Open gun review

[Rick88]

I have had many open guns. All had their good points and bad, but recently I got to handle a Cz Czechmate and it fit my hand like a glove, and just felt really good and balanced. I did not get a chance to shoot it. If you have one, or had one, could you give me a review -pro and con? I just might get one if they are really as good as the manufacturer claims.

[Glk21C]

some of your answers can be found here:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1

good luck

[my00wrx1]

Before I bought mine 12 months ago I also had trouble finding any information on the Czechmate other than what's listed on the CZ sites. I planned to do a review but just never got round to it. I’ll give you a brief run down on the pistol outside of what you can readily find on the CZ sites and some general information I have picked up.

The Czechmate is based on the CZ 75 Tactical Sport which has a larger frame than the rest of the CZ 75 range and accordingly I expect that interchangeable of parts with those outside of the TS range would be limited (springs may be an exception). This including magazines and will also effect magazine pouches and holsters. Bear in mind that the larger frame also means the grip is slightly larger than the rest of the CZ 75 range however as the grip is shaped to fit the hand similar to my CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow I don’t find any problem transitioning between the two.

Competition features include a 4 port compensator, C-more polymer Slideride with standard switch (non click type), competition hammer, single action trigger, slide racker, extended magazine release and mag well.

The single action trigger is plastic and breaks (from memory) cleanly at about 2 pounds. The fact that the trigger is plastic does not affect the performance or feel in my opinion.

The frame is black poly coat and the slide is blued. The surface finish on mine is very good with the exception of a few small imperfections near the front serrations on the slide. The machining and general finish to the slide rails is very good when compared to my Shadow. I have noted however that the interior fit of the mag well to the frame could be improved so that they match together which would assist with smoother magazine changes.

I’m in Australia so it came with 4 x 10 round magazines. Spares included 6 slide stops, extractor, a barrel ‘nut’ with a plain front sight post for shooting without the compensator, rear blade type sight for shooting without the C-more (not adjustable for elevation) and 2 extra barrels. From what I can gather some of the initial pistols did not include the 2 extra barrels due to some export issues from the Czech republic and while this appears to have been fixed it may pay to check that these are included with the pistol rather than just assume they do. The other spares provided with each pistol may also vary slightly with each batch or country of delivery.

While I have been advised on good authority they are available in 9x21 I have only seen them available in 9x19. The CZ site states the pistol is designed for major power factor and the CZ IPSC team shoots major however I have only run minor loads in mine so far. As you would expect I have found that the same load run through both my Shadow and Czechmate is much more manageable in the Czechmate.

In relation to accuracy, I will state up front I am not someone who can shoot tiny groups with a pistol so I will just say that I have not had any problems with accuracy and the pistol could out shoot me any day of the week.

So far I have put approximately 1,500 rounds through the pistol and can only recall a couple of FTE’s initially (I have had some more problems recently however this was due to a batch of reloads I made as I had the same problems in my Shadow and rectified it by making some changes to the load).

I have been told the pistols have used by the CZ IPSC team for 6 years though I understand that they have only been available to the public for 2 or 3 years and wonder if this 6 year period includes predecessors such as the ‘Champion’. Production appears to be limited and I have read that there is just one person at the factory making them.

There is apparently a multi-coloured version available, known as the ‘parrot’ but have I have only ever seen CZ’s photo’s on the internet and haven’t come across anyone who’s handled one yet.

The areas for improvement on the pistol that I would like to see would be the inclusion of a thumb rest and better fitting of the mag well to the frame. Availability in 40 and 38 Super would also be good.

It is a bit fiddly to separate the guide rod from the barrel and compensator (which unscrews from the barrel once the guide rod is removed), a summary and pictures of the process can be found at the following link:

http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120242

If you are considering replacing the stock optics mount be aware that the hole pattern is not the standard C-more pattern. Additionally I have been told the standard mount fits into an inlet in the frame.

Overall I am very happy with the Czechmate.