CZ-52 Acquired

[jaytex1969]

Took a short road trip last night to pick up this fine relic.

Been watching a few YT videos to educate myself. Ordered a firing pin and rollers made of modern, improved material for eventual range time.

Please share your experiences with this model if you have any.

Thanks.

Jay

 

[gregintenn]

The decocker will sometimes perform the same function as the trigger. Wear good ear protection. Some of the military surplus ammo you’ll run across is friggin hot!

Edited February 26, 2023 by gregintenn

[BigK]

That's one of the coolest guns I ever had. It wasn't very comfy, but I could shoot it well. It was a lot of fun too; loud and hot are what I recall most. So much so, that I started reloading milder rounds for it.  I traded the gun, the aftermarket parts, extra mags, and reloading dies/supplies for an Enfield .303 that was so clean I never shot it. 

[A.J. Holst]

Dry fire can break the firing pin.

Here's a link for upgraded parts if you're going to shoot it on a regular basis

https://harringtonproducts.com/

 

[Gurn]

21 hours ago, gregintenn said:

The decocker will sometimes perform the same function as the trigger. Wear good ear protection. Some of the military surplus ammo you’ll run across is friggin hot!

True on the decocker . Test by putting a pencil (eraser first) down the barrel and point in the air and pull trigger. If pencil goes flying then you know not to use the decocker.  Make sure it’s unloaded first,lol. 

[jaytex1969]

10 hours ago, Gurn said:

True on the decocker . Test by putting a pencil (eraser first) down the barrel and point in the air and pull trigger. If pencil goes flying then you know not to use the decocker.  Make sure it’s unloaded first,lol. 

You just reminded me. When we were training in the swamps of Georgia (Fort Stewart) We'd have our M16 with the blank adapter on it. When patrolling at night, we'd hear wild boars running around.

In a futile attempt to feel able to defend ourselves, we'd remove the blank adapter and drop a section of cleaning rod down the bore . None that I knew ever had to deploy the "swamp harpoon", so I have no idea how or if it would have actually worked.

 

[Gurn]

2 hours ago, jaytex1969 said:

You just reminded me. When we were training in the swamps of Georgia (Fort Stewart) We'd have our M16 with the blank adapter on it. When patrolling at night, we'd hear wild boars running around.

In a futile attempt to feel able to defend ourselves, we'd remove the blank adapter and drop a section of cleaning rod down the bore . None that I knew ever had to deploy the "swamp harpoon", so I have no idea how or if it would have actually worked.

 

Haha, swamp harpoon. Love it!

[Moped]

2 hours ago, jaytex1969 said:

You just reminded me. When we were training in the swamps of Georgia (Fort Stewart) We'd have our M16 with the blank adapter on it. When patrolling at night, we'd hear wild boars running around.

In a futile attempt to feel able to defend ourselves, we'd remove the blank adapter and drop a section of cleaning rod down the bore . None that I knew ever had to deploy the "swamp harpoon", so I have no idea how or if it would have actually worked.

 

I'm thinking that was a good thing!  Not sure the "Swamp Harpoon" would be capable of bringing down a pig.  Maybe if the whole squad shot it...  

[ken_mays]

I owned one for a long time, it had an aftermarket 9mm barrel with it as well.  Most of the time I shot 9mm through it.

There were some neat things about the pistol like the takedown process, roller lock, and the hot 7.62 cartridge.   But ultimately with the drying-up of cheap 7.62, it didn't make much sense to have it around as a mediocre 9mm. 

The firing pins were rumored to be fragile and dry firing was discouraged.

[seez52]

I have two of them and they are great shooting pistols. Sometimes the safety will kick on under recoil when it hits my thumb knuckle. They are pretty accurate as I can consistently make hits at 100 yds. The spent cases will fly 20+ feet! Wish the surplus ammo was still cheap. Bought a bunch at 10 cents a round, the guns were cheap back then too. I have one of the holsters attached to my tractor and it holds a KelTec PMR30 perfectly.

[Defender]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:10 PM, gregintenn said:

The decocker will sometimes perform the same function as the trigger. Wear good ear protection. Some of the military surplus ammo you’ll run across is friggin hot!

Wow.  That's always a fear I have.  The very first gun I used that had a decocker was the M9 berettas we had in the military.  We changed from S&W .38s to the M9 and my only experience with semi autos before then was with 1911s.  So when was first at the range we went through some drills with it before qualifying and they had us load it and then decock it while pointed downrange.  Later, after I started carrying it daily, I continued to be leery of decocking that darn gun.  Our policy was to load the weapon at a clearing barrel, then decock it before holstering for the shift.   I distinctly remember watching the hammer go forward, each time expecting a bang!  Eventually I got used to it, but still point my decocker guns in a safe direction when decocking.

[Mowgli Terry]

Safety failure: Many years ago I had gotten one when  those handguns were first introduced here. There was a recall since the gun would go off when the hammer dropped on safe. The pencil test is a grand suggestion, Those that failed were supposed to have been refurbished to look new. I sent my death trap specimen back for a refund. I was never too hot on the CZ-52 afterward,

[Pilot4prophet]

I have a pair as well. Pt some after market grips on them for comfort and the standard FP and roller upgrades.

All that surplus 7.62x25 was corrosive, so hope y'all cleaned them properly after shooting it. I think S&B is importing two flavors of modern non-corr stuff (if not blocked by the POTato already) a ball and an HP.

Fun pistol. I bought a pile of mags when they were cheap and available.