CZ-52, what joy

[meaty-btz]

I don't have pictures yet, but will when it gets out of jail. Firing it recently reminded me why I wanted one so bad. The rolling block locking mechanism makes the recoil "interesting".

Being a total sucker for history and engineering I love the gun and have always wanted one. Now.. she is mine.

If you are wondering about the recoil, it is "slick". Best term I can think of to describe it. A 45 pushes, a 40 bucks, a 9 kicks, 7.62 in CZ-52 is slick, which is different than my TT33 which is more like normal recoil. The recoil on the CZ, slides, like its grease or something. Never felt anything like it before. Recovery is FAST for me.

My wife's comment was the recoil was as sleek as the gun is, as though it operated like the 50's space weapon it looks like.

[Nitro Express!]

Yeah, they're cool guns. I always wanted one because of the interesting mechanism, it makes for a good talking point.

[Spirit 1]

Yep, the old CZ52's are one cool little gun, congratulations on the purchase. You guys are going to love it I'm sure. Premiere workmanship & perfect balance & fit.

A buddy has one in 7.62 and he's a big guy but described the kick as fairly pronounced, not sure what he's loading in it. I was amazed at the ease of field stripping, never seen such an easy system on any other gun! Supposedly they're very accurate, typical of CZ. You've got a keeper for sure. Post up some pics if you get a chance.

[meaty-btz]

Yeah, they're cool guns. I always wanted one because of the interesting mechanism, it makes for a good talking point.

They are cheap, you should get one. The mechanism is more than just a talking point, the whole operation of the firearm is different. The weapon operates like an MG or a modern H&K assault rifle but on a pistol platform.

Are there some issues? Yes. Manufacture during that time had some variance in hardening and due to the size and scale of the mechanism means a thin floor for the chamber. If you have a good barrel, you are golden up to about 2100FPS in a 55gr projectile. Get a Monday or Friday Barrel and.. well.. keep an eye on it.

Think rifle in a pistol. The camming of the mechanism is designed to allow for peak pressures and power in the weapon by timing unlock moment to the peak of the pressure cycle. Interesting design, it means it will operate best with whatever it was tuned to in the engineering phase.

I wouldn't call the kick pronounced at all. The muzzle blast was pronounced.. as in very pronounced. But the recoil slid through you like nothing I've ever experienced.

If you want WOW muzzle blast.. this is it. The recoil slides but the blast will wake you up.

[dogfood]

Good on ya for getting one of them. I really need to get me one. Wanted one for a while but never found anything local.

[meaty-btz]

I am starting to believe the hype on the CZ, done right and in good condition it can produce .30 cal carbine performance in the 100-110 grain bullets. 1750-1800 fps in 100 grain is a ton of energy for a pistol. Some people have done some nutty things and put heavier bullets in it with a spitzer type profile.

Read up on some guys running it in AR uppers.

One gelatin test from a CZ put penetration at 33" of gel with commercial rounds.

[TRAP55]

The first time I shot mine was just at dusk, and the mini Mosin fireball made sight re-acquisition near impossible.
I was shooting at a swinging 10" round, and 1/4" thick steel plate at 7yards. I never heard a "tink" or saw the plate move, but saw dirt flying up behind it. My first thought was, "Damn, I bought a POS that can't hit the broadside of a barn".
Walked over to see where it was hitting, and saw 7 little cookie cutter holes through the plate.
The roller lock system is the same type the Germans used in the MG42. My only complaint is the less than stellar sights they used. I wish someone would make a set of replacement sights you can actually use.

[Divernhunter]

I have one and enjoy shooting it. I have about 2000 rounds for it and reloading dies for when I shoot them all up.

[morrcarr67]

They are cheap, you should get one.

I would no longer call these guns "cheap" by any means.

Mine was. I bought it from J&G about 10 years ago for $109

[meaty-btz]

I would no longer call these guns "cheap" by any means.

Mine was. I bought it from J&G about 10 years ago for $109

well if you account for inflation

They go for 199-250 isnt bad, all things considered.

[ClarenceBoddicker]

Meaty you may want to get some of the Czech steel core 7.62x25mm ammo to go with your CZ-52. It's loaded very hot for submachine gun use, but I've heard that the CZ-52 can handle it fine due to it's strong roller locked design. It's corrosive & has a cupro nickle or copper washed mild steel jacket, so you may want to get a spare barrel. This ammo has better performance than the .30 Carbine due to the steel core. IIA vests don't even slow them down. Due to the age of the ammo (late 1940's thru the 1950's) you may want to pull the projectiles & reload them in commercial brass.

[meaty-btz]

My engineering brain is cooking something all night long on this cammed system and I thought, what is a problem with automatics..
Limp wristing causes miss-feeds and jams. A common flaw inherent to the design of spring dampened automatic pistols. The real world combat and SD situations make it very possible to have a poor grip or poor angle on the gun while firing making automatics ripe for issues.

Thinking about the CZ-52/MG-42/H&K G-3 breech locking system got me thinking. A pure cammed spring-less recoil operated automatic pistol. The cams would be used to change dwell and cycle time but cams can reverse direction of travel so the slide would unlock using the peak pressure CZ-52 lock then slide back under it's own power with no slide stop but instead a smooth pathed slide travel where the captive slide moves under it's own power the whole cycle slamming home and relocking with the breech lock.

I have not worked out the design yet but its cooking on the back burner. Would be a revolutionary design. No limp wristing issues and recoil would become another animal with the energy being captive in the mechanism free rotating. Theoretically with a fixed mechanical cycle time the gun can be tuned for an incredible rate of fire and the reduced felt recoil/delayed recoil would be amazing.

[aghauler]

The first time I shot mine was just at dusk, and the mini Mosin fireball made sight re-acquisition near impossible.
I was shooting at a swinging 10" round, and 1/4" thick steel plate at 7yards. I never heard a "tink" or saw the plate move, but saw dirt flying up behind it. My first thought was, "Damn, I bought a POS that can't hit the broadside of a barn".
Walked over to see where it was hitting, and saw 7 little cookie cutter holes through the plate.
The roller lock system is the same type the Germans used in the MG42. My only complaint is the less than stellar sights they used. I wish someone would make a set of replacement sights you can actually use.

I second the motion on the muzzle flash, pretty impressive! Plus you don't want to be standing to the right rear of the shooter or yer gonna get hot brass rained on ya! I bought a bunch of JHP from Sportmans Guide for the VZ52 and the Yugo M57, plus I got the surplus ammo also. I also scored some finger rest extentions for the mags from Makarov.com, no longer in business, which helps a lot for big hands. Also not a pistol you want to dry fire much.

[TRAP55]

If my kid ever gets the video uploaded and sent to me off his camera, I'll post it. I did a CZ in one hand, and Tok in the other, at twilight as fast as I could pull the triggers. The fireballs are impressive!

[aghauler]

If my kid ever gets the video uploaded and sent to me off his camera, I'll post it. I did a CZ in one hand, and Tok in the other, at twilight as fast as I could pull the triggers. The fireballs are impressive!

Kinda like San Diego's "30 minutes of Fireworks in 50 seconds" last night!!