stock 75bd, want to shoot it better w/o breaking bank

[motosapiens]

So I have this cz75bd, and I love the way it feels and I love the way it looks, and I used to love the way it shot (i am a newb) until I started doing steel challenge and the occasional IDPA and got an m&p40 and put an apex dcaek in the m&p. The long hard DA pull is making it hard to put the first shot where I want it quickly. The overtravel on subsequent SA shots seems to be making me jerk the shots slightly low and left (2-3" or so at 15 yards firing as rapidly as I can find the sights). I realize I could probably learn to shoot better, but I wouldn't mind also making the trigger a little more competition-friendly, without making it unsuitable or unsafe for carry or defense. I don't really want to turn it into a full-on race gun, just shoot it better.

I see I can send it to czcustom, and for around $250 (including shipping both ways), they'll make it awesome with their competition hammer and trigger work, but that's half the price of the gun right there. Much over $200 and I start thinking maybe I should just buy a shadow and keep the 75bd for plinking and carry and defense and call it good.

I also see that cajun gun works makes some DIY kits. I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle that, but maybe with a youtube vid it wouldn't be too bad. I did install the dcaek in the m&p by myself without problems, but I have read that the decocker is a real pain when working on these guns, so I'm slightly intimidated.

Are there other more reasonable options to reduce the overtravel and lighten and smooth the DA pull somewhat?

[burningsquirrels]

the pain with decockers is the very long pin that retains it all. it's not that big of a deal so long as you have a slave pin to use. a slave pin is basically a slightly smaller pin you use to get everything lined up before driving the actual fitted pin into the frame. if you did your M&P, this wouldn't be that much harder, it only takes patience.

[motosapiens]

makes sense. apex includes a slave pin in their kit that really made the trigger spring part easy, and i see cajun gun works sells an inexpensive piece for the decocker pin, so maybe it is something I could tackle.

Reading their site, I'm not 100% clear on which of their hammer kits fit decocker models, and which ones are only for non-decocker models. Also not clear on whether the kits address the overtravel issue, or if that's something that must be tackled separately. Perhaps I should just email them, but it seems to me if I'm confused, maybe the information would be of value to someone else with similar questions at some point.

[eerw]

to solve the overtravel, you will probably need to install a CZ85C trigger with the overtravel adjustment.

you might try installing a lighter hammer spring to see if that helps with the DA pull. this will make slightly lighter and possiblly easier for you to pull straight.

the CGW kits are great to work with. I think the decocker kit is kit 4, or just call and talk to David and tell him for the decocker gun.

where are you located

[motosapiens]

Oops, didn't realize my location wasn't in my profile. Now it is.

I'm going to shoot that gun a bit more in the next couple weeks and see if part of my problem isn't just the going back and forth with the m&p. I know my skills have a long way to go.

[motosapiens]

Well, I got a small performance bonus from work, so I ordered the cajun gun works decocker hammer and spring kit and installation kit. Looking forward to getting it installed soon. I think it will be a fun opportunity to learn a little more about the gun too.

[eerw]

Well, I got a small performance bonus from work, so I ordered the cajun gun works decocker hammer and spring kit and installation kit. Looking forward to getting it installed soon. I think it will be a fun opportunity to learn a little more about the gun too.

the CGW hammer is a nice part..combo it with a spring kit, you will have a really nice trigger on your gun.

good luck, PM/Email if you need any help.

[motosapiens]

update: the cajun gun works decocker hammer and spring kit showed up saturday while I was at the famous potato bowl watching a great football game. It took me 2-3 hours to install the parts, thanks to the internet and various picture threads. The only slight glitch was i managed to somehow mangle the teeny spring for the firing pin block actuater gizmo while driving the slave pin through the sear cage. I unmangled it enough to get it to fit back in there and work, so no harm no foul. I'll replace that spring next time I have to take the gun apart.

Night and day difference in the trigger feel. Significantly lighter pull in DA, and crisper earlier release that I really like.

One minor concern afterwards. A couple times, after I decocked the hammer, i pulled the trigger and it didn't catch somehow. I was able to pretty much duplicate the feel of the problem by decocking and then continuing to hold the decocker down while pulling the trigger. I messed with it when i got home, and cleaned and oiled it, and have since been unable to replicate the problem, so maybe it was just a bit of grit or grime or something sticking in the way. It ONLY happened when shooting from half-cock after decocking. Any idea what would cause such a symptom?

[1SOW]

I don't know decockers, but if your trigger has an overtravel and or a reset/pre-travel adjustment screw/s (also offered by CGW with the short reach kits), make sure to back off and leave a little "slack in them.

Edited December 20, 2011 by 1SOW

[motosapiens]

I don't know decockers, but if your trigger has an overtravel and or a reset/pre-travel adjustment screw/s (also offered by CGW with the short reach kits), make sure to back off and leave a little "slack in them.

no adjustment screws, but thanks for the tip. I must have read 100 of your posts on the cz forums in the last few days while researching how to bust into my gun for the first time. thanks for asking so many good questions so i could take advantage of the answers.

[motosapiens]

update again. the gun is working awesome now. Apparently the tolerances in my gun are such that the slightly milled disconnector that works in every other decocker gun doesn't *quite* work in mine. the trigger bar was occasionally hitting the beveled portion of the disconnector (only from half-cock) and sliding off. putting the stock disconnector back in makes it work great. it's not supposed to, since the hammer is cut, but I guess that's the way tolerances stack up sometimes. I shot about 100 rounds from s/a, half cock d/a, and fully lowered d/a.

David from cgw has been awesome to work with, and assuming he agrees with my thinking, i'm going to just have him send me a disconnector that is only milled about 50% of what he normally does. I think that should cause the d/a to release just a little bit earlier than stock, which would be just about perfect.

working with cajungunworks has moved me much closer to buying a few more cz's, because now I know I can make them into awesome shooters for not much $$. Looking at a 75b in .40 and a p01 as my next investments. I just can't justify spending $250-300 including shipping on trigger/spring/hammer work for those guns, but I can easily justify doing it myself with cgw parts for $100 or so.

I now shoot the cz just about as well as the M&P with apex trigger kit that I have been mostly shooting for the last 6 months. That was my goal. Yay. Metal guns rule.

Edited December 20, 2011 by motosapiens