awesome hunts - CZ-USA

SCOTLAND’S MACNAB: GROUSE, RED STAG AND SALMON
SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2012
SPECIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION 2012
2012’s
BEST
NEW
DAN WESSON ECO
p. 10
TESTED:
CZ CUSTOM’S 75 LONGSLIDE
SUPPRESSOR-READY P-07 DUTY
DAN WESSON .45 SPECIALIST
EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEWS
EXHIBITION SHOOTER
TOM KNAPP
NHL LEGEND
BOBBY HOLIK
CZ 75 P-07 DUTY OD
p.2
PRINTED IN U.S.A.
USA/CANADA
$8.99
Display until 05/07/2012
From the Publishers of GUNS & AMMO
3
550 912 WINGSHOOTER
AWESOME
HUNTS
ON THREE CONTINENTS
AFRICA ARGENTINA SCOTLAND
Load up with one of Hodgdon’s
27 smokeless powders. Match your gun, your game,
the weather – you’ve got it bagged.
Phone 913-362-9455 • www.hodgdon.com
Justified
By J. GUTHRIE
The CZ 75 P-07 Duty has successfully passed
its performance review.
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Quick Shot
By JOEL J. HUTCHCROFT
Bringing everyone’s favorite rimfire calibers
together in one fine package.
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Dan Wesson ECO
By PATRICK SWEENEY
Meet the best 1911 ever built for lightweight
carry.
14
macnab quest
By Mike Schoby
A CZ Ringneck and CZ 550 get put to the
ultimate test in the highlands of Scotland.
20
The Retro
By James Tarr
THE CZ 83 redefines the classic approach to
practical carry.
26
Style, meet function
By Mike Schoby
A new CZ stack gets a double-size workout in
Argentina.
28
Nyati
By Kevin E. Steele
Africa’s ‘Black Death’ demands a rifle
you can depend upon.
36
The Specialist
By Patrick Sweeney
In the home or on the street, this .45 is poised
to protect and serve.
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42
Anti-Vermin
By Patrick Sweeney
This CZ 527 is a tackdriver and a stellar rodentreducer.
46
Editorial
Medal of Valor
By Bart Skelton
Dan Wesson braves the crowded 1911 market
with an excellent entry.
52
Busted
By Eric r. poole
The easiest and most affordable way to start
shooting trap.
56
Refined
By STAN TRZONIEC
Dan Wesson perfects the concealed carry
Officer’s Model.
EDITOR IN CHIEF Eric R. Poole
MANAGING EDITOR Gloria Shytles
COPY CHIEF Kimberly Jo Dolbee
ART DIRECTOR Erik Siembab
SENIOR DESIGNER Luu Mai
DESIGNER Luke Bouris
CATALOG DESIGNER John Podolanko
GROUP ART DIRECTOR David Kleckner
PRODUCTION MANAGER Terry Boyer
PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Anschuetz
Sean Utley
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Jeff Paro
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Andy Goldstein
SENIOR VP, GROUP PUBLISHER,
HUNTING AND SHOOTING Mike Carney
VP, GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jim Bequette
VP, GROUP PUBLISHER, FISHING Steve Hoffman
59
VP, STRATEGIC SALES AND MARKETING
Ted Gramkow
VP, CONSUMER MARKETING Peter Watt
A FAMILY AFFAIR
By PAYTON MILLER
A “one size fits all” solution to the family
shotgun.
60
PUBLISHER Chris Agnes
VP, MANUFACTURING Deb Daniels
VP, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
Howard Stevens
FINANCE DIRECTOR Derek Sevcik
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & SALES
DEVELOPMENT John White
SENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION
Connie Mendoza
Brawn
By WAYNE VAN ZWOLL
The bank-vault bolt-action of the CZ 550 is
the standard.
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PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
CZ-USA 2012 is published by InterMedia Outdoors Inc.,
512 Seventh Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York:
(212) 852-6649; FAX (212) 302-4472. Copyright 2012
by InterMedia Outdoors Inc. All rights reserved under
international and Pan American Copyright Conventions.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. CZ-USA 2012
is published by InterMedia Outdoors Inc. under license
from CZ-USA.
ENDURANCE RUN
Cover Photography by Sean Utley
2
By MIKE SCHOBY
The CZ 912 autoloader is put to the ultimate
field test: 2,000 rounds on Argentina doves.
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African Dreams
By Mike Carney
A .30-’06 delivers another memorable quest to
the dark continent.
72
Interviews with Tom Knapp
and Bobby Holik
Longslide
By JAMES TARR
Boring reliability and excellent accuracy in any
package from the CZ custom shop.
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Justified
the CZ 75 P-07 DUTY has SUCCESSFULLY passed its
performance review.
CZ 75 P-07 DUTY
W
hen this new polymer-framed pistol hit the shelves in 2009 you could have
tipped me over with a feather. Most shooters would never think twice about
polymer since almost every new design incorporates substantial amounts
of plastic, but this pistol was stamped “CZ-USA,” a company that over
the years ferociously clung to its walnut-and-steel roots. There have been one or two
polymer-frame models in the catalog over the years, but not many. I own a couple of
CZ rifles, and they don’t have so much as a molecule of plastic anywhere, not even
the magazine follower, and here is a CZ-branded pistol with a polymer frame. Was this
blasphemy a good move on the part of this legendary company?
By J. GUTHRIE I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
The P-07 Duty was originally designed
to compete for European police and
military contracts. And it won. As soon
as the specs were released by Ceska
Zbrojovka (CZ) in the Czech Republic,
the firm’s American subsidiary CZ-USA
started clamoring for pistols. It was easy
to see that the P-07 had a lot going for it
and would appeal to the American public.
Although the name implies a full-size
handgun at home on a cop’s duty belt,
you wouldn't be wrong for thinking of a
compact carry gun instead. The hammerforged barrel is 3.8 inches long, and the
pistol weighs just 1.7 pounds.
The P-07 had a new glass-reinforced
polymer frame but retained a lot of
features that made its predecessor,
the CZ 75, popular the world
over. The CZ 75 has a fol-
lowing in most other countries the way the
1911 is loved in this country, and with good
reason. It is extremely reliable, robust
and arguably has the best ergonomics
of any double-stack pistol on the planet.
The guts of the P-07 were a close copy
of the CZ 75, and it utilizes the good, old
Browning tilt-barrel operating system, but
the slide sits inside the frame, giving it a
very low center of gravity.
New for 2012 is the
suppressor-ready
P-07 Duty. The ½x28
threaded muzzle
accepts most supressors made for the U.S.
market. The sights
on this variation
are higher than
normal. They
will clear oneinch diameter
supressors.
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The system provides a second-strike capability,
something that most striker-fired pistols do not have.
CZ 75 p-07 DUTY
TYPE:Double-action, exposedhammer autoloader
Caliber:9mm (tested), .40 S&W
Capacity: 16 (9mm)
Barrel:3.8 in.; rifling six grooves,
1:9.7 twist
Overall Length: 7.3 in.
Weight: 27.2 oz. (1.7 lb.), empty
GRIPS:Molded stippling on grip
panels, serrations on frontand backstrap
Finish: Matte black or OD green
Trigger:11 lb., 5 oz. double-action pull,
4 lb., 1 oz. single-action pull
Sights:Fixed; white-dot front and
white-outline rear
The pistol ships with an ambidextrous decocker that can
be swapped by the user for a manual, two-position safety
in just five minutes.
One of the major upgrades to the P-07
was the double-action trigger pull, albeit
one already found in the CZ 75B. Dubbed
the Omega trigger system, it is essentially
a simplified version of the original trigger
on the CZ 75 but has a slightly lighter and
much smoother pull. My Duty averages
11 pounds, five ounces on a double
action draw. It is not as light as a strikerfired single action, but for a DA auto, it's a
big improvement over the original.
After fieldstripping the pistol, simply
cock the hammer, pivot the extractor
down and use a flat edge to pry the leftside decocking lever out of the frame. It is
attached to the right-side lever by way of
a transfer bar. A small coil spring is captured by the decocking lever’s transfer
bar, and it is removed with the lever. The
right-side decocking lever can now be
rotated up and pulled off the frame.
The system also provides secondstrike capability, something most
striker-fired pistols do not have. Once
the pistol is fired, the slide cocks the
hammer, providing a short, light, singleaction trigger pull of slightly more than
four pounds thereafter.
Should you want to stop mid-magazine
and put the pistol on Safe to assess
your target, there is an ambidextrous
decocking lever or a manual, two-position
safety, depending on how you choose to
configure your Duty. That is the coolest
feature of the P-07. The pistol ships with
ambidextrous decocking levers, but the
end user can swap those for a traditional
two-position safety lever in about five minutes. The parts are included. The manual
safety allows for cocked-and-locked
carry, a great option if you are not a fan of
the heavy, double-action trigger pulls.
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All P-07 Duty pistols feature an integral accessory rail under the dustcover,
a trend that is all but expected on current service autos.
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The angled slide contour not only provides the P-07 Duty with
a modern appearance, but guides the eye to the front sight.
To install the new safety, slide the
right-side lever into place after pressing down the trigger transfer bar. Leave
it sticking straight up. Press down on
the ejector and slide in the left-side
safety lever so the transfer bar locks
into the right-side safety lever. That’s
it. Since it is a manual safety, you do
not need the little spring that came
out with the decocker. The magazine
release can also be swapped from side
to side in just a few seconds. CZ-USA
is kind enough to provide a handy animation on its Web site that illustrates
these procedures better than I could
ever hope to write them.
The molded frame is very up-to-date
and wears the "must-have" tactical rail
for lights and lasers. I tried a few different units, and they all attach.
The triggerguard is plenty big
enough for gloved fingers. The grip
panels are reminiscent of grip tape, so
there is no worry of losing the pistol,
even in moist conditions or while wearing padded gloves. Two small pads of
this texture are also molded into the
frame just ahead of the trigger to give
the shooter a tactile index point for the
trigger finger when idly standing by.
A lanyard loop sits on the grip frame
and could be easily ground off should
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The standard low-profile sight is dovetailed and is located
at the most rearward position for the greatest sight radius.
well enough, but night sights are a
you want to minimize the profile for
must for a carry or duty pistol. CZconcealed carry.
USA does have night sights available
Having shot my fair share of CZ 75
and is currently working on several
pistols, I was very interested to see
different heights.
how the P-07 handled. I figured the
The sights sit on the absolute ends
reduced weight might affect balance.
of the slide to provide the maximum
The grip is very well designed and
amount of sight radius, but the hamshares similar angles and dimensions
merspur is covered to a degree by a
that made the 75 so popular with
rear sight that slants backward. Getshooters initially. Under recoil, the low
ting to the hammer for a single-action
center of gravity makes it very controlfirst shot is a little awkward, though it
lable, not that a 9mm or .40 S&W are
isn't a huge issue since the first shot
real recoil generators. My controlled
out of the holster will very likely be
pairs were just that, controlled and on
double action. In terms of holsters, CZ
target. The pistol points naturally and
offers a few options and most holsters
handles great.
made for the XD will work as well.
I had no malfunctions due to the
Like so many other CZ-USA firearms,
proven operating system and a huge
the P-07 is a simple, reliable and clean
external extractor. Really, the only
pistol that is very affordable. It’s not all
rubs against the P-07 were some
steel, but the P-07 Duty is all CZ.
rough edges on the slide serrations
(I slingshot the slide
forward on reloads)
Accuracy Results
and fire controls. The
Bullet Avg Group
manual safety is a bit on
Type
(gr.)
(in.)
the thin side and tough
to operate quickly. The
Black Hills EXP JHP
115 3.12
Remington +P Golden Saber 124 2.86
polymer sights are
Hornady TAP CQ JHP
147 3.16
dovetailed and have a
Remington Golden Saber
147 3.03
white, U-shaped outline
at the rear notch. The
front dot pattern works
Winchester PDX1 JHP
147 3.86
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Quick Shot
CZ 455
Bringing everyone's favorite rimfire calibers
together in one fine package.
N
ot everybody wants a switch-barrel rimfire, but I
happen to like the idea. It seems like I’ve always
been intrigued with switch-barrel guns, and the
CZ 455 holds a lot of appeal for me.
By JOEL J. HUTCHCROFT I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
Living in Illinois, I can’t hunt with
high-powered centerfire rifles (well,
except for coyotes). On the other
hand, I do a lot of hunting with
rimfires. A lot of guys I know own
separate rifles for shooting .22 LR,
.17 HMR and .22 WMR. I actually
know a guy who owns 20 to 30
different .22s.
I’ve owned quite a few rimfires
over the years including a really nice,
accurate .22 Magnum. Unfortunately,
I sold it years ago, regrettably.
I do enjoy hunting with the .22
Magnum, and while I have never
owned a .17 HMR, I think it has
an application in the small-game
and varmint hunting fields as well.
Imagine my interest when I received a
CZ 455 American in .22 LR along with
an extra barrel in .17 HMR this year.
The 455 is nicely endowed. The
particulars are shown in the accompanying specifications list, so I
won’t go into detail here. Suffice it
to say, the 455 feels like a “real” rifle,
not like a budget rimfire. Fit and finish
is excellent, as is the trigger pull.
The trigger on my sample measured
3.8 pounds according to an RCBS
trigger-pull gauge. While there was
a bit of takeup, it breaks crisply and
consistently. As you can see from
the accompanying accuracy results,
this 201/2-inch-barreled bolt gun is no
slouch in the accuracy department.
The bolt mounted safety on the CZ 455 blocks the movement of the
firing pin and disconnects the sear from the striker when engaged.
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The biggest advantage is that you can shoot different
cartridges in the same action with the same trigger system.
Undoubtedly, the nice trigger helps
to contribute to its fine accuracy.
The advantages of a switch-barrel
rimfire are essentially the same as
for a switch-barrel centerfire rifle.
The biggest one, in my book, is
that you can shoot different cartridges—in this case, three—in the
same action with the same trigger
system. Doing so allows you to
become extremely familiar with that
one trigger, and that translates into
better shooting.
Switching barrels on the 455 is
very simple and straightforward.
All you have to do is remove the
magazine, the bolt and the two
stock screws, and pull off the
triggerguard, triggerguard plate and
Rings are currently available from various aftermarket manufacturers to grab the proprietary CZ integral dovetail bases. The rubber pad keeps the stock from sliding in the shoulder. The trigger is adjustable for weight.
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CNC laser checkering offers a tactile gripping surface.
It's perfectly executed every time.
CZ 455 American
Type:Bolt-action
Caliber:.17 HMR, .22 LR, .22 WMR
(interchangeable barrels)
Capacity:5
Barrel:20.5 in., 1:16-in. twist
(.22 LR, .22 WMR), 1:9-in. twist (.17 HMR)
Overall Length:38.2 in.
Weight:6.1 lb.
Stock:Checkered walnut with
sling swivel studs
Finish:Blued steel, oil wood
Trigger:Adjustable; 3.8-lb. pull (as tested)
Sights:None; dovetail base for scope mounts;
Lux .22 LR barrel includes an adjustable rear and hooded front sight
GalleryofGuns.com
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the stock. Then, loosen the magameantime, I contacted CZ-USA
was very therapeutic. The fact that
zine housing screw at the rear (one
and ordered a .22 WMR barrel to
this little rifle produces such tight
or two turns is all that's needed)
complete my set. With the rifle
groups certainly helps to make the
and the two barrel-retaining screws. and three extra barrels, I took it to
project a fun one. If you haven’t
Finally, pull the barrel off the front
the range and proceeded to run it
fired your favorite rimfire in a while,
of the receiver. Insert the new
through a rather lengthy shooting
you really should get out and shoot
barrel, tighten the barrel screws,
session. I have to say that doing all
it. Better yet, pick up a CZ 455
tighten the magazine housing
that rimfire shooting (five, five-shot
American with an extra barrel or
screw, replace the triggerguard and
groups with 12 different loads)
two, and join the fun.
plate (minus the
spacer if you are
accuracy results
switching to either
StandardExtreme
50-Yard
Velocity
of the magnum
(fps)
Deviation (fps) Spread (fps) Accuracy (in.)
Ammunition
chamberings),
.17 HMR
place the barreled
action into the
Federal 17-gr. V-Max
2,612
39
87
0.72
stock, and tighten
Hornady 17-gr. V-Max
2,547
26
91
0.56
down the stock
Winchester 17-gr. V-Max
2,554
24
80
0.69
screws. That’s it.
CCI 20-gr. FMJ
2,370
10
20
0.69
It takes less than
.22 Long Rifle
10 minutes. (Don't
worry, detailed
CCI 32-gr. Stinger
1,635
14
27
0.64
instructions ship
CCI 40-gr. Select
1,212
9
18
0.95
with each rifle.)
Federal 40-gr. Gold Medal Target
1,230
6
14
0.55
I first received
Winchester 40-gr. Power-Point
1,282
23
54
0.88
the 455 set up
.22 WMR
for .22 LR and .17
Federal 30-gr. JHP
2,108
32
63
1.00
HMR. A few days
Federal 30-gr. Sierra JHP
1,906
34
74
0.91
later I received the
CCI 40-gr. Maxi Mag
1,880
41
73
0.73
Lux .22 LR spare
Winchester 40-gr. FMJ
1,812
15
29
2.00
barrel, which has
an adjustable rear
Accuracy is the average of five five-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest. Velocity is the average sight and a hooded
of 15 rounds measured 12 feet from the muzzle.
front sight. In the
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Dan
Wesson
ECO
DW ECO
MEET THE BEST 1911 EVER BUILT FOR LIGHTWEIGHT CARRY.
S
ome 25 years ago, I found myself with some back
pains. It took a while to figure out the exact source,
but the basic reason was simple: I worked in a gun
shop. Said gun shop was adjacent to a big, dangerous city. We all carried, and my chosen piece was a fullsize, all-steel 1911. As if that wasn’t a contributor, my daily
routine involved wearing extra magazines, backup guns,
and even the occasional knife. I needed to ease up on the
mission load I was packing.
By PATRICK SWEENEY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
When the venerable Lightweight
Commander came along, I snatched
it up, and life was good. Well,
semi-good. In order for it to be good
enough, that 1911 required a certain
amount of overhauling. In fact, it
required a lot of it.
I still have that pistol, but not
because it’s my primary carry gun.
I have many more choices these days,
and the choices from Dan Wesson
don’t need any work to be ready.
The latest offering fills the niche
that my old Commander did. Different though, the Dan Wesson ECO
needs no extras. Out of the box, it’s
ready for the job—fully loaded with
what would have been unobtainable
extras back in those days.
The ECO is the size of an Officer’s Model 1911. It has a slightly
shorter frame (Enough to take one
round away from the 1911’s usual
magazine capacity). However,
this absence also makes the ECO
easier and more comfortable to
carry. The shorter frame is less
likely to hang up on clothing or
print against the drape of a shirt
or jacket worn over a holstered
handgun. And, as a credit to Dan
Wesson pistolsmiths, the ECO fea10 cz-usa.com
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tures the problematic corner on its
1911 frame rounded and smooth.
When you carry a handgun in an
Inside the Waist Band (IWB) holster,
your belt acts as a pivot point. The
muzzle of your carry gun contacts
your hip, the hip contact pushes the
muzzle outboard, and the pivot on
your belt pushes the back end of the
slide into you.
In extreme cases, the contact
between the grip safety and your
body can feel as if the gun is being
surgically introduced to your kidney.
But, if you loosen your belt, the handgun can flop around. This is perhaps
the only instance where being bigger
around the middle is a good thing,
as the less wasp-waist you have, the
less pivot your pistol has.
Rather than packing on pounds,
you can simply choose to carry a
handgun like the ECO that features
a shorter barrel and shorter overall
length. The Officer’s Model size
1911’s typically have a three or threeand-a-half inch barrel, to preclude the
pivot. Hence, the Dan Wesson ECO is
a carry gun. (Or for those still packing
the full-size 1911, a backup gun.)
On top, the ECO wears a set of
tritium-driven night sights, one
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So, I took the new ECO and I abused it. No, I didn’t throw it in the dirt,
dunk it under water, or anything of that nature.
Dan wesson ECO
TYPE:Single action, recoil
operated semiauto
Caliber: 9mm, .45 ACP (tested)
Capacity: 7+1
Barrel:3.5 in. (tested) or 4.25 in.,
DW Match
Overall Length: 7.25 in. (tested) or 8 in.
Weight: 1.6 lbs.
GRIPS: G10
Finish: Duty black
Trigger: Aluminum, 4 lb.
Sights:3-Dot, ledge-style,
tritium-filled
The no-glare, 25 lpi slide serrations
lead up to the night sight near the
muzzle. They’re perfectly
blended with the shape
of the slide.
insert in each of the front and
rear. Line them up as a figure eight,
and your sights are easily aligned.
The sight design is inspired by the
Heinie Straight Eight dot concept,
but the rear sight is shaped with a
ledge, a front face that is square
to the bore. Championed by many
respected tactical shooters, these
ledge-style sights offer the user
an emergency cocking surface.
Use your belt, holster, doorframe,
whatever is handy, if you’re suddenly
restricted to one-handed use and
have to manipulate the slide.
In-between the sights, in their
dovetails, is a serrated rib.
The rib is machined out
of the top of the
The frontstrap of the ECO wears 25 lpi
checkering—the Dan Wesson standard.
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slide, and the serrations on its top
are ultra-fine—fifteen lines on top of
the slide that’s not much wider than
a quarter-inch. When you first see
the MSRP of the DW ECO, consider
that such a rib and the sights would
set you back on the order of $500
and six month’s wait from a custom
gunsmith. (More money and longer
if the ‘smith is really good and has a
backlog to prove it.)
The slide perfectly matches
the three-inch barrel, with
the slide
The ledge-style rear sight
is a growing trend in the
tactical community since
it offers one-handed slide
manipulation.
lightening cuts done as abbreviated
ball-end cuts. The ball-end cuts
were a feature of the earliest 1911s, a
feature changed by Colt during World
War I to speed up production. It’s
just a cosmetic feature, but I like it.
Additionally, the slide and frame are
dehorned in such a way as to ensure
that neither cuts or rips.
The frame and mainspring housing have very clean, regular and
precise checkering. Twenty-five lpi
is the Dan Wesson standard. The
frontstrap has been lifted, and combined with the high-ride beavertail
grip safety and a slender thumb
safety that’s also serrated with a
shelf. The ECO is compact, an easyto-pack pistol. On the bottom of the
frame there is no bolt-on or added
magazine well funnel. This is a
compact carry pistol, and that would
compromise too much in terms
of carrying concealed.
However, the magazine
well is gently tapered
to make reloads easier,
without adding bulk.
In the old days, for a
custom gunsmith to announce
that he had arrived, he’d take a
standard 1911 and chop it down to
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something of this
size. The problem
was not in the
chopping, but reliability department
once it had been
reduced in size.
Many a would-be
“master” gunsmith
found that he had
taken a working
1911 and turned it
into a very expensive paperweight.
The typical result from a new
pistolsmith looking to move up was
malfunctions galore. And the easiest
way to make those malfunctions
appear was to shoot the suspect
pistol weak-handed or limp-wristed.
So, I took the new ECO and I
abused it. No, I didn’t throw it in the
dirt, dunk it under water, or anything of that nature. I simply shot it
weak-handed only. For all the ammo
I had with me, some three hundred
rounds straight.
Shooting with one’s off hand, or
support hand, is typically work.
Heavy triggers make it very easy to
work into a flinch, or other problem.
On the other hand, the ECO had
a nice trigger—one that’s good
enough to perform as a competitive
Bullseye gun.
The end result from this function
test was an hour of shooting, and
fifteen minutes spent picking up
brass. Ten pound’s worth of lead and
copper downrange. The ECO refused
to co-operate with my plans of finding its weakness.
The recoil spring system, and the
lack of a barrel bushing, has a lot
to do with the reliability of such an
abbreviated 1911, but I think it has
as much to do with the fact that
the pistolsmiths at Dan Wesson
know how to make a pistol. Even a
compact pistol.
Not every pistol is perfect. My ECO
features a right-handed safety.
Were I to be packing this
(particularly as a backup)
The trigger is flawlessly executed.
I’d order an ambidextrous safety to
be installed.
The grips are nice and durable, but
for all that and the very useful gripping ability, the slabs measure a bit
thick for my tastes. I’d have to shave
them down to thin them, but why
when the enormous 1911 aftermarket
caters to such things?
The sights are useful in two areas:
both for being night sights with
tritium inserts, and for the rear sight
being shaped such that you can use
it as a cocking lever. If you have the
triple-whammy of a locked slide,
only one hand available for work,
and an existing threat to deal with,
you can use the rear sight to quickly
rack the slide and get things going
your way again.
I like the ECO—a lot. For a guy
who has a safe full of 1911s, many of
those expensive custom 1911s, I’m
really tempted by this one. As the
one I obtained for testing was only
the second production sample from
Dan Wesson, they’re going to want
this one back. How unfortunate.
Given the amazingly reasonable
price this one lists for (I mean, for a
lightweight Officer’s Model, dripping
with custom features) it won’t take
long to save up for another.
Get yours, or get in line behind me.
Accuracy and reliability are finally acheived in an Officer’s Model 1911.
The combination has been accomplished with a carefully fitted bushingless match barrel and slide fit along with a full length guide rod.
www.cz-usa.com
cz-usa.com 13
Quest
Macnab
CZ RINGNECK
CZ 550
A CZ Ringneck and CZ 550 get put to the ultimate
test in the highlands of Scotland.
T
he tale of the Macnab stems from the 1925 novel
John Macnab written by John Buchan. In summary, the book centers around three high rolling
Scots who have become bored with their daily
lives so they concoct a plan to add a little bit of zest to
stave off the mundane.
By Mike Schoby
The three sporting gentlemen
put pen to paper and send
three estates a letter. In the
letter they notified the estate’s
owner of their intent to poach
either a stag or a salmon from
their property in the next 48
hours and deliver the said
salmon or stag to the door of
the main house.
If the estate owner accepted
the challenge and if they get
away undetected the estate
owner needs to make a 50
pound donation to charity. If
they are caught, the offenders
will have to make a 100 pound
donation to charity. To protect
their real identity they collectively signed the letter with the
Nom de plume, John Macnab.
From this original tale the
Macnab challenge grew into an
organized sporting adventure.
Today, it is generally recognized as shooting a stag, a brace
of grouse and catching an Atlantic
salmon all in one day…I can only
guess as to why they shortened time
frame and increased the bag limit,
but that’s just how it is.
I read about the Macnab off and
on in sporting titles over the years
and then last season while sitting in
an elk camp with Alice Poluchova
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of CZ-USA, I suggested we try for
a Colorado Macnab—elk, grouse
and trout. She rebutted, “Why don’t
we just do the real thing?” Having
a shortage of red deer, red grouse
and Atlantic salmon in my neck of
the woods, I decided to start looking
for an outfitter who could accommodate. We found the ideal kilt-wearing
candidate at the SCI show in Reno
cz-usa.com 15
My first shot was not far behind him, and after a quick lead
recalculation, the second charge brought him down to earth.
Nevada­—Michael McCrave, (Michael
McCrave Hunting Limited, huntingvacationsscotland.com)
“I can organize it,” he said, “but
I’ll have to find the perfect setting,
one with a good population of both
grouse and stags and a quality river
in close proximity. Let me check into
it and I’ll get back to you.”A couple of
weeks passed before Michael called,
16 cz-usa.com
“I found it! The estate borders Balmoral castle (for those unfamiliar with
Balmoral, it is the Queen of England’s
summer residence in Scotland...not
a bad zip code) and the fabled River
Dee flows through it.”It sounded
ideal so we booked a week for later
that fall.
We quickly found out that booking
a hunt in the United Kingdom is the
easy part, handling the details of
actually hunting there is something
entirely else. Luckily, Michael made
it possible (without his help, bringing
a firearm into Scotland would be
akin to climbing Mount Everest in
bare feet). After flying into London
then onto Edinburgh, Scotland, we
were met at the airport and whisked
away to the hunting estate near the
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town of Ballater. After briefly meeting with the gamekeeper Ab (gamekeepers, as the name implies, are
the guide in charge of the hunt for
a particular estate), we unpacked,
sighted in and readied ourselves for
the following morning.
Dawn broke clear and still, the sun
barely poking above the mountain
as we finished the last of our tradi-
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tional Scottish breakfast. Contrary
to popular belief it was not whisky,
but bangers and eggs. It had been
decided that I would get all of day
one to try for my Macnab and Alice
would have all of the second day.
Climbing into Land Rover Defender
110s, we headed up the mountain
and quickly exchanged the heavily
forested bottomland for the open
heather-covered moors. We had
barely reached the top when we
spotted a covey of red grouse
working their way through a thick
patch of heather. I jumped out and
uncased a 28-gauge CZ Ringneck.
Plunking two shells in the twin
chambers, I headed after them. The
covey ducked down to hide then as
I neared, they burst from the thick
cover as if shot from a cannon.
Even though I expected it, I was still
startled and before I knew it
the birds were quickly rocketing out
of range.
My first barrel caught a bird square
and dropped him, the second just
pulled feathers and the bird set his
wings and sailed across a valley
cz-usa.com 17
I pushed the trigger forward to set it, and then slowly started
applying light pressure as the crosshairs settled on the shoulder.
with the rest of the covey. One for
two, not excellent, but not a bad way
to start off the morning. Putting the
bird in the back of the Rover, I cased
the gun and we headed off again
in search of stag, but hadn’t gone
100 yards before a single grouse
scurried from the light heather
to the heavy stuff and sat tight.
Scarcely believing my good luck, I
exited the vehicle and with a quick,
high-legged step through the cover
headed to where I last saw it. When I
reached within 30 yards, the grouse
exploded upward, instantly catching
the wind. My first shot was not far
behind him, and after a quick lead
recalculation, the second charge
brought him down to earth. It was
barely 9:30 and I had one leg of my
Macnab eliminated.
We crested the top of a highland
moor, shut off the truck and started
glassing. As luck would have it,
stags were everywhere. It was all
fair chase—no high fences on this
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property—so seeing this many stags
is not always the norm. A group of
300 animals fed quietly on the far
mountain a mile away, while a group
of 50 or so fed directly above us.
What caught our attention was a
bachelor group of six stags. In the
group were two shooters and they
were in a position for a relatively easy
stalk. Checking the wind, we decided
the best route would be to circle
around the herd and work in from the
downwind side.
After walking for a mile or so we
crept up over a small ridge that was
keeping us out of sight from the
group of stags. They were still there,
now bedded 250 yards away. Crawling on hands and knees we closed
the distance to 200 yards. I crawled
up next to Ab and cycled the bolt
to chamber a round. The stag was
slightly quartering away as I laid
the CZ 550 in .30-’06 over my pack
placed on a small heather mound.
I pushed the trigger forward to set
it, and then slowly started applying
light pressure as the crosshairs
settled on the shoulder. At the shot,
the stag dropped instantly. The
Federal cartridge propelling the
180-grain Trophy Bonded Tip bullet
worked perfectly.
It was barely past noon and I had
two of the three species for the
Macnab. We loaded up the Land
Rovers and headed off the hill in
search of the elusive Atlantic salmon.
Within a half an hour we were out
of our hunting boots and into a pair
of waders that I had exchanged Ab
the Game Keeper for Ian the Ghillie
(yes, everyone has a title and role in
the sporting life of Scotland). Ian is
part guide, part biologist, and part
management professional. He has
a 14-mile stretch (or “beat” as it is
called locally) of the Dee and controls
the number of people who fish it—for
our little endurance test he reserved
several of his best pools for our
exclusive use.
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Walking down to the first pool I
caught a glimpse of a large salmon
break the surface. Then another,
and another. This river was loaded
with fish!
Considering most people do not
achieve the Macnab because of
the difficulty in catching an Atlantic
salmon, I felt lucky. I truly hit the
right time and the right place. I
unspooled some line off the reel and
Spey cast across the river. As the fly
drifted to a stop below, I took one
step downstream and recast, swinging the fly across the pool again.
I repeated this process until I had
worked through the entire pool from
top to bottom covering every possible lie a salmon might inhabit. No
fish, but no worries. It was probably
just a matter of trying a different fly.
Reselecting a new pattern, I
worked the pool again. Then I did
it again with a different rod rigged
with a sinking line. I was starting
to get worried when the line came
to a sudden stop. As instructed, I
paused for a second before lifting
the rod tip to set the hook. The fish
was there, strong and heavy—fresh
from the sea and ready to fight. I
could feel his power as he shook his
large hooked-nose head back and
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forth in the current. Then as quickly
as he was on, he was off. Heartbroken, I fished for the next several
hours, not taking a break to eat or
drink. I only threw in the towel when
it became too dark to see the water.
The River Dee only gives so many
chances and that one was mine.
So as the clock ticked down to
midnight I resigned myself to the
fact that the Macnab had eluded
me, but in the end it was a worthwhile adventure that I’m glad I tried.
Along the way, a unique slice of the
sporting tradition Scotland offers
was revealed.
Over the next couple of days
Alice took a nice stag and a brace
of grouse as well, but like me, no
Atlantic salmon filled her net. We
both plan to return, and I am confident we’ll get the job done. We’ll have
a secret weapon next time. Alice let it
slip that CZ-USA could possibly offer
a limited edition, harpoon rifle—
fittingly called the model Dee.
IF YOU GO
Traveling to the UK with firearms is
no easy task. In fact, it is a monumental bureaucratic pain that any
civilized country with a head on its
shoulders should be embarrassed
to subject hunters to. Be that as it
may, if you want to bring a firearm,
you can do it but you have to jump
many ridiculous hoops. The first step
involves using a reputable outfitter
and getting all of your paperwork
turned into that outfitter months
ahead of your trip. After packing a
rifle and shotgun through England
and Scotland, I don’t care do it
again and recommend borrowing
one of Michael McCrave’s rifles and
shotguns while you’re there.
Mike McCrave Hunting Limited
huntingvacationscotland.com
Ian Murry, Dee Fishing Ghillie
[email protected]
cz-usa.com 19
Retro
The
CZ 83
THE CZ 83 redefines the classic approach to
practical carry.
By JAMES TARR I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
W
ith a massive surge in the number of states
allowing for concealed carry, the number of
people who are getting firsthand knowledge
of what it’s like to carry a firearm regularly has
gone up dramatically. For years, many of those people
could only “talk the talk.” Now that they can “walk the
walk” they are discovering that carrying a full-size pistol
isn’t always an option.
Due in large part to America’s
emerging CCW nation, the number of
compact and subcompact pistols—
most with polymer frames—has
exploded. New owners, however,
soon learn that ease of carry does
not necessarily translate into an
enjoyable experience at the range.
Small, light pistols are easy to
carry, but are hard to aim and shoot
accurately at any speed. And try
shooting a lot of rounds during
practice. Nobody takes a pocket gun
out to the range for a day of plinking.
After bouncing from one end of the
spectrum to the other, many of us
who carry are choosing a midsize
pistol to be more practical. It’s the
middle ground between shootability
and ease of carry. This is exactly
where the CZ 83 is at home.
The CZ 83 is an all-steel 12+1
.380 automatic with a 3.8-inch
barrel and a weight of 26 ½ ounces.
It’s also available in a blued finish,
or this satin nickel version seen
here. Besides the growing trend to
chamber carry guns in .380, this one
can also be had in a .32 ACP variety.
In .32, the CZ 83 comes with a 15round magazine. Although CZ refers
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to this as a compact gun, it’s not a
pocket pistol. Rather, it’s a midsize
steel gun built durable enough to
withstand even the rigors of police
or military duty. The CZ 83 is nearly
identical to its predecessor, the 12shot 9x18 Makarov-chambered CZ
82. The CZ 82 could be found in the
holsters of European law enforcement up until just a few years ago.
Not surprisingly, the CZ 83 has a
very European appearance (less the
Euro magazine release behind the
floorplate of the magazine). The slide
is reminiscent of a PPK, but the similarity ends there. To be honest, the
first time I saw a CZ 83 my expectations were low, but the more I shot it
the more I liked it. One of the reasons
for my growing favor toward it is
that the slide has such an unusual
profile and because it has a fixed
barrel. Fixed barrels are good for two
reasons: They make the gun more
accurate, and they put the bore very
low in the hand. This reduces felt
recoil and muzzle rise. As opposed
to most American-designed pistols
where the serial number is marked
on the frame, the CZ 83 wears its
matching serial numbers on the
cz-usa.com 21
While it’s roughly the same size as many popular nines,
the CZ 83 is much more concealable.
Once apart,
should not be difficult for anyone who
the pistol reveals
has ever done the same with a 1911—
a
polished
feed
as the procedure is identical. Push in
TYPE:DA/SA, semiauto
ramp
that
peron the firing pin with a punch until it
Caliber:.32 ACP, .380 ACP
fectly
blends
with
clears the firing-pin stop, then slide
(tested)
CAPACITY:12 (.380), 15 (.32)
the barrel. As the
the stop downward while covering the
BARREL: 3.8 in.
barrel is fixed to
end of the slide with a finger so the
OVERALL LENGTH: 6.77 in.
the frame, that
firing-pin assembly doesn’t fly across
WEIGHT: 26.5 oz
feeding angle will
the room. CZ-USA has the instruction
GRIPS: Black plastic
stay the same
manual posted on its Web site, as well
FINISH: Satin nickel
no
matter
what.
as a video showing how to field strip
TRIGGER:12 lb. DA/5 lb. SA
This
gets
part
the pistol if you have any trouble.
SIGHTS: Three dot, green
credit
for
the
100
In this age of defensive auto pistols
luminescent, fixed (front),
percent reliability
the size of cigarette lighters chamdrift adj. notch (rear)
I’ve experienced
bered for .380 and 9mm, the thought
with the CZ 83.
of purchasing (much less carrying an
the sights briefly with a flashlight,
The recoil spring fits around the
all-steel .380) might seem unnecesthey glowed as brightly as the finest
barrel and is a simple single-coil
sary to people. While there is no
tritium insert sights available. After 10 design. After removing the grips by
arguing that 9mm, .40 S&W and
minutes, they still glowed, but more
way of the slot-head screws, you
.45 ACP are all more powerful and
faintly. Whether or not they’ve been
can see that the mainspring fits
effective cartridges than the .380
exposed to light and glow, these dots around the hammer strut. Further
ACP, the fact is that if private citizens
provide a very good sight picture.
disassembly for cleaning or mainteever need to use their legally carried
The hammer is a spur type and
nance is not recommended.
firearms, the lion’s share of those
comes down far enough there might
If extensive firing has been done,
encounters will occur at conversabe hammer-bite issues for people
CZ recommends taking apart the
tional distances with no intervening
with very large hands using a high
magazine and firing-pin mechanism.
barriers apart from clothing. While
grip, but I didn’t experience such
Removing the firing-pin assembly
it’s roughly the same size as many
issues. The safety body actually
forms a part of the beavertail on the
frame just under the hammer and
pivots on a pin. This design seems
robust, but results in an unexpected
gap between safety and frame at the
rear of the pistol when the safety is in
the Off position.
There are only a few ways to
disassemble a pistol with a barrel
permanently attached to the frame.
To disassemble the CZ 83, first
remove the magazine and make
certain that the pistol is unloaded.
Lower the safety off. Pull down on
the trigger guard until it clicks and
stays open. Retract the slide all the
way back, then lift up on the rear of
the slide. It will pivot upward, and
once it is high enough to clear the
Finished in blue, the controls and grip contrast well on a satin nickel-finish
rear of the barrel, pull the slide asCZ 83. Controls are oriented in the same ergonomic locations as most classic
semiauto pistols.
sembly off the front of the pistol.
CZ 83
The trigger guard wears checkering for those
shooters who prefer to place the support hand’s
index finger in front of the guard during firing.
barrel hood and slide. As the barrel is gun personally, but I’ve also rusted
recoil. The front of the triggerguard
attached to the frame, technically the blued guns with sweat. That won’t
is checkered as well, since there are
barrel is the receiver.
happen with nickel. The doublesome that like to place the support
Like its big brother—the CZ 75—
action trigger pull on my CZ 83 is
hand’s index finger on it.
the 83 is a DA/SA automatic that
stiff and noticeably heavier than
The flattop slide is serrated, and
can be carried cocked-and-locked
what I’ve experienced with used 82s the CZ is equipped with black plastic
in Condition One. The ambidexand 83s. That’s very common, and
grips, the bulging palm sections
trous safety is not a decocker. The
the great thing about all-steel trigger of which are checkered. The grips
safety cannot be engaged when the
systems is that the more times the
feature a prominent ridge below
hammer is down, but the pistol does
trigger is pulled, the smoother and
a finger groove, which made for a
have an internal hammer rebound
lighter that pull gets. CZs are built
comfortable grip but made it almost
safety. After decades of shooting
for a lifetime of hard use.
impossible to access the magazine
1911s, I use a thumb-high hold with
The frame of the pistol is big
release without turning the pistol in
everything, and the safety of the CZ
enough for me to get my whole
my hand. The magazine baseplates
83 lends itself well to this. It clicks on
hand around it, which is a definite
are removable for cleaning, and the
and off in a very positive manner. The plus when it comes to managing
magazines have three unmarked
thumb safety is ambidextrous,
index holes at the rear to witas is the magazine release.
ness the fourth, eighth and 12th
I wouldn’t want to carry the
rounds levels in the magazine.
pistol Condition One until I had
The followers were constructed
practiced getting the safety off
of black polymer.
during the drawstroke a number
The sights on the CZ 83 are
of times. The serrated safety
good for a gun this size. The
isn’t small, but my spoiled
rear is a dovetailed notch, and
thumb is used to the oversize
the front is a post slid in from
combat ledges now found on
the front and secured with a roll
1911 thumb safeties.
pin. On used CZ 82s and 83s,
For this evaluation I tested a
I’ve seen plain black rear sights
satin nickel CZ 83. The frame
combined with a vertical whiteand slide have a matte nickel
line insert in the front sight that
finish, but all the controls and
works quite well. The sights on
small parts are matte blued
this new gun wore three, bright
(including the triggerguard). I
green dots. This turned out to
Like the CZ 75 and DW 1911, the CZ 83 features a
thumb safety that locks the hammer to the rear.
prefer the looks of an all-blued
be luminous paint. When I hit
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cz-usa.com 23
I know someone who recently bought a CZ 83 for a female new
to shootING, and the choice makes perfect sense to me.
popular polymer nines,
the ideal self-defense pistol
the CZ 83 is much more
is not only one you have
concealable. That extra
with you, but one that you
weight is certainly an
don’t mind practicing with
advantage over the lightand that hits hard enough
weights when it comes time
to get the job done. The
to pull the trigger.
older I get, the more I realAmmunition manufacturize that bullet placement
ers didn’t sit idly by while
is more important than
gun companies introduced
caliber. If the pistol you’re
more variations of carry pisshooting has so much
tols using .380, so premium
muzzle blast and recoil
hollow points in this caliber
With its ejection port profile, slide serrations and exposed that you hate to practice
extractor, the CZ 83 exhibits a relationship to the CZ75.
are easy to find. Modern
with it or can’t find your
defensive ammunition is
sights after the first shot,
far superior to what you could find on
it’s not serving you well. Personally,
as fast as we could pull the trigger.
the shelves just 20 years ago, and the
I’d carry a .380 before I’d carry a
At 15 yards the front sight would
.380 ACP JHPs of today are designed
.357 Magnum. Even with premium
rise up to the top of the silhouette
to expand even when fired out of the
JHPs, the CZ 83 is tame. And while
target under recoil, then go straight
ultra-short barrels of subcompacts.
a 90-grain JHP at 1,000 fps is no
back down to nestle in the rear sight.
Taking the CZ 83 out to the range
magnum thunder hammer, thousands
Because the CZ is so flat-shooting,
was fun. Not only does the fixed
of violent threats have been fended
I was able to track the front sight
barrel provide great accuracy, recoil
off by less powerful cartridges. The
during the entire recoil impulse.
I know someone who recently
isn’t a four-letter word. Range volCZ 83 has good ergonomics, is very
bought a CZ 83 for a female new
unteers couldn’t outrun the gun, and
controllable at any speed, holds 12
to shooting, and the choice makes
we could keep all shots inside the
+1 rounds, and has an MSRP of only
perfect sense to me. Remember,
A-zone of an IPSC target at 10 yards
$444. What’s not to like?
While the all-steel CZ 83 is not
a pocket gun, it is a concealable, light-recoiling pistol that
points naturally and can be had
in a choice of a blued finish or
satin nickel.
accuracy results
Make
Bullet Weight (gr.)
Avg. Velocity (fps)
Standard
Deviation
Group (in.)
Black Hills FMJ
95
922
21
2.2
Cor-Bon Pow’R Ball
70
1,077
22
3.2
Hornady XTP JHP
90
981
13
1.8
Accuracy results are the averages of four five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest. Velocities are
the averages of 10 shots measured with a Shooting Chrony F-1 Alpha chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle.
24 cz-usa.com
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„If future
generations ask us
what we are
fighting for
[in World War Two],
we shall tell them
the story of Lidice.“
William Franklin Knox,
United States Secretary
of the Navy (1940 – 1944)
T h e L I d I c e M ov I e c o M e S T o M ov I e T h e aT r e S a L S o I N T h e U S a !
ThIS IS The STory oF The czech vILLage oF LIdIce, The STory oF ordINary peopLe, Who ThroUgh aN abSUrd coINcIdeNce
caMe INTo The Way oF hISTory. The ScreeNpLay by zdeNeK MahLer, oFFerS a vIeW oN The TragIc FaTe oF LIdIce IN The 2Nd
WorLd War FroM aN UNUSUaL perSpecTIve. IT coMeS cLoSer To The MISForTUNe oF peopLe IN LIdIce ThroUgh INTerperSoNaL
reLaTIoNS, eSpecIaLLy Love, WhIch STaNdS aT The begINNINg oF The WhoLe STory. ThIS IS The epIc FILM FULL oF eMoTIoNS, WhIch
poINTS oUT hoW SeeMINgLy a SMaLL ThINg aS a Love LeTTer caN chaNge The coUrSe oF hISTory aNd caUSe a Tragedy.
NoMINee IN The eUropeaN cINeMa prIzeS coNTeST
ČESKÁ ZBROJOVKA
SINCE 1936
More INFo aT
SpoNSor oF The LIdIce MovIe
WWW.czUb.cz
Style,
Meet Function
A new CZ stack gets a double-size workout
in Argentina.
By MIKE SCHOBY
W
hether your
game is sporting
clays, trap, skeet
or the upland
fields, there is no shortage
of sexy stack-barreled offerings, so why enter another
beauty into the pageant?
“Filling a niche is what we were
after,” says Dave Miller of CZ-USA.
“There are lots and lots of good
over/unders out there today, a fact
we fill well with our Redhead, Sporting and Upland models, but we saw
a need to have something with some
stylish good looks, Old World class
but at a price that still allowed guys
to use it in the field.”
Noting the amazing scrollwork
and hand-engraved sideplates, I
broke open the gun and inserted
a brace of filthy-burning Argentine
The Wingshooter is a full-size gun
without being unduly heavy or
cumbersome. It straddles the line
between being light enough to carry
but not kicking like a mule.
26 cz-usa.com
loads that substituted for real
cartridges into the chrome-lined
bores. I spied a lone dove screaming
across the milo field, headed in our
direction. Nodding as if I were still
paying attention to Dave, I shouldered the gun and pulled feathers
with the bottom barrel. The dove
went into a tailspin, rapidly fluttering
to stay aloft when the top barrel
caught him and brought him down
for keeps. “Well, it shoots as good
as it looks,” I responded.
I snapped open the gun; the hulls
ejected over my shoulder, leaving
twin contrails and that oh-so-good
smell of freshly burnt powder that
not even Chanel No. 9 can compete
with. I grabbed two more cartouches
and closed the breech. The boxlock
action was smooth but tight and
promised to wear in very well.
The Wingshooter balanced remarkably light and easy between the
hands, and the 28-inch barrels
provided enough muzzle weight to
aid follow-through. But those were
just the mechanical specifications;
the real delight was in the finer
details. For a production-grade
gun, the Turkish walnut stocks and
Schnabel fore-end were remarkable,
and well-executed 18-lines-per-inch
checkering provided purchase as
well as a classic look. While not
needed for doves, the three-inch
chambers and interchangeable
chokes make it a gun for all seasons,
all game. Tipping the scales at just
over six pounds, the Wingshooter is
a full-size gun without being unduly
heavy or cumbersome. It straddles
the line between being light enough
to carry but not kicking like a mule.
The doves were starting to fly now,
and I brought down bird after bird with
surprising regularity. As anyone who
has stood next to me on a sporting
clays course will attest, I am no fine
specimen with a scattergun. My brain
has been too-long intoned with sight
alignment, breath control and trigger
squeeze to be any more than just
passable with a shotgun, but on that
sunny day in Cordoba, Argentina, I
felt like Tom Knapp…at least until Tom
Knapp, CZ-USA pro shooter, strolled
down the field edge to see what all the
noise was about. Handing his CZ 912
autoloader to a field technician (they
used to be called bird boys in a less
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CZ WINGSHOOTER
PC era), Tom turned to me and said
in his characteristic booming voice,
“Mind if I give that a try?”
Even though I knew he was going
to make my feeble attempts at wing
shooting look like I was an amateur,
I begrudgingly handed over the
gun. The first dove dropped without
a twitch; the second unlucky pair
dropped out of the sky in unison.
After that, the puffs of feathers
blended into each other, with Tom
and Dave (who is Master-class and
a good trick shot in his own right)
taking turns with the Wingshooter,
making the sky rain feathers. When
straight shooting
cz wingshooter
wasn’t a challenge
anymore, the duo
TYPE: Over/under
turned to off the
GAUGE: 12, 3 in.
shoulder, then one
Capacity: 2
Barrel: 28 in.
handed, then over
Overall Length: 45.5 in.
the head and finally
Weight: 7.3 lb.
from the hip. Their
Stock: Turkish walnut
miss percentage
Finish: Blued
didn’t leave the single Trigger: Selectable
digits. I made a reso
Sights:Brass bead
lution then and there
to either get better
with a shotgun or start shooting with because even if I can’t ever shoot
worse shots. No matter what I do, I’ll like a master, at least I can look
likely bring the Wingshooter along
good missing.
Triple River have offered their services as custom gun makers and
professional gunsmiths for 30 years. Located in the heart of the
Ozarks in Warsaw, MO, Triple River’s gunsmiths bring over 80 years
of collective experience to your gunsmithing project.
Whether you are looking to repair your grandfather’s gun or if
you want to have a custom gun built from scratch, we are here to
satisfy your needs and desires. We take pride in every firearm that we
have the privilege to work on.
Triple River offers general gun repair, rebluing, restocking,
refinishing as well as sales for firearms of all makes and models. We
specialize in rebarreling, restocking and customizing CZ and Brno
rifles, general gun repair, rebluing, restocking, and refinishing
firearms of all makes and models. Triple River is the only CZ-USA
authorized warranty center for Safari Classics rifles.
Triple River is a federally licensed firearms manufacturer and
dealer. Rifles and shotguns can be shipped directly to our location for
services, and when complete, can be shipped directly back to you with
no additional paperwork required. Our shop is open 6 days a week,
Monday - Friday from 8am - 4pm Saturday from 8am - noon.
Triple River Gunsmithing are custom gun makers and professional gunsmiths
for over 20 years located in the heart of Ozarks in Warsaw, MO
619 Commercial St. Warsaw, MO 65355 • phone: 660. 438. 2004 • website: www.tripleriver.net • email: [email protected]
Nyati
CZ 550 safari magnum
Africa’s ‘Black Death’ demands a rifle
you can depend upon.
O
f all the animals I have hunted around the world, none
fires my blood as does the Cape buffalo. Were I able,
I would ceaselessly hunt nyati until I grew sick of
the pursuit. Then I would concern myself with other
matters and interests, all the while realizing that eventually the
buffalo madness would return and my lust for the chase would
send me back into the bush, following their spoor.
By Kevin E. Steele
Over the last 10 years I have
come to rely upon the CZ 550 Safari
Magnum rifles as my choice for
Cape buffalo and other dangerous game. In that time I have
taken four buffalo and a slew of
plains game with these rifles,
and my life has often depended upon them. Rugged,
reliable and deadly accurate,
the CZ 550 Safari Magnum
is the choice of most African
professional hunters, and I
have learned through hands-on
experience why this is the case.
WHAT MAKES A BUFFALO RIFLE?
First and foremost and without
exception, a buffalo rifle has to
fire every time you pull the trigger.
Selecting a rifle for dangerous game
is the same as selecting a handgun
for self-defense. Reliability must be
your primary concern, and your final
selection must be rendered dispassionately and without compromise.
Second, a proper buffalo rifle must
feed, extract and eject without a hint
of sticking or jamming. Third, the rifle
needs to be rugged enough to stand
up to the rough use it will receive.
Make no mistake—properly
hunting buffalo is a very physical
activity. At first light you’ll be riding
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along the two-tracks, cutting the
blocks in search of fresh sign. When
it is found, the foot chase begins,
and you’ll be dragging your rifle for
hours as you follow the trackers
through dense thorn thickets and
jesse. You’ll belly-crawl across
sand-filled dongas, clamber up and
over termite mounds and in some
cases wade through waist-deep
estuaries and marshes. Count on
the fact that your rifle will take a
beating, to say nothing of yourself.
Finally, which may surprise some,
the rifle needs to be accurate, and
by that I mean capable of putting one bullet atop the other at a
distance of 50 yards.
THE SAFARI MAGNUM
The CZ 550 Safari Magnum is often
referred to as a Mauser 98 clone.
It’s true to some extent, but the real
story is that the CZ 550 action is an
improvement over the century-old
Mauser design.
Such new features include a
heavier firing pin with a unique
locking nut that retains the powerful
coil mainspring on the firing pin.
Also, the weight of the firing pin
combined with the coil spring delivers both fast lock time and reliable
ignition of even the hardest primers.
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Rugged, reliable and deadly accurate, the CZ 550 Safari Magnums
are the choice of most African professional hunters.
Once fresh spoor is found, the hunters dismount, make
a plan and begin the follow-up.
Additionally, the CZ 550 has a more
robust bolt stop and fixed ejector.
Notable as well is the ejector groove,
which is cut through the bottom of
the undercut bolt head rather than
through the locking lug as on the
original Mauser. The 550 undercut
bolt face helps prevent doubleloading, as can happen with a fully recessed bolt face on a Mauser. Finally,
the CZ uses a fore-end screw that
mates to a dovetail block inset into
the underside of the barrel. This creates a third point of contact with the
stock in addition to the normal fore
and aft guard screws. All combine in
a rifle that‘s brutally tough.
I have found as well that the CZ
hammer-forged barrels are consistently accurate—whether it’s a rimfire
or a magnum. The single-set trigger
is reliable and easily adjustable. In
the “un-set” mode, they break cleanly
at around three to four pounds of
pressure, which is perfect for a
dangerous-game rifle. Setting the
trigger at the range helps the shooter
determine the utmost accuracy
potential that the rifle is capable of.
No other manufacturer of production rifles offers such great range
of calibers for dangerous game as
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Trackers carry a hindquarter of buffalo after a successful
hunt, as the PH leads the queue and the hunters follow.
CZ. The Safari Magnums can be
had in .375 H&H, .404 Jeffery, .416
Remington, .416 Rigby, .450 Rigby,
.458 Winchester, .458 Lott, .500
Jeffery and .505 Gibbs.
HUNTING NYATI
Having settled the issue of which rifle
to take on a buffalo hunt, let’s take a
look at actually hunting Cape buffalo.
First and foremost, remember
that the key to killing buffalo is this:
Never shoot until you are absolutely
certain of where your bullet is going
to hit, and as Robert Ruark correctly
stated, use enough gun.
This may come as a shock, but
based on my personal experience
the .375 H&H cartridge does not
make an ideal buffalo or elephant
rifle. I have taken buffalo with the
.375 and witnessed other hunters
take a half dozen more in my presence. All the buffalo died, but none
dropped to the first shot. When I take
the shot, I want the buffalo down and
unable to get back up. Finishers are
cheap insurance, but a follow-up
on a wounded bull never gives you
better than 50/50 odds that things
may end in tragedy.
A much better choice for buff and
elephant begins with the .404 Jeffery
and one of either the .416 Remington
or Rigby. My personal choice has
become the .458 Lott, a round that
has proven itself to amateur and
professional hunters in the decade
following its commercial introduction. In fact, I was the first to take a
buffalo with the commercially loaded
Lott in 2001, and it has not let me
down since.
The first step in putting down a
buff with one shot is to get close—
and then get closer. Fifty yards is
ideal, and 25 is even better. Following
years of conversation with other
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hooves of the oncoming buffalo filled
our ears and rose to a mighty crescendo as they rapidly covered the
300 yards between us. A rising cloud
of dust appeared to our front, and
trees. The PH then sent a tracker
we suddenly realized that instead of
out to the flank and told him to run
passing to our flank, the herd was
upwind of the herd. It was his hope
headed in our direction.
Catching sight of the leading
that the scent of the tracker coming
element in the herd, our PH shouted
back to them on the breeze would
for my wife and the trackers to get
send the herd back our way in their
behind some trees to our rear, while
retreat. Ideally, we would be able
he and I faced down the stampedto watch them as they passed and
ing buffalo.
hopefully pick out a good bull on the
The PH then began shouting at the
edge of the herd.
oncoming buffalo while he jumped
Things don’t always go the way
up and down, waving his hat above
you plan. The tracker did his job, and
his head. I immediately followed
as his scent wafted to the buffalo,
his example, all the while doubting
they abruptly turned and stampeded
his sanity, not to mention my own.
back along their trail. The rumbling
Incredibly, the leading buffalo stopped not 20 yards
in front of us, as we jumped
around like lunatics. The
buffalo to the rear of the
front element rammed into
those ahead, nudging them
closer toward us.
As the buffalo stopped
in a lurch, we snapped our
rifles to our shoulders and
covered those animals
closest to us, the muzzles of
our guns swaying back and
forth across the snorting
phalanx as we searched
their eyes, hoping see a clue
as to their next intentions.
That’s what we watched—
their eyes.
The standoff lasted only
seconds, but it seemed far
longer. Abruptly, the herd
turned to our left and bolted
off, a mass of surging black
bodies amid swirling dust
as they gave us a berth of
mere yards. As the herd
This bull fell to the author’s 550 Safari magnum in .458 thundered by, we never did
Lott. The rifle is topped with an Aimpoint dot sight.
see a good bull.
hunters and experienced PHs, it appears to me that most buffalo horror
stories begin with the hunter either
botching his first shot or not having a
thorough understanding of the Cape
buffalo’s anatomy from all angles.
Rest assured that a heart/lung shot
will indeed kill a buffalo, but it takes
time to happen. Within that time, you
have given that buff the opportunity
to charge, should he desire to die in
that manner.
When the time comes to pull the
trigger on a buffalo, I always advise
to forego the classic heart-lung shot
and aim for the high shoulder, the
result of which is broken shoulders or
a shattered spine, both of which will
anchor that buff to the ground.
With all that said and digested,
though, remember clearly
that despite all your experience, knowledge, skill and
best intentions, things can
still go frighteningly wrong.
Not all dangerous encounters result from a charge of
a wounded buffalo. Here
are a few tales from the
dark side.
TALES TO BE TOLD
Our group had picked up
the trail of a good-size herd
that was moving quickly
toward an area of heavy
cover. They were looking
for an afternoon nap. After
awhile, our PH realized that
the buff would get to the
thick stuff before we were
able to catch up to them.
Knowing that sorting a bull
out of the herd once they
reached sanctuary would be
impossible, he came up with
an alternative plan.
We halted in a spot with a
fair degree of open grassland spotted about with
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My blood was up as we were doing what I love —
getting right into the herd, as close as possible.
More than a dozen buffalo hunts have taught the author
that express sights or an optical dot are preferable to
a variable scope when hunting nyati in the thick stuff.
Another dangerous situation that
one can encounter when in pursuit
of buffalo is to run into an animal that
has been previously wounded either
by a poacher’s bullet or snare. While
I have not personally run afoul of an
injured buffalo, I did once face down
a young elephant bull in a sandy
donga whose trunk had been almost
completely severed by a snare.
Luckily, despite the fact that he
appeared within 40 yards of us and
could dimly see us, the wind was
in our favor, allowing us the chance
to move quickly up a slope and out
of his path. I am pretty certain that
if the wind had identified our party
as human to the elephant, he would
have charged those he believed to
be responsible for his serious injury.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be
said for a couple of friends of mine on
their first buffalo hunt with me. They
were following the track of a group of
dagga boys when at last they caught
sight of the bulls. The PH raised his
binos for a better look and noticed
that the largest bull had a bloody,
suppurating wound on his shoulder.
He was unaware that a wounded bull
was in the area, and as the bull was
also a good trophy, he instructed one
of my friends to take him.
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Loading a bull buffalo into the Cruiser is no small task;
loading two is a Herculean effort!
The first shot was not a good one,
and upon impact, rather than retreating, the enraged bull immediately
charged the three hunters. All three
commenced firing at the buffalo, and
thankfully, six rounds later, it collapsed at their feet.
Then there are the tales of the “buffalo that won’t die.” This happened to
my friend Hermann, who was on his
second buffalo safari with me. He and
his PH had been tracking a small herd
that contained a fine old bull. They
closed within 50 yards of the animal,
and Hermann fired his .416 Remington, placing the bullet squarely in the
heart and lung kill zone. As the area in
which they had found the buffalo was
fairly open, Hermann was able to put
two more rounds into the bull, the last
breaking his shoulders and knocking
him down.
Despite the bull absorbing 1,200
grains of lead, resulting in broken
shoulders along with other internal
injuries, he attempted to stand. Hermann had quickly reloaded, and as
the bull tried to rise, he rapidly fired
three more rounds into the struggling
animal. The buff attempted yet again
to regain its feet, and two additional
rounds from the PH’s .416 Rigby
finally settled the issue.
Add it up. That bull had absorbed
a total of 3,200 grains of medicine,
nearly a half pound, before dying.
Still and all, the absolute thrill
of buffalo hunting comes from the
ever-present possibility that things
can go wrong. The closer you are to
the buffalo, the greater the danger,
and therein lies the adrenaline rush
so much sought after by purists in
the pursuit of nyati.
I know many men who have killed
their buff at what I consider to be
long range—more than 50 yards.
To my mind, these folks have totally
missed the point of buffalo hunting,
which is to get as close as possible
so that you can hear their bellies
rumble and inhale the musky cattle
scent through your nostrils. The thrill
is incredible.
If the wind is right and you are
very quiet and unmoving, you will be
astounded at how close you can get
to a buffalo—or how close a buffalo
might get to you. Case in point:
The Zambezi Valley had suffered
a drought, and the country was dry
and brittle. We had been following buffalo spoor since first light,
and on toward noontime we found
ourselves headed up the slope of a
small rise. The ground was parched
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and gravelly, with sparse tufts of
what to expect. The unknown is a
brown grass shooting up here and
compelling reason to continue the
there amid shattered mopani trees
chase. Anything can happen when
whose tops had been lopped off by
hunting; simple mistakes, poor
feeding elephant. Hot and thirsty,
marksmanship, a shift in the wind or
my mind had begun to wander, and
just bad luck will put you in harm’s
I found myself dreamily gazing up
like you do when closely avoiding
way. Indeed, it is the danger that
at the stunningly blue sky and its
a wreck. I suppose that’s a good
makes buffalo hunting so addictive.
merciless sun. I was suddenly torn
analogy because if she had seen or
My best trophy to date resulted in
from my reverie by my PH, who had
heard us, or caught our scent, we
the hunt of a large floodplain along
dropped to his knees and was pullwould have been in a wreck for sure.
the banks of the Zambezi. Papyrus
ing me down toward him.
That said, however, I would never
reeds towered tall, their fluffy tops
“Quiet! Don’t move!” he hissed.
trade that experience for anything,
gently swaying in the early-morning
Less than 25 yards in front of us, a and it’s a perfect example of why I
breeze. Between them lay grassy
small herd of buffalo were shuffling
would rather hunt buffalo than any
plots struggling to survive in the
down the slope, themselves seemother game.
deep, sandy soil. Jungle-like growths
ingly burdened by the oppressive
I suppose that one reason bufof trees resided along still, stagnant
heat of the late-morning sun. They
falo hunting remains so intoxicating
ponds and inlets of water, the afterwere spread over a 50-yard front,
for me is that when hunting these
math of a heavy rainy season.
but I realized with a start that a cow
animals, you never have an idea of
We spotted a good-size herd of
and her calf were walking
buffalo foraging amid the
directly toward us.
reeds and took up their
She continued straight
track. Testing the wind with
on. I could easily make out
his ash bag, my PH got us
the snot running from her
positioned atop an anthill so
broad nose and her wide
we could watch the herd as
horns, the tips of which were
it fed just beyond us. Unable
as sharp as the talons of an
to pick out a good bull, we
eagle. I shuddered involundescended and very slowly
tarily as I realized that one
and carefully moved closer
swipe of her headgear could
to the herd.
flay me from belly to brisket.
Buffalo bellows, grunts
With nothing to conceal us
and the bleating of calves
but the thin veil of branches
filled our ears as we crept
extending from the thorn
into position for a better
bush behind which we hid,
view. My blood was up as
my hands tightened around
we were doing what I love—
my CZ 550 as we could only
getting right into the herd,
hold our breath and pray she
as close as possible. The
didn’t register our presence.
buffalo were milling about
I can still vividly recall her
in front of us, crossing from
head swaying from side to
left to right and back again
side as she ambled past
in a never-ending stream.
not 12 feet from our hiding
The earthy odor of cattle
place, followed placidly by
dung and the strong amher calf.
monia smell of urine filled
We waited for them to
our nostrils.
move on a good distance
Doubled over, we crept
The author’s biggest bull to date measured nearly
before we stood. I readily
even
closer. Suddenly, a
44-inches. A single 500-grain solid from the Lott put
him down for the count.
admit I was shaking a bit,
group of cows and young
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cz-usa.com 33
It’s a shame, but adding the Big Five to your trophy room
today will cost almost as much as the house itself.
The mighty Zambezi flows toward the Indian Ocean
just east of the Mopata Gorge.
bulls picked up their heads and
looked straight into our eyes. We
were busted.
The buffalo retreated and we
followed. They crossed through a
wooded area with Daryl and me
on their heels. The earth ended at
a bank below, which stretched a
broad and deep estuary filled with
papyrus. As we reached the edge,
we watched in amazement as the
entire herd swam away from us and
into the reeds, their bodies plowing
through the black water like bovine
juggernauts. One of the last animals
to reach a dry hummock amid the
reeds was an old bull. He stopped
and turned to look at us over his
shoulder. His action seemed a dare.
“Catch us if you can.”
Truth be told, we could not, as
there was no manner of conveyance to see us across the water and
into the reeds. Wading or swimming
was out of the question, as monstorous crocodiles called this morass
home. Lunch struck us as a better
alternative.
As we rested beneath the thatched
roof of the outdoor dining room at
Masau Camp, we received a radio
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A small herd of buffalo, including a very good bull,
retreats across a lily-covered estuary of the Zambezi.
call from PH Buzz Charlton, who
was chaperoning a group of Spanish
hunters. He reported seeing a group
of three dagga boys not far from
camp. Two of the three appeared to
be quite good. My PH sent two of his
trackers out to the location to “put
them to bed,” and we intended to
pick them up later in the afternoon.
As I rested in my bed I could
hear the water of the Zambezi as
it gently lapped the shore outside
my chalet. The tranquil sound lulled
me to sleep, but not for long—there
was a knock at my door. I looked at
my watch and saw it was 3 o’clock.
Gathering up my gear, I walked the
short distance to where the Land
Cruiser was parked, and climbing up
into the high seat, we took off.
The sun was still high as the truck
ground its way along the sandy
tracks to an area of tall grass and
stunted trees. We met the trackers
who had been sent out earlier to
locate the buffalo, and they reported
that the animals were about a half
mile away bedded beneath some
trees. My PH and I chambered
rounds into our rifles and quickly
followed the trackers’ lead.
Not long after leaving the road,
we came across an old lion kill.
Four hooves detached from their
legs were the last vestiges of what
was once a buffalo calf. Continuing
on, we reached our destination
about a hundred yards from the
bedded buffalo. The PH called a
short conference.
“Kevin, you come with me, and
we’ll get as close as we can without
spooking them. We’ll try to sort out
the best bull, and when they get up
from their nap, you can take him,”
he said.
“Roger that,” I replied, as we
began our stalk toward the sleeping
beasts.
We advanced one foot at a time. I
carefully made certain to step exactly
where the PH had footed, avoiding
the cloying thorns and carefully sidestepping dry twigs and branches.
The wind was perfect, blowing in our
faces away from the slumbering buffalo, and we finally stopped behind
a small bush no more than 25 yards
from where the buffalo lay.
Peering intently through our binoculars, we could only confirm that there
were three buffalo under the tree, but
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try as we might, we could not make
“Well, looks like everything worked
out any of their headgear. Nearly an
out just fine,” I said.
hour ticked by as we waited for the
“That was a great shot. He never
buffalo to rise. At last, they did.
moved,” the PH replied.
I was on the sticks, but I still could
Night was falling rapidly as it is
not make out the horns beneath the
wont to do in Africa as we moved
shadowed tangle of tree branches
the trigger just as I heard the PH say, forward to inspect my buffalo. This
obscuring my view. The wind shifted, “Take the one on the left.”
bull had it all: long, deeply curved
bringing our scent to their nostrils,
When the bullet reached the bull,
horns and a heavy boss. The tape
and in a rush, they made off.
he dropped dead in his tracks.
later put him at 43 ½ inches, making
The sun got lower and lower in the
“I was a bit ahead of you there,” I
him my biggest bull to date. The
sky, and the shadows lengthened
said to the PH as I cranked another
shot had hit at point of aim, cleanly
as we followed behind the buffalo.
round into the chamber. The other
breaking his neck. The CZ 550
Making our way from cover to cover,
two bulls quickly moved off, and as
Safari Magnum in .458 Lott had
we tracked them to a place where
they did the PH said, “Yeah, that first
chalked up another one-shot stop.
several big trees gave them cover.
one was good, but when the other
I’ve come to believe that any buffaThey knew we were on their backone came out from behind the tree, I
lo, of either sex, hunted at close range
trail, and we hoped that as the light
thought, Wow, he’s even better.”
and taken fairly, is an experience you
waned the buffalo would
will never forget. Trophy qualgrow less careful, as they
ity is indeed secondary to the
are known to do, and wished
experience for the dedicated
for an opportunity for a shot
buffalo hunter. I have found
before last light.
that my hunts for the smallest
Moving closer to the trees
and biggest were equally
behind which the buffalo had
thrilling and rewarding, as
taken sanctuary, we were
is accompanying another
rewarded when one bull
hunter on his stalks and kills.
stepped clear of the protecWith buffalo, the hunt itself
tion of the foliage and turned
is where you will find your
to look right at us just 50
greatest satisfaction. The kill
yards away.
means your magical time in
The bull’s horns were long
the bush is over.
and sweeping, then turnMany of us lucky enough
ing up to pointed tips. His
to go on African safari will be
boss was full and craggy. I
unable to afford taking the
slapped the fore-end of my
classic Big Five of elephant,
CZ .458 Lott into the fork
buffalo, rhino, lion and leopof the shooting sticks I had
ard. It’s a shame, but adding
been carrying and squinted
the Big Five to a trophy room
through the express sights,
today will cost as much as
settling the big ivory bead on
the house itself. But bufthe bull’s shoulder.
falo are plentiful enough and
I was just about to drop
economical enough for the
the hammer when from
great majority of hunters to
the left came another of
pursue, and they will remain
the three bulls. This one
so for quite some time. It is
seemed to dwarf the first.
for this reason, that the Cape
I shifted my sights to this
buffalo is the most hunted
bull, and holding just below
and coveted dangerous
This old cow, taken for camp meat with a .375 H&H CZ550, sported horns with a forty-inch spread.
his sweep of horn I pressed
game in Africa.
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The Specialist
DW Specialist
IN THE HOME OR ON THE STREET, THIS .45 IS POISED
TO protect and serve.
T
he Dan Wesson line of 1911s, built under the ownership of
CZ-USA, have always been exceptional. As a ready-to-go,
out of the box 1911, they have always surprised the market
as a great value delivering custom features, the highest
accuracy, and the best reliability. You could buy something with
a longer spec sheet or higher price, however, you couldn’t possibly get as much in return. The Dan Wesson lineup has now been
changed, and the results are impressive.
By Patrick Sweeney I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
The Specialist is your basic full-sized
1911 with a Picatinny rail for a dustcover—
except little is basic about it. First, the
slide, frame and barrel have a level of
fitting that’s only seen pistols hand fitted
by wise ‘smiths long in their years. Dan
Wesson gunsmiths are more than skilled
craftsmen, they’re obviously shooters.
During my inspection, I can see the hours
spent filing little-by-little before lapping
and checking fit. These 1911s pass the
most critical scrutiny. Having spent many
years working as a gunsmith (and a lot of
that time spent on 1911s), when someone
hands me a pistol, the second thing I do
(after checking to make sure that it isn’t
loaded) is to check the fit. Yes, the feel
of the slide on the frame, and the fit of
the barrel as it locks up, sure. But there’s
more to it than just that. What does the
slide sound like, moving on the frame?
Can you hear the toolmarks chattering
over each other? Or is it a smooth, almost
sinuous hiss as polished steel slides over
polished steel?
When the slide collects the barrel, links
up and closes, does it sound like a collection of parts brought together? Or is there
a click-click-click like purpose to each
Dan Wesson Specialist
TYPE:Single action, recoil operated
semiauto
Caliber:.45 ACP
Capacity: 8+1
Barrel:5 in.
Overall Length: 8.5 in.
Weight: 2.31 in.
GRIPS:G10
Finish: Matte black Duty
Trigger:Aluminum, 4 lb.
Sights:3-Dot, ledge-style,
tritium-filled
movement? Solidly- fitted parts ring when
they are closed with more than a gentle
nudge. Many snick, some even sing.
While the near-musical note of the closing differs from gun to gun, the similarity
between well-fitted 1911s is this: they
almost all ring like a bell when you let them
close. Not so close to full slide-lock, that’s
just abuse. But to let the slide close from
halfway, you can tell a lot about a fitting by
the sound of the “snick” as it shuts.
The Dan Wesson Specialist I’ve just
evaluated has such a positive, assertive
closing sound that I actually stood there
Between the set of tactical ledge night
sights runs a Clark-style serrated rib
across the top of the slide designed to
eliminate glare.
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A lightweight Commander hammer is
protected by the beavertail grip safety.
The Specialist also comes with an ambidextrous thumb safety.
During my inspection, I can see the hours spent filing littleby-little before lapping and checking fit.
for a few seconds and just opened
and closed it to soak in the sound. It
was that interesting—and promising.
Once I was over that, I scanned
the features. The top of the slide has
sights in transverse dovetails, with
the rear sight utilizing a tactical ledge
to allow “belt-” or “boot-racking.”
This is a technique developed (as
best I can determine) by the Los Angeles Police Department. If you need
to one-handed rack your slide, hook
the sight on your belt, holster, or sole
of the boot and shove it out and away
from yourself. The usual ramped
rear sight does not allow this. Dan
Wesson took a large combat sight
and carved the face to produce this
stop-ridge. A belt or holster will catch
the rear sight, and you can rack the
slide that way. Plus, the sights have
night-sight tritium inserts, one dot
over the other, in Heinie’s Straight
Eight pattern. Line the dots up, figure
“8”, and your sights are aligned in the
dark. It’s very intuitive.
The top of the slide is also serrated, with lateral grooves down
the rib. I took one look at that, and
estimated it would take a fistful of
hundred-dollar bills to duplicate it in
the hands of a custom 1911 pistolsmith. Consider the savings a gift
from Dan Wesson.
On the frame, there is an integral
accessory rail machined into the
dustcover. The slide stop pin is
recessed, and its hole in the frame
beveled. Some take the beveling of
that hole too far, cutting an edge that
is too angled and deep. The Specialist
has the bevel cut at a shallow angle,
and just deep enough to make it so
that it’s easy to disassemble, but not
so much it removes a large part of
the barrel lug and frame integrity. The
From the trigger to the hammer, every control wears serrations. A scallop cut
made to the left G10 grip panel provides easier access to the magazine release.
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The Specialist features a Dan Wesson
match barrel chambered in .45 ACP.
Just like other Dan Wesson 1911s, this
one has a close-tolerance fit with its
barrel bushing.
flush-trimmed slide stop pin is now
out of the way of your trigger finger
when your finger is outside of the
trigger guard. You do not risk pushing
the slide stop out of the frame, and yet
it can still be disassembled.
The safety is ambidextrous. It clicks
up and down with the correct amount
of authority, and stays where set it.
The grip safety appears to be from
Ed Brown, and probably is. It’s easier
to simply purchase forged grip safeties from Ed Brown than to try and
machine them oneself. In any case,
it’s the highest grip safety you can
get on a 1911, and it puts your hand
as high behind the gun as is possible.
Inside the frame is a scalloped commander hammer, and combined with
the fitted, match aluminum trigger,
the drawstroke of the trigger is clean,
crisp and purposeful.
The frame features a flat mainspring housing. Long ago, I gave up
trying to figure out which type shoots
better for me—flat or arched. I suppose were I vying with the top dogs
for the Single Stack Championship of
the universe, it would matter, but I’m
not. I can pass any qual course, and
beat most anyone I compete against.
So, flat it is.
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The mainspring housing is checkered, and at 25 lines to the inch,
matches the checkering on the frontstrap. The checkering is straight and
even, and the individual diamonds
are square and sharp.
The (very) tactile grips are G10, a
synthetic selected for its imperviosity—to everything. It’s immune to
things that would discourage or even
kill you; solvents, lubricants, radiation
and high-voltage electrical current.
These grips will never chip, fade,
discolor or break. The surface is
machined with an interesting pattern.
Rather than a traditional checkered
pattern, the surface of the grips are
machined (that’s the only way you
can form G10, without incurring
hideous expense).
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The front of each grip panel
is machined with overlapping
circular depressions to lock
your fingertips in place until you
relieve pressure. The rear half
is machined with grooves that
slant down, front to back, and
resist the torquing forces of rotation in recoil. Short of slathering
glue onto your hand or pistol, I’m
not sure there’s a way to ensure
a more secure hold.
Finally, there’s the magazine well. It
has a funnel around it, which bolts to
the mainspring housing by means of
an industrial-type Allen-head screw,
and recessed into the funnel at the
rear. The funnel is shaped to match
the contour of the grip panels, and
the funnel’s magwell bevels line up
with the frame as if they were cut
from the same piece of barstock. I
have always been leery of the bolt-on
funnels, and those of my 1911s that
have them, the bolt is locked in place
with a generous amount of Loctite.
Details are fun, and a well-fitted
pistol is always appreciated. However, shooting is what matters.
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We’re talking about a one-hole gun.
It groups very well.
The rough texture G10 slabs, 25 lpi
frontstrap and flat checkered mainspring housing blend together for a
sure grip. The serrated Ledge sights
carry a vile of tritium in forming the
Straight 8, low-light sighting system.
I didn’t get to spend as much time
evaluating the Specialist as much
as I would have liked. Short time?
Absolutely, you see, the Specialist I
had is the first, and until a few days
after I had to return it, it was the
only finished specimen of the Dan
Wesson model extant.
The trigger is clean and crisp, and
encourages accurate shooting. The
grip safety puts the frame deep in
my hand, and recoil was eaten up
by the added weight in the dustcover rail. That small, extra weight
below the boreline and forward
of the hands aids recoil control,
while the aggressive grips keep the
Specialist locked into my hands.
The precisely-fitted barrel delivers
the goods accurately downrange.
It has been a long time since
anyone realistically tested a brandnew 1911, looking to discover just
how reliable or unreliable it might
be. A modern 1911 is reliable.
Customers expect it and Dan
Wesson delivers. I did not anticipate, nor did I experience,
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any malfunctions while shooting the
Specialist. It fed everything, and
shot slightly to the right of point-ofaim. If I were permitted to perform
a long term test, I’d have to slightly
adjust the sights to hit point of aim
for me. Groups? We’re talking about
a one-hole gun. It groups very well.
As a daily carry gun, you are in
for work with the
Specialist. There
is a reason Dan
Wesson also
offers Commander and Officer’ssized models.
They are still more
popular for carry.
As a duty gun for a law enforcement
officer allowed to carry a personal
purchase, all you need is to couple
the Specialist with a compact light,
put it inside one of the many duty
holsters available for this type of 1911,
and you’re set for anything you’d ever
expect to cover during your shift—
and a few things you wouldn’t.
The Specialist features a
deep funnel for the magazine
well, helping make reloads
quick and intuitive. The
Specialist frame offers an
integral Picatinny rail with
three notches to accept most
current pistol accessories.
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Interview with
Tom Knapp
Behind the tricks of a World
class exhibition shooter.
By Mike Schoby
R
ecently, I caught up
with Tom Knapp,
CZ-USA exhibition
shooter, along the edge of a
grain field outside of Cordoba, Argentina. We were
there to work…if you can
call testing the new CZ 912
autoloader and Wingshooter
over/under shotguns “work.”
Between flurries of birds,
bandaging fingers, chugging water and reloading
shotguns, I interviewed
Knapp about shooting,
guns, professional life and
what he does for fun when
not shooting.
Mike Schoby: What got you interested in shooting?
Tom Knapp: Like so many other
kids, I was brought into it through
my family, both in the form of hunting
and recreational shooting.
MS: What are your favorite firearms?
TK: That is a tough one to answer. I
mean, regardless if it is a rifle, pistol
or shotgun, if it goes bang, I like it.
I am enjoying shooting the CZ 712
and 912 autoloaders, but since I
grew up shooting Winchester
Model 12s I still have a soft
spot for them today.
MS: How much do you
shoot in a given year?
TK: I shoot around
40,000 12-gauge
shotshells a year
and countless
rimfire cartridges.
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MS: How can someone get started
as an exhibition shooter?
TK: Making difficult shots is a small
part of exhibition shooting. If anyone
is going to succeed, he must have
public relations and communications
skills first and foremost. Knowing
how to market and promote goes
a long way, and there is always
the need for some showmanship. I
caution young shooters to be careful
what they wish for. If they succeed
to go the full gamut, they will need to
forfeit their personal desire for family
and friends. Most family lifestyles
will not support the exhibition style
of life.
MS: How much practice does it take
to become good?
Tom Knapp
TK: The amount of practice involved
with exhibition shooting is based
on muscle memory. If you can’t do
everything within your show script
in your sleep, you have not had
enough practice. If your live-show
schedule contains 100 live shows
for that year, that would be enough
practice in its own. My practice
contains more gun handling and
loading techniques, keeping
emphasis on safety and muzzle
direction than shooting.
MS: What is your favorite trick shot?
TK: My favorite shot is based on
consistency and the difficulty level.
This would be my balloon routine,
where I have four balloons on the
ground and launch two clays in the
air. I shoot one of the clays, then
come down and shoot each balloon
with an individual shot, then find the
falling clay and shoot that before it
hits the ground.
MS: Lots of shooters and hunters
idolize you. Do you have any shooting idols?
TK: I saw Herb Parsons on a TV
show in 1959. I was nine years old.
This special display of marksmanship stuck in my mind from then
on. I never got the chance to meet
or watch Herb live, but the idea
of making a living with a gun (the
correct way) stayed in the back of
my mind until it became reality. That
same film has been preserved on
DVD, which you
can purchase at
showmanshooter.
com.
MS: Final question:
When you eat, sleep and
breathe shooting, what do
you do for fun?
TK: Fish. I’m from Minnesota.
Besides shooting and hunting, the next most important
thing to a Minnesotan is
spending time with family and
friends out on a lake, winter
or summer.
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Anti-Vermin
CZ 527 Varmint
ThIS CZ 527 is A tackdriver and a stellar
rodent-reducer.
T
By PATRICK SWEENEY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
o hose a ‘dog town, you need the right gear. The chief
tool remains an accurate, reliable rifle, one that will
keep working no matter how many rounds you send
through the barrel.
CZ-USA has been importing the 527
for some time now. It’s a scaled-down
Mauser action that’s fed by a magazine
of five rounds. In the case of the 527
Varmint, those rounds should be of a suitable varmint load in either .17 Remington,
.22 Hornet, .222 Remington, .221 Fireball,
.204 Ruger or .223 Remington. (Not
interchangeably, of course.)
Once you’ve selected the chambering, you have a rifle that’s a lightweight.
Depending on options, it will check in
between six and seven and a half pounds.
It’s an ultra-reliable varmint rifle, and one
you can easily mount a scope on.
Until now, you had to pick from a
few attractive—but not exactly varmint
shooting—functional stock designs. The
originals are the European-style stocks,
such as are on the Lux and FS. European
hunting is usually either driven game,
offhand at moving critters, or from stands.
The idea of lying down on the ground,
and consuming a carton of ammunition
in a day’s time while shooting rats would
puzzle the average European hunter.
And so, the stocks are meant for offhand
shooting. No more.
At a recent industry gathering, Jason
Morton of CZ-USA revealed a new 527
Varmint set in a varmint stock. My first
thought was that it was a prone stock—
not a stock intended for varmint shooting.
ENTER THE 527
The 527 Varmint features a stock with
a pistol grip turned sharply downward.
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This gets the right hand in the proper
position for shooting prone. The comb is
higher, straighter and the front end of it
comes much more forward than one on
an offhand stock. The high comb gets
your head correctly located behind the
scope, and its extended profile allows
the shooter to establish optimal eye
relief. I crawl up on a stock like no-one
else, so a long shelf at the front of the
comb is extremely important.
The forearm has two raised panels;
one on each side with a flat bottom.
The raised portions provide a secure
hold if you are the type of shooter who
prefers a hand-held support position.
For those who shoot off a front rest,
resting the weight of the rifle on the flat
fore-end helps to keep the rifle upright
and stable. If you prefer to shoot from a
bipod, the 527 Varmint has a pair of sling
swivel studs up front, one for a carry
sling, and another that can be used with
a bipod adapter to give the rifle a set of
legs to lean into.
The magazine is an all-steel, single-feed
box magazine.
The scope ring and mount system is
proprietary to CZ. Generally, I’m not given
to clamp-on ring-and-base systems.
Most are fragile, and fabricated just to
meet a price point. They just don’t provide
the assuredness that I usually get with a
robustly-engineered set. Not so with rings
from CZ-USA. The rings are machined
from steel, and the clamping surface is
engineered directly in the receiver rings of
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This Little rifle not only wants to shoot, it demands to shoot.
AS A VARMINT-SHOOTING MACHINE, IT RANKS HIGH.
Magazines will work in any 527 model with the
same chamber.
The “mini” Mauser forged bolt features a long-claw extractor
and controlled round feed.
The relief cut in the comb allow for easy
removal of the bolt. The bolt release lever
is located on the left side of the receiver.
The magazine release is positioned to the
side just forward of the trigger guard. The
bolt throw is 90 degrees, which is required
for the two opposing bolt lugs to engage
the mating surfaces in the receiver. The
grip of the target style stock is sharply
turned down and comfortably provides
a resting place for the firing hand. The
safety lever is located just behind the bolt
handle and is a two-position type.
the rifle. Not bolted-on aluminum, but for varmint vaporizing, it isn’t such
proved up to the task. Black Hills
machined steel. The scope will expire a big deal. The 1:9-inch twist rate
Ammunition was chosen to send
long before the rings give way.
allows the option of using heavy bul- 60-grain Hornady V-Max bullets
Underneath, the 527 Varmint uses
lets. During testing I learned that the downrange. I started out checkthe CZ single set trigger, an adjusting zero and getting a feel for
1:9 twist is right on the edge for the
able mechanism. With a normal pull of heavyweight 75 and 77 grain bullets. the trigger. It didn’t take long to
the trigger, it operates with a standard Some rifles shoot these weights just
determine that someone close to
amount of pressure. However, if you
me in shooting style had zeroed
fine, while others do not.
push the trigger forward first (until you
the rifle, for it was pretty close. It
With bullet weights of 40 grains
feel it click) it will set, requiring less
only took a few groups to get on
up to the mid-60s, you should have
pressure and a crisp, light trigger pull
at 100 yards where I then settled
a plethora of choices in terms of
to fire the rifle—giving the shooter
down to shoot small groups.
accuracy. For varminting, pick a
the feel of a match rifle’s trigger. Both
Somehow I managed to shoot four
fragile, accurate bullet and push it
pulling or setting the trigger is an
sequential groups of bragging
fast for less drop at longer range.
adjustable experience, and CZ-USA
quality, and my heart pounded so
MY EVAL
includes complete instructions on
hard that I could see the reticle
In testing the 527 Varmint, I used
how to adjust these settings. For the
move against the target.
This little rifle not only wants to
standard pull, weight, creep and over- a Bushnell Elite 6500. It certainly
shoot, it demands to shoot.
travel can be adjusted. For
As a varmint-shooting
the set trigger operation, only
CZ 527 VARMINT
machine, it ranks high. At
weight can be adjusted.
an MSRP of $885, there
The safety on the 527 is
TYPE: Bolt action
isn’t a better deal in a bolt
a large lever positioned to
Caliber:.17 Rem., .204 Ruger,
action rifle chambered in
the right side of the cocking
.221 Fireball,
.223. It would be difficult to
piece. When you press it up,
.22 Hornet, .222 Rem.,
.223 Rem.
just lay hands on a heavyto “Safe” it blocks the firing
CAPACITY: 5
barreled .223 at that price,
pin and locks the bolt in
BARREL: 24 in., 1:9-in. twist
let alone one with a proper
place. Bring it down to fire.
OVERALL LENGTH: 40.4 in.
prone-shooting stock. Then
The barrel measures 24
WEIGHT: 6 lb., 4 oz.
add the extra sling swivel,
inches long, and has a heavy
STOCK: Kevlar
adjustable trigger, and
profile. Inside, the chamber
FINISH: Matte black
the demonstrated level of
is a .223 (not a 5.56 NATO)
TRIGGER: Single or set
accuracy, and it becomes a
dimension. Since 5.56 NATO
SIGHTS: None
hard deal to pass up.
ammunition is not designed
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Medal of Valor
DW VALOR
Dan Wesson braves the crowded 1911 market
with an excellent ENTRY.
V
ariations of the 1911 automatic pistol are as numerous as the stars in the heavens, so it seems.
After 100 years of experimenting and improving
upon John Browning’s famous creation, the law
of averages might dictate that there’s just no way to
improve on it any more. The Dan Wesson Valor is evidence that’s not the case.
By BART SKELTON
As a fan of the 1911, I’m always
interested in shooting good ones, and
I’ve recently had the chance to handle
a dandy. Dan Wesson began making
.45s a few years back, and it seemed
a little odd to me. Over the years, I
always thought of Dan Wesson as
strictly a revolver company.
When I was a kid, my dad had several Dan Wesson revolvers around.
They were cased and had quickchange barrels in various lengths.
The concept was a popular one, and
the revolvers were of fine quality.
Daniel B. Wesson, the greatgrandson of D.B. Wesson, who
co-founded Smith & Wesson, started
Wesson Firearms Company in 1968.
It was Wesson’s intention to manufacture the world’s finest revolver,
and he accomplished that to some
extent in the ones he produced.
The company manufactured several
models in various calibers through
2000, when it was bought out.
The year 2000 was also when
Wesson started developing a 1911style automatic pistol. In developing its
1911, it was the company’s intention
to stay with the same idea it had in
making revolvers: make the best, most
accurate out-of-the-box pistol it could.
The author prefers the Heinie Ledge Straight Eight setup, which presents a
stacked-dot sight picture, to the common three-dot arrangement.
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Upon examining the Valor thoroughly, I was really
pleased with the overall fit and finish.
The pistol features an Ed
Brown Custom beavertail
grip safety and thumb
safety. Each are fitted
perfectly into the
pistol’s frame and
work smoothly—particularly the thumb
safety, which has a
nice, crisp feel when
activated to either On
or Off positions. Coming
from Ed Brown, you know
they’re high quality, too.
The Valor features a white outline tritium-insert front sight made by Trijicon, which makes finding the dot in low light much easier.
One of the first things that generally catches my eye when looking
In 2005, Dan Wesson Firearms
The pistol is fitted with a highover a new pistol are the sights. The
was sold again­—this time to CZ. CZ quality aluminum trigger made
Valor is set up with Heinie Ledge
is one of the world’s largest proby Greider Precision. The trigger
Straight Eight night sights, one
ducers of firearms. With the solid
is solid and provides a smooth,
of the most effective pistol sight
backing of CZ-USA, Dan Wesson is
drag-free draw. Upon dry-firing
systems currently available.
now climbing its way to the top in
the Valor, I was pleased right away
I’ve never been a real fan of the
the custom 1911 pistol market.
with the crisp, and relatively light
three-dot sight system, which
I first fired a Dan Wesson 1911
trigger pull. I measured the trigger
involves two dots on the rear and
several years back at a media
pull with an RCBS pull scale at 3½
one on the front. The Straight Eight
event, and I was quite impressed
pounds. Along with the nice trigger,
system features a large dot on the
with the several models of pistols
the Valor features a match-grade
front sight and one small dot on the
I shot. I recently received a new
hammer and sear.
rear directly underneath the notch.
The checkering on the grips is
stainless steel Valor .45 automatic
This configuration is one of the best
aggressive enough, and, combined and allows the shooter quicker acfrom Dan Wesson, and my posiwith the excellent 25-lpi checkertive impressions are continuing to
quisition in low-light situations than
ing on the front- and backstrap,
escalate. The Valor is one of those
the conventional three-dot setup.
Dan Wesson fashions the Valor’s
the Valor is easy to get a good
pistols that feels almost perfect
frame and slide from forged stainhand-hold.
immediately upon handling it. It’s
less steel, and the barrel
a full-size, all-stainless
and bushing are Dan
defensive pistol with
Dan Wesson Valor
Wesson-manufactured
a clean look and great
match-grade parts. The
handling attributes.
TYPE:Single action, recoilThat clean look I
slide’s ejection port is
operated semiauto
mention comes from the
flared, and the frame’s
Caliber:.45 ACP CAPACITY:8+1
stainless steel finish,
magazine well is bevbarrel: 5 in., DW Match
lack of forward cocking
eled for quick magazine
overall length: 8.8 in.
serrations on the slide,
insertion.
weight: 2.4 lb.
Check-Mate provides
checkered stocks that are
grips: VZ Slim Line G10
the
magazines for Dan
nice and thin (just the way
Finish: Matte, stainless steel
Wesson,
and the Valor
I like them), fine checker
TRIGGER:Greider solid aluminum;
comes with a pair of
ing up front and at the
3.5 lb. pull
sights: Heine Ledge Straight Eight
eight-rounders. I like the
back, and overall many
Check-Mates quite well,
tasteful appointments.
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The Valor incorporates high-end parts such as Ed Brown’s
beavertail safety and thumb safety—all fitted perfectly.
as they’re durable, well-made and
have proven themselves to work
like a charm. Check-Mate magazines have a patented follower that
eliminates forward movement.
Upon examining the Valor
thoroughly, I was pleased with the
overall fit and finish. The pistol is
very tight, and it’s clear that Dan
Wesson’s craftsmen have done a
The trigger is of the highest quality and fit. It’s manufactured by Greider Precision and measured 3 ½ pounds.
good deal of hand-fitting and -filing,
which I wasn’t expecting to this
degree. The slide-to-frame fit is
outstanding, and there’s no side-toside play or rattle whatsoever.
The lines are very clean, and the
entire gun is well polished with no
sign of machine or tool marks. The
“Valor” logo is tastefully placed on
the left side of the slide just over the
The 25-lpi checkering on the front- and
backstrap makes a firm, secure grip
easy to get.
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slide stop, leaving the rest of the
side slab of the slide clean.
Considering how nicely the Valor
feels right out of the box, I was
anxious to get it out to a range. I
carried it and several brands of ammunition out to my desert hideaway
and burned some powder. I started
out with Black Hills 230-grain hollowpoints, loading a few magazines
and plinking at various targets
between 10 and 20 yards.
The Valor handled very well and
felt great in my hands. The aggressive checkering ensured positive
control, which provided a rock-solid
sight picture shot after shot. The
weight and balance of the five-inch
gun made for quick recovery and
target acquisition, and the recoil
was pleasant.
After getting the feel of the
Valor, I set up a 30-yard sandbag rest and started shooting
groups. Results are shown in
the accompanying table. Overall, the Valor performed very
well, providing good accuracy.
I’d be interested in conducting
cz-usa.com 49
The Valor handled very well and felt great in my hands,
thanks to the thin VZ grips.
Accuracy Results
.45 ACP
Bullet
Weight (gr.)
Muzzle
Velocity (fps)
Standard
Deviation
Avg.
Group (in.)
Black Hills JHP
Hornady TAP FPD
Cor-Bon +P JHP
230
230
165 852
776
1,156
13.4
9.0
3.7
2.00
2.25
2.75
Cor-Bon Power Ball
165 1,138
8.2
3.75
Accuracy results are averages of two five-shot groups at 30 yards off a sandbag rest.
Velocities are averages of five shots measured on a PACT chronograph set 10 feet from
the muzzle. Abbreviations: JHP, jacketed hollowpoint.
further experiments with the pistol
using handloads, as those average
groups can likely be improved.
In all fairness, New Mexico winds
took a toll on my accuracy testing
and certainly played a role in the
reported groups from that day.
Regardless, any out-of-the-box
handgun that prints a two-inch
group from my rest is outstanding
in my book, particularly at the 30yard mark.
Out of several hundred rounds
I fired through the Valor, I experienced only one malfunction, and
that was the very last shot using
Cor-Bon Powerball ammunition.
The case failed to eject, which I
attributed at the time to the position I was holding the pistol on
the sandbag. I experienced no
other malfunctions with the pistol
whatsoever.
Dan Wesson advertises that the
Valor offers everything you need
in a 1911 pistol and nothing you
don’t. I agree with that statement
entirely. The Valor is a straightforward, finely built, accurate and
reliable pistol that anyone would
be proud to own.
While the price tag might seem
high to some shooters, you’re really
getting your money’s worth in this
gun. In the case of the Dan Wesson
Valor, it truly lives up to its name.
With its sharp checkering, excellent
sights and tight fit, the Valor is an
excellent choice. Best of all, it’s 100
percent American made.
50 cz-usa.com
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Interview with
BOBBY HOLIK
On shooting, hockey and
life.
which was common for athletes to do
back then, but then, as luck would have
it, the [Berlin] Wall came down, Communism evaporated and I was free to legally
emigrate to the United States.
MS: So what guns do you enjoy shooting
the most?
BH: I have always enjoyed handguns and
shoot a CZ 75 and VZ 58 regularly, but this
sporting clays game is something entirely
By Mike Schoby
e is the reason
stereotypes exist.”
I told myself as my
fingers were crushed from
four individual digits into an
unrecognizable pulpy mash.
When the beast in front of
me released my hand from
his handshake, I noticed,
in a detached way common
to car crash victims, that my
hand now sort of resembled
a foot.
new for me and I can see the beauty in it. It is
really challenging. I like walking around the
course and seeing that every shot is different.
A supportive father and dedicated husband.
Yeah, I think a CZ sporting shotgun will be in
Not to mention a hell of a shot. After getting
my safe soon.
trounced by him on the clays course for a
MS: What do you enjoy most about shooting?
couple of days, I sat down to pick his brain on
BH: The skill it takes, for sure. I mean, it is a
shooting, hockey and life.
total hand/eye coordination thing and there is
Mike Schoby: Did you grow up with firearms
a mental component as well. Then, of course,
and shooting?
there is the competitive side. Obviously, I
Bobby Holik: No, I grew up in the Czech
am a very competitive person and through
Republic, behind the Iron Curtain. It wasn’t
shooting I can compete against friends or just
exactly easy owning firearms. However, I
myself. I can always improve upon what I did
did get to shoot while in the military, and my
the time before.
grandfather was a hunter.
MS: How did you get involved with CZ-USA?
MS: What made you want to shoot?
BH: It was pure coincidence mixed with
BH: Probably that we couldn’t do it.
heritage. I was in a gun store in the States
People claim that they don’t have ‘em and are
It was a forbidden fruit. That, and I loved
and I picked up a CZ handgun. Of course,
super sensitive about them in our all too PC
all things American from an early age.
I was familiar with CZ from my time in the
world. But when I was told I would be spend-
Next to cheeseburgers, few things are more
Czech Republic, but I didn’t know they were
ing a weekend busting clays with Czech-born
American than firearms. That combined with
imported here. Being proud of my heritage, I
NHL legend Bobby Holik to raise money for
the early memories of my grandfather and
contacted the USA division of CZ and asked
Colorado Youth Outdoors, I couldn’t help
the fact that I really respect and admire the
if I could help them with its marketing efforts.
myself. I instantly formed a mental picture—a
Second Amendment.
Alice [Poluchova] agreed, and now I oc-
stereotype if you will.
MS: So how did you get to the USA?
casionally get to attend charity shoots such
While stereotypes are often inaccurate, in
BH: Well, I was playing hockey for the
as this Colorado Youth Outdoors event.
this case my mental image was spot on. And
Czech national team and I planned to
MS: So where do you shoot?
it is not just me. I doubt anyone is surprised
defect here and claim political asylum,
BH: Well, believe it or not, even though I
Ah, stereotypes. Everyone hates them.
played for East coast teams, I love the West.
to learn after meeting Bobby that he played
in 1,314 games in the NHL, scored 747 points
Bobby Holik
So the wife and I bought a ranch in Wyoming.
and won two Stanley Cups. He just looks like
Out there, I can pretty much shoot whenever
a seasoned hockey player—large in stature
I want. In the winter, we have another ranch
and well-muscled. The ultra large hands,
in Florida so my daughter can ride her horses
with fingers that seem to have too many
year around—so I get in some shooting down
knuckles, or knuckles in the wrong places
there as well.
are crisscrossed with scars. Yes, he looks
MS: Ok, I have to ask…how many bones did
like a stereotypical hockey player, but where
you break playing 18 years in the NHL?
stereotypes fail is they are often only one
BH: Mine or other peoples?
dimensional and based on looks alone.
MS: That’s a wrap.
What I didn’t expect, was to learn
that Bobby, as a person, was
anything but stereotypical. After I
spent some time with him, what
I discovered was a thoughtful,
well-spoken and kind person.
www.cz-usa.com
cz-usa.com 51
Busted
CZ 712 Target
the easiest and most affordable way to
START shooting trap.
here you go,” said Payton Miller, Guns & Ammo
“Texecutive
editor. “You’re on a roll now.”
By ERIC R. POOLE I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
I had just broke five for five on a trap range right off the start
with my new CZ 712 Target model shotgun. After a quick testfire,
we fired the stations on Range 6 at the Peoria Skeet and Trap
Club in Illinois. This was Payton’s range, one he visits for a few
rounds each Thursday, so beating him wasn’t in my agenda—
and shooting a new and unfamiliar shotgun, I certainly didn’t
expect much in terms of score.
THE SHOTGUN
The new 712 Target is an entry-level shotgun manufactured by
Huglu in Turkey and designed for trap. It offers good quality and
reliability without requiring a big investment.
Unlike the field models, the stock on this 712 Target features a
pronounced, target-style down-turned grip. The grip is cut into the
slab of your average walnut. Though plain by wealthy standards,
the deep color and grain are actually quite nice and understated.
The finished product is a feature that CZ-USA feels saves the
consumer some extra money while offering real function.
The 712 Target is a specially configured design for trap shooting, and when handling it on a range, it immediately becomes apparent that isn’t your typical shotgun you’d bring to the field. The
30-inch barrel and long stock balances very well with each other.
Part credit goes to the gas and action return spring assembly’s
location within the forend. It’s a unique feature to the CZ 712 that
helps set it apart from all other semiauto shotguns. Most semiautos place the action return spring assembly inside the buttstock,
which shifts more of the shotgun’s weight to the rear.
Besides the Trap-length 30-inch barrel, the 712 provides features that are unique to Trap shooting. This 712 utilizes a 14¾-inch
length of pull—¼-inch longer than a standard model. “Target guns
are typically a little longer,” says Dave Miller, project manager at
CZ-USA, “so we made the 712 Target with a stock that’s a ¼-inch
longer than a field gun.”
Additionally, the 712 Target uses a barrel that’s chrome
lined and polished. “Trap guns have either a 30,
32, or 34-inch barrels,” Miller adds. “We didn’t
want to design the 712 Target with a 32- or
34-inch barrel because the 712 receiver already
measures 8¾ inches. You’d need to find a gun
52 cz-usa.com
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cz-usa.com 53
…you can begin to see why Trap is a sport that’s easy to get into,
and affordable to get good at.
CZ 712 TARGET
TYPE:Gas operated, semiauto
GAUGE: 12, 3 in.
CAPACITY: 2+1
BARREL: 30 in.
OVERALL LENGTH:52.5 in.
LENGTH OF PULL: 14.75 in.
WEIGHT: 7 lbs., 8.5 oz.
FURNITURE:Turkish walnut, hand
checkered
FINISH: Matte black
TRIGGER: 8 lbs. (tested)
SIGHTS:Fiber optic, green (front),
brass bead (center)
From the crossbolt safety behind the trigger, to the bolt release, controls on CZ autoloaders are finished in chrome.
Furniture is made from simple walnut, though checkering
is still done by hand.
case longer than the standard 52
inches to carry it to and from the
range.” The engineers at CZ-USA
considered everything.
The 712 Target comes with five
caps on each type of choke—full, Improved modified, modified, Improved
cylinder, and cylinder. You won’t find
back-boring tricks in the 712 Target
barrel because back boring changes
the patterning when shooting with
aftermarket choke tubes that were
not matched to the bore.
Touch the bottom of the target
with the bead and watch the bird
shatter. I found that the 712 Target
shoots with an 80/20 bias, something Dave Miller indicates that a
modern Trap gun with stepped rib
should carry. This fraction indicates
54 cz-usa.com
The lines of the CZ 712 shotguns are clean and understated. Serrations extend from the receiver and along the rib to reduce glare.
that 80 percent of the pellets will
strike above the centerline of an
aiming point. “If you were to take
the gun, lay it on a benchrest and
look down the rib, you’ll see a flat
line,” says Miller. “If you put the
bead on the center point and fire
a shell against a patterning board,
the angle should deliver 80 percent
of the shot high of center on the
target’s aiming point. Field guns
and sporting guns are designed to
shoot 50/50.”
Some trap shotguns achieve the
results of an 80/20 bias by raising the
comb to make it shoot high, but the
shooter can see the rib climbing up.
“Have you ever heard of the phrase,
‘stacking beads,’” Miller asked. “That
was the old trick to hit trap style
targets. The reason for the figure
eight and such modifications to trap
guns in the last 30 years was to get
away from recoil. If you have a higher
comb and less drop, less felt recoil is
perceived. But we’ve evolved. Higher
stepped ribs are what’s ‘in’ with the
modern trap shooting world. Just
look down the rib.”
The receiver presents chromed
controls. The charging handle isn’t
oversized and protrudes ¾ of an inch
to the right of the receiver. The bolt
release button is standard as it would
be on a field gun also, but chromed
for subliminal location. Underneath
is a chrome-plated loading gate (or
elevator as it’s commonly called—
depending on which job it’s doing).
To the rear of the elevator is a bolt
www.cz-usa.com
lock back button that does as its
name describes. With it, a shooter
can ghost load a shell, which will
allow one shell to sit on top of the
elevator while waiting for the action
to cycle. Since even the great exhibition shooter Tom Knapp can’t outrun
the speed of the action cycle in a
712 with each pull of the trigger, I’m
not sure that ghost loading helps in
terms of how fast the action operates
(though it does remove a step in the
process since the shell doesn’t have
to be sprung from the three-shot
magazine tube). And when the action
is made ready and the crossbolt
safety is set to the Fire position, the
single-stage trigger draws cleanly
with almost a ¼-inch of travel.
Like all 712 and 912 shotguns,
sighting is accomplished with a
short, fiber-optic green front sight
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and a little brass bead in the center
of the rib. You could shoot a figure
eight technique if that’s what you
prefer, but the glowing green sight
near the muzzle is the only thing
you need to contrast with a bright
orange target. I found that all I
needed to do in order to dust birds
streaking away from me was to
place them on top of the green and
keep the shotgun moving. No. 8
does the rest.
LAST SHOT
Tonight I’m cleaning a shotgun that
costs $625. When you consider that
I spent just $6 to shoot 25 birds in
a given round, you can begin to see
why Trap is a sport that’s easy to get
into, and affordable to get good at.
I finished my first two stations with
a clean sweep on seven birds before
I missed a couple of unexpected
fast flyers to the right. I missed a
couple more, then corrected my
mount before picking up a hit streak
again. I quickly got used to the 712
Target and never had a malfunction. It performed as reliably and
delivered shot as well as others
it patiently stood poised in the
shotgun rack next to.
Before the final round was complete, improper technique and my
slow time to break the shot caused
me to fire a miss as the bird safely
fell below the horizon. Until then, I
was feeling pretty confident in my
odds of beating Payton at his own
game and winning the round. With a
one-sided grin, Payton leaned over
my shoulder and whispered, “In this
game, when you fix one leak another
always appears.”
cz-usa.com 55
Refined
DW CCO
Dan Wesson perfects the concealed carry
officer’s Model.
By STAN TRZONIEC I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
W
hen I’m carrying concealed, my first choice is an Officer’s Model. Naturally,
I became interested when I learned that Dan Wesson unveiled the Dan
Wesson Concealed Carry Officer, or CCO. The CCO is a 1911 with a Commander-length barrel on an Officer’s Model frame. For those who like the
balance, control and sight radius of a long barrel but prefer the concealability of a small
frame, then this is the piece for you.
56 cz-usa.com
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While it may seem odd to traditionalists to have a 1911 with a long
barrel and short frame, handling
reveals its position in the scheme of
things rather quickly. The shooter
benefits from a longer sight radius
and less overall weight. To a lesser
degree of importance, noise and
muzzle blast occurs farther
away. Thanks to the weight
and shorter grip, the
CCO is an easier gun
to carry concealed.
I particularly like this
configuration because
when I’m carrying, the
shorter grip and the beveled
mainspring housing doesn’t rub
so abrasively against my body or
hinder my movement.
To reduce weight, both the frame
and mainspring housing are made
from anodized aluminum. To aid the
shooter with grip control while under
recoil, both the front and rear of the
grip frame feature a new chain link
pattern. Additionally, the frame is
undercut beneath the trigger guard,
which helps to compensate for what
a shorter grip does in terms of reducing real estate to grip.
Dan Wesson uses the proprietary
black ceramic Duty coat from its
parent company, CZ-USA. This
coating has the benefits of a matte
patina without the debris-catching
bead-blast finish so common today
on custom 1911s.
The CCO is evenly polished, especially around the trigger guard and
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The cocobolo Shadow grips have a distinctive laser-etched pattern and the
frontstrap features a chain-link pattern for enhanced control.
the top of the slide. Slide serrations
were cut sharply without any burrs,
and all the sides on the gun were
pancake flat without any dishing from
the final finishing station.
The front sight blade features
a white target ring surrounding a
tritium vial, and the rear sight has
two white tritium dots for fast target
acquisition in low light. The rear sight
is low profile, melted somewhat into
the slide and is drift-adjustable for
windage. The rear notch is welldefined and when lined up with the
front sight, allows just enough light
The CCO uses a medium length
trigger that’s hand-fitted to the alloy
frame. An undercut behind the trigger guard offers more grip.
cz-usa.com 57
Thanks to the weight and shorter grip, it is easier to
carry this gun concealed.
The CCO sports a lightweight hammer and tritiumfilled ramped night sights. The dehorned grasping
grooves on the slide are perfectly executed.
on each side of the blade for perfect
sight alignment.
Operator controls—slide release,
safety and magazine release—are
standard 1911. To keep the gun as
slim in profile as possible, there is no
safety lever on the right side of the
gun. I found this safety lever has a
very distinctive detent from safe to
fire, assuring positive feedback on
the condition of the gun.
The mainspring housing is flat with,
as the name implies, a very slightly
beveled frame, and there’s a memory
groove on the beavertail safety for
added comfort and improved grip.
The CCO features a medium-length
aluminum trigger shoe that makes up
the difference between the shorter
mainspring housing and the space to
the trigger itself. Trigger pull on this
gun averages 3½ pounds of pull with
just a hint of slack. The hammer is of
the competition breed—lightweight
and Commander styled.
The Dan Wesson match barrel
is 4¼ inches long and fitted perfectly by hand to the slide and barrel
bushing for accuracy. The polished
feed ramp is mirror smooth, and the
ejection port has been relieved for
100 percent reliability.
The CCO comes with a pair of
handsome Shadow grips, which are
58 cz-usa.com
The match-grade barrel is mated to a stainless, wellpolished and beveled bushing. The slide is finished in
a black-ceramic Duty coating used on CZ handguns.
cocobolo and laser-etched in a very
accomplishments in the revolver
distinctive, stippled pattern. Two
field, and I don’t believe he ever
magazines are supplied, and the CCO imagined his name would grace a
carries a limited five-year warranty.
1911. If he were alive to witness the
At the range, the gun was a joy
progression of Dan Wesson pistols,
to use. Even with the shorter grip,
he would have been as pleased with
there was more than enough gun
how they came out as I have been
to hold on with larger hands. The
with this one.
pistol recoiled
pleasantly, and
DAN WESSON CCO
with lighter bullets
such as Winchester
TYPE:Recoil operated, semiauto
185-grain FMJ, the
Caliber: .45 ACP
gun behaved much
Capacity: 7+1
like a 9mm.
Barrel: 4.25 in.
Overall Length: 8 in.
In 1968, Dan
Weight: 1.62 lb.
Wesson started
GRIPS:Laser engraved cocobolo
his company in an
Finish:Matte black, ceramic Duty
old schoolhouse
Trigger:Aluminum, nonadjustable,
in Monson, Mas3.5 lb. (tested)
sachusetts. He
Sights:Three dot, tritium
was proud of his
Accuracy Results
Type
Bullet
(gr.)
Velocity
(fps)
Standard
Deviation
Avg Group
(in.)
Remington MC
Winchester FMJ
230
185
817
839
6
9
2.00
3.25
Winchester JHP
230
853
17
1.75
Notes: Accuracy results are averages of three five-shot groups at 25 yards off a braced rest.
Velocities are averages of 15 shots measured on an Oehler Model 35P chronograph set 10 feet
from the muzzle. Temperature was 65 degrees.
Abbreviations: FMJ, full metal jacket; JHP, jacketed hollowpoint; MC, metal case
www.cz-usa.com
A FAMILY AFFAIR
A “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SOLUTIoN
TO THE FAMILY SHOTGUN.
By PAYTON MILLER
I
t’s been over a decade since CZ-USA
heavy clothes (think waterfowl or late-season
began importing Turkish-made
pheasant) or are obliged to shoot from
shotguns from the Anatolian concern of
unorthodox “field-expedient” positions.
Huglu. They pretty much run the gamut of
Since the action return spring is located
action type—side-by-side, over/under and
up front with the gas system rather than in
would provide a good indication of the
even the gas-operated autoloader.
the stock, the ATI Akita stock simply bolts
adjustable stock merits of this 712. We shot
on as if the 712 were a pump. Actually, the
two rounds apiece of Skeet in exceedingly
A NEW MODEL
term “simply” kind of clouds the issue. It
blustery fall conditions.
The CZ 712 Adjustable is a solid, no-frills,
was necessary for ATI to design an 6061 T6
three-inch chambered 12-gauge field gun
aluminum adapter that helps to marry the
flawlessly. Recoil was negligible, and reports
with a 28-inch chrome-line barrel and a
stock and the receiver.
from the field indicate that, even with three-
The 712 Adjustable ran through its paces
“lighter-than it feels” 7.6-pound curb weight,
The 712 Adjustable was conceived as a
inch magnums, the recoil is, if not pleasant,
a byproduct, no doubt, of its anodized alloy
straight-ahead sporting gun. Fine by me. I like
at least tolerable—which speaks well of the
receiver and the fact that the action return
busting clays as much as the next guy, but
ATI recoil pad. Simply depressing an oval
spring assembly is in the fore-end rather than
when I do—whether I’m shooting skeet, trap
button on the stock’s underside unlocks it,
the stock.
or sporting clays—I like to use something that
allowing the user to set the desired length.
What sets the 712 Adjustable apart from
is—first and foremost—a hunting gun.
Despite the fact that the clays were at the
mercy of strong intermittent gusts, we had
the standard walnut-stocked 712 is an
adjustable, recoil-reducing synthetic stock
RANGE DAY
a blast. Since Eric had been cleaning my
system from ATI. The ATI Akita stock not
Everybody wants to run the table on a
clock on the pistol range, I kind of figured it
only permits four positions between 12 and
round of skeet, but I’ve always viewed it
was time to get even. He’s essentially a rifle
14 inches of length of pull, but the cheek
as a tune-up for birds. I’m happy to drop a
and handgun guy, so I figured he’d go into
rest also affords the shooter a choice of
few clays shooting from a low-gun position
vapor lock with a shotgun. Unfortunately,
comb height. This stock is manufactured
with a real-world smoothbore if it’ll lessen
he’d just taken a wingshooting course which
specifically for the CZ 712 by ATI. Because
the chances of me embarrassing myself on
stresses a low gun position, a fast (almost
no action parts are located in the stock,
the dove opener, or during a cornfield push
delayed) mount and a compressed swing.
the 712 is the only semiauto shotgun on
for pheasant.
Not to mention a total, almost Zen-like focus
the market to accept such an aftermarket
So a couple of the staff decided to join me
on the target.
stock. When drawing a bead on the target,
in shooting the Model 712 Adjustable at our
After Eric smoked the first five or six
up against the shoulder pocket is the
local Skeet range. The ammo? Federal Gold
birds, I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk-
removable ATI Scorpion buttpad. This pad
Medal 12 gauge featuring one ounce of No. 8
through. But I’d shot this range before and
is engineered with unique recoil-absorbing
shots backed by 3¼ drams.
finally managed to catch up with him on the
material from PolyOne.
straight overhead No. 8 station. No. 8 is a
This range day struck me as a fairly
democratic arrangement. Eric Poole, editor
place where, if you have to think about what
indicates, “Originally the idea was to employ
of InterMedia Outdoors’ special interest
you’re doing, you’ve already missed—which
a user-friendly tactical shotgun stock on a
magazines, is taller and longer-armed than
is exactly what he did. I didn’t.
sporting gun. I saw that as a pretty good idea
I am. Gloria Shytles, managing editor, is
for women and kids. It has a tremendous
smaller, shorter-armed and new at the skeet
ted themselves well. And so did the 712
amount of drop and toe, and the high comb
game. I’m in the middle, which, I figured,
Adjustable.
Dave Miller, project manager for CZ-USA
Overall, everyone concerned acquit-
is ideal for women who often have difficulty
getting their head down on the stock.”
Actually, women and kids aren’t the only
ones who can benefit from an adjustable
stock. Larger, adult male shooters often need
a shorter than normal stock if they’re wearing
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CZ 712 ADJUSTABLE
cz-usa.com 59
Brawn
CZ 550
The BANK-VAULT BOLT-ACTION of the CZ 550 IS
THE STANDARD.
H
e loaded up as if the rifle were a .30-’06, thumbing the
cigar-size .505 Gibbs rounds onto the follower as if he’d
done it every day. In fact, he had never fired a rifle this
powerful. I suggested he stand, rather than bench it.
By WAYNE VAN ZWOLL
He nodded, leveled the .505, and
pulled the trigger (this would have
made good film). In concert with the
concussive blast, the muzzle went
vertical. The man staggered and
lost his footing, landing hard. Like
a baton, the 11-pound rifle soared
through the air, end-over-end.
I retrieved the rifle while the fellow
picked himself up. “Golly,” he grinned
sheepishly. No harm to anything but
his pride, I decided. Certainly none to
the CZ 550.
on current rifles has been upgraded
to round. For hunting in a remote
place, where durability and reliability
matter, it remains a go-to rifle.
Later I carried a 550 in .30-’06
with Federal ammo to hunt deer
on the prairie. It endeared itself to
me, a solid rifle with the checkered
walnut and long extractor I covet
and the heft to make slinged-up
prone as steady as sandbags on a
concrete bench.
IN THE FIELD
The CZ 550 is essentially a modified
Mauser, so its action has a muscular
double-square-bridge profile. It
looks, and is, as rugged as an armored personnel carrier. You fasten
a scope with mounts that clamp on
to integral 19mm dovetails front and
rear. The big, flat footprint of the
receiver makes for plenty of bedding
area and epoxy bedding ensures
full contact at recoil lug faces on the
most powerful 550s. Magnums have
a second, barrel-mounted lug that
bears against a steel stock insert to
distribute thrust. The fore-end screw
and double crossbolts on these rifles
are absent on CZ 550s chambered to
less potent rounds.
The traditional two-lug bolt on the
550 features a full-length Mauser
extractor and controlled-round
feed. A fixed ejector emerges from
a slot below the left locking lug
My first hunt with a 550 dates years
ago. The rifle, a 9.3x62, downed
a mountain goat and a moose in
British Columbia with Norma ammo
loaded with 250-grain Swift AFrames. Equipped with a 4X Cabela’s Alaskan Guide scope, it shot
the Swifts flatter than traditional
286-grain softpoints. The goat was
scrambling away at 220 yards when
the first bullet struck. The second
landed as the billy halted at 250.
The moose appeared, as moose
often do, between the chalk arcs
of its antlers far away. We sneaked
through a maze of alder, willow and
spruce. The bull rose when we got
inside 40 steps, then dropped dead
to my shot through its shoulders.
Still with me, this CZ 550 has one
crossbolt behind the magazine, a
fore-end with reverse-angle tip that
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THE ACTION
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The brawny profile and construction of the 550 complement
accurate barrels. Even the bigbores, I’ve found, print small groups.
as the bolt reaches the end of its
throw. A Winchester Model 70-style
bolt stop arrests the left lug. The
two-position thumb safety locks
striker and bolt. The adjustable
trigger is CZ’s own, a single-set
mechanism you can ignore or
push forward to set the trigger
for a lighter pull. All-steel bottom
metal includes a one-piece guard
CZ’s 550 American Safari Magnum
(top) costs considerably less than the
Safari Magnum Express (above).
bow and magazine housing, and
a hinged floorplate secured by a
button in front of the guard.
Most CZ 550s are stocked in
plain American walnut, either in
SVELTE SMALLBORE
CZ’s Ultimate Hunting Rifle, a 550 in
.300 Win. Mag., drilled this group at
500 yards.
Push the trigger forward to set it
for a 14-ounce pull. The safety
is off when thumbed back.
W
hile best known for
its big iron, CZ-USA
offers a lovely lightweight bolt action for small
cartridges. The 527 I purchased a few years back is
chambered in .221 Fireball,
one of my favorite cartridges. The newest of 527s,
the M1 American, features
the straight-combed stock
shooters in the U.S. prefer, a 22-inch barrel and a
detachable three-shot
box magazine. Choose
a walnut stock, black
synthetic or, on the Ultralight Predator, camofinished synthetic.
Weight is just under
six pounds.
I snared a 527 M1
for testing a few
weeks ago. It wears
attractive straightgrained walnut,
nicely checkered.
The comb height
is just right for
a Weaver K6
mounted low.
Alas, CZ-sup-
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The 527 M1 American handled
bullets as heavy as the Remington
62-grain match—and put them into
a ⁄ -inch group.
For riflemen who practice their
skill on coyotes, the 527 M1 excels.
It’s nimble and deadly accurate.
as if I’d been born cradling it. The
trigger broke with such crisp consistency that I didn’t bother to set it.
The perfect match of action size
to cartridge dimensions impressed
me. No extra steel here, but neither did the rifle seem awkwardly
spare. It had the appeal of those
early .22 rimfires no one born after
Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency can
quite remember. It was, in a word,
enchanting.
And that was before I fired it.
Two of my first groups measured
3⁄ 8 inch. And the 1:12 twist delivered half-MOA accuracy with
bullets as heavy as Remington’s
62-grain match.
plied rings hike my 4.5-14X Weaver
Grand Slam well above the barrel and
pull my cheek from the stock.
You can also get rings for CZ
rifles from Talley, where Gary Turner
offers quick-detachable versions
so that you can easily remove a
scope for travel or iron-sight use.
And you can replace it with no loss
of zero. I snugged the screws and
scrounged ammo.
A February storm left the range
frozen under drifted snow, so after
checking trigger pull (2¾ pounds,
crisp, with a set weight of 12 ounces), I impatiently
waited for a thaw.
CZ 527 M1 AMERICAN
Prepared to run
a few magazines
TYPE: Bolt action
through this rifle
Caliber: .223 Remington
Capacity: 3+1 (detachable box)
and write with
Barrel: 22 in.
manufactured
Overall Length: 40.5 in.
enthusiasm about
Weight: 5 lb., 14 oz.
another .223 in
Stock: Walnut
a world awash
Finish: Blued
in .223s, I was
Trigger: Single set, adjustable
instead truly smit
Sights:None (drilled and tapped for
ten. The 527 M1
scope mounts)
American handled
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the Czech Republic with imported
wood or stateside after the barreled action arrives at the Kansas
City headquarters of CZ-USA.
Laminated wood is an option; so is
Kevlar-reinforced fiberglass (with
aluminum bedding block).
SAFARI-STYLE
The brawny profile and construction
of the 550 complement accurate
barrels. Even the bigbores, I’ve
found, print small groups. The Safari
Classic is as fancy as the 550 gets
and is chambered for traditional
Africa-inspired rounds—the .404
Jeffery, .450 Rigby, .500 Jeffery
and .505 Gibbs—as well as for the
.300 H&H and .338 Winchester, .338
Lapua, .375 H&H and .416 Remington. A mercury recoil reducer in the
buttstock is standard on rifles in
.500 Jeffery, .505 Gibbs and .338
Lapua. Safari Classics, which start
at around $3,000, feature trued
and lapped actions glass-bedded
into figured walnut. Iron sights and
barrelband front are standard. You
can add options including a muzzlebrake, rust blue, ebony fore-end
tip and special chamberings.
The CZ Safari Magnums chambered in .375 H&H, .458 Winchester, .458 Lott and .416 Rigby
list for half as much as the Safari
Classics. Besides a more limited
choice of chamberings, Safari Magwww.cz-usa.com
Even with ancient handloads, this CZ
.375 prints one-MOA groups. Thank
the hammer-forged barrel.
nums feature fore-end-mounted
swivel studs and plain walnut.
(Laminated and Kevlar-fiberglass
stocks are available, too.) You can
buy a .375 Field Grade for just
$1,180. I’ve used Federal’s Trophy
Bonded .375s on animals as big as
buffalo. A professional hunter who
culled elephants with a .375 told me
he preferred it to a .458 because
“hurling 500-grain solids makes
my head hurt. Also, I get as much
penetration with the .375—sometimes more.” A CZ 550 in .375 holds
a capacity advantage over most
of its competitors: The magazine
takes five belted magnums. I also
like the 25-inch barrel. It enhances
the cosmetics and balance, and
puts muzzle blast a comfortable
distance from your face. Barrel
contours on bigbore CZ rifles are
just right, though the stocks are
a tad generous. These rifles point
quickly, but hang well on target.
They’re stout, but not ponderous.
On most CZ Safari rifles, a barrelband front sight complements a
trio of rear leaves, two folding. Their
shallow V notches feature white
center lines for fast aim. And the
company offers 15 heights and sizes
of front sights, so you can tailor the
irons for any load you want.
At 9½ pounds, the CZ 550 in .375
is no mountain rifle. But that heft
makes it more civil at the bench and
helps with offhand aim when you’re
out of breath shadowing a Zambian
tracker who’d qualify for the Boston
Marathon running backward.
Weight also contributes to accuracy. My handloads—300-grain
Herter softpoints launched at 2,420
fps by 81 grains of H4831—printed
inside 1¼ inches. My friends Sam
Shaw and Rich McClure got similar
results. In fact, the CZ shot the
smallest groups of four .375s on
the line that afternoon. Thank
the hammer-forged barrel and,
of course, that single-set trigger,
which broke at 2¾ pounds as-is
and one pound when set. I’ve
cradled and shot just about every
CZ rifle, from the 452 rimfire to the
UHR (Ultimate Hunting Rifle). The
UHR is an eight-pound 550 with a
24-inch barrel in .300 Winchester
Magnum. Designed for accuracy
at extreme range, it comes with a
one-MOA guarantee at 600 yards. I
hung a bullseye at 500, hiked back
to the line and snugged up the
sling. Despite a cold wind, my fiveshot volley centered in the black
with a respectable group.
The .375 Safari Magnum had
years earlier instilled dreams of long
grass and crinkled footprints the
size of manhole covers. Still, I had
yet to get cozy with a bigbore Safari
Classic. Jason Morton of CZ-USA
took care of that with a beautifully
stocked rifle in .404 Jeffery.
But that’s another story…
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Endurance Run
CZ 912
THE CZ 912 autoloader is put to the ultimate
field test: 2,000 Rounds on Argentina doves.
By MIKE SCHOBY I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
T
he mark of a good shotgun comes in
many forms: fit, feel, style, grace, weight,
and balance are just a few of the more
important ones. But when it comes to
semiauto shotguns, reliability trumps them all.
To put it another way, no matter how good a gun
points, balances or looks, if it fails to go bang, or
only goes bang once before jamming up, it isn’t
worth much. With an extended reliability field test
in mind, I headed down to Cordoba, Argentina
to test out the newest autoloading offering from
CZ-USA—the 912.
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When we broke for lunch I had put another 750 roundS through
the 912, making for a complete field test of 2,000 shells.
More doves were shot at
than actually hit, but the
CZ 912 assuredly fired
every shell true.
At first glance, the 912 fits all
of my requirements for style and
function. The high gloss walnut
furniture is finished nicely and
has a better-than-average figure.
The receiver is crafted from alloy,
which reduces overall weight as
well as shifting the point of balance
slightly forward to improve swing
and follow through. At 7.4 pounds,
the gun is no featherweight, but
no obese bruiser either. In fact, it’s
nearly ideal for a day of hunting or
sporting clays.
On the first morning, the doves
flew well. It had been a couple of
years since my last trip to Argentina, so I was not only trigger happy,
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but rusty—a poor combination
for the trial of a gun. But over the
course of several hours, I managed
to run 750 shells through the 912
doing my best to look like I knew
how to bring down wildfowl. I won’t
bore you (or embarrass myself) with
the hit percentage, but let’s just say
the gun functioned fine—misses
(of which there were many) should
be blamed on the shooter (me) and
not the gun. In the three cases of
shells, I only had a handful of failures to feed, none of which could
be attributed to the gun. In all cases
the failure could easily be blamed
on the horrible shells acquired in
Argentina. Bulged plastic hulls,
TYPE: Gas operated, semiauto
GAUGE: 12, 3 in.
Capacity: 4+1
Barrel: 28 in., five screw-in chokes
Overall Length: 50 in.
Weight: 7.3 lb.
FURNITURE: Turkish walnut
Finish: Matte black, hard chrome
Trigger: Single, 8 lb. (tested)
Sights:Green fiber optic (front)
the first, except I shot better. I was
getting accustomed to this shotgun
and the angles of incoming targets.
When we broke for lunch I had put
another 750 rounds through the
912, making for a complete field
test of 2,000 shells.
The gun passed with flying
colors. It shot well and cycled
fine. Of course, during the last
200 shells I observed the operation begin to slow in its return to
battery. The gas system was
beginning to succumb to relentless
fouling from the filthy ammunition
and lack of oil. In these last few
boxes, there was an occasional
failure to feed, but much of this has
to be blamed on the shells. Even
the ones that weren’t physically
damaged were dirty, leaving more
gunk per shell in the gun than an
entire box of faithful Federals or
Winchesters. Two-thousand shells
fired in a day and a half. Any gun
loaded with this ammo is going to
choke, so I was impressed.
All-in-all, the CZ 912 is a hell of
an autoloader. It has stylish modern
looks and is joined with high-tech
features such as an effective recoilabsorbing pad. Best of all, the 912
meets a real world price of less
than $500 and has the one feature
I cherish the most: It goes “bang”
every time.
and severed brass cases should
not be included in the failure to feed
category as they wouldn’t have
fed in a break open single shot, let
alone an autoloader.
That afternoon, I got my eye in
and got used to the swing (made
a tad heavy, but smooth with an
“Argentina-style” extended magazine) and fired another 500 rounds,
for a total of 1,250 shells expended.
Normally, I clean guns every night
as a matter of preventive maintenance, but for this evaluation,
I decided to forgo the effort in
cleaning to see how the 912 would
perform under such conditions.
The following morning was just like
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African Dreams
CZ 550
A .30-’06 Delivers another memorable quest
to the dark continent.
s the mass of gemsbok thundered out into the open
through a cloud of dust, Lafras, my PH, barked
sharp instructions: “Mike! Third in from the right.
Shoot!”
I asked, “Third in from the right? “Which group?”
“The far right,” he hissed. “Shoot now!”
I was more than a little hesitant. All I could see of the animal
third from the right was hind. To be more specific, only part
of the hind, in what looked like a sea of gemsbok—and they
all looked like shooters.
By MIKE CARNEY I Photos by JOHN HAFNER
FREE OF WORK
This was my first trip to Africa, but
the fourth ticket I had bought in as
many years. Work obligations had
snatched the dream from me for
three consecutive summers. This
year, I was not to be denied.
When my feet hit ground of the
Dark Continent, I was on the soil of
South Africa, ready to head eight
hours northwest to the Kalahari, as
the guests of Harry Claassens’ Mata
Mata hunting lodge. Mata Mata
literally translates “If you give, you
will receive.”
Four years of planning and three
disappointing cancellations later, it
was surreal to actually be in-country.
Just four weeks earlier, I had
chosen the CZ 550 chambered in
.30-’06 for this trip of a lifetime.
Kevin Steele, publisher of Petersen’s
Hunting, assured me with his
personal experience that it was
the perfect rifle for my plains game
adventure. I liked the idea of using a
rifle ruggedly proven on every conceivable animal roaming the land.
The 550 was adorned with a classic
4X Weaver steel tube. I don’t consider
myself a rifleman—not by any stretch
of the imagination. I’m much more
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comfortable with a recurve bow and
sharp sticks. And while I had brought
my pet Hoyt and Dalaa recurve bows
along for the trip, I didn’t want to be
cooped up in blind for a week overlooking a waterhole on my first trip to
Africa. I wanted my boots in the sand
of the Kalahari. I wanted to see, hear,
and smell as much of this experience
as I could take in.
RANGE CHECK
Sighting in and using Hornady
180-grain SST, my first group off the
bench was astonishing. I have the
privilege of working with some of
the finest rifle shots in our industry:
Scott Rupp, editor of Rifle Shooter
magazine; Joseph VonBenedikt,
editor of Shooting Times; Mike
Schoby and Craig Boddington
of Petersen’s Hunting; Eric Poole
editor of InterMedia Special Interest Publications; David Fortier of
Shotgun News, and many others.
All accomplished rifleman in every
sense of the description and all
eager to lend advice, instruction and
encouragement as I prepared for the
trip. Peering through the spotting
scope at the target some 100 yards
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“There he is Mike. Shoot him again,” Lafras instructed. Standing
broadside, the gemsbok was alone 100 yards from my position.
distant, their unselfish investment in
my shooting instruction was starting
to appear. My first group measured
just over an honest inch, something
heretofore I was incapable of
producing with any rifle.
Was it an aberration? Groups two,
three, four and five demonstrated
otherwise, consistently hovering an
inch. The 550 was definitely proving
itself to be a shooter. Furthermore,
it delivered these results without the
use of this model’s set trigger. The
CZ single set trigger is designed
to reduce trigger pull to ounces.
And the break is as crisp as glass
breaking. Continuing with a variety of
Hornady and Federal .30-’06 loads
in 165- and 180-grain weights, I was
producing groups at the bench that
would make my instructors proud. It
was hard to come up with a load that
the 550 favored over others, but at
the end I selected the heavier 180grain Hornady SST to take on my hit
list: kudu, gemsbok and eland.
BREAKING THE SHOT
As I felt Lafras’ growing frustration with my unwillingness to let
lead fly back on the savannah, I
remembered what Steele had told
me weeks earlier: “Be prepared to
shoot at only parts of an animal.
Opportunities at specific trophies
in the bush are fast and fleeting,
and you will have an accomplished
tracker on hand if you need a
follow up shot.” Still, for a boy from
the Midwest who grew up on the
double-lung mantra, ass shooting
an animal just doesn’t come natural.
When in Rome…
Even through the sound of
the moving herd, I knew I hit the
gemsbok exactly where I aimed.
Lafras and the tracker were gleeful,
“Nice shot Mike, get in the truck.” It
was as if they were waiting all day
to show off their collective recovery
skills. Ten minutes later, laughing to
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African trophy. I thought I would
wake from a dream and discover I
was not actually here.
In camp that evening, Harry and
his wife Jolane, a former stewardess
for South African Airlines, greeted us
with smiles and stories as we looked
at all the day’s trophies already hangmyself as they methodically shuffled
through a veritable ocean of tracks
in the sand with no discernable
clues, the tracker pointed West.
“There he is Mike. Shoot him
again,” Lafras instructed.
Standing broadside, the gemsbok was alone 100 yards from my
position. I couldn’t see the right ham
where I previously aimed the 550
and placed a Hornady SST. “Are
you sure that’s him?” I questioned.
Evidently, that’s not the thing to say
to a PH and his tracker who just
solved the Rubix Cube of tracks to
earn you a follow up shot.
I don’t speak Afrikaans, but I was
pretty certain that their response
was an enthusiastic “yes” peppered
with colorful adjectives and colloquialisms reserved for just such
client occasions.
The next shoulder shot laid the
gemsbok prone, and Lafras and
his tracker approached the animal
very seriously. They applied a well
rehearsed foot maneuver to trap his
long, pointy horns to the ground.
Apparently the gemsbok has a
deserved reputation for exacting final
vengeance on his foes. The “Desert
Warrior” is not one to be trifled with
during recovery.
Lafras offered me hearty
congratulations while his tracker
wagged his finger to simulate pulling a trigger while whistling some
not-so-sweet nothings. My first
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ing by the cleaning station. It was a
great end to the first day on safari.
OTHER TROPHIES
During our five-day trip, Brian
Lisankie from Aimpoint took a beautiful zebra, blesbok, impala and gemsbok; Michael Kinn of Federal took
the same quartet; Jason Hornady
bagged a magnificent gemsbok;
Tom “One-Shot” Taylor of Mossberg
checked in a gorgeous red hartebeest, a gemsbok, blue wildebeest
and a kudu; And Rick Bednar took
a magnificent eland, warthog and
a kudu at 35 yards with a 10-Point
crossbow. Later in the safari, my 550
downed a massive kudu, an impala
and finally I grassed a fat warthog
with my recurve bow.
Jason Morton, CZ-USA marketing
director, was on point during safari
with Kevin Steele filming an episode
of “Petersen’s Hunting Adventures
TV.” The pair managed to collect
a great show featuring eland, red
hartebeest and kudu trophies.
The accommodations and professionalism of the Mata Mata staff,
from the skilled PH’s and trackers to
the game butchers and cleaners, is
first class. I look forward to the next
African safari as well as the day I can
bring my wife and daughter. Without
question, it’ll be at Claassens’ Mata
Mata and when that time comes, we’ll
be joined by my faithful CZ 550.
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Longslide
CZ 75 CTS LS-P
BORING RELIABILITY AND EXCELLENT ACCURACY in
Any PACKAGE FROM THE CZ CUSTOM SHOP.
T
here are not many custom shops, large or small,
that can say they’re run by an active world-class
pistol competitor. That is the case, however, with
Angus Hobdell and CZ Custom. The result is a
seemingly endless supply of interesting variations on
legendary CZ products.
By JAMES TARR I Photos by SEAN UTLEY
Angus Hobdell has been shooting
IPSC and USPSA for decades. He’s
won more U.S. and international
titles than anyone can easily recall.
In addition to the fact that he’s still
actively competing as a sponsored
CZ shooter, he operates CZ Custom
(czcustom.com) in Phoenix, Arizona.
CZ Custom does all of the custom
pistolwork for CZ-USA and any CZ
owner who wants specific work
done. In addition to custom gunsmithing, Angus and his crew work
very closely with CZ-UB of the Czech
Republic and CZ-USA in Kansas
City, Missouri. Each year the custom
shop produces a number of one-off
or limited-run guns, and sometimes
those models make it into the
CZ-USA catalog of new offerings.
This year, one of the new models
from the custom shop is the CZ 75
Longslide (LS). The LS was created
by combining the CZ 75 frame wearing a short dustcover to the long CZ
Tactical Sports (CTS) slide. There are
two models: the “B,” which is singleaction only, and the CZ 75 LS-P,
which is a DA/SA pistol. While they
are being produced in-house at CZ
Custom, they will be available soon
through any CZ dealer. I acquired an
LS-P for testing and was reminded
again why this all-steel gun is still so
successful in competition.
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The CZ 75 LS-P is chambered
in 9mm and starts with a standard
steel CZ 75 frame. If you’ve never
picked up a CZ 75, you don’t know
what you’re missing. The late Guns
& Ammo contributor Col. Jeff
Cooper loved the 75. With its distinctive humpback grip, he liked the
feel of this CZ in his hand so much
so that he styled the legendary
Bren Ten 10mm auto after it. This
frame is slightly undercut under the
triggerguard and utilizes a high-rise
beavertail, but there’s no 1911-style
grip safety.
The CZ 75 has been in existence
since 1975—long enough that there
are numerous aftermarket grips
available to fit every style and hand
size. The preproduction LS-P I
received wears traditional checkered and contoured black plastic
grips, but Angus informed me that
the standard grips would be black
rubber. The custom shop also offers
a number of aluminum grips of varying thickness that also look and feel
great in the hand.
The front of the triggerguard is
serrated, but the front and back of
the frame are smooth. In a small or
stiff-recoiling gun, a smooth frame
might be an issue, but the weight of
the LS-P matched with its low bore
dimensions provides a soft shooting
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It wouldn’t be a CZ Custom shop product if the pistol
didn’t have a trigger job.
Controls are very low profile and beveled to reduce snags.
The safety protrudes more than the magazine release.
The grips on production models are molded rubber with
tactile checkering.
combination. It didn’t feel like the gun The LS-P I received had a smooth
locked. Personally, I don’t find the
could ever work loose in my hand.
7.7-pound double-action and a 3.8thumb safety to be as user-friendly
This is not a small gun, and it has a
pound single-action pull. Advertised
for that purpose as the ones found
long reach for the first double action
trigger pulls are seven to 7.5 pounds
on modern 1911s so you should pracshot, so if you do have small hands
for DA and 3.1 to 3.4 pounds for SA.
tice with this pistol before making
I’d recommend trying one first.
This great trigger can be partially
a complete transition. CZ Custom
Designed for competition and
credited to the fact that all internals
has replaced the standard recoil and
target shooting, the LS-P has an
have been polished smooth.
hammer springs with reduced-power
extended magazine release and exThe LS-P can be carried like a
springs, which greatly soften the trigtended, ambidextrous thumb safety.
1911—Condition One, cocked and
ger pull and cut down on muzzle dip
The thumb safety is not too
during rapid fire, but combine
large, but it does protrude.
with the extended firing pin
CZ 75 CTS LS-P
It sticks out far enough that
installed in the pistol, it does
dropping the pistol on its side
not affect reliability. The
TYPE:DA/SA semiauto
won’t pop out the magazine,
pistol sports an attractive
Caliber:9mm Luger
as it’s larger than the magaskeletonized hammer that
Capacity: 19
zine release button. I’ve seen
is a bit small for easy cock
Barrel: 5.4 in.
this happen more times than
ing by hand. As there is no
Overall length: 8.7 in.
Weight: 41 oz.
I can count in competition,
decocker, the only way the
Grips: Rubber
especially when the pistol in
hammer can be lowered on a
Finish: Blued
question has a light magalive round for a DA first shot
Trigger: Double action: 7 lb., 12
zine-release spring. On the
is by hand, and this small
oz.; single action: 3 lb.,
Longslide, the mag-release
hammer spur makes that a
13 oz. (tested)
spring is full power.
delicate proposition.
Sights:Red fiber optic (front), It wouldn’t be a CZ Custom
The trigger is smooth
Kensight adjustable
Shop product if the pistol
and
wide. There was a lot
(rear)
didn’t have a trigger job.
of takeup in my gun on the
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Like a 1911, the CZ 75 CTS LS-P can be carried
“cocked and locked” and operated with either hand.
single-action pull, but the reset was
short and audible. There was almost
no overtravel. I could see that both
the hammer and the underside
of the slide had been ground and
polished to provide a smooth
working gun. Several CZ 75 models
have firing-pin safeties, but those
extra parts always affect the weight
and quality of the trigger pull. As the
LS-P is designed for competition, it
does not feature an internal firingpin safety, but the hammer does
have a half-cock notch.
The standard CZ 75 has a 4.7-inch
barrel, while the longslide sports a
5.4-inch barrel.
As a result, the long slides come
into the U.S. oversize and have to
be precision machined and then
hand-fit to the frame. The CZ 75,
with its inside-the-frame slide
design, is designed to be completely
interchangeable, but the CTS was
designed for a different gun, so these
are the only CZ pistols that you’ll find
with a hand-fitted slide. While not as
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The spring-powered extractor follows the contour of the familiar
ejection port relief cut on this CZ 75.
tight as a custom-built Dan Wesson
1911, the slide-to-frame fit on the LS
is excellent. There’s almost zero play.
The preproduction example I
received had a stainless steel recoilspring guide rod, but production
models will have a polymer guide rod
“to reduce cost on a gun that’s already expensive due to hand-fitting,”
Hobdell explained.
The undercut post front sight has
a red fiber optic insert, and the rear
sight is the CZ version of the justifiably renowned Bo-Mar adjustable
Champion. I would have preferred a
larger notch, as there was not a lot of
daylight around the front sight, but
that’s just my personal preference.
Longslide guns are all the rage in
modern action-pistol competition,
as the increased sight radius helps
competitors hit those difficult targets
more quickly. The top of the slide
has been flattened and serrated.
This is ostensibly done to reduce
glare, but if you’ve got a proper sight
picture, you can’t see the top of the
slide. Some competitors go for any
advantage they can get, perceived
or real.
Not too long ago, I had an opportunity to spend a couple of days
visiting the CZ Custom Shop in
Phoenix. Angus Hobdell is a transplanted Brit who relocated after his
native government outlawed all the
“dangerous” guns he made a living
shooting and working on. He loved
the Phoenix area and set up shop.
Hobdell employs five people, including a machinist from South Africa. He
and Hobdell began good-naturedly
insulting each other in Afrikaans
while I was standing by. Everyone
who works in the shop shoots,
including Rob, who’s a USPSA
GrandMaster. Between the Afrikaans, Hobdell’s attempt to teach me
Cockney rhyming slang and Rob’s
Jersey accent, I felt like I needed a
Universal Translator.
“The problem is I’m speaking
in English, but you’re listening in
American,” Hobdell explains.
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My sample came with a target illustrating a five-shot,
1.2-inch group fired at 25 yards.
As opposed to
how many shooters
most of the automatasked me, “Hey,
ics Americans are
what’s that?”
familiar with, the
The fiber optic
frame of the CZ 75
front sight works well
rides inside the frame
indoors and glows as
rails as opposed
brightly as a batteryto the outside like
powered red dot sight
other semiautos.
in direct sunlight.
This makes for a
As CZ Custom is
very narrow slide.
a true custom shop,
Combined with the
the shop can build
low bore, this design
you a model chamreduces the amount
bered in .40 S&W or
of slide available to
one that’s tricked out
grip, so I was pleased The CZ 75 CTS LS-P features a light-gathering fiber optic front sight. for fastest practical
The top of the slide is serrated to reduce glare.
to see that the slide
shooting event. They
on the CTS LS-P
can add aluminum
was serrated both front and back for
guide the stored rounds. The pistols
grips, a magwell—almost anything
positive manipulation.
are function-fired at the CZ Custom
you can desire.
The LS-P arrives with two extended Shop and are supplied with a test
Hobdell’s plans are to get the CZ
19-round magazines—a definite plus.
target. My sample came with a target
75 CTS LS-P approved for use in the
Standard CZ 75 magazines hold 17
illustrating a five-shot, 1.2-inch group
IPSC Production Division, which is
rounds of 9mm and fit flush with the
fired at 25 yards.
ironically dominated by the CZ 75
frame. Like other CZ 75 magazines,
At the range there were no surSP-01. Whether you compete or not,
these drop free from the gun and have prises—boring reliability and excellent this is a longslide that looks great and
black plastic followers to consistently
accuracy. It was interesting to note
shoots even better.
CZ-USA is making efforts to get
the CZ 75 CTS LS-P approved
for use in the IPSC Production
Division.
accuracy results
Make
Bullet Weight (gr.)
Avg. Velocity (fps)
Standard
Deviation
Group (in.)
1.8
Hornady 147 XTP
147
944
17
Black Hills FMJ
115
1,103
15
2.1
Hornady TAP/FPD
124
1,089
13
1.9
Accuracy results are the averages of four five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest.
Velocities are averages of 10 shots measured with an F-1 Alpha chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle.
76 cz-usa.com
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