Range Report - CZ75B .40 S&W

[larryf1952]

I've owned this CZ75B in .40 for about 3 years, but I had never gotten around to taking it to the range until today. For the reloaders amongst us, I grabbed 100 rounds of reloaded ammo using 180 grain JHP's and Power Pistol powder, and headed out.

The first thing that I noticed was that the OEM Mecgar magazine would not accept more than 7 rounds. The mag had a peep hole for 10 rounds, and, if I remember correctly, it is supposed to hold 11 rounds. I'm not afflicted with arthritis...too much...and I still have sufficient hand strength, but I could NOT get that 8th round in the mag. I thought this odd, since I have no problem loading 11 rounds into the mags for my Smith 4006 or Taurus PT100.

In any case, I will disassemble the mag and give it an inspection at my first opportunity.

The gun fed the ammo from the mag without issue. The first 7 rounds went through the gun without a hitch. The first shot was a little high with a POA (point of aim) hold on the bull, so I brought the front sight down to a 6:00 hold, and she was spot on at 15 yards.

All was going well, until I noticed that while shooting from the 2nd mag, I had a failure to extract. The next shot produced the same thing. Now, I was starting to get a bit concerned. I gave the gun a good visual inspection, but nothing seemed to be amiss. The rest of the mag was OK.

All in all, I had about 10 failures to extract from the first 100 rounds. No issues with feeding, as that was slick and troublefree, even with the hollowpoints. I won't be using this gun for personal defense or carry, so I'm not really concerned about the FTE issue. I'll see if it irons out with more use.

Recoil was stout, and much more noticeable than with many of my other semiautos, even the .45's. I was not bothered by it, but it was something that I noticed. In all fairness, I like to load my ammo to "combat" velocities, so I'm talking about 975 to 1000fps for a 180 grain bullet. I don't load plinker loads, so it might be that these particular rounds were producing a sharper recoil impulse than what others might prefer to shoot.

Accuracy, in typical CZ style, was excellent. The first target shows the high flyer as my first shot, after which I brought the gun down to a 6:00 hold. The 2nd target is 26 shots at 15 yards.

I have another 75B in 9mm, and it's also a great shooter. Gotta love those CZ's!

 

[chris in va]

It was the very first CZ I rented after realizing the XD9 I had wasn't working for me. Liked it so much I got a 75 in 9mm. Since bought a Kadet kit, CZ carbine, 97b and P01.

One word about reloads. As CZ's tend to have tighter chambers, if the reloader doesn't use a Factory Crimp Die to iron out any imperfections, you may see FTE.

Could also be a mag issue or just that it's new.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Regarding the failures to extract...

With a new, it always makes sense to use factory ammo. (Even though you may have been reloading for years, and none of your other guns give you problems with the loads you're using -- stuff happens.) Be sure to check your ammo closely.

Example: 9mm WWB, at one time, gave CZs a problem, because older WWB had a different extraction groove. Something like that might be at play, here. Another issue -- but it's not likely with so few rounds fired -- is "gunk" under the extractor not allowing it to close firmly on the case rim. That may not be the issue here, but funny things happen.

I no longer have a .40 CZ (75B or 40B), but the ones I've owned or shot were reliable. (I can't think of a problem.) Extraction issues with that caliber is not something your normally read about on these forums.

I've also NEVER experienced the type of problem you mentioned with Mec-Gar mag. It's strange that you didn't find anything amiss when you tore down the mag. Glock springs can be like that -- it's takes an Army to load the mags fully for a while. Try leaving it stored as fully loaded as you can get it, for a while. You may need a mag loader.

Note: I came back after reading the following post. If your gun is older (even though bought new) -- check the "made" date on the oval near the ejection port. If it was "new old stock" when you bought it, it may have come from the factory with the old, weaker, extractor spring. As suggested, a Wolff extra-strength extractor spring may help. CZ changed spring design 5-6 years ago, moving to a Wolff-like spring.

 

[Jo6pak]

Nice pistol, I've always liked the Duo-tone 75s

My .40cal. Mecgar mag springs, even after much use, are very stiff. The only way to get the last few rounds loaded is to use the mag loader.

Mine also shoots a bit high, so I too switched to 6 o'clock hold.

My CZ75 .40cal developed the extraction problems after many, many rounds. So, I swapped the extractor spring for a stiffer one from Wolffe springs.

 

[larryf1952]

Thanks for the tip regarding the extraction issue and the Wolff springs. If it continues to be a problem, I'll probably give that a try. I may also try some factory .40 to see if things improve. It's been many years since I've shot factory ammo, so that did not even occur to me.

I also have a few Mecgar mags for some other guns, and I have not experienced any problems with being able to load them to capacity. That's why this was such a surprise.

I realized that I left out any mention in my original post regarding the trigger. Like my 9mm 75B, the trigger on this one has a lot of travel before it breaks. It doesn't seem as long as with the 9mm, but it definitely has quite a bit of takeup.

I found that as I neared the end of my shooting session, I could stage the trigger while aligning the sights for the next shot, taking up some of the travel so that the pull would not be so long once the sights were aligned. It seems that the CZ's are the only semiautos in my collection with which I can do this.

 

[yaonttwo]

I have a cz75b in 40 s&w, also a two tone. The ONLY problem I have had after 10 years was a failure to extract. Changed the extractor spring to Wolff +10% and no further problem.
This problem is somewhat common. Also, give the extractor a little extra care when cleaning.
Good luck.

 

[vulcan73]

CZ75 vs. PT100?

How would you compare the CZ75 in 40 S&W versus the Taurus PT100? I have a CZ75 in 9mm so I know that gun but I'm not familiar with the PT100 other than what I read on various forums and reviews. There's a LGS with a PT100 (1990's vintage) with one magazine at $349. Knowing that if I get it, I'll acquire at least one more magazine then up goes the total investment possibly to where I could have just gotten a CZ75 in 40 S&W with two magazines. Thoughts?

 

[mk70ss]

CZ's are wonderful pieces of machinery. Mine has been accurate and flawless for over 3500 rounds.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I realized that I left out any mention in my original post regarding the trigger. Like my 9mm 75B, the trigger on this one has a lot of travel before it breaks. It doesn't seem as long as with the 9mm, but it definitely has quite a bit of takeup.

They can be different, but they're probably more alike than they seem, as internally, the 9mm and .40 versions are essentially identical. The differences might be due to minor production changes made over the years.... if your two guns weren't made in the same years.

That extra travel (take-up) is a requirement of the DA/SA mechanism; if it wasn't there, you wouldn't be able to properly do the DA trigger pull.

If you ever convert one of your guns to SA only, you'll find that with a different trigger, you can remove all of that "take up" with a simple hex-screw adustment (on the two-way adjustable) SA trigger. The other adjustment is for over-travel (i.e., how far the trigger can travel after it releases the hammer). The 85 Combat trigger has the over-travel adjustment, and can be used in the DA/SA guns. The SA trigger can't be used in a DA/SA gun, as it won't allow DA function.