Czechmate vs. 2011 for Open

[mniels]

So I am looking to pick up an open gun in 9mm.  I have owned and shopped many 2011s (but all limited.)  Because of price and the fact that I have a line on being able to pick one up, I am considering a Czechmate.  I already shoot a S2 in CO, so sticking with the CZ grip also makes sense to me.  Also, this will likely be used mostly in Steel Challenge.  If I decide to get something for SC only, I will probably look into a 1911 9mm build.

 

I am curious if anyone has opinions on the pros and cons of the CZ and 2011 when compared to each other?

[Sarge]

Every person I actually know who bought a CM was unhappy with it. BUT I have never owned one.

[Rnlinebacker]

1 hour ago, mniels said:

So I am looking to pick up an open gun in 9mm.  I have owned and shopped many 2011s (but all limited.)  Because of price and the fact that I have a line on being able to pick one up, I am considering a Czechmate.  I already shoot a S2 in CO, so sticking with the CZ grip also makes sense to me.  Also, this will likely be used mostly in Steel Challenge.  If I decide to get something for SC only, I will probably look into a 1911 9mm build.

 

I am curious if anyone has opinions on the pros and cons of the CZ and 2011 when compared to each other?

I have 2011 open guns and my buddy has Czechmates.

 

For the money, the CZ are very solid and the grip is a large frame closer to your shadow 2 but not exact.

 

The trigger is very light yet spongy if you go up in mainspring weight you can get a more crisp trigger with a heavier break.

 

The reset, this is where the 2011s shine. The Czechmate has a very long reset in general and definitely way more compared to the 2011s. 

 

Furthermore, since the CZ barrel unlocks on the slide stop pin they send you a few because it WILL break after 10k+ rounds but with minor for steel challenge probably a little longer. 

 

The magazines, they come with a few but they suck. There's a video on YouTube how to tune them properly with Grams internals. Or you can send them to Grams and they will tune for you.

 

 

If the Czechmate is all that's on your budget than by all means you won't be dissatisfied. However, since you have shot 2011s you will be curious at some point. You could certainly save some money looking at "smaller" builders like Rafferty, Carne Customs, RogueTac Customs, D2 customs.

 

Heck, you can go my route and by the Brazos short block open kit and build it out for just a little more than the checkmate. I'm enjoying mine in major pf currently

Edited January 15, 2021 by Rnlinebacker

[Explosiveo]

Buy once cry once. Save up and buy a quality 2011. You won't be sorry. I would also recommend Rafferty. You will be hard pressed to find better quality at that price point. Very reasonable.

[cheby]

I have done it both ways. A LOT. CZ is a good gun. But I am shooting 2011s now.

[Bakerjd]

I'd look at the Tanfoglio open guns as well. 

 

As for 2011 vs CZ. I shoot with a buddy who runs the heck out of a CZ open gun. His runs very good, as good as any open gun. But I dont know how the majority of them run or how much effort he put into making it run well. I would also look at what's out there for mags, base pads, sight mounts, ect. 

[yigal]

6 hours ago, Sarge said:

Every person I actually know who bought a CM was unhappy with it. BUT I have never owned one.

al shooters from the club that have  CM  very happy. but only for minor loads only .

for shooting open with major loads find  good  new 2011 .

[muncie21]

10 hours ago, mniels said:

So I am looking to pick up an open gun in 9mm.  .........

Also, this will likely be used mostly in Steel Challenge.  If I decide to get something for SC only, I will probably look into a 1911 9mm build.

OP- Since what you’re looking for ‘appears’ to be a pistol to shoot 9 minor (for shooting both open and SC) why not add an optic to your S2 and get another barrel with a comp.  you’d be able to shoot open minor and SC by only changing out the barrel and bolting on the optic.
 

If you’re in the mood for a new pistol, then as an owner of both CM and 2011’s, either would be good candidates for your needs; they both have pros and cons as others have noted. 

[mniels]

19 minutes ago, muncie21 said:

OP- Since what you’re looking for ‘appears’ to be a pistol to shoot 9 minor (for shooting both open and SC) why not add an optic to your S2 and get another barrel with a comp.  you’d be able to shoot open minor and SC by only changing out the barrel and bolting on the optic.
 

If you’re in the mood for a new pistol, then as an owner of both CM and 2011’s, either would be good candidates for your needs; they both have pros and cons as others have noted. 

I actually thought about that.  I already have an optic (shoot CO with it.)  I have never shot open before, so the one reason I was hesitating on that option was that I always assumed it was preferable to have your optic frame mounted as opposed to the slide so that the optic was not reciprocating.

[mniels]

22 minutes ago, muncie21 said:

OP- Since what you’re looking for ‘appears’ to be a pistol to shoot 9 minor (for shooting both open and SC) why not add an optic to your S2 and get another barrel with a comp.  you’d be able to shoot open minor and SC by only changing out the barrel and bolting on the optic.
 

If you’re in the mood for a new pistol, then as an owner of both CM and 2011’s, either would be good candidates for your needs; they both have pros and cons as others have noted. 

Also, there is the whole DA/SA thing.  Would be very nice in SC to have my first trigger pull be SA.

[Banacek]

I vote for Tanfoglio as well.  Just bought a new Custom Gold Eric (old series, replaced by the Domina (sp)), well priced at ~$2K new but you have to add mount and optics or maybe just mount for you (Speed Shooters.com)  Works well with the Safariland holsters, the czechmate will take a specialized holster.  

[frgood]

34 minutes ago, mniels said:

Also, there is the whole DA/SA thing.  Would be very nice in SC to have my first trigger pull be SA.

Czechmate is SA only.

[mniels]

12 minutes ago, frgood said:

Czechmate is SA only.

Yeah, that was vague.  Was referring to my other post where we were talking about putting a comp on my S2.

[frgood]

25 minutes ago, mniels said:

Yeah, that was vague.  Was referring to my other post where we were talking about putting a comp on my S2.

Ah. My confusion.

[mniels]

1 minute ago, frgood said:

Ah. My confusion.

Sorry, meant I was vague, not you.  

[PhotoRecon]

I love my Czechmate for major...don't have a problem with 2011's either...

[regor]

I've been shooting a Czechmate in Open for the last 1+ year. My take on it is that the CM won't hold you back from achieving any of your goals. I went from B class to M class over the course of 2020 and I do not feel that I was handicapped by shooting a CM at any point. You can buy two of them for the price many folks are paying for their big name custom 2011s. If you already have CZs then you also have the benefit of being able to share some small parts in the case of breakages. They should run 100% out of the box with everything they send, although the mags do need to be tuned once you start adding extensions (140mm extensions on the 20 round mags should run fine, but big sticks will need tuning). You will need to blend the frame and mag-well since they are not fit well from the factory, which is annoying, but easy to do. Mine was able to run major and minor right out of the box too, so no need to fiddle with spring weights to get it to run reliably with minor. 

 

As @Rnlinebacker mentioned, the reset is longer than most 2011s, but IMO that hardly matters. I can still throw down <0.15 splits with the Czechmate trigger. As to whether or not your trigger is mushy, it's hit or miss. I have 2 CMs and a TSO. Two are very crisp, while the third is a little mushy, but only noticeable if I am focus on it. Switching to the aluminum triggers and/or switching hammer/trigger spring can improve this. The one area w.r.t trigger that I dislike is the inability to change the length of pull with different trigger shoes like the 2011. There is a "big hands" trigger available from Cesar Shop if you need a longer LOP, but that's the only option I am aware of. On the flip side, there are tons of grip options available and they are much cheaper to experiment with than 2011 grip modules. In general they are very easy to work on and don't need to be sent in to a gunsmith to have any new parts fitted. 

 

The other main area that many people dislike is the safety. If you have short thumbs it may be very difficult to actuate the safety consistently without shifting your grip. CZC makes an enlarged safety that I find to be a substantial improvement, but you may want to try handling a CM or TSO before committing to one in case it doesn't work with your thumbs. 

 

 

[muncie21]

10 hours ago, mniels said:

Also, there is the whole DA/SA thing.  Would be very nice in SC to have my first trigger pull be SA.

You can have the frame drilled for the optic mount.  If your S2 has a manual safety I believe you can start with the gun locked and cocked like 2011s. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by muncie21

[kneelingatlas]

23 hours ago, Sarge said:

Every person I actually know who bought a CM was unhappy with it. BUT I have never owned one.

 

How large is your sample size Sarge

[kneelingatlas]

I've been shooting CZ Open guns for seven years, I that time I've owned a half dozen 2011 Open guns in an attempt to make a fair comparison.  I ended up selling all my 2011s.  Read into that whatever you like

[mniels]

5 minutes ago, kneelingatlas said:

I've been shooting CZ Open guns for seven years, I that time I've owned a half dozen 2011 Open guns in an attempt to make a fair comparison.  I ended up selling all my 2011s.  Read into that whatever you like

Did you find that you needed to have any trigger work done?

[Squirrel45]

I'm new to shooting open, just started this past June. However I have been shooting competitive w 1911's for a few years now. I looked for a good while at the two you mentioned, money was not the driving factor, what felt good was. I shot a couple of each and or variants. I settle on the czechmate though. Great trigger, grip and overall quality. I have been fortunate that I have seen the fruits of labor this pistol can deliver and could not be more pleased. Would I consider a 2011 in the future perhaps, as I do really enjoy the 1911 platform. But right now I'll take the CZECHMATE. My opinion

[B_RAD]

The thumb safety kills it for me. 

 

2011

[Jamese35]

I've had tanfo, cz, and 2011 open guns and as of now I'm on the 2011s just due to the after market. There is so much more out there for the 2011 than cz and tanfo. As for comparison, they all preform very well with minor and major loads. At this point I have had them all tunes to be pretty close to each other and it came down to how many parts I could get for each platform and the 2011 wins puth in that department.

[zzt]

I started out in Open by converting my CZ TS to an Open gun.  That was before there was a Czechmate.  There were compromises.  I then bought two used Open 2011 guns in different styles.  After I had shot the Franken TS for half a season and the two 2011s for two seasons, I knew what I wanted.  I built a custom 2011 because I had so many choices of parts.  Plus I had built 1911s before, so I was familiar with how they worked.

 

I know lots of people who run CMs and love them.  I know one who started with a CM and went to a 2011 when he got sponsored.  I've shot the CM and think it a perfectly adequate Open gun.  If you don't want to spend a lot of money, but want something that runs out of the box, a CM is a good option.  I went 2011 because even though I thought I knew exactly what I wanted, I wasn't 100% certain.  A 2011 build lets me change my mind after the fact and go a different way.  Fortunately I got it right the first time.