My CZ-75B Polished Stainless Review. The story behind how I got interested in this classic pistol by CZ. I was at my local range shooting my .22 Cal rifles at 50 yards when a very attractive young woman set up to shoot on the 25 Yd. targets one table from me. She put up her target and proceeded to shoot from a two hand standing position. After a while I swung my scope over to her target to see that she was tearing it up. A 12 inch group just above the bulls eye. Now I was very interested and curious so I went over to greet her and compliment on her fine shooting. We talked briefly and she told me about her pistol, the CZ-75B in stainless. She praised the CZ pistol and I made it a point to find out more it.
The secret about CZ is that I had heard the name before but discounted them as a third world manufacturer of less than quality guns. How wrong I was. After some quick Internet research I found a lot of positive feedback about CZ rifles, about the accuracy, quality, craftsmanship, fine fit. I bought a .22 Cal. CZ-452 military trainer and found out for myself that they make a top of the line gun. Then my second CZ was a .22 Cal CZ-452 varmint rifle. Now, after researching the line of CZ pistols I learned the same thing about the pistol models and especially the CZ-75. The CZ line of pistols have loads of positive feedback and virtually no negatives. So I bought a CZ-75B in stainless. I got to see it for the first time when it arrive at my FFL. I inspected the gun and I am more than thrilled. The fit, finish, craftsmanship are above all others in my opinion. It is a beautiful pistol that feels so good to hold. I hope I see that young woman again at the range, I want to offer to show her mine if she will show me hers, hehehe. I wish!
If you like the full size CZ 9mm then you might also be interested in the compact model. Read my CZ 2075 Compact Review.
It was designed in 1975, that’s how it got its name. In 1989 a firing pin block was added and that’s when the B model was born. An interesting point about the gun is the slide fits on the inside of the frame instead of the outside. The pistol has a lot of similarities to the Browning Hi-Power another fine 9mm pistol that costs quite a bit more.
It is available in black polycoat, or stainless steel. Mine is polished stainless. It comes with black grips which are ok and feel good but I fancied mine up with a set of factory half checkered cocobolo grips. Makes for a beautiful looking pistol in my opinion.
It is single action for the first shot if you want and the slide action cocks the hammer in the double action position. I have read that dry firing the pistol may cause damage, so I cut the end of a pencil eraser off and put it under the hammer to dry fire. The rubber eraser keeps the hammer from striking the firing pin.
One thing I don’t like about the gun is that the slide is hard to pull back. The recoil spring is strong, and there is not much slide grip to hold on to because the slide fits on the inside of the frame.
One other thing I don’t like are the sights. They are three dot sights. The dots are small and not a very bright white. The painted dots have more of a green tint to them like the hand painted dial of an old glow in the dark watch. I fixed that by putting a dot of Testors white model paint on the front dot with the end of a tooth pick. Makes a world of difference and at least I can see the front sight dot now.
The metal magazine holds 16 staggered 9mm rounds and is released by a button on the left side of the grip. Most CZ-75’s have a magazine break which holds the mags by friction after the mag release button is pushed. The magazines on this gun fall right out which is what I want.
On the left side is the slide release lever, the ambidextrous safety, and the magazine release. Also notice the index marks for removing the slide for field stripping.
On the right side the slide the release lever pin extends out of the frame. Also the right side ambidextrous safety.
The pistol is easy to strip for cleaning. Position the slide index mark with the index mark on the frame, then push the slide lock lever pin out the left side and the slide comes forward off the frame. With the slide off the inside of the gun shows lots of machining marks. This is my first all metal pistol, I’m a Glock guy, so I can’t say if this is typical of other guns. Taking the time to dress up the inside would just add cost and would not add to the performance.
Speaking of performance, the CZ-75B has a wonderful feel and balance. Bring the gun up and it falls right on target. It has a smooth easy trigger and is a pleasure to shoot. The accuracy is very good. I am not an expert marksman by any stretch, still learning and practicing the basics, but it is more fun to shoot than my Glocks. Maybe part of that is psychological because it just looks so good, feels so good, and shoots so well.
I found a super detailed and very knowledgeable review of the CZ-75 here at the Hi Powers and Hand Guns website.