CZ52 Impressions

[LECTRIKHED]

I'm thinking about purchasing a CZ52 due to inexpensive surplus ammo and pistol price. Does anyone know any places in the Sacramento area. Also for the owners out there, what are your impressions of them?

[AJAX22]

I've got a pair, they rock, probably one of the best value pistols on the market, there should be a TON of threads on them over in curio and relic.

I'm seriously considering buying a hard chromed version to turn into a 9mm just for fun.

[EBWhite]

CZ-52 is a poor mans FN 5-7. The CZ ammo will go through a Kevlar Helmet. It is a pretty nice looking gun, long barrel, very accurate! Excellent buy, you cannot go wrong.

[grammaton76]

Excellent buy, you cannot go wrong.

You could, but only if the seller was throwing in some of that hot SMG ammo with the gun...

Seriously, I've got one and I love it. Nothing wrong with 52's at all.

[chiefcrash]

they are teh awesome...

'nuff said

[moulton]

CZ-52 is a poor mans FN 5-7. The CZ ammo will go through a Kevlar Helmet. It is a pretty nice looking gun, long barrel, very accurate! Excellent buy, you cannot go wrong.

its only a poor mans 5.7 if the 5.7 owner has the proper AP ammo....otherwise the 5.7 owner is a glorified .22 owner

[M. Sage]

I like my CZ52. It's a lot of fun to shoot, and surprisingly accurate. It's really kicking those little .30" bullets out there fast. You can hear the difference on the pistol line.

Bonus: they throw brass about ten feet. At least mine does, even with a stiffer recoil spring.

its only a poor mans 5.7 if the 5.7 owner has the proper AP ammo....otherwise the 5.7 owner is a glorified .22 owner

In other words, for use against Kevlar-clad targets, the 5.7 is a rich-kid's CZ52? Mine sits in a drawer, a magazine of staggered HP and magnetic FMJ in it.

[maxicon]

I hate to be the lone dissenter, but here's my standard post on the CZ52:

The CZ52 is fun, but not very practical. It's heavy, not very ergonomic, the grips are big and awkward, the sights are terrible, the trigger is poor, the ammo selection is limited, the firing pin breaks easily with dry-firing (but can be replaced with an aftermarket one that doesn't break as easily), and the firing pin block doesn't work when it's a little bit out of battery. Magazines are relatively expensive for such an inexpensive gun. Mine has a nasty trigger slap that makes my finger go numb, but not all of them do.

On the plus side, they're cheap, easy to disassemble and clean, you can improve the grips with a Handall slip-on. They're loud, with nice muzzle flash (depending on the ammo), milsurp ammo is cheap (but corrosive). Much of the milsurp ammo has hard primers and requires a double-strike, but they're good for clearing exercises!

There's also quite a bit of doubt about the tribal knowledge of how strong the actions are, as there are semi-regular reports of one blowing up. There's a fellow on the 'net who likes to test guns to destruction, and he found the CZ52 chamber failed before the brass did, which is unusual.

Mine's pretty much a safe queen these days, and an ugly one at that.

[zefflyn]

Hmm, I need to get one of these. Is there still any cheap surplus available for them?

[COILSPRING]

I like mine...

I am old enough to remember back when they were expensive. Czech quality.

[-hanko]

I'd generally agree with Maxicon. I've read the test-to-destruction guy's stuff in the past, difficult to base a conclusion on a sample of one or a few pistols. My concern is if the gun keeps shooting while I own it. So far, the 52's I owned have been very reliable.

My current CZ is rebarreled in 9mm, it continues to be perfectly reliable with a 9mm barrel as the only change. It is heavy, has large grips, low mag capacity for its size & weight, crappy tiny sights, etc. I'm seeing no measureable wear inside after a few thousand rounds of 9mm that's between +P and +P+ energy.

Reason to buy one? They're getting scarce. They're inexpensive...a great deal if you realize you're getting a standard CZ military issue sidearm. Like the Israeli's, Czech weapons always run and keep on running. Like a Makarov, the CZ52 is an outstanding value considering what you get, and also considering the gun's shortfalls. You need one

-hankko

[11Z50]

The CZ is a way cool pistol. Buy a CZ52, a few thousand rounds, and go have fun. You'll have less than $500 into the deal. Blast away and enjoy!

[wilit]

There's a fellow on the 'net who likes to test guns to destruction, and he found the CZ52 chamber failed before the brass did, which is unusual.

Got a link? I'd be interested to read about the test.

[maxicon]

Got a link? I'd be interested to read about the test.

There are a ton of them out there - Clark Magnuson is a longtime contributor to the rec.guns newsgroup, and one of his hobbys is trying to blow up guns. A lot of people give him a hard time when he gores their holy cows, but he has primary data that's hard to disagree with.

A google on "clark magnuson" cz52 will find lots of reading, and searching google groups will find more.

Here are a few links:

An overview of his CZ52 experiences and data:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-22071.html

Chamber wall thickness data:

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-49169.html

His collection of info on the myth of the strong barrel - if anyone can find source data on this, it would be a first:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.guns/tree/browse_frm/thread/42b1139aa83b00e1/80a91e1bde8870b6?rnum=11&_done=%2Fgroup%2Frec.guns%2Fbrowse_frm%2Fthread%2F42b1139aa83b00e1%2F505caf17c96fc7bf%3Flnk%3Dst%26#doc_3b8a25f2529aacb1