CZ 75 BD problem, and fix

[RustyHornet]

That's surprising to me, especially given the surging popularity of the brand. Given that I've not heard about it, I speculate that those who actually use them hard are amenable to fixing them with aftermarket parts and probably most don't use them or don't dry fire enough for it to be an issue.

I used to own a 1990s vintage CZ 75B. It was among the most reliable pistols I ever owned, but I couldn't reach the trigger or thumb safety properly, so I sold it. I would hesitate to buy another with this new information. You should be able to dry fire a modern centerfire pistol without adverse effects.

I'm guessing with the proper gear, snapcaps or something to drop the hammer on, they would be fine. I'm not sure what the issue is with the trigger return spring.

 

[rhino]

I'm guessing with the proper gear, snapcaps or something to drop the hammer on, they would be fine. I'm not sure what the issue is with the trigger return spring.

That's my point. Extra gear, snap caps, cushions, etc. shouldn't be necessary. There is either a problem with the design or the materials.

 

[rvb]

a buddy of mine used to make/sell modified firing pins after having this problem. sometimes it breaks the retaining pin, sometimes the firing pin. IIRC He'd basically just make the notch larger to delay/prevent the FP from hitting the retaining pin.

-rvb

 

[rvb]

That's my point. Extra gear, snap caps, cushions, etc. shouldn't be necessary. There is either a problem with the design or the materials.

yup.

dryfire will wear/break springs, and even wear sears/etc. but things like FPs shouldn't break for a loooooong time.

-rvb

 

[RustyHornet]

To each their own. I'll do whatever I have to do to avoid a spongebob trigger. So I have to take extra measures to avoid unnecessary wear and tear on my firearms? I don't see that as a bad thing. They fit my hands perfectly and I shoot them the best out of anything I've ever tried, that's all that matters to me.

 

[rhino]

yup.

dryfire will wear/break springs, and even wear sears/etc. but things like FPs shouldn't break for a loooooong time.

-rvb

Absolutely correct!

It would be interesting to know if the Tanfoglio, Sphinz, mini desert eagle, and other CZ 75 clones have similar issues or not.

I know you had to have dry fired you Beretta hundreds of thousands of times. Did anything break?

 

[rvb]

Absolutely correct!

It would be interesting to know if the Tanfoglio, Sphinz, mini desert eagle, and other CZ 75 clones have similar issues or not.

I know you had to have dry fired you Beretta hundreds of thousands of times. Did anything break?

I don't know much about them, but I think the clones have enough differences in the fire control that this isn't usually an issue. I've asked a couple guys w/ tangfos or shadows about it who dryfire a lot and they've had no problem. I had been a little leary of the platform because of the broken FPs I had seen in the past on 75s.

yea, I dryfired my 92's a few times.... If I didn't pull the trigger a million times on just my practice gun, it'd be close...
well I broke lots of springs (even the "unbreakable" wolf trigger spring), but I consider those wear items. My practice gun finally died at an estimated 120,000 rounds (barrel lugs sheared, chamber started to separate from the barrel, frame rails split, it was spectacular). When I took it apart at that point, it did have a broken firing pin. I don't know how long it had been broken, but I checked it at least as often as I cleaned it (every 10k rounds or so). So it went a good 100k live rounds and gobs of dryfire on original fire control parts.

There were other parts I replaced (a couple of extractors, a locking block, the internal decock lever come to mind), but those aren't related to dryfire.

Never used a snapcap other than for specific reload practice (e.g. slide lock loads)

Now that I'm running glocks, I do often use a snapcap, but it's because I noticed significantly more FS 'wiggle' during dryfire on an empty chamber in dryfire.

ETA: Also dryfired my 2011 open gun a lot (38 super). I tried to keep fairly fresh FP springs in it, as what usually happens is the spring will wear and break, THEN the FP breaks. that gun has ~60k on it and quite a lot of dryfire. I don't recall any actual breakages... also no snapcaps used.

-rvb

 

[hammer24]

I'd have to say that I've been underwhelmed with the CZ's durability in it's stock configuration. With CGW and others making vastly improved small parts at a low cost, it makes one wonder why CZ continues to put out pistols prone to breakdowns due to under built or fragile parts that cost less than a dollar (springs, roll pins, etc.) For what they cost, I don't think you should be having major parts breakages while still in the "break in" stage.

To be clear. I LOVE shooting this pistol! The cheap upgrade parts have greatly improved it's shootability and durability making me love it even more. I mainly started this thread in order to better learn this platform and allow others to learn along with me. Now that I've broken things in to my liking, I'm sure I'll ease off the dry firing some. When I do dry fire, I'll continue to take appropriate precautions.

 

[RustyHornet]

I'd have to say that I've been underwhelmed with the CZ's durability in it's stock configuration. With CGW and others making vastly improved small parts at a low cost, it makes one wonder why CZ continues to put out pistols prone to breakdowns due to under built or fragile parts that cost less than a dollar (springs, roll pins, etc.) For what they cost, I don't think you should be having major parts breakages while still in the "break in" stage.

To be clear. I LOVE shooting this pistol! The cheap upgrade parts have greatly improved it's shootability and durability making me love it even more. I mainly started this thread in order to better learn this platform and allow others to learn along with me. Now that I've broken things in to my liking, I'm sure I'll ease off the dry firing some. When I do dry fire, I'll continue to take appropriate precautions.

You should be good to go. There are plenty of people out there running their CZs stock. I'm sure just like all manufacuters, quality has been slipping as they try to reduce costs.

 

[Birds Away]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, with all the CZ love on this forum, there was bound to be an "I hate CZ" thread eventually. I'm truly sorry you guys have had bad experiences with them. I guess the good news is they sell pretty quickly and you should be able to easily afford another Glock. Have a great weekend, everyone.

 

[rvb]

I just surprised they haven't changed their design any. my buddy was modifying/selling FPs back in the 2001-2002 timeframe to solve this. I assumed it was a non issue by now ....

-rvb

 

[rhino]

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, with all the CZ love on this forum, there was bound to be an "I hate CZ" thread eventually. I'm truly sorry you guys have had bad experiences with them. I guess the good news is they sell pretty quickly and you should be able to easily afford another Glock. Have a great weekend, everyone.

I hope you're not talking about what I wrote. If you are, you've projected more than a little. I don't dislike CZ at all. I think they are great shooting guns and there's a good reason why they are dominating production division in USPSA (and it's not just because people are following popular shooters who use them). They are a first rate shooting tool.

However, I'm surprised and disappointed to learn that failure of small parts (aside from springs) is common due to dry fire. That should not occur with any modern centerfire pistol. Dry practice (which includes dry firing the gun at times) is an integral part of excelling in any of the practical shooting sports. CZ is clearly marketing to that crowd, so it's curious that they don't ship products with better components.

It's also surprising to me that the owners seem content with knowing they need to replace those parts.

 

[RustyHornet]

It's also surprising to me that the owners seem content with knowing they need to replace those parts.

You don't have to understand.

 

[rhino]

You don't have to understand.

I suppose it's a lot like 1911 lovers who get excited when they buy one that functions without any extra work (I'm one of those people!).

 

[Hopper]

It's also surprising to me that the owners seem content with knowing they need to replace those parts.

I hear you loud and clear rhino, and you're not completely wrong. When I finally found one of my grail guns, a 75B in matte stainless, I factored the cost of CGW parts in my head before I bought it. The thing is, for not much over $50 with the Ultra-Light Self-Defense firing pin kit, and another spring/pin or two, you can alleviate most every weak point there is IMHO. It's a fantastic platform to build on, but you don't have to double the price of the gun to make it better. Again, I don't disagree with you... it seems almost crazy to think that you have to sink $$ into a brand-new gun. And you don't HAVE to, but wow, the dividends are spectacular.

If I were to go down this path again, or talk to someone who was very budget conscious, I might opt for just the Ultra-Light firing pin kit plus a couple extra small parts, and stop there.

 

[rhino]

I understand better now that I'm thinking through my own 1911 sickness. I used to buy they expecting to work on them to make them function. That's not a great mindset, but it the final result was worth it. Usually!

I hear you loud and clear rhino, and you're not completely wrong. When I finally found one of my grail guns, a 75B in matte stainless, I factored the cost of CGW parts in my head before I bought it. The thing is, for not much over $50 with the Ultra-Light Self-Defense firing pin kit, and another spring/pin or two, you can alleviate most every weak point there is IMHO. It's a fantastic platform to build on, but you don't have to double the price of the gun to make it better. Again, I don't disagree with you... it seems almost crazy to think that you have to sink $$ into a brand-new gun. And you don't HAVE to, but wow, the dividends are spectacular.

If I were to go down this path again, or talk to someone who was very budget conscious, I might opt for just the Ultra-Light firing pin kit plus a couple extra small parts, and stop there.

 

[Hopper]

I understand better now that I'm thinking through my own 1911 sickness. I used to buy they expecting to work on them to make them function. That's not a great mindset, but it the final result was worth it. Usually!

Exactly. And still cheaper than a lot of other vices or bad habits I could think of! Expensive girlfriends, lawyer bills, speeding tickets... firearms can actually be an economical hobby depending how you look at it.

 

[RustyHornet]

I understand better now that I'm thinking through my own 1911 sickness. I used to buy they expecting to work on them to make them function. That's not a great mindset, but it the final result was worth it. Usually!

Last 1911 I bought I took the slide to a belt sander within a week and had to do quite a bit of work to make it work reliably... I knew going into it I may get one that will work and I may not. I didn't care. Anybody can go buy a pistol and use it without fail for a lifetime, I'm not anybody....

 

[hammer24]

Floating trigger pin and reduced trigger return spring installed. Dropped the DA pull by about another pound! Smoooooothhhhh. $20. Gonna try to beat the rain tomorrow and make it to the range.

 

[RustyHornet]

Floating trigger pin and reduced trigger return spring installed. Dropped the DA pull by about another pound! Smoooooothhhhh. $20. Gonna try to beat the rain tomorrow and make it to the range.

See, some things happen for a reason.