CZ82 Project.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I recently acquired two CZ 82's. It was a package deal. I made out pretty well.

For those who don't know,,, CZ 82's were the Czech Police Pistol for 20+ years. The guns were replaced and surplused to the US and sold by outfits like J&G Sales.

They are a DA/SA semi auto pistol in 9 x 18 Makarov caliber. They can be carried with the hammer down on a live round, requiring a full trigger pull after which the gun goes to SA just like any other DA style pistol. Or it can be carried Cocked and Locked like a 1911 or more properly a CZ75. The gun has an interesting automatic safety that blocks the hammer unless the trigger is pulled, so decocking the gun can be accomplished safely. The hammer is held in the rebound position until the trigger is pulled so there is no danger of the gun going off if it is dropped.

These guns are far superior to Makarovs in virtually every way. I have both. I consider these guns to be some of the most underrated Small Semi Auto Pistols out there.

Both of these guns are a bit rough looking and this is due to the fact that they had a painted finish from the factory and they were carried daily in a full coverage holster for 20+ years. However they were not shot very much since the Czech Govt's Police Force only allowed their officers 2 magazines (24 rounds) worth of ammo per year. Both of the ones I got are in perfect mechanical condition, they just need a refinish. This will be the project. The guns will be used as my "Car Guns."

I have everything to reload for this caliber except a boolit mould and I also have about 1500 9MM Luger cases which are heading towards the turret lathe for shortening to 18MM. Lee 9 x 18 Carbide Dies came in yesterday. I think I am going to use a simple Lee boolit mould for this one.

They will require complete disassembly as the Frame and Slide need to be grit blasted to remove the remainder of the paint and I plan on refinishing with Cerakote Flat Black. I had already blasted the one slide before I took the pics to see exactly what I had to work with.

Here's pics and this will be an ongoing thread thruout the project with updates. The last pic is what I am going for.

Randy

[jrayborn]

I agree, I also have a pair. Some of the most underrated handguns available. I paid around $200 each for mine and encourage anyone who will listen to buy them if they are available. Fantastic handguns!

[leadhead]

I just had mine bead blasted and blued. Fun to put back together.
Had another one that was mint, and sold it to a buddy of mine.
Denny

[GhostHawk]

Those I don't have, although something like that in 9mm is very tempting.

What I have was a CZ-52 with a broken firing pin which was given to me. Son in law of a friend, is now a felen and can't legally own.
My friend has a nice Berreta in 9mm so he didn't really want it.

A few dollars replaced the firing pin, add some cleaning, some lube, some love and this thing SHOOTS! I have maybe 20 rounds through it but I'm hitting an 8" steel gong about half the time at 25m. I'm surprised that there isn't more love for these out there. Mine seems to be built like a tank. Only real weak spots are firing pin's and rollers which were not hardened correctly. Neither of which is hard or expensive to fix.

I'm not reloading for mine yet, everything I've read so far says they can be a pain. The whole necked down to 7.62 thing. And it slugs much smaller than my big 7.62's. Not to mention that this thing seems to like to throw brass as far as it does bullets!

[Piedmont]

Those have tempted me for years. Every time I think it through, though, it makes more sense to buy another Pistolet Makarova if I just have to buy another 9x18. The CZs are supposed to be a major pain to detail strip and they are thicker than the Makarov, both in the grip and on the bilateral safety. Thinness is high on the list of virtues for concealed carry and I look upon these as defense guns.

[Frank46]

Had both the Makarov and the CZ82. Still have the CZ82 just need to get a couple extra mags. Actually think they have better sights than the Mak. Frank

[Artful]

Those I don't have, although something like that in 9mm is very tempting.

What I have was a CZ-52 with a broken firing pin which was given to me. Son in law of a friend, is now a felen and can't legally own.
My friend has a nice Berreta in 9mm so he didn't really want it.

A few dollars replaced the firing pin, add some cleaning, some lube, some love and this thing SHOOTS! I have maybe 20 rounds through it but I'm hitting an 8" steel gong about half the time at 25m. I'm surprised that there isn't more love for these out there. Mine seems to be built like a tank. Only real weak spots are firing pin's and rollers which were not hardened correctly. Neither of which is hard or expensive to fix.

I'm not reloading for mine yet, everything I've read so far says they can be a pain. The whole necked down to 7.62 thing. And it slugs much smaller than my big 7.62's. Not to mention that this thing seems to like to throw brass as far as it does bullets!

Get the Wolfe spring kit - it keeps your brass from becoming a lethal projectile and make the recoil nicer - Also keep a look out for 9mm barrel - imported under the federal name - some were longer and threaded (12x1mm RH) or ported.

[Wayne Smith]

Agreed Randy, about the quality. I bought mine years ago and it had never been fired! It is still close to primo. Much nicer than the Makarov, of which I have a Bulgarian and a Russian Civilian.

[HATCH]

I own east Germans and Bulgarians. They are nice weapons. Thanks for the Wolfe spring tip. Gonna do that

[fecmech]

Are these locked breech guns or blowback??

[jrayborn]

Blowback.

[jameslovesjammie]

They're great guns! Easton Firearm Refinishing has done some really nice 82's and 83's.

[seagiant]

Hi Randy,
Being left-handed I of course looked at these guns as they have an ambi safety as most pistols from this era, do not! A quality pistol as you say, the only reason I do not own one is the caliber! I want to reload anything I shoot and did not want to get into another caliber to load. I use a little 9mm M&P Shield for my belly gun!

[Combat Diver]

I was seriously looking at the CZ82 back in 1989 but ATF won't allow me to import them on a Form 6 from Germany at the time (war surplus). Purchased its sister a CZ83 in 9x17mm Short/Corto/Kruz (.380 ACP) instead. Kept it for years before given it to my left handed son when he was 10 and he used to use it in bowling pin competitions in KY about 10 yrs ago. He still has it and it is very accurate and has never malfunctioned. The finish on the 83 is not painted on, more of a dull blue finish.

Had picked up couple of Chinese Makarovs with adjustable sights back then too but I don't think ATF allowed me to import them back either (along with my all matching P08 Luger and Webley Mk IV) that or I sold them just before I came home. The Maks are thinner for IWB use but the CZ not much harder to conceal.

CD

[opos]

I'm a fan and have a couple but I don't necessarily agree on them being superior to the Makarovs...I have a Bulgarian and a Russian and frankly I shoot them better than the 82's...perhaps the 82 has a bit less snap than the Maks but I really like the Makarovs every bit as much as the CZ's...I'm a CZ fan with a 9mm 75B, a .40 in 75B, a 97 in 45acp and an 83 in .380...nothing like a CZ when it comes to rugged..but think the Mak's are equally as rugged...just my 2 cents.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I have had a Mak for 20 years and never really shot it that much,, It is a Russian Civilian model with adjustable sights. Of the ones I have seen in person the East German staggered mag versions are the best made and definitely the most expensive!. The Bulgarian ones are second and the Russian ones third. I paid $212 for mine in about 1990.

There is no word in the Russian Dialect for "Deburring!" All Russian mechanical devices must "wear in," so 'break in' can go on for a long time. I have a friend who sells Ural Motorcycles. He tells his customers that the break in period is 20,000 miles! When they ask why, he tells them that there is no such thing as deburring in a Russian machine shop. They really do take 20,000 miles to break in and you must change the oil about once a week to remove the metal flakes. Then they run forever.

Otherwise the gun is fine. I even have a compensator on it and it actually works. It is in my end table next to my easy chair along with 4 magazines. When I installed the threaded barrel I got from a company called FAC back in the early 90's it came with a set of instructions on how to smooth everything out, which I did as I was installing the barrel which is the very first thing that goes into the frame. The Compensator takes virtually all of the muzzle jump off this gun, and it is very accurate for a small pistol. It still has a lot of sharp edges that are not conducive of smooth manipulation. Maybe some more work is in order. Never did like the mag release, mine now has a little fob on the split ring to facilitate mag changes.

The CZ is far in excess of any of the Maks as far as quality of machining, and the refinements they made to the "essentially Mak" design were all positive. It is the only pistol of it's type with Ambi controls. I just think they are much more shootable than the Maks.

CZ just makes good guns. Even my M6 Scout made by CZ is a good gun.

I bought these mostly to refinish however I have actually wanted 2 of them for some time for the "Car Gun" role. These just happened to cross my path at the same time that $500 was in my wallet. This had not happened before. They were also Private Party Transfers since they wouldn't have been available to me living in CA until the CA Safe Handgun List is deemed unconstitutional!!! Right now virtually any new gun I want is not on the list and as a result I am only buying used handguns. I just saw a Derringer the other day that is a .38 Spec version of the old Hi Standard Derringer. The name of the Mfg. escapes me. It is also a PP transfer and is a really nicely made belly gun. I'm still twitching over that one. It was really nicely made !!! Oh, I said that.

I am really interested in the wood grips on those CZ's in the above post #12. They just need the area behind the mag releases hollowed out a little more before they checker them. Damn good looking guns. I hope mine come out that nice.

Randy

[lar45]

I have an East German Mak and a Russian one. The East German Mak is head and shoulders above the Russian one. I really like the German gun, it is very smooth feeds great, never had a hickup. I liked it soo much that I tradded my Walther PP for a Belgian Auto-5 16ga.
If you guys are saying that the CZ 82 is so great, I'll have to keep an eye out for one. I have a CZ-52 in 7.62x25, and while it is a good solid pistol, it should have some improvements to make it more servacible. The slide hold back bar should be able to be operated from the outside instead of just on the last round or an empty mag.

Back on topic. Back in 94 when I first got my German Mak I trimmed down some 9x19 cases and loaded 115gn JHP .354" bullets with powder charges just inbetween the 380 and 9mm.
Yes I knew that the bullets were way undersized, but the gun shot them very well and velocity was right where it should have been.
For the brass, I put a 1/4" bolt in a vise and set the trimmed cases over it. Then used a number punch to change the head stamp.
I really like the German Mak and it's been used alot for concealed carry.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Another tidbit,, J&G Sales has a bunch of new surplus CZ82 mags in stock right now for $20 each.

Randy

[HATCH]

My buddy made a few sets of laminated wood grips for the standard German mak. I will see if I can find a pic

[W.R.Buchanan]

Ordered Cerakote from Brownell's and am waiting for it to arrive. got Graphite Black which is a semi flat black.

Got some good ideas from some of the pics others posted above. Really interested in some of the wood grips and found them on Ebay, but then found out they come direct from CZ for half the price on Ebay.

Modified on set of the black plastic grips from gun#1 but I am not at all happy with the result. I used the wrong buffing compound on them and they ended you with Red Rouge pushed into the surface. I have to try something different. I also figured out there will be more sanding with finer sand paper before the next attempt at buffing the scratches out of this set of grips.

I managed to open up the left side grip so I can get my thumb onto the mag release, but really with these pistols since they have an ambi mag release, it is easier to use your strong side middle finger to drop the mag.

more as we progress.

Randy