Thinking about a CZ 52

.22guy · 09-11-2006, 01:31 AM

Hi, I have an ever growing interest in the miltary surplus guns and ammo. I've been strongly considering getting a CZ-52? Seems like a cool handgun for a not very high price. What are the pros and cons of this gun? If you have one, do you like it, and enjoy shooting it?

I would use it mostly for target practice, plinking stuff like that. Thanks for any comments.

Russ

Big Dog · 09-11-2006, 04:33 AM

A nice pistol - hard-hitting and fairly accurate.
My only gripe is the trigger - I have big hands and long fingers, and the edges of the trigger are sharp. Gets painful to shoot after a couple magazines. A little Dremel work should fix that though.

Bookman · 09-11-2006, 05:40 PM

+1 to what Big Dog said. I owned one back in the 1990's. I was surprised how well-made the gun was, considering its price.

OldShooter · 09-11-2006, 07:35 PM

Get one of these, they are fun shooters. I've had one for a while. At first I had two problems, the trigger pull and the grip. The grip is like holding a 1 by 4 board, not a good fit for me. I slipped on a rubber grip and that was a big improvement. The trigger pull got fixed by polishing the firing pin. Now it is nice and smooth.

The real game with this one is trying to find your brass after shooting. Actually, you should warn anyone to your right that you are shooting a CZ52.

Dale · 09-12-2006, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter

..... The trigger pull got fixed by polishing the firing pin. Now it is nice and smooth.

I'm confused as to how polishing the firing pin would help with the trigger pull.

Could you expound on the procedure so I can see if it's something I might want to try on mine?

Thanks.

ruger22com · 09-12-2006, 03:12 PM

o.k...about the firing pin. The original firing pins in the cz52 are famous for breaking if dry fired.
BUT, you can buy an aftermarket one that does one of two things.
It allows you to dry fire without breaking (and if you pay a little more) also reduces trigger pull a ton!
I put one in and everyone who has shot it was amazed at how light and crisp the pull was. It was also pretty easy to put in.
I forgot who sells them, but everything you need to know about CZ52's AND where you can buy the aftermarket firing pin is at this site:The Makarov Page - The CZ-52
Bob

fred · 09-15-2006, 12:33 PM

I love my CZ52. Am I the only one who got a nice light clean trigger pull with no fussing required?? Only drawback is that I must have lost some strength in my hands as I have gotten older because I have had several instances where the daggone action has snapped shut on my thumb as I tried to clean it.

josh · 09-15-2006, 02:35 PM

These guns are awesome. The best handgun value on the market in my opinion.
Buy 2 of them.

.22guy · 09-16-2006, 12:45 AM

You guys pretty much have me sold. Now.... where's the best place to get one? SOG?

MosinDave · 09-17-2006, 05:44 PM

Wherever you can find them, get them before the supply dries up again! They are great pistols. Lots of fun to shoot, lots of power, and for an old european surplus handgun there are quite a number of aftermarket parts that are made for them.

Trey45 · 09-18-2006, 06:36 PM

I was at the local outdoor range today shooting some surplus tokarev ammo I got at the gunshow this past weekend, another fellow had his cz52 out there as well, we had us a little contest on the 100 yard steels to see who could hit it the most, we stayed pretty even shot for shot, even swapped pistols for a round and did the same, it seems these pistols all have their sights set at around 100 yards! Unheard of in the pistol world! The gunshow had 3 cz52s to choose from, all were 180+ dollars, centerfiresystems.com has them for less. I plan on buying another one before supplys are gone to convert to 9mm. If you decide on a CZ52, I would highly recommend taking it to a gunsmith before firing it to make sure it's safe, some of the CZ52's get stress fractures on the left rear slide rail.

NRAJOE · 09-19-2006, 04:39 PM

I once had 7 of them...all 3 yrs in grey...all 3 yrs in black, plus an extra black.

Just kept the nicest black one...do yourself a favor and get the 16.5# recoil spring from makarov.com....really helps with reliability.

Paper · 09-23-2006, 09:36 PM

I can see that my credit card is going to hate each and every one of you guys..

Glad I got some overtime this week..

toolman · 09-24-2006, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter

The grip is like holding a 1 by 4 board, not a good fit for me.

This a gun that I would really like to start building grips for, but I can't find anyone willing to part with theirs for a few days to build the pattern.

MosinDave · 09-24-2006, 03:32 PM

Well if you lived closer I would hook you up toolman, I wouldn't mind getting a custom set of grips for mine

OldShooter · 09-26-2006, 06:28 PM

To Dale and all the others interested in improving the CZ52, I sorry to be so late in responding. UncleJacque on GunBoards is the guru I guess, I'm not knowledgable myself except what I read.

Go here:

Gunboards - Uncle Jaque's Shop Notes; CZ-52 (Re-Post)

.22guy · 09-26-2006, 06:39 PM

Looking at the link, it seems like you had better have a gunsmithing degree to put that thing back together.

OldShooter · 09-26-2006, 06:49 PM

Not really.
You don't have to do much disassembly.
Remove the slide. Remove the barrel, but don't disassemble the rollers etc.
The firing pin is easy, just depress the spring loaded keeper and the pin will slide out. I din't go any further than that. I polished the pin and re-assembled. Happy ever since.

Toolman, if you ever are in the business of grips for the 52, make them a little fat. They are plenty long front to rear. I might be interested.

.22guy · 09-26-2006, 07:00 PM

I'll keep that in mind when I get one. I hate guns that are really hard to put back together. I just don't have the time or patience for it. My Ruger Mark III is a pain in the butt.

MosinDave · 09-26-2006, 09:17 PM

Its really not as bad as it looks .22 guy. I can disassemble and reassemble mine in under a minute. The hardest part is the muscle needed to remove the barrel from the slide, the rest is cake.

09-11-2006, 01:31 AM	#1
.22guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,140	Thinking about a CZ 52 Hi, I have an ever growing interest in the miltary surplus guns and ammo. I've been strongly considering getting a CZ-52? Seems like a cool handgun for a not very high price. What are the pros and cons of this gun? If you have one, do you like it, and enjoy shooting it? I would use it mostly for target practice, plinking stuff like that. Thanks for any comments. Russ __________________ Guns: they are like baseball cards except they are cool and you can kill things with em. -Billy

09-11-2006, 04:33 AM	#2
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,205	A nice pistol - hard-hitting and fairly accurate. My only gripe is the trigger - I have big hands and long fingers, and the edges of the trigger are sharp. Gets painful to shoot after a couple magazines. A little Dremel work should fix that though. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

09-11-2006, 07:35 PM	#4
OldShooter Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 19	Cz52 Get one of these, they are fun shooters. I've had one for a while. At first I had two problems, the trigger pull and the grip. The grip is like holding a 1 by 4 board, not a good fit for me. I slipped on a rubber grip and that was a big improvement. The trigger pull got fixed by polishing the firing pin. Now it is nice and smooth. The real game with this one is trying to find your brass after shooting. Actually, you should warn anyone to your right that you are shooting a CZ52.

09-12-2006, 03:12 PM	#6
ruger22com Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Mobile Alabama Posts: 723	o.k...about the firing pin. The original firing pins in the cz52 are famous for breaking if dry fired. BUT, you can buy an aftermarket one that does one of two things. It allows you to dry fire without breaking (and if you pay a little more) also reduces trigger pull a ton! I put one in and everyone who has shot it was amazed at how light and crisp the pull was. It was also pretty easy to put in. I forgot who sells them, but everything you need to know about CZ52's AND where you can buy the aftermarket firing pin is at this site:The Makarov Page - The CZ-52 Bob __________________ www.CheapGunParts.com http://ruger22.com/art/banners/tiny.gif Home of the "YELLOW JACKET" Bolt Buffer and Takedown Bolts! Free Shipping & Lifetime Warranty!

09-15-2006, 12:33 PM	#7
fred Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NC, USA Posts: 182	Love mine - trigger's fine! I love my CZ52. Am I the only one who got a nice light clean trigger pull with no fussing required?? Only drawback is that I must have lost some strength in my hands as I have gotten older because I have had several instances where the daggone action has snapped shut on my thumb as I tried to clean it.

09-11-2006, 05:40 PM	#3
Bookman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: 10 paces south of Canada Posts: 738	+1 to what Big Dog said. I owned one back in the 1990's. I was surprised how well-made the gun was, considering its price.

09-15-2006, 02:35 PM	#8
josh Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 11	These guns are awesome. The best handgun value on the market in my opinion. Buy 2 of them.

09-16-2006, 12:45 AM	#9
.22guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,140	You guys pretty much have me sold. Now.... where's the best place to get one? SOG? __________________ Guns: they are like baseball cards except they are cool and you can kill things with em. -Billy

09-17-2006, 05:44 PM	#10
MosinDave Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Georgia Posts: 571	Wherever you can find them, get them before the supply dries up again! They are great pistols. Lots of fun to shoot, lots of power, and for an old european surplus handgun there are quite a number of aftermarket parts that are made for them.

09-18-2006, 06:36 PM	#11
Trey45 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 244 Images: 3	I was at the local outdoor range today shooting some surplus tokarev ammo I got at the gunshow this past weekend, another fellow had his cz52 out there as well, we had us a little contest on the 100 yard steels to see who could hit it the most, we stayed pretty even shot for shot, even swapped pistols for a round and did the same, it seems these pistols all have their sights set at around 100 yards! Unheard of in the pistol world! The gunshow had 3 cz52s to choose from, all were 180+ dollars, centerfiresystems.com has them for less. I plan on buying another one before supplys are gone to convert to 9mm. If you decide on a CZ52, I would highly recommend taking it to a gunsmith before firing it to make sure it's safe, some of the CZ52's get stress fractures on the left rear slide rail. __________________ http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y24...eadfingers.jpg

09-19-2006, 04:39 PM	#12
NRAJOE Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Toledo,OH Posts: 19,043 Images: 3	I once had 7 of them...all 3 yrs in grey...all 3 yrs in black, plus an extra black. Just kept the nicest black one...do yourself a favor and get the 16.5# recoil spring from makarov.com....really helps with reliability. __________________ U.S. Army 1976-1979 237th Combat Engineers Heilbronn, Germany

09-23-2006, 09:36 PM	#13
Paper One Buwwit Weft Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: IL/WI Border Posts: 986	I can see that my credit card is going to hate each and every one of you guys.. Glad I got some overtime this week..

09-24-2006, 03:32 PM	#15
MosinDave Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Georgia Posts: 571	Well if you lived closer I would hook you up toolman, I wouldn't mind getting a custom set of grips for mine

09-26-2006, 06:28 PM	#16
OldShooter Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 19	CZ52 firing pin etc. To Dale and all the others interested in improving the CZ52, I sorry to be so late in responding. UncleJacque on GunBoards is the guru I guess, I'm not knowledgable myself except what I read. Go here: Gunboards - Uncle Jaque's Shop Notes; CZ-52 (Re-Post)

09-26-2006, 06:39 PM	#17
.22guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,140	Looking at the link, it seems like you had better have a gunsmithing degree to put that thing back together. __________________ Guns: they are like baseball cards except they are cool and you can kill things with em. -Billy

09-26-2006, 06:49 PM	#18
OldShooter Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 19	CZ52 disassembly Not really. You don't have to do much disassembly. Remove the slide. Remove the barrel, but don't disassemble the rollers etc. The firing pin is easy, just depress the spring loaded keeper and the pin will slide out. I din't go any further than that. I polished the pin and re-assembled. Happy ever since. Toolman, if you ever are in the business of grips for the 52, make them a little fat. They are plenty long front to rear. I might be interested.

09-26-2006, 07:00 PM	#19
.22guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,140	I'll keep that in mind when I get one. I hate guns that are really hard to put back together. I just don't have the time or patience for it. My Ruger Mark III is a pain in the butt. __________________ Guns: they are like baseball cards except they are cool and you can kill things with em. -Billy

09-26-2006, 09:17 PM	#20
MosinDave Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Georgia Posts: 571	Its really not as bad as it looks .22 guy. I can disassemble and reassemble mine in under a minute. The hardest part is the muscle needed to remove the barrel from the slide, the rest is cake.