock it’s as close to drudgery as you can get. Well, for me, anyway.
These, as you found out, inspire collecting, hours of Internet browsing, combing through CZ forums, and shooting them AND cleaning them is so much more fun. And when I open the safe for non-shooting reasons, I’ll often pick up a 1911, a revolver, and now that they are in from the garage safe, a CZ.
I don’t ever remember doing that with a Glock.
I got the Glocks to get back into IDPA a little bit and for dusting off my pistol skills, generally (which have gone to shite!) and the range ammo is about half the cost with 9mm. I’m looking forward to trying the CZ at an IDPA match soon, though.
Not knocking the Glock, they are revolutionary pistols and Glock will go down in gun history with the likes of St. JMB, Garand, Kalishnikov, and Stoner. But I find it hard to love one.
JC
Well said, sir.
Glocks are tools — excellent tools, very well suited for their mission — but, so is my hammer, and I don’t love my hammer.
Now, my CZ’s, SIGs, and my lone SW1911… And once again, handgun shooting is an absolute pleasures.
An ain’t day wut’s it all a-bout? ;^)’.