Review of C&R CZ-82 Pistol

None | 19 September 2009 | Lurker

[Lurker]

I promised a review of my latest firearm acquisition, so here it is.

It's a CZ-82 pistol purchased under my C&R License from J&G Sales in Arizona. The ad promised a CZ-82 in "good to very good" condition, one magazine, a cleaning rod, and a holster.

Here's what I received:

As you can see it's a pistol, magazine, a decent leather holster, and a cleaning rod just as advertised. Total price for one example was $209.00 plus shipping.

I also ordered 500 rounds of Silver Bear 94 grain Jacketed Hollow Point ammunition for $125.00 plus shipping. Extra mags run about $30.00 each, plus shipping.

The pistol arrived within 5 business days and the ammo arrived the same day on a separate UPS truck.

The pistol was 'well oiled' to say the very least, but there was thankfully no trace of cosmoline anywhere. So a thorough cleaning was in order before a trip to the range.

It is an all steel pistol and weighs just a hair under 28 ounces unloaded. It's chambered for the 9X18 Makarov cartridge which is NOT interchangeable with 9MM Luger (Parabellum, or 9X19) ammunition. Use ONLY 9X18 Makarov ammo in this pistol.

The magazine release and the safety are both ambidextrious. The pistol functions in either single action or double action mode. One can safely carry it with a round chambered and the hammer down, with the safety in the "Off" position. Or it can be safely carried "cocked and locked" with the safety in the "On" position. The controls are a bit small, but they're well placed and I had no trouble operating them.

I'd say that this pistol is in 'good to very good' condition. The bore is clean and bright and the pistol shows some honest holster wear as evidenced by this image.

One can easily imagine this thing riding on the hip of a Czech Police Officer or Border Guard every day. Mechanically the pistol is sound. Field stripping it is a breeze. As that information is easily available on the web I won't go into it here.

I started out at 21 feet with a full magazine of the Russian hollow point ammo. I'd have to rate accuracy as pretty darned good for a surplus service pistol.

Here's a pretty typical groupt at 21 feet:

I take complete responsibility for the shots outside the 5X.

The single action trigger pull has some creep but it breaks cleanly. I'd guesstimate it at about 5 pounds or so. The double action pull is pretty long but it also breaks cleanly.

Here's a typical group at 30 feet:

A quick note on loading the magazines. Capacity is 12 rounds, but it's a cast iron b**** to get those last two in there. After 3 or 4 mags I opted to load 10 just to save wear on my thumb. I'm going to look around for a loading tool. Function wasn't affected in the least with 10 rounds instead of 12 in the mag.

Functionally in one hundred rounds I experienced NO failures to fire, NO failures to eject of any kind, and only 2 failures to feed and those were in the first 4 magazines. I discovered the source of that issue. The rounds MUST be seated well against the back of the magazine.

So a quick, sharp rap against the table to insure that the rounds are well seated in the magazine took care of the problem. I experienced no further failures to feed. Not too bad considering this pistol was designed for FMJ ammo.

The feed failures were quickly remedied by a quick rack of the slide and the pistol was back in action.

The 9X18 Russian Silver Bear 94 grain hollow point bullet leaves the barrel at between 935 and 1005 fps according to my chronograph. That's quite a spread but I'm chalking that up to Russian quality control more than anything. This is definetely NOT match grade ammo.

With these figures we're looking at between 180 to 200 ft/lbs of energy delivered. While definetely on the lower end of the scale it's acceptable for self defense work at close range with proper shot placement.

Bottom line? For about $400.00 US I got a good shooting solid little service pistol. This example will get a DuraKoat finish applied (thanks to Squantos for the tip), and ride in the Camelback I keep under the seat in my truck.

While I wouldn't feel as well armed as I would carrying a Colt or Springfield XD in .45, this pistol would certainly be 'good enough' in my view.

I'd recommend picking one or two of these nice little examples of Czech craftsmanship up if you have the opportunity.

[Lurker]

One of those Mosins is next on my list. How do you like it? Have you shot it yet?

I'm pleased as h*** with this CZ, and the service at J&G was top notch.

Supposedly Cheaper Than Dirt has a mag loading tool that works for these things. I'm going to order one because getting those last two rounds in there bruised my thumb!

L

[Tijeras_Slim]

I’m not partial to Commie pistols, you have to clean the neck hairs off the muzzle before using them.

[Lurker]

I look at it this way. The Czechs were the first ones to revolt against the Soviets and they were killed wholesale before they were subjugated.

And the Czech gun makers were NEVER afraid to tell the Soviets to shove their crappy pistols where the sun doesn't shine.

I could have bought one of those TT33s for just about the same money, but I'm just not partial to that blocky, crappy Soviet school of pistol design. I will readily admit that there are a couple examples of Sgt. Kalishnikovs work in the Lurker compound, though.

If you see one of these CZs in your local gun purveyors shop do take a look at them. They ain't as pretty as the 83, and they're nowhere near as 'tight' as a Kimber, but for the price they're definitely worth a look.

Ammo at $12.50 a box ain't a bad thing, either. Just sayin'....

Best,

L

[Hang'emAll]

That’s one of the reasons I settled on this C&R purchase. 9X18 is dirt cheap right now, AND it’s available....

On a C&R purchase do you still need a gun shop to receive the gun for you?

[Lurker]

On a C&R purchase do you still need a gun shop to receive the gun for you?

Nope. It arrives right at your door UPS Blue Label.

[TonyInOhio]

Great review, I enjoyed reading it.

I'm partial to a different pistol chambered in 9x18:

That's a Polish P-64. Close in size to a Walther PPK but slimmer, the double action/single action trigger with decocker makes it a safe CCW pistol. And, it's even cheaper than the CZ-82 - you can find them online for less than $150.00 in good shooting condition.

A couple of caveats about the P-64, though - the recoil is sharp, so you really need to hang on, and the stock DA trigger pull must be something like 20 pounds. :) Fortunately, replacing the recoil and mainsprings with a new set from Wolff is easy and makes the trigger much more manageable.

[Lurker]

Nice pistola. J&G has those, but for some reason they're not on the C&R list. Go figure.

One thing I'll give the CZ is that the recoil is not nearly as sharp as I expected from a straight blowback design. It's quite manageable actually. It must be the weight and the fact that the barrel is quite 'low' compared to other designs.

I've heard some really good things about the P-64, though.

Thanks for the info.

Best,

L

[Uri’el-2012]

The CZ Model 82 is the finest variant of the Makarov 9x18 platform.

• The recoil is the most manageable of all variants.
• It has the highest capacity 13 rounds.
• The barrel is hammer forged polygonal rifling.
• Fixed barrel is extremely accurate.

With a Dura-Kote finish and a custom wood grip
it will compare with the finest.

[Lurker]

Now that's one SWEET looking pistol! Where did you get those grips?

If that's what DuraKoat does I'm ordering some tomorrow!

Is that one yours? If so major kudos on the work! It's gorgeous.

[Lurker]

Do you know if a trigger job can be done on one? Other than making mine look like yours that's about all I'd like to do.

Best,

L

[Roger_Wildcat]

I think the grips are from Marschal Grip.com

[arthurus]

My eyes over the years have got some crazy astigmatism and I can no longer shoot my handguns with any accuracy except for my Hungarian Makarov that I got when the Russian army was selling off everything they could find to sell. I paid $119 for it. I can still shoot good groups with it at 30 feet for some reason. I don’t try to aim any more, just point and shoot.

[arthurus]

They were made as knockoffs of the Walther.

[Uri’el-2012]

Now that's one SWEET looking pistol! Where did you get those grips?

If that's what DuraKoat does I'm ordering some tomorrow!

Is that one yours? If so major kudos on the work! It's gorgeous.

I have a quote of $200 for a Dura-Kote on my cz-82.

Grips are
http://www.marschalgrips.com/
$55 plus $6 shipping and a month to build.

Exotic woods for a few dollars extra.

Mine:

[arthurus]

these things ain't Colts or Kimbers.

I would not trade my Makarov for a Colt or Kimber.

[Uri’el-2012]

They were made as knockoffs of the Walther.

Not quite.

The safety on the cz is a thumb drop.

On the Walther it swings up to remove the safety.

The cz is a double stack; 13 rounds cocked and locked.

[Dick Bachert]

Hey, if the PPK was good enough for 007, it’s good enough for me. Have two of ‘em (one Interarms, the other German) — or had. I was out target shooting on a nearby lake and they BOTH fell into 50’ of water. And they were the only guns I owned.

Damn, hate when that happens.

[Roger_Wildcat]

I like the Mosin 91/30, it is a very long, powerful rifle. I only took it to the range twice, but I managed a .75 inch group at 25 yards. With more practice, I am sure I can get an even tighter group and then start shooting out to 100 yards.

Maybe one day, I'll buy an sniper varient of the mosin. I can tell you that you will notice the recoil. Any of the eastern block countries have produced the 7.62x54 for their militaries, so these ammos are easily available online. I brought two cases of czech which is about 1600 rounds total for about $360 from Aim Surplus.com.

You just have to try a box of different manufactorers to see which works best with the particular mosin before buying a case of em.

If you want to learn more about the Mosin rifles or any other military surplus weapons, then I suggest visiting Gunboards.com. You will find the CZ board there as well.

[Lurker]

I thank you very much.

[Dick Bachert]

Hey, if the PPK was good enough for 007, it’s good enough for me. Have two of ‘em (one Interarms, the other German) — or had. I was out target shooting on a nearby lake and they BOTH fell into 50’ of water. And they were the only guns I owned.

Damn, hate when that happens.