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Nightcrawler
September 5, 2002, 01:15 AM
My CZ-97B has about 700 rounds through it. I've had a few malfunctions; most of them were with flat-nosed stuff, in which I'd have a failure to feed. Recently, out of a 50 round box, I had two malfunctions with CCI Blazer steel-cased FMJRN, in which the ejecting case would get caught in the closing slide.

I do not think I am limp-wristing the weapon. I tended to do that when I was first shooting it, but now the recoil bothers me not at all and I'm working on speeding up my follow up shots.

However, I feel worried, a bit. Deep down, my confidence in the weapon is not as good as it could be; it's a bit ammo finickey (doesn't like flat nosed stuff) and sometimes FTFs, though that may have been just break-in. The weapon has a very steep feed ramp for the rounds and you can see how flat nosed stuff would lead to problems.

In that 700 rounds, I'd say I've had less than a dozen malfunctions. But still, I hear Glock, Ruger, and HK owners telling about how their guns will choke down anything right out of the box and never jam up, and I'm jealous. ESPECIALLY since the Ruger KP90 was my second choice and costs less.

I plan on buying several boxes of ammo and going on a big shooting session, burning through at least 200 rounds in one sit. That may not seem like much to you all, but remember, I'm new at this. I'm going to get the weapon dirty (with real genuine dirt) and see how she goes. I'll post a report here as well, detailing the types of ammo I'm using, the number of shots fired, etc. I won't be shooting for accuracy, as there are many shooters more skilled than I that can attest to the accuracy potential of the CZ-97B. I'm going to try to see if it'll hold up to real field use.

I'm wondering, though. Do you think I have enough rounds through it to be worrying about a reliability test? Is 700 rounds enough for a "break in"?

And if I'm not confident in the weapon after testing, what should I do?

Hal
September 5, 2002, 05:07 AM
Put it back to stock configuration, use the brass cased 230 gr ball ammo it was designed for and test for function.(Avoid Blazer aluminum or any steel cased ammo for the time being)

700 rounds of assorted/hot ammo with non stock springs and a full length guide rod are just so much bang and flash going downrange. Lots and lots of fun,,,,but not a real test of function. In order to move ahead with any modifications you need a baseline to start from.

2 full mags of ball in stock form w/out a snag.
Change spring.
Repeat point 1.
Change ammo type(still standard pressure, but use truncated cone or hollow point)
2 more mags.
Change rod to full length.
2 mags of standard full patch ball ammo.
Change to your "hot" ammo.

At some point in the process, the gun will hang up, as per your previous posts,, you need to determine exactly where in the process that is in order to correct it.

archer215
September 5, 2002, 07:13 AM
you might try polishing the feed ramp and maybe changing the recoil spring with a stiffer spring from wollf . hope it does good for you and good shooting:D

Nightcrawler
September 5, 2002, 08:45 AM
The guide rod and heavy recoil spring are modifications recommended by CZ-USA. I detected no specific increase or decrease in malfunctions after their installation.

The heavy recoil spring has been moved down to an eighteen pound one, but I have yet to try the 16 pound.

The bulk of this ammo was FMJRN standard pressure. I've only 70 rounds total of hot stuff through it.

Zak Smith
September 5, 2002, 11:11 AM
How far away is the brass flying when it does eject?

Nightcrawler
September 5, 2002, 05:48 PM
It lands aways away. The CZ-97, with recoil springs from the factory 13# to the 22# I had in there for awhile, likes to fling the brass a good three or more feet horizontally, and they never land in a neat little pile.

Zak Smith
September 5, 2002, 07:29 PM
The reason I asked is that sometimes a "too strong" recoil spring can cause that problem.

CZ Gunner
September 5, 2002, 08:02 PM
My CZ-97B had the same problem with the first box or two ... polished the ramp with my Drimmel & polishing paste ... smooth as silk. Not a problem since.

Do search on www.czforum.com and you should get lots of hit. (There is an entire section just on CZ 97B's !)

If that doesn't work .. I suggest you call Mike at CZ-USA .. he'll get to the bottom of it. He's the best!

Good luck ..

C.R.Sam
September 5, 2002, 08:47 PM
I won't be shooting for accuracy, as there are many shooters more skilled than I that can attest to the accuracy potential of the CZ-97B. Why not shoot for accuracy ?
Make every shot fired as good as you can.
Your own accuracy will improve rapidly.

Sam

ACP230
September 5, 2002, 09:14 PM
I will not use Blazer ammo in any centerfire semi-auto pistol. I have an old 1911 which would feed hardball, lead roundnose handloads, and even some lead semiwadcutter bullets. It jammed like crazy with Blazer.

I found this out for sure my first time on the line at the late, lamented Second Chance Bowling Pin Shoot. My own reloads saved my second trip up to the line, but I ended the first one bleeding, from cutting my hand on the sharp edge of the target rear sight while clearing jams, and cursing Blazers.

Nightcrawler
September 5, 2002, 09:45 PM
Because shooting for accuracy would entail several things:

-Using a rest, when the benches aren't well positioned for shooting at the pistol target at my range. I also always manage to limp wrist it when using sandbags.

-Measuring the distance of the pistol target at my range (I can't ask anyone because it's a small sportsmans club range and when I go I'm the only one there.) *shrug* It's about 30 feet, I guess.

-Caring. I have already determined that the pistol is a lot more accurate than I am, and so have others. That's good enough for me. Any more than that, like group sizes...I don't worry about it. I just don't care to get out my little ruler and measure the distance between the holes on the paper. Such info won't tell you anything useful, anyway, as that's a product of me, not the weapon.

krept
September 6, 2002, 10:20 AM
I think the confusion might stem from semantics - the difference between shooting for accuracy (teeny groups) and shooting accurately (aiming vs. simply popping off 200 rounds just to function test).

I would switch ammo first. Also polish the feed ramp. I don't mean to sound hokey but these burps are a good opportunity to practice your clearance drills. Have you asked CZ about this problem? If my weapon were malfunctioning even with the new additions, I would go back and ask the manufacturer what is going on.

FWIW, my Glock has malfunctioned when two other people fired it. It happens. I know one day that my Glock and HK will fail, it's just a matter of time. Hope it doesn't happen when I need it. If I didn't learn clearance drills with my first pistol (a super-lemon double stack 1911) then I would have no idea what to do.

Hope everything works out.