CZ-75 type pistols

[Jonnin]

I've looked at a compact .45 acp clone recently and like the one EAA puts out, but only because CZ doesn't even make one.

 

As far as the 9mm clones go, I have read several reviews that say the Witness clones have cleaner mill work, but never read one that says they are as accurate. CZ just has the barrel mfg process down cold

 

Another aspect to consider is that if you think finding holsters for a CZ is hard...wait til you need a part for a Tanfoglio. Most CZ parts are NOT compatible with the clones and the custom shops that can butter-up your CZ trigger to make it feel like magic won't work on a clone.

 

well let me disabuse you on that :)

My wifes eaa witness is a basic model and it is as accurate as anything I have shot in 9mm.  Wife had the sights replaced with high quality target sights (still iron, but good iron) and it is every bit as good as my CZ.  BOTH are very good.   Neither one is camp perry 1911 quality, but they are both as good as anything short of a very expensive target pistol.   I would bet either of us could hit a clay at 50 yards with either pistol without a lot of effort. 

 

The default sights on the cheaper Eaa are not awesome. This could be part of any "accuracy complaints" you may have read, though the vast majority of people can't shoot their way out of a paper bag and most pistol accuracy comments are worth less the the pixels they took up.  Its really hard to make a quarter sized group with half inch wide site blades.

 

 

The parts do NOT interchange at all, for sure.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Jonnin

[Guest bbtie72]

I have had many CZ's and variants, although I love the original, I have found my all steel armalite AR-24 a little more accurate. You can't go wrong with either I would also include the jericho

[jaysouth]

Many years ago, I bought an EAA TZ 75. After shooting for a couple of years, I gave it to my son in law. That boy is hard on metallic objects. After many, many thousands of rounds of M-882 ball and less than stellar maintenance and cleaning, the TZ 75 is still ticking and doing quite well. I can't say that it is better than a CZ but the rougher finish makes it easier to abuse.

[BigK]

well let me disabuse you on that :)
My wifes eaa witness is a basic model and it is as accurate as anything I have shot in 9mm. Wife had the sights replaced with high quality target sights (still iron, but good iron) and it is every bit as good as my CZ. BOTH are very good. Neither one is camp perry 1911 quality, but they are both as good as anything short of a very expensive target pistol. I would bet either of us could hit a clay at 50 yards with either pistol without a lot of effort.

The default sights on the cheaper Eaa are not awesome. This could be part of any "accuracy complaints" you may have read, though the vast majority of people can't shoot their way out of a paper bag and most pistol accuracy comments are worth less the the pixels they took up. Its really hard to make a quarter sized group with half inch wide site blades.


The parts do NOT interchange at all, for sure.

You're the first knowledgeable person I've known that will vouch for their accuracy. Good to know. You have me reconsidering how many of those accuracy complaints come from gun newbies and/or the guys I see at the range with holes splattered all over a 12" target from 5 yds. LOL

Curious, did the wife's Witness with replacement sights still come in under the CZ price? I have a helluva time finding CZ sights without going online. Were the target sights CZ compatible?

[1gewehr]

We have several CZs.  I have a CZ75B with over 26,000rds that is still going strong.  Only problem was with some cheap magazines I bought.

I also have an EAA Witness compact 9mm.  The fit and finish are not as nice as the CZ75 Compact.  The Witness is also noticeably heavier.  Both are equally accurate.  The CZ prefers 124gr S&B for best accuracy.  The Witness likes the Winchester NATO-spec 124gr.  Both shoot well with anything but Remington target loads.  The cheap Remington ammo is too weak to cycle reliably.

[surfcityred]

Keep in mind that the Caniks are manufactured ti ISO9000 standards.  That says a lot for quality, fit & finish.

[DWARREN123]

The Sphinx is possibly a better gun but the others are pretty good, the CZs are very good. None that I know of have the OEM or after market support the CZs do, this can mean a lot for some folks.

[zybysco]

Which ones are best for SA? And how good does the SA feel trigger wise?

[greyofk]

I have both 9mm CZ 75B and Tanfoglio Witness .40 SW

I use cast lead bullets in CZ with no problem. Tanfoglio often jams on lead ammo. Other than cartridge sensitivity, Tanfoglio is as good as CZ. In my hands the accuracy is the same

[Jonnin]

Which ones are best for SA? And how good does the SA feel trigger wise?

 

CZ converted to sa leaves a lot to be desired.  Its closer to a glock than a 1911 -- takeup in the trigger is required because of reset, you *cant* get rid of it without a complete custom re-do (that is, the kits for conversion won't do it).

 

I dunno about the eaa but at a *guess* the very, very expensive SAO model is probably done right.

 

 

and better late than never --- but swapping sights is rarely cheap.   A set of sights costs at least 50 bucks and I think the ones we found were 75?  And at least 30 or so to get a smith to install them if its not an exact fit.  So its not a cheap solution.   Sigh, we have done that a lot... too many guns don't have fully adjustables.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Jonnin

[Capsaicin]

New member here and a fan of CZs and all clones of CZs.  There are quite a few clones out there and I haven't really heard of anything bad of any of them.

 

I have personally owned:

 

CZ75b (turk military contract)

CZ97b

P-01

 

I only had some issues with the CZ75b.  Apparently the turk contract guns weren't as highly finished as the commercial versions.  They'd be a bit sensitive to some ammo since their chamber was not polished and a tad tighter.  Most ball but steel cased stuff fed well.  I did get hang ups with some aggressive hollow points also.  The other two functioned great.  The 97b did have a mag that didn't seat well but that was just a matter of opening up the area where the mag release made contact.

 

Since I owned my CZs in my younger (and much dumber) days, I sold them off.  Since I'm back in the market for a handgun, I'm looking really closely at the Canik Shark FC.  What is also neat about Caniks, is they have a model (S-120 i believe) that has the rounded trigger guard like the non-B 75.  They also offer the L-120 which is the same but with an alloy frame.

[DWARREN123]

CZs and the clones have, in my experience, short tight chambers so be prepared if you reload.

I have not had trouble with lead reloads in any of the ones I have owned but does not mean it  can't happen.

[wareagle]

My dad has same issues with reloads in his CZs.

[10takum]

I was in the market for a new low priced 9mm and just order'd this handgun EAA Witness PS Fullsize. I had found a couple used CZ75s but bought the Witness after reading up and watching videos on you tube.i have the S&W SD9 and have shot it about 30 times very happy with it, bought it new last year.