CZ 75 BD Sight Replacement

[dakota.potts]

Since I got my CZ P-01, I use it much more than my 75. I carry the P-01 and it fits my hand better and now I use it for all serious defensive use. The BD was originally intended as a defensive and do-all handgun, but I just don't end up using it that much. When I do get it out and play with it, it's slicker and has a better trigger than the newer P-01 (maybe just broken in more) but I never use it as I always end up justifying the ammo on the new gun since I should be familiar with the gun I carry.

The original 75 is still special to me and I'm toying with the idea of overhauling it to be more special as a range/gaming gun. I'm thinking about a trigger and action job (DA/SA still), rebluing, wood grips etc. I know that the original sights, while adequate for defensive use, are really not great and I'd like to upgrade them. The problem is I don't know what I want to replace them with and I don't have a specific use in mind.

I definitely see myself using it in the future in a variety of shooting contests like IDPA or steel challenge, and it would be nice to go and shoot bullseye style groups with it at 25 and maybe even 50 yards. Beyond that, I don't really know and unlike testing a new gun I don't know of any local shops where I can go and "try out" different sights before choosing one.

I know I don't want XS style "lollipop" or other express combat sights, but beyond that I don't know if I want target, fiber optic, high or low etc. I've even thought about a dovetail red dot sight. Talk to me about what's out there for these guns and what you like.

[Walt Sherrill]

Unless you have an unusual 75 BD, it wasn't blued. It was, more likely, polycoated, and there's no easy way to refinish it. (Firms that refinish can strip off the polycoat, and then refinish, but that becomes more expensive. If you actually have a (rare) "blued" 75BD, there's no problem, and rebluing shouldn't be terribly expensive.

The polycoated guns, which are poly-coated over a manganese phosphate undercoat, don't appear to be given the same level of polish prior to coating as the guns that are "blued" at the factory. And polishing is what makes a blued gun glow. If you have chips or dings in a polycoat finish, just about any matte black auto body touch up paint is a good match. Dupli-Color (brand), if you can find it, is an excellent match.

(I get the larger paint in the spray cans, spray a little onto a piece of aluminum foil, and then apply that pain with a small fine brush. The paint in the cans is thinner than the pain that comes in the small touch-up bottles and you're able to fix small scratches without obvious surface buildup.)

For IDPA or USPSA, either guns should be fine. For the STEEL CHALLENGE, 9mm guns are generally at a disadvantage. For 25 or 50 yard target competitoin, either gun should be fine -- there won't be that much difference in performance. If you haven't shot a lot at 25 or 50 yards, it's easier said than done, and a great source of frustration for many shooters. As you probably know, those greater distances are not what most handguns are intended for.

Re: the P-01 fitting you better. The grips of both guns are virtually identical, with the 75BD grip just extending downward a bit farther. It may be that the alloy frame of the P-01 is what make it seem to fit you better -- as that gun is noticeably lighter.

SIGHTS:

The XS sights you mention have two basic forms: the LARGE DOT front sight, and a smaller dot front sight. XS makes a good product. The Large front sight is ideal for close targets (20-40 feet), but the smaller front sight is more useful when aiming at distant targets. (The large dot obscures more of a small, distant target.)

Fiber-optic sights are marvelous, but some are fragile, and you may want to keep some spare fiber-optic inserts on hand for the front sight. (They're not expensive and typically easy to replace.) They excell in bright light.

The new combo night/sights (with a tritium vile followed by a fiber-optic unit) is a great "any time of day" sight.

An adjustable sight is nice but once you find an ammo you like, and a distance you'll most likely be shooting at regularly, the "adjustable" feature (elevation) is seldom used. I've got adjustables on several guns, and they just don't get "adjusted" any more -- and for MOST handgun shooting, unless you make a point shooting at very distant target frequently -- they're arguably not needed. (Most sights are adjustable for windage, left-right.)

If you are serious about 25-50 yard shooting, adjustable sights may be your best bet. The CZ Custom Shop may have what you need. There are adjustable night-sights available, too, but probably not from the CZ Custom Sop.

[dakota.potts]

Walt, you are correct that I have a polycoated 75. When I say rebluing, I'm toying with the idea of stripping the polycoat and giving it a nice high gloss blue which I can do myself at school. I have no reason to keep it around as a defensive gun anymore since I much prefer the P-01 for that and I really love the look of a match grade hot blue finish. Something like what a lot of higher end 1911s have.

As far as sights and shooting, I don't know what I want to do with it. I'm mostly just thinking about making it more unique so I have a reason and purpose to shoot it and enjoy shooting it more. I know the sights that are on it from the factory are really not the best of any world, but I don't know what type of sights I want to replace it with because I don't really specialize in any one type of shooting. If nothing else, a more visible all around sight would be a nice upgrade.

I do a lot of handgun shooting at 25 yards because that's the shortest distance of my public range. So far I haven't had much success at 50, and if I were to do that it would probably be in either a bench rest or bullseye fashion. I just don't want sights that would make aiming at the target impossible at that distance (if for nothing else than rested groups)

[gmoney]

Have you ever seen Speed Sights (speedsights.com)........ double diamond sights .......? I put them on my Glock 17 and just love them , very quick easy sight acquisition

[Walt Sherrill]

There's about 50 shades of polycoat, with it getting better over the years. Before that, it was a very fragile enamel -- and yours looks like something from the early polycoat years. (My first pre-B had the enamel finish -- and it looked as though rats had been chewing on it.)

The polycoat used on the pre-B 75s is less robust than on later models and polycoat versions. The finish on the later guns is HARDER to remove in the B-models and some of the LATE pre-Bs. Your looks like one that might not be too hard to get off. I'd start with autobody paint remover...

You should be able to get a superb trigger of the 75 much more quickly than of a B model (such as the P-01 or a 75B), simply because you don't have to worry about the firing pin block linkage.

[dakota.potts]

Walt, I don't know if there was some confusion but I haven't posted a picture of my 75 in this thread and haven't for some time. It's a 75 BD Police model that I bought new in 2013 or 2014. The polycoat seems very thick and is only warn on the lower rails of the frame from the holster I used.

I've been told it's harder to get a good trigger out of the BD model because of the decocker, but I do want to clean the trigger pull up and see what can be done with it. It doesn't seem there's much "accurizing" to do to the platform because of the way the barrel locks up and CZs reputation for accurate barrels, so I think with the trigger job and new sights it ought to let me see how well I can make the gun shoot over all.

[Walt Sherrill]

Part of MY confusion was that you called your 75BD (a 75B model) a 75. You later called it a BD AND called it a 75 BD in your topic title -- that should have been clue enough for me, but it wasn't. (Further complicating things for me, was that I had just seen a late pre-B photo in another CZ discussion and confused it with your BD.) MY error. I must've been responding, in my mind, to that other discussion on another forum. Another error. Sorry.

As you state, a recent 75BD has a good, solid polycoat. That finish will be extra work or cost to remove. (The underlayer of parkerization is generally done on the polycoated guns, without a lot of preparatory polishing; I don't think the factory-blued models get the parkerized underlayer.)

As for it being harder to get a good trigger out of a decocker model -- maybe or maybe not. Extra time, I think, and that may mean "harder" to you; there are some extra parts packed into a tight area, so getting to the stuff you need to get to, and getting it all back together will take extra time. (I've never detail-stripped a decocker model so I'm relying on the comments of folks I trust who have done both.) I am not a decocker fan.

That said, the decocker mechanism has little or no effect on the trigger. Except for the fact that the decocker models have only one hammer hook (one is removed to make room for the decocker mechanism), the key parts affecting trigger/sear/hammer interface are the same whether the gun is decocker- or safety-equipped.) The firing pin safety mechanism may need some adjustment, too, for the best overall results.

The CZ Forum should have all the tips, guidance, info you need (with photos in some cases). link: http://www.czfirearms.us/

[Rogervzv]

I just ordered this sight for one of my two CZ75D 40 S&W pistols.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0141PCJ12/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hope it turns out to be a good choice. This one has FO and tritium both.