Yearbook 2007

CZ 75 SP-01 

Profile and History of CZUB 

Tests of the CZ 75 D Compact Pistol 

Dan Wesson Pistols and Revolvers 

CZ 750 Sniper Rifles 

Yearbook 2007 

The CZ 550 Rifle – The Best Mauser

Dear 

Readers, 

For me it is a really great pleasure that I can present to you historically the first Yearbook of Česká 

zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod. We have tried to put into this Yearbook of Česká zbrojovka a true 

representative collection of practical experiences acquired with CZ firearms by the top sport shooters 

and renowned gun writers. This Česká zbrojovka Yearbook also provides a great service to anybody 

who wants to learn more about our company history and its current profile – but this is of course far 

from giving any comprehensive and detailed notion about its contents. 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has something to show off and I have no doubts that the almost one 

hundred following pages of articles and interviews will convince you. At the same time I firmly believe 

that you will welcome this publication as really useful and expedient giving prompt orientation in the rich 

assortment provided by our company. 

I wish you a pleasant and inspiring reading and good choice when buying firearm made by CZ. 

Ing. Lubomír Kovařík, MBA 

General Manager of Česká zbrojovka a. s. 

Introduction

Content 

Content 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod – Lady at Her Best 5 

The Seventy – Year Old Youngster 8 

A Little Bit of Technique or the Secret Behind the CZ 75 Success 12 

Plastic Seventy Five – the CZ 75 BD Compact P 14 

CZ 75 SP-01 – The Ultimate CZ 75 18 

Tyc Conquered the World 22 

I Know, that I Can Shoot Even Better. 

Adam Tyc – the IPSC World Champion in the Production Division 25 

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow 28 

The Professional Shooter Martin Kameníček 31 

CZ 2075 RAMI and RAMI P – a Vivid Freshman 34 

Milan Trkulja – Creator of the Sporting Success of CZUB 38 

High Above the Usual Standard. 

Tests of the CZ 75 D Compact Pistol Conducted in Slavičín, Czech Republic 39 

Police Pistol CZ 75 D Compact 42 

CZ 97 B Calibre .45 ACP – “Forty-Five Not Only For America” 45 

Angus Hobdell – the Ace up CZ-USA’s Sleeve 48 

Dan Wesson Pistols and Revolvers from CZ-USA 50 

Alice Poluchová – President of CZ-USA 54 

Unexpected Alliance or Colt Z 40 and Its Modifications 56 

CZ 92 – Time-proven Veteran in a New Coat 60 

Tenth Birthday of the CZ 100 62 

Over and Unders Brno 800 65 

The CZ 452 – Rimfire Rifle for Professionals as well as Beginners 66 

The CZ 527 – “Mini Mauser” or Light Centerfire Rifle 70 

I Don't Count My Victories. 

An Interview with Jan Buksa, the Multiple European Game Shooting Champion 74 

The CZ 550 Rifle – The Best Mauser 76 

Magdaléna Milcová Talks about CZ 750 80 

CZ 750 Sniper Rifles 81 

The CZ 858 Tactical 85 

Slavia Air Rifles 86 

The CZ 200 PCP Series 88 

The Only Place We Don’t Sell to is Perhaps the Antarctic. 

Ing. Ladislav Britaňák, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Česká zbrojovka a. s., 

Talks about the Business Successes of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 90 

René Ondra – Master Engraver for Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 92 

www.czub.cz 94 

4 Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007

âeská 

If we were able to present a question directly to 

Česká zbrojovka – the lady in her prime, with the 

wealth of life experiences – asking her how 

she’s doing, she’d most probably tell us the 

following: “It’s not going too bad and even though 

the current era disfavours my doings, I do not let it 

get me down and I do everything to continue to 

flourish.” Yes, it isn’t easy to produce and sell 

firearms in this day and age. The whole situation 

on the world’s arms market is being complicated 

by a number of (not just) legislative impediments 

Přemysl Liška 

David Pazdera 

which consequently result in a negative attitude 

towards weapons, full of unfounded prejudices 

from a fairly large part of the public, and therefore 

also politicians, particularly in western Europe. In 

recent years these tendencies resulted in the 

decline of a number of renowned foreign 

companies in a seemingly unshakable position. 

Česká zbrojovka, whose majority owner became 

in 2001 the company EXIMAT a. s., was not as 

unlucky as some others. It still produces the 

well-proven and popular long guns and handguns, 

Profile 

zbrojovka 

Uhersk˘ Brod 

– Lady at Her Best 

Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod, was founded in 1936 as 

a branch establishment of the arms factory in Strakonice and 

during the 70 years of existence in its sphere of business it has 

worked its way up among the most significant European and 

international manufacturers. In addition, nowadays it is also the 

only large Czech company which specialises in the production of 

firearms and is therefore the flag carrier of the Czech arms 

industry’s famous traditions. 

Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 5

Profile 

Main administrative building of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

which are being exported to around a hundred 

countries worldwide, it also continually adds new 

models to its range, it has an excellent reputation 

abroad and in spite of the disadvantageous dollar 

exchange rate it still manages to sustain 

a well-balanced economy on a long term basis. Sales, 

made in Czech crowns, have been steadily working 

out for some time at around 1.2 billion a year and 

lately there has even been a slight rising tendency 

observed. To the stability of the company, which 

employs around 1400 employees, contributes the 

fact, that it does not limit itself just with the production 

of weapons. Additional production schedules include 

the supply of parts for the automotive industry and 

the manufacture of precise cog-wheels and aircraft 

components for foreign customers. Česká zbrojovka 

naturally still wants to remain a gun factory first and to 

this goal it dedicates its greatest efforts. 

A BREAK-THROUGH IN THE USA 

Even the best European arms factory can begin 

to consider itself to be truly successful only when it 

manages to establish itself on the North American 

market. In the case of firearms company of Uherský 

Brod this occurred after the subsidiary company 

CZ-USA was created. The branch was established 

in 1997 and has resided in Kansas City from 1998. 

Direct contact with American customers brought in 

sales of guns produced in Uherský Brod on the 

North American market literally a boom. Guns made 

under the trade mark CZ started to have a fantastic 

reputation in the USA and consequently there was 

a number of specific models of pistols, rifles and 

small-bore rifles made for the United States. Sales 

have rapidly reached a satisfactory level and now it 

seems that they could even increase in future years. 

A surprising contribution towards the strengthening 

of the status of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod in 

the New World was the recent acquisition of the 

company Dan Wesson, thanks to which the range 

of products offered by arms company of Uherský 

Brod was expanded by the popular clones of the 

pistol Colt 1911 A1 and also – once again after 

thirty-five years – the revolvers. 

EUROPE AND “THE REST” OF THE 

WORLD 

In Europe, on a long term basis, mainly rimfire 

rifles and centrefire rifles produced in Uherský Brod 

sell very well. Pistols are indeed also in demand, but 

the civil sector of the European market interested in 

handguns is relatively small. The situation in the 

department of break-barrel air-rifles, where Česká 

zbrojovka maintains its strong position with its highquality 

models called Slavia, complicates itself in 

some respect with the import of very cheap 

Chinese and Turkish products. In response to this 


they’ve produced model Slavia 634 in Uherský 

Brod, which is of a much higher quality with an 

increased muzzle velocity. The air rifles with air 

reservoirs are very popular mainly in Great Britain, 

where Česká zbrojovka exports several thousands 

of pieces every year. In the Czech Republic and 

some of the surrounding countries the market for 

these weapons is not really fully developed but they 

undoubtedly have their potential. Sales of precharged 

pneumatics are in addition being 

extended to the east from the Czech border, to 

Poland, Ukraine as well as Russia. 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod however does 

not underestimate other territories either and that 

is on a worldwide scale. Latin America and even 

Africa with all its restrictions became very 

interesting and there seems to be a very promising 

market in Asia, for example in Thailand, India, 

Malaysia and Indonesia. There are very good sales 

rates of rimfire rifles and handguns in particular. 

THE SUCCESS OF SERVICE 

WEAPONS 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod is also 

areputable supplier of quality service weapons. 

Nowadays these include mainly the pistols from the 

CZ 75 family, with which more than a hundred 

armed bodies worldwide are allegedly equipped. In 

recent years it was the production of the pistol CZ 

75 D Compact, designed for the Czech Republic 

Police force, which celebrated a great success 

(thanks to which this model attracted an attention of 

additional customers) and a larger order of pistols 

produced in Uherský Brod was supplied to Mexico 

for its Naval Forces and the Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs. Česká zbrojovka obviously presents and 

plans to present its pistols to further tenders and 

there are currently a number of other significant 

contracts being discussed. A huge boost for the 

company was the victory of Mr. Adam Tyc with a CZ 

pistol at the IPSC World Championship in Ecuador. 

The victory subsequently resulted in an increase of 

orders particularly from the countries of Latin 

America, especially orders of handguns made in 

Uherský Brod which weren’t just of service 

character. 

Apart from this all, Česká zbrojovka does not 

allow for its focus to diminish when it comes to 

development and production of long service 

guns. The new sniper rifles of the CZ 750 series 

seem to have very promising results. When it 

comes to the new automatic weapons for the 

individual, there are number of very interesting 

projects in progress, which should culminate in 

the second half of this decade. 

CHANGES IN THE ANNIVERSARY 

YEAR 

There were several top management teams 

trying to make sure, that the mature lady - Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod – conducted herself better 

in the bygone years. None of them made fatal 

mistakes, but on the other hand there was a general 

agreement that the company in Uherský Brod could 

do much better. This is the reason why at the 

threshold of the anniversary year 2006 there was an 

extensive staff shake-up at Česká zbrojovka which 

subsequently brought to the company’s top 

management specialists who bear a relationship to 

the gun factory and who also have experience “from 

within”. The formation of the new management team 

of Česká zbrojovka was rounded off with the 

appointment of the new general director – Ing. 

Lubomír Kovařík, MBA which took place in the 

summer of 2006. He has a wealth of experience 

which he gained from a number of senior managerial 

positions in several Czech companies. 

PROMISING ACQUISITION 

The Autumn of 2006 put an end to speculation 

regarding the possible return of the manufacture of 

shotguns to Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. This 

happened with the appearance of the company 

BRNO RIFLES, s. r. o., which with the utilization of 

employees and machinery which belonged to the 

bankrupted Zbrojovka Brno intends to link-up with 

the famous tradition of weaponry produced in 

Brno, especially with the manufacture of shotguns. 

Since the company BRNO RIFLES is connected 

with Česká zbrojovka besides other things through 

the owner, it is of no surprise, that the product 

range on offer at Česká zbrojovka should once 

again be broadened with the over and under 

shotguns and which could be as soon as 2007. 

THE STRENGTHENING OF THE 

TRADEMARK 

One of the current tasks of firearms company of 

Uherský Brod is the general reinforcement of the 

CZ trademark’s reputation, which should be 

perceived by customers worldwide as a guarantee 

of a certain higher quality level. Trademark popularity 

should not be based only on its favourable prices. 

Nowadays there surely isn’t anyone who would 

doubt the fact, that the weapons produced in Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod are of a high quality and 

that they even dwarf many products of renowned 

brand names (perhaps even more expensive). 

Česká zbrojovka now wants to reach a state where 

customers realise this fact without the necessity for 

a distinct increase in its product prices. It means to 

get there not just with increased advertising but also 

with emphasis on more effective and faster 

innovatory processes which will be customeroriented 

and which will also swiftly react to the 

immediate needs of the market. ■ 


History 

The Seventy 

– Year Old Youngster 

Aircraft machineguns, air rifles, submachine David Pazdera 

guns, self-loading and sniper rifles, pistols, 

revolvers, tractor parts and aircraft engines – all this, and by far 

not only that, had Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, which celebrates 

its 70th anniversary this year, managed to produce whilst on its 

way to the top of the world’s armament industry. 

The history of today’s Česká zbrojovka a. s., 

Uherský Brod begins in mid-1930’s when the 

increasing threat from Nazi Germany forced 

neighbouring Czechoslovakia to relocate its strategic 

industrial capacity to safer regions in the eastern 

parts of the country. With this request the 

Czechoslovak Ministry of National Defence 

approached in 1934 Česká zbrojovka, Inc., in 

Prague, whose factory was located in the south- 

Bohemian town of Strakonice. And so, during the 

Autumn of 1935, after the selection of suitable 

location took its time, a plot of land was purchased 

for the new “machine-gun factory” in Uherský Brod 

in south-eastern Moravia, not far from the Slovak 

borders. Construction of the production facilities was 

carried out by a company owned by a building 

contractor Mr. Karel Bubla from Plzeň. It commenced 

on the 28th July 1936 and was finalized within a mere 

16 weeks. During December 1936 the machines 

were installed in the completed buildings. On the 1st 

February 1937, the brand new arms factory could 

start its operation under the management of its first 

director Mr. František Brejcha, equipped by the best 

and most modern equipment of its time. To the 

satisfaction of the company’s management as well 

as of the Czechoslovak army, it produced aircraft 


machine guns (model 30) and their accessories, 

which were soon followed by flare pistols (model 30). 

OCCUPATION 

Soon after the occupation of Bohemia and 

Moravia by Nazi Germany in March 1939, the 

armament factory in Uherský Brod had switched its 

production and started producing for the German 

armed forces. To start with they were supplying 

barrels for German aircraft and infantry machine 

guns and later they supplied complete aircraft 

machineguns MG 17. Transition to a new product 

range presented a significant technological leap 

forward, because it necessitated an introduction of 

even more up-to-date manufacturing processes and 

also the supplementation of adequate machinery. 

Apart from all this, the management of the factory in 

Uherský Brod had started, for the first time ever, to 

also pay attention to sporting and hunting arms 

whose manufacture was meant to contribute to the 

continuance of future capacity utilization. During 

World War II air rifles and small-bore rifles were only 

manufactured in Uherský Brod for a short time and 

in a fractional volume. The expansion of civil arms 

production was brought in by the post-war era. 

THE AIR RIFLE FACTORY 

After the liberation in spring 1945, the first wave 

of nationalization swept throughout Czechoslovakia 

and in 1946 the armament factory in Uherský 

Brod was made a part of the newly established 

national enterprise Česká zbrojovka, Strakonice. 

Nevertheless, it still kept its status as a branch 

establishment; but there was a significant change in 

the orientation of its production: due to the absence 

of military commissions it successfully embarked 

on a serial production of civil arms. 

It all started with the production of simple 

break-barrelled air rifles which were soon joined by 

training air rifles (model 35/46 and model 47). 

Single-shot small-bore rifles were also briefly 

manufactured. A very successful and businesseffective 

gun of this era was a hunting semiautomatic 

shotgun ČZ 241. Only from 1948 had the 

military automatic gun once again returned to the 

product range of guns made in Uherský Brod – it was 

the submachine gun ČZ 247, intended for export, 

which unfortunately never took place in the end. 

DIFFICULT YEARS 

After the communist coup d’état in February 1948 

there were number of fundamental innovations waiting 

for the arms factory in Uherský Brod. Some of 

the good ones included the commencement 

of production of new military submachine guns in 

the summer of 1949 and, on the 1st January 1950 the 

establishment of the detached national enterprise 

Závody Přesného Strojírenství (Precision Engineering 

Works) Uherský Brod (abbreviated ZPS UB). 

The compulsorily ordered establishment of an 

independent enterprise was not simple, but successful 

and ZPS UB flourished from the beginning, fulfilling its 

high production plans with great success. But after 

1952 bad times had set in for the factory. It was 

assigned with its main product, which was the 

technically and technologically poorly designed 

self-loading rifle (model 52). For a long period time the 

army refused to receive the finished products. By the 

year 1955 things finally took a turn for the better. 

A similar situation occurred once more but on 

a smaller scale, in the second half of the 1950’s during 

the production of the sniper rifle (model 54). 

One of the gains, which had arisen from these 

aggravating experiences, was the admission of the 

socialist industry Masters that it was ill-advised to 

specialise the production in the arms factory in 

Uherský Brod entirely on service weapons. Due to 

the takeover of other establishment’s programmes, 

from the mid-1950’s onwards the range of 

products made in Uherský Brod once again 

included civil weapons: at first only air rifles and 

alarm pistols which were followed by a number of 

models of self-loading pistols. 

During the second half of 1950’s the factory in 

Uherský Brod was once again getting itself into 

a good shape, it had adopted some advanced 

manufacturing processes and it was about to begin 

the production of small-arms of a new generation. 

But at the close of the 1950’s a reorganization of 

Czechoslovak industry took place during which the 

manufacturing concerns were incorporated as 

subordinate works into so-called union enterprises. 

The arms factory in Uherský Brod fought for the 

preservation of its independence, but all was in vain 

and in the Spring of 1958 it turned into the fifth plant 

of the corporate enterprise called Závody Říjnové 

revoluce (The October Revolution Works). 


History 

FOR THE ARMY AND FOR EXPORT 

In spite of this disappointment the armament 

factory in Uherský Brod, which was now hidden 

behind the name “Závody Říjnové revoluce, n. p. 

Vsetín, závod 5 – Uherský Brod” (”The October 

Revolution Works, national enterprise Vsetín, plant 5 

- Uherský Brod”), flourished at the turn of the 

1950’s and 1960’s. A great success was especially 

the accelerated adoption of the challenging 

production techniques of the assault rifle model 58, 

which was mastered within a mere 8 months. It was 

succeeded by an improvement of precise casting 

and also by the utilization of alternative production 

materials. The main task given at the time to the 

armament factory in Uherský Brod was to supply the 

domestic armed bodies with service weapons (the 

production of the assault rifle model 58 in 1964 was 

followed by the production of a small submachinegun 

model 61 Scorpion). At the same time the 

takeover of civil firearms production from other 

Czechoslovak factories continued. Thanks to that 

a number of models of popular air rifles, air pistols, 

alarm pistols, defence pistols DUO, ČZ model 

45 and ČZ model 50 were soon supplied from 

Uherský Brod not only to the Czechoslovak but 

predominantly to the international market. From the 

mid-1960’s onwards the list also included long rifles 

(mainly centre fire rifles from the series ZKK 600-602 

and rimfire rifles led by the timeless ZKM 452, which 

is still being made to this day), which were taken 

over from the former Arms factory in Brno. 

Meanwhile, another extensive reorganization took 

place in the Czechoslovak industry. The manufactural 

management units, which unified enterprises and 

works with similar manufacturing and developmental 

intentions, entered the scene. In 1965 the arms 

factory in Uherský Brod became national enterprise 

Přesné strojírenství (Precision Engineering) which was 

integrated into the manufactural management unit of 

Zbrojovka Brno (the Arms Factory in Brno), which 

changed its name the following year to Zbrojovka 

(Arms Factory), in which the overwhelming majority of 

the other companies dealt with the production of 

agricultural technology. 

NOT ONLY WEAPONS 

A short-term relaxation of Czechoslovak 

relationships at the beginning of the second half of 

1960’s brought, among others, closer contacts with 

western customers to the manufacturing concerns. 

The arms factory in Uherský Brod swiftly reacted to 

the acquired pieces of knowledge with an extensive 

innovation of its civil weapons range. A number of 

models were brought up to date (this concerned 

mainly air rifles and defence pistols) and the portfolio 

of products made in Uherský Brod was for a short 

time extended with well-designed revolvers ZKR 

590 Grand and with gas pistols APP 661. Among the 

fixed items on offer were the ČZ rifle-shotguns 

designed and constructed by the company itself. 

Promising development of new weapons started 

– particularly pistols called Parabellum with a 9 mm 

projectile, which soon after became the legendary 

CZ 75. This effort did not remain without effect and 

in the 1970’s national enterprise Precision 

Engineering Uherský Brod established itself among 

the most prominent of the world’s manufacturers of 

civil weapons. This success was unfortunately in 


some respect concealed behind the use of 

established trade marks of other enterprises 

(especially the renowned “Z in a bore”). 

The arms factory in Uherský Brod had repeatedly 

returned to the manufacture of service weapons 

according to the demands of domestic and foreign 

customers, but even this did not secure a long-term 

stability for the relatively large factory and its great 

number of employees. This is the reason why new 

non-armament production schedules were soon 

sought as well. These had become in the 1970’s, the 

supplies of components for the turbopropelled 

engine M 601 and at a later date the manufacture of 

nodals for tractors and for tractor hydraulics. All this 

was connected with an extensive construction of 

new buildings during which time the current 

company’s administration block was also built. 

AGROZET 

In 1983 national enterprise Precision Engineering 

was renamed as Agrozet Uherský Brod, a joint 

enterprise with the national economic organization 

Agrozet based in Brno. The production of guns at 

that time took up less than a half of the capacity of 

the arms factory in Uherský Brod (the sum total was 

dominated by the production of parts for tractors and 

aircraft engines), but the factory was still holding its 

position as a key player in the foreign markets. Aside 

from the permanent good reputation of long guns 

produced in Uherský Brod it was also the success of 

the revolutionary conceived pistol CZ 75 which 

significantly contributed to this and was joined in the 

1980’s by the model CZ 85 with ambidextrous 

control elements. Another very successful gun of the 

1980’s was the new military pistol (model 82) and its 

civil versions entered the production line under the 

name CZ 83. From a technical point of view the 

turning point in the company’s history came with the 

purchase of numerically controlled cutting centres, 

which allowed the transition to production with 

incomparably higher productivity and precision. 

ONCE AGAIN ČESKÁ ZBROJOVKA 

In 1988, as a part of the “remodelling” of 

Czechoslovak society, a national enterprise Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod was created from the joint 

enterprise Agrozet Uherský Brod. Not long after the 

events of Autumn 1989 changes were brought to 

the political climate. These resulted in an extensive 

staff shake-up in the arms factory in Uherský 

Brod and subsequently brought a significant 

transformation to the production orientation. At the 

beginning of 1990’s the production of aircraft engines 

components and tractor parts was stopped and the 

manufacture of service pistols (model 82) was also 

halted ahead of time. The company had successfully 

compensated for these production gaps without the 

necessity for redundancies by a prompt increase in 

the production of civil weapons. This was led by the 

hunting rifles (by the end of 1980’s these included the 

excellent lightweight rifle CZ 527) and the pistols CZ 

75/85 which were followed by the successful 

development of their new versions and models 

(already during the 1990’s had the family of pistols 

produced in Uherský Brod grown and the production 

of the excellent CZ 550 rifle had started). Further 

healthy growth of the arms factory was made 

possible when on the 1st May 1992 Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod became a joint-stock company. 

In further years Česká zbrojovka a. s. has 

done exceptionally well even though it also has 

to fight with the serious problems which 

today‘s world’s armament industry is facing. But 

in contrast with some other formerly renowned 

manufacturers it has honourably faced up to its 

problems and it has reached its 70th anniversary 

in great shape and with ideal conditions for the 

further expansion of its accomplishments. ■ 


CZ 75 

A Little Bit 

of Technique 

or the Secret Behind 

the CZ 75 Success 

The CZ 75 pistol not only remains the flagship of Česká zbrojovka 

a.s., Uherský Brod, but moreover its magnificent design still forms 

a starting point for technical solutions of the most of handguns of 

the CZ brand. In what sense was, in this year actually 32 years old 

“seventy-five”, in its time such a breakthrough and where lies the 

secret of its up to the present days spanning success? 

In mid-1970s when the legendary CZ 75 was 

conceived it was one of the first pistols in the 

whole world, which combined many progressive 

features: it was 9 mm Luger cartridge, high 

capacity double column magazine and selective 

SA/DA trigger and firing mechanism. In the case 

of pistol made in Uherský Brod the market get a 

pistol with all-round excellent parameters, but 

the item users were enthralled most was its 

uniquely designed trigger mechanism. 

The designer of this pistol František Koucký 

choose to treat this problem with conception which 

was totally out of hitherto known trigger 

mechanisms. The basic feature of the CZ 75 trigger 

Authorship Certificate No. 1316/1975 

Jan Skramoušský 

mechanism is the trigger design, which operates as 

a single-arm lever. The axis of its rotation is thus 

positioned higher then the axis of connection with 

the trigger bar. All up to that time known pistols 

having SA/DA trigger mechanism the trigger served 

as a double-arm lever and when compressed the 

trigger bar moved forward – while for the CZ 75 

pistol the trigger bar is pushed backward. 

Another important item was the trigger bar 

design, which contrary to the solutions used for 

most of the known pistols (with the exception of the 

Czechoslovak pocket pistol ČZ vz. 45) been made 

in the shape of a frame encircling the magazine well 

and its arms were disposed with a symmetrical 

disconnector lugs. Applying this idea the designer 

has achieved steady and smooth transfer of force 

onto the trigger mechanism parts and components 

excluding mutual and transversal interference of 

parts resulting in increase of passive friction. 

An absolutely revolutionary idea was the 

execution of relation between the trigger bar and 

hammer and mutual disengagement necessary for 

the hammer release. At the space behind the 

magazine well is in the pistol receiver body inserted 

a bridge, into which is mounted a spring-loaded and 

pivoting sear. The front section of the bridge projects 

to fixed ejector of spent cartridge cases and is in the 

receiver body fixed by the manual safety pivot pin. 

The bridge bottom surface is flat and performs also 

another important function. The hammer body is 

provided, close to its axis, with hanging and pivoting 

element of hooked shape which is led beneath the 

bridge and whose arm slid on the flat surface at the 

pistol body. This element has at its top section two 

short horizontally situated arms against which is 


TRIGGER BAR 

RECOIL SPRING 

FRONT SIGHT 

RECOIL SPRING GUIDE 

MAGAZINE CATCH 

BARREL 

SLIDE STOP 

BARREL 

SLIDE 

TRIGGER 

EJECTOR 

FIRING PIN 

placed the trigger bar in the course of the doubleaction 

mode of fire. The rear side of the trigger bar is 

disposed with angular contact surface, which in the 

last stage of the trigger pull travel are placed against 

the bridge edge, resulting in the trigger bar drop thus 

consequently this hammer element release. The 

hammer is released to stroke the firing pin head. 

This revolutionary design of the trigger and firing 

mechanism had two important and characteristic 

features. Firstly, when applying DA mode of fire the 

trigger pull curve was not so steep at the stage just 

preceding the trigger break, but showed highly 

favourable characteristics. This meant a substantial 

improvement in accuracy for the first shot when 

shooting without a cocked hammer. The second 

important feature was decrease in difference (first 

stage) of the trigger cocking angles in single-action 

and double-action mode, which secured almost the 

SAFETY 

FIRING PIN 

LOCKING LUGS 

FOLLOWER 

FOLLOWER 

GRIP PANEL 

GRIP PANEL 

EXTRACTOR 

SEAR 

DISCONNECTOR 

CZ 75 B 

REAR SIGHT 

FIRING PIN 

BLOCK STOP 

HAMMER 

MAIN SPRING 

STRUT 

same impact energy of the hammer when striking 

the firing pin head and thus also higher security for 

reliable cartridge primer initiation. The most of the 

pistols having SA/DA mechanism at that time 

manifested substantially greater difference in the 

hammer rotation angle be it in single-action or 

double-action mode (for example the Czechoslovak 

ČZ vz. 50 pistol it was as far as 25 degrees). 

After three decades elapsing we can state, that 

this ingenious design of the SA/DA trigger and firing 

mechanism for the CZ 75 pistol is still not 

surpassed. Just thanks to this – and also due to the 

credit stemming from superb ergonomics and highly 

admired manufacturing quality means that today the 

CZ 75 and from it derived or cloned models are 

ranked among the top defensive and service pistols 

in the world and beside this they are used by police 

and military forces of many countries. ■ 

MAIN 

SPRING 

MAIN 

SPRING 

PLUG 

Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 13 

SEAR 

FRAME

Compact 

Plastic 

Martin Helebrant 

Seventy Five 

– the CZ 75 BD 

Compact P 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod gained its first experience with 

polymer framed pistols in the mid-1990s when model CZ 100 

entered serial production in 1996. Shooters and CZ fans had to 

wait for another polymer framed pistol from Uherský Brod until 

2005 when a subcompact CZ 2075 RAMI P entered the market. At 

that time first rumors were heard that this was not going to be the 

last “plastic member” of the CZ 75 family. It was only a moderate 

surprise when in 2006 the CZ 75 BD Compact P pistol was 

unveiled, corresponding by its dimensions with the model 

CZ 75 D Compact. 


Pistols CZ 75 BD Compact P and CZ 75 D Compact 

The new pistol is a compact service handgun in 

9 mm Luger calibre with the frame made from 

ablack polymer and steel slide. The breech is 

locked by the shortened (linkless) Browning type 

locking mechanism with a tilting barrel. The 

locking is achieved by a single locking lug sited 

above the cartridge chamber, in a way very similar 

to the “parent” CZ 75 Compact model. Recoil 

spring is made from rectangular spring wire placed 

smoothly over a plastic recoil spring guide. 

Slide of the CZ 75 BD Compact P is slightly 

broadened right in front of the cocking serrations. 

This shape of the slide appeared for the first time 

on plastic CZ 2075 RAMI P. Česká zbrojovka 

calls it the “broad slide” and in the future this 

shape should be used on all CZ models with 

a polymer frame. The “broad slide” has the same 

weight as the original slide (320 grams, slide with 

barrel and recoil spring weights 385 grams) and 

the two slide versions are interchangeable. 

POLICE COMPACT WAS THE BASIS 

The shape of the CZ 75 BD Compact P frame 

is very close to the shape of the compact pistol CZ 

75 D made for the Police of the Czech Republic. 

The frame has two steel inserts that serve as slide 

guides and contain the trigger mechanism. 

The pistol does not have traditional grip panels. 

Those you see are in fact integral, molded as one 

piece with the grip. The gripping surfaces are 

covered by a fine sand like surface covering the 

front and back strap. The rear of the grip has 

a thumb shield (or “beaver tail”) protecting the 

shooter’s hand from “slide bite”. The thumb shield 

of the plastic version is larger and significantly more 

upwardly curved than the one of his metallic cousin. 

The dust cover carries a MIL-STD--1913 

(Picatinny) mounting rail for the electric light or 

laser sights. 

The trigger guard with a perpendicular “combat” 

forward surface is quite spacious and right in front 

of the trigger is a small recess providing additional 

space for the trigger finger. On the right front side of 

the dust cover is molded a small metallic tab with 

the serial number of the gun. 

The weight reduction is fairly significant. While 

the weight of the frame for the CZ 75 Compact in 

the Czech Police version weighs 343 grams, the 

polymer frame of identical size and shape weighs 

only 270 grams, i.e. only 80% of its metallic 

counterpart. 

SAFE AND EASY HANDLING 

The CZ 75 BD Compact P has, identically as its 

“police compact” cousin – a decocking lever instead 

of the manual safety. The manual safety grip surface 

is made from polymer is placed on the left side of the 

frame. After depressing the decocking lever the 

hammer is released to the safety notch. The 

automatic firing pin safety is almost an indispensable 

must of any modern pistol, blocking the firing pin 

movement until the trigger is fully depressed. 

Fixed sights enable side correction when zeroing 

by drifting the rear sight blade in the dovetail groove. 


Compact 

The rectangular profile of the sights is enhanced by 

three white fluorescent dots, fine serrations on the 

top of the slide prevents light reflection. 

The magazine of the CZ 75 BD Compact 

P has a capacity of 14 rounds. The magazine 

bottom has a hard rubber surface and slightly 

extends the grip contours. 

PRACTICAL TEST 

The CZ 75 BD Compact P pistol I was given 

for the test immediately attracted me by the 

quality of production. This concerns both the 

metal and the plastic. Especially the plastic was 

very neatly processed, with no horns or burrs and 

perfectly clean lines. 

Ireceived the gun for testing at the end of 

January when the temperature on the open 

shooting range was around -8° Celsius. During 

the cold day I was able to achieve average 

groups of about 13 cm at 25 meters, holding the 

gun in both hands. The best group of the day was 

just a bit under 8 cm. Rapid double taps shot at 

7 meters measured not more than 15 cm. 

The target acquisition was natural and fast, the 

sights are well visible. The pistol quickly returned 

to the target after each shot, the movement 

happened almost exclusively in the vertical plane. 

The extension on the magazine bottom protruding 

slightly over the line of the front of the grip helped 

to grasp the gun in a uniform way and improved 

controllability of the pistol. The weight reduction 

has been probably compensated by the better 

absorption of the recoil shock by the polymer. 

Last but not least the gun performed reliably 

during the entire test no matter what ammunition 

I put into the magazine. 

PLASTIC DOES NOT FREEZE TO HAND 

In terms of balance I did not recognize 

aremarkable difference between the metal (here 

I mean the aluminum alloy frame version) and 

polymer compact CZ 75 pistols. All the controls 

were in easy reach of the fingers of shooting 

From the top CZ 75 BD Compact P, CZ 75 D Compact for the Czech police and CZ 75 D Compact. Clearly visible is the 

“broad slide” of the plastic pistol. 


hand, their operation has been positive and 

matching the purpose. The polymer grip fit my 

palm well and the gun did not tend to slip or 

climb. In the chilling cold air I found out that the 

polymer frame (in contrast with metal) does not 

tend to freeze to my hand. Very quickly I started 

to appreciate the new “broad slide”. No matter 

how frozen and numb my hand was, the cocking 

was easy and positive. The palm (or its edge) 

rests on the broadened part of the slide even 

when you are used to cocking the gun by 

gripping the front of the slide. 

When cleaning the gun after the shooting test 

I found out one more positive feature of the 

polymer frame – the gun powder residues are 

easier to remove than from the metallic surface. 

A PISTOL FOR BOTH THE 

PROFESSIONAL AND CITIZEN ALIKE 

I personally consider the compact version 

developed for the Czech Police as probably the best 

power/size/capacity balance of the entire CZ 75 

family. The gun commands very good ergonomics, 

sufficient magazine capacity and the dimensions 

enable a comfortable concealed carry. Also the 

shooting is easy to control and precise. The same 

concerns the plastic compact version CZ 75 BD 

Compact P. The polymer offers a reduced weight, in 

cold weather it does not freeze and in general, 

polymer resists the bad weather conditions better. 

The plastic compact from Uherský Brod – which 

should be available from mid-2007 - is another 

member of the large CZ 75 family, a welcome 

member in my opinion. It has a lot to offer to 

professional users like members of the armed 

forces as well as to a common citizen having his 

“Beaver tail” of the CZ 75 BD Compact P (up) is visibly 

larger then by the CZ 75 D Compact (both standard and 

police model). Decocking lever of the plastic pistol is made 

from polymer. 

gun for self defense, property protection or simply 

for the pleasure of shooting. ■ 

Pistol CZ 75 BD Compact P 

caliber 9 mm Luger 

overall length 184 mm 

height 137 mm 

width 37 mm 

barrel length 98,5 mm 

weight of unloaded gun 770 g 

magazine capacity 14 rounds 


Standard 

CZ 75 SP-01 

The Ultimate CZ 75 

The final design of new CZ 75 SP-01 was 

determined by the actual experience with 

tactical pistols which are now much more 

influenced by the sporting IPSC pistols. The 

requirements as defined by the SWAT teams and 

by IPSC shooters are very similar; total reliability, 

accuracy and large magazine capacity. For the 

above mentioned users, the concealed carry is not 

required. Therefore it is no wonder that qualities of 

the new gun were soon discovered also by sports 

shooters. CZ 75 SP-01 are successfully used by 

members of the shooting team of Česká zbrojovka 

and it had been this gun (the differences between 

the model Combat II and “espee O’ one” are 

negligible) that Adam Tyc, member of the CZUB 

team, used to win the IPSC Production division on 

World Championship of 2005. 

IMPORTANT SMALL DIFFERENCES 

At first sight the CZ 75 SP-01 looks like nothing 

more than a slightly enlarged basic CZ 75. In fact 

it really shares with its “elder brother” design 

solution of the SA/DA firing and trigger mechanism 

having an external hammer. The height of the CZ 

75 SP-01 in comparison with the CZ 75 is 

increased by approx 10 mm. The longer “beaver 

tail” slightly lengthened the gun too. The width of 

the grip remained identical with the standard CZ 

75, as well as the barrel length and sight radius. 

But the gun has been changed significantly. 

There are a lot of small details that were modified; 

the new details usually originate from the extensive 

development the CZ 75 underwent in connection 

with the new pistol for the Czech Police tender. 


In 1990 the U. S. Special Operations Command (U.S. SOCOM) 

issued a specification of a new offensive weapon for the special 

units. This started a search for a handgun in situations when 

even the short carbine is either too large or too slow to deploy. 

In a way this specification has been a breakthrough until then the 

handgun was understood in military terms as a self defense gun. 

On the basis of the mentioned U. S. SOCOM specification Heckler 

& Koch developed the Mark 23 mod. 0 pistol. This gun is seen as 

an extremely large gun, beyond the optimal size. The concept of 

so called assault or tactical pistols has been sound and new guns 

fitting into this category were soon developed. In 2004 this trend 

had been followed also by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod by its 

new pistol CZ 75 SP-01. 

These details changed the ergonomics of the gun. 

The frame is newly designed; the most noticeable 

modification being the dust cover with a robust 

MIL-STD-1913 (Picatinny) rail. On it you can mount 

whatever accessory you need; the most frequent 

being the light or laser sights. The top of the grip 


CZ 75 SP-01 

has been changed too, in comparison with the CZ 

75 it has the thumb shield (or “beaver tail”) 

extension protecting the strong hand from “slide 

bite” during the recoil of the action. Although the 

grip looks like an enlarged one, this is just an 

optical illusion. The grip’s profile remained 

unchanged; the necessary additional length has 

been achieved by a larger magazine bottom. This 

resulted in a magazine capacity of 18 9 mm Luger 

rounds. The magazine well is slightly funneled to 

speed up reloading of the gun. 

The slide profile has been changed too. In 

comparison with the standard CZ 75 the SP-01 

slide is left in the same width along its entire length. 

Cocking serrations are placed on both the front and 

rear of the slide. Wings of the manual safety on the 

CZ 75 SP-01 also differ from the CZ 75. Their shape 

has been designed with the mind to minimize the 

risk of snagging the gun in the holster or on cloth. 

CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical 

The recoil spring has been redesigned and is now 

made from wire of rectangular profile. Such a profile 

offers the same working characteristics as round 

profile wire while taking up less space. 

TWO VERSIONS 

The CZ 75 SP-01 is available in two versions. 

The basic version has a classic manual safety; 

the Tactical version has a decocking lever instead 

of the safety. The gun is set to FIRE by moving 

the safety wing down. In both versions the gun 

has an automatic firing pin safety; almost a rule 

of the thumb with modern handguns. 

The sights have a classic profile, front and rear 

sights are both dovetailed on the slide. As a 

matter of course the sights are outfitted with 

tritium inserts. The shooter appreciates this 


Standard 

immediately once he has to use the gun in poor 

light conditions. 

GREAT ERGONOMICS 

For the practical test I was given a CZ 75 SP- 

01 with more than 20 000 rounds fired already. 

The surface had been slightly worn but ran well 

broken in on the other hand. 

When I field stripped the gun, I found it was 

properly made and had excellent fit and finish 

with no play at all. Even the expected regular wear 

down of the mechanisms was minimal, no matter 

that the gun had been subjected to frequent use. 

When carefully inspecting the gun, you can find 

matching marks on working surfaces, but these 

created no excessive play of mechanisms. They 

just showed what fits where. 

All controls of the gun are in very good reach of 

the shooting hand; their positions are positive, their 

pull matches the purpose. Also the trigger reach 

causes no problems even to the shooter with short 

fingers like mine are. It is clear that the long road to 

the new service pistol for the Czech Police had 

a fruitful end in the form of an ergonomically very 

well designed gun and all the younger members of 

the CZ 75 family profit from the development. 

The pistol fit my hand nicely, even a quick draw 

and aim is very fast and instinctive. When dry 

firing, I found no significant difference between 

the CZ 75 and new CZ 75 SP-01 except for the 

better ergonomics of the latter gun and fact that 

the SP-01 has a slightly more heavy muzzle. 

EXCEPTIONAL PRECISION 

The gun I tested digested with no problem no 

matter what kind of ammunition I loaded into the 

magazine. I started the test by single aimed 

shots, the gun being held in both hands and 

rested. The average groups of 5 shots run around 

13 cm on 25 meter distance. On 10 meter 

distance the groups tightened to some 7-8 cm 

and I felt that the limiting factor of precision is 

me. During the shooting the pistol had been easy 

to control, repeated aiming was fast and the 

muzzle jumped less than I expected. 

Comparison of the standard CZ 75 magazine, 

compact CZ 75 magazine, and 18 round capacity 

magazine for SP-01 


Only the word of appreciation for the SP-01 pistol 

has also Adam Tyc, IPSC 2005 World Champion 

The CZ 75 SP-01 clearly excelled in the last 

phase of my shooting test, i.e. rapid double tap 

shots at 10 meter distance. The groups opened 

a bit to some 15 cm but the shots followed really 

fast. Once again I had the feeling that this is me 

who limits the achieved results, not the gun. 

The sheer shooting pleasure was to empty the 

full magazine (18 rounds) to the 10 meter distant 

target as quickly as I could. It took me around 10 

seconds and the groups averaged around 20 cm. 

On a couple of occasions the groups shrunk to 

some 15 cm and the center of the target was 

nothing but one large ragged hole. This is my 

best experience I made with any pistol so far. 

PISTOL WITH A CAPITAL P 

From the shooter’s point of view the CZ 75 SP-01 

pistol is of the best guns I have ever encountered. 

This is what I insist on, no matter of the fact that in 

my heart I was, I am and I will be a “die hard Colt 

1911 boy”. Only the word of appreciation for the SP- 

01 pistol has also Adam Tyc, IPSC 2005 World 

Champion and shooter of undeniable qualities. 

The CZ 75 SP-01 is not the classic assault pistol 

as has been heralded by the first weapon in this 

category, the Heckler & Koch Mark 23 mod. 01. For 

instance it lacks possibility to put on a sound 

suppressor. Also the size is significantly smaller, but 

from the user’s point of view this could be seen 

rather as a benefit. 

If there is some weak side on the CZ 75 SP-01 

then it is the fact that you practically can not carry 

it concealed, but this is something that neither the 

SWAT team member nor the sports shooter 

expects or strictly requires. Definitely this changes 

nothing on the fact that the CZ 75 SP-01 is The 

Pistol with a very large capital P in front. ■ 

Comparison of the standard and compact CZ 75 

with CZ 75 SP-01 

CZ 75 SP-01 

caliber 9 mm Luger 


height 147 mm 

width 37 mm 

barrel length 120 mm 

sight radius 155 mm 




Triumph 

Tyc Conquered 

the World 

World Shoot 2005 in the Rhythm of 

the Samba and under the Direction 

of âeská zbrojovka’s Shooters 

Michal Prošek 

This is how the running of the XIV. World Championship in 

shooting under the IPSC rules in Ecuador’s Guayaqil could be 

described. Our successful representatives had returned from it 

with eleven medals and six of them were from the most precious 

metal. One of them shone the most in the “country of iguanas”. 

The eighteen year old Adam Tyc. The name of this contractual 

shooter of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod had become a 

phenomenon which literally shook the existing history of practical 

shooting during the extremely challenging championship. 

The organizers from Ecuador’s Guayaquil did 

not leave anything to chance. If we put aside 

the climatic conditions, which are by the way so 

challenging for someone who comes from Central 

Europe, that even the most immune individuals at 

the end of the six long competition days could 

hardly walk straight, let’s remember, that the 

championship was, from the technical point of 

view, one of the hardest ever. There were thirty-six 

shooting stages awaiting the competitors from 

which everyone shot roughly six hundred times! 

And as it usually is with the practical shooting, 

those six hundred shots had to be fired not only 

fast, but obviously also accurately. 

A separate chapter of the recent championship 

was the competition which gathered there. There 

were around a thousand pistol shooters from 56 

countries of the world. Famous names of this 

sport, many of which are already legendary, were 

listed down the whole of the starting table and the 

level of the best professional champions, who 

were mainly from the USA, could have easily taken 

the breath away from the forty-one Czech 

representatives. Although our contestants have 

often demonstrated in the past that in this sport 

we are among those who you simply must take 

into account, the estimates regarding the 

successes were still rather pragmatic. 

Nonetheless, even before the trip to the South 

American continent took place there were those 

among our shooters who claimed that they’ll be 

fighting for gold. The contractual shooter of Česká 

zbrojovka, Mr. Adam Tyc, was one of them... 

WHO IS THIS YOUNGSTER? 

Even after the first few days it was getting more 

and more obvious, that the Czech team would not go 

home without medals. Especially Mr. Adam Tyc 

was literally exceeding himself. More and more 

contestants in the Production Division were watching 

with an increasing uneasiness the excellent 

achievements of this inconspicuous youngster who 

comes from somewhere in Europe. At the same time 

they were waiting for his mistakes. Even the most 

skilled shooters know, that one’s state of mind plays 

perhaps the most important role. But Adam was 

shooting like a machine and he looked totally 

relaxed. His unshakable self – confidence was 

getting even stronger with every day, which brought 

more excellent achievements. So this is the way how 

a new star is born. The fact, that Mr. Tyc can succeed 

in the Junior’s category at the World Championship 

was known to the experts, but the competition had 

shown, that he personally is aiming for the top slot 

– to win the title of World Champion in the 

men’s category and at eighteen years old to carry 

away with him the “scalps” of the absolute 

international elite. 


Two shooting stars in the colours of Česká zbrojovka: left Adam Tyc, right Angus Hobdell from CZ-USA, 

in the middle is Milan Trkulja, the manager and coach of the CZUB shooting team 

THE COMPETITION ENDS WITH THE 

LAST SHOT 

During the last day of the championship the 

atmosphere at the shooting range had considerably 

tensed up. The friendly manner presented up until 

now by the American shooters, who were the 

biggest favourites, was suddenly gone, and 

a placement elsewhere than on the absolute top 

meant total disaster to them. So the pressure on the 

possible winner began to increase. It was predicted 

that the young Czech guy wouldn‘t psychologically 

be able to bear the finals. 

When it became obvious that Adam simply 

doesn’t make mistakes, his rivals protested against 

his firearm. It was said that his CZ factory pistol is 

against the regulations.. This happened when Mr. 

Adam Tyc was supposed to be shooting in the last 

discipline. Only he knows what he felt when, in that 

situation, he was standing at the start... 

...Now it’s all or nothing. “Are you ready?” asked 

the referee, who was holding a yellow box by the 

shooter’s head. “Beep.” Before the high-pitched 

starting sound dies away, the contestant, as if by 

a miracle, holds in his hand a drawn pistol and at 

the same time the first series of shots thud into the 

nearest paper targets. The cartridge cases are 

raining through the air. A fast run to the next stage 

follows. On his way the shooter had exchanged the 

half-empty magazine. That only took a split second 

and an outsider wouldn’t even have noticed it. From 

the next small window, in an extremely awkward 

position, he then shoots down with a distinct chink, 

a number of metal targets. Immediately after that he 

shoots from the last line two rapid shots which are 

aimed at a swinging target made from cardboard, 

which is overlaid with a so-called hostage. The end! 

Mr. Adam Tyc is instructed to unload and to put his 

firearm to the case. He had done everything he had 

to do and now he’s just waiting for the referees’ 

verdict. Firstly, the time from the display on the 

yellow box is announced. Up until now it is the 

fastest encompassment of this difficult stage. Now 

then, how about his shots? Adam already knows, 

that without sufficient accuracy any speed in this 

sport is useless. The referee’s assistants, who are 

by the targets, successively report what they see. 

On every target there are two required shots in the 

central, and therefore the most valued “A” zone. But 

Tyc is still nervously biting his lip. Any missing shot 

could suddenly mean an absolute end to all 

prospects of winning. The referee approaches the 

dreaded “pendulum”. It’s still swinging from side to 

side. The CZUB’s factory shooter can hear the 

beating of his own heart. “Double alfa,” sounds 

subsequently from by the target. At that moment 

the kid from Plzeň can’t maintain himself any longer 

and he shouts with joy. He has a good reason to do 

that. At that moment he became the new World 

Champion! He even delivered his best performance 

during the whole of the competition itself. 

A SENSATIONAL VICTORY 

At the same time on the adjacent stage 

Adam’s biggest rival, Mr. David Sevigny was 

finishing the competition. He was the World 

Champion up until now and also the new winner of 


Triumph 

the US National Open. Under the pressure of 

Tyc’s performance everything went wrong for him. 

The missing hits in the targets had caused him 

agreat loss of points. But what’s this? After the 

surprising intervention by one of the top American 

referees he’s suddenly given a chance, which is 

a puzzle to everyone, to repeat the whole discipline. 

Even though he undoubtedly performed much 

better during the second try which there was an 

argument for, it was obvious, that he simply 

wouldn’t keep up with the prodigious Czech guy. 

Mr. Adam Tyc’s lead became even for the 

favourites on paper and through all the backstage 

tricks, unbeatable. A magnificent victory. 

The objection against the winner’s firearm? 

Rejected. Many perhaps, besides the Czech guy, 

were only just beginning to wonder what sort of 

firearm was he holding in his hand through the 

whole long and difficult competition. Everyone who 

understands shooting at least a little bit knows, that 

the quality of the firearm has a lot to do with the 

end-result. Especially if the competition is taking 

place in such difficult conditions. Should there be 

any defects, an irreversible fall to the bottom of the 

result’s table would follow. But this, thank God, 

does not happen to the traditionally renowned 

products from Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, 

which are known worldwide. 

The first place at the World Championship in 

practical shooting 2005 proved, that apart from 

the traditionally excellent firearms we can also be 

rightfully proud of the perfect and also very 

perspective shooters. That was the message 

which was sent to the whole world by the Czech 

guys from Ecuador’s Guayaquil. 

❋❋❋ 

CZUB’S MEDAL HOLDERS 

XIV. IPSC World Championship in the most 

populated Ecuadorian town of Guayaquil brought 

a medal harvest for Česká zbrojovka. Men and 

women from the Czech Republic representation 

brought home with them eleven medals, out of 

which six were from the most precious metal. 

Agreat contribution towards all six gold medals, 

one silver and one bronze medal had the shooters 

from Česká zbrojovka. Apart from Mr. Adam Tyc, 

who’s the holder of the gold medals in both the 

men’s and juniors category in the Production 

Division, it was also the team in the same Division, 

consisting of Mr. Adam Tyc, Mr. David Zvěřina 

(both representing CZUB), Mr. Václav Vinduška 

and Mr. Jaroslav Pulicar. MUDr. Miroslav 

Kameníček (CZUB) had reached the top prize in 

the Open Division in the Senior category as well 

as the team in the Open Division in the Senior 

category, consisting of MUDr. Kameníček, 

Mr. Šustr, Mr. Polívka and Mr. Špaček. In the 

Standard Division in the Junior category it was 

Zdeněk Liehne who won. He’s also a contractual 

shooter of Česká zbrojovka. Silver medals from 

the World Championship were brought home by 

the seniors – Mr. Lumír Šafránek with revolver and 

in the Modified Division it was Mr. Václav Martínek 

(CZUB). A bronze medal was added by the CZUB 

men’s team in the Modified Division (Mr. Rakušan, 

Mr. Heneš, Mr. Lelič, Mr. Martínek). A third place in 

the women’s category went to Ms. Michaela 

Hořejší in the Standard Division and to Mr. Zdeněk 

Švehla in the Junior category. ■ 


The star of this young prodigious shooter from 

Pilsen began to rise rapidly in 2004 when he (at 

that time still with the pistol Glock), in rapid 

succession won the Czech Republic Championship 

and at the European Championship. Thanks to 

these successes the offer to represent Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod came and Adam had 

keenly accepted – among other reasons also 

because this way he managed to lay his hands on 

the brand new pistol CZ 75 SP-01. 

”This firearm was exactly what I needed,” says 

Adam, who then started to write a new chapter of 

the IPSC shooting with this pistol. Right from the 

start he was winning all there was to win with it and 

even before the end of 2004 he won at the 

Australasian Championship in Bali. In the summer 

of 2005 the biggest triumph came, a fantastic first 

place in the Production Division at the World 

Championship in Ecuador, where the best shooters 

were competing. 

The irony of fate is the fact, that Adam did not 

reach the top placement with the standard CZ 75 

SP-01, which he got so well used to in the 

preceding months. The victorious crusade of the 

“SP’s “ had became a thorn in the side of the 

American representation from whom originated the 

fabricated protest against the inclusion of this 

firearm in the Production category due to the front 

part of the frame being as long as the slide (the 

objection was aimed against the Tanfoglio firearms 

as well). The international IPSC committee had 

decided, that the CZ 75 SP-01 pistol fully 

correspond with the rules of the competition; 

nevertheless Česká zbrojovka didn’t leave anything 

to chance and just before the World Championship 

had equipped its shooters with the model CZ 75 

Combat II cal. 9 mm Luger, which differentiates 

Big Name 

I Know, that I Can 

Shoot Even Better 

Adam Tyc 

– the IPSC World Champion in the Production Division 

Pavel Klozík, Michal Prošek 

In 2005 Mr Adam Tyc, who was eighteen years old at that time, 

became, thanks to his magnificent performance at the World 

Championship in Ecuador, the best IPSC shooter in the Production 

Division (on the planet Earth). He had achieved this excellent 

victory in the colours of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod with its 

superb pistol CZ 75 Combat II, which is actually a slightly 

modified sport and service model CZ 75 SP-01. 


Big Name 

Mr. Adam Tyc with the pistol CZ 75 Combat II calibre 9 mm Luger, during the exchange of magazine at the Leiko Cup 2005 

from the CZ 75 SP-01 only in details. “The healthy 

core” of the firearm remained preserved and so 

there was nothing to stop Mr. Adam Tyc even 

though he was suffering with some health 

problems initially, from crushing with ease the best 

shooters of the world including the favoured 

representantive of the company Glock, the 

American Mr. David Sevigny. 

Nowadays Adam, who despite the exceptional 

successes remains a pleasant and friendly young 

man, who does not hesitate when it comes to 

sharing his experiences with others, once again 

shoots with the CZ 75 SP-01 and he simply 

cannot praise it enough. The best firearm in the 

hands of the top shooter holds up hopes, that 

Adam is on good terms also with other types of weapons 

Adam’s victory at the IPSC World Championship 

in 2005 wasn’t his last by far. 

Adam, when was it that you actually started 

with IPSC shooting and who introduced you to 

this discipline? 

My father, who was involved in this sport, had 

dragged me into this when I was fifteen years old. 

After that it was the team of shooters from the 

Plzeň’s shooting range Leiko who became my 

driving force. 

Was there ever a shooter who was your role 

model? 

My huge inspiration was the up until now 

unbeatable Eric Grauffel, who also became the 


World Champion in the Ecuadorian town of 

Quayaquil, but in the Open category. It was 

agreat shock to everyone when he, same as me, 

won his first title of the World Champion when he 

was just eighteen years old. 

IPSC shooting is very challenging when it 

comes to the perfect handling of the firearm 

but also when it comes to the movement. How 

much time do you dedicate to training and 

strengthening of your physical condition? 

Just by looking at me you’ll know that I’m no 

muscleman. I weigh 67 kg and I’ve been to the gym 

perhaps once. At home I occasionally do few pushups, 

but generally I don’t exercise at all. Four years 

ago I was for two years intensely involved in break 

dancing, which is very demanding when it comes to 

movements, and therefore I don’t have a problem 

with moving around during the IPSC shooting. I do 

not have a strict training plan but I do dry firing 

every day. I visit the shooting range three or four 

times a week and during each training session 

Imanage to shoot from around 300 up to 500 shots. 

I practice more before competitions. In a year 

I perhaps manage to shoot on average between 

40 000 up to 60 000 bullets. I mostly practice at 

enclosed shooting ranges. Because I really do not 

want to breathe in lead, I shoot exclusively with FMJ 

bullets. I don’t hand load because I use serially 

produced bullets, mainly those manufactured by 

the company Sellier & Bellot and I’m very happy 

with them. I prefer the Nontox type of bullets, which 

emit a minimal amount of toxic waste. 

The training itself is perhaps not a cheap 

matter. What sort of support do you receive 

from your sponsors? 

My main sponsor is Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod. From them I’ve received my firearm, an 

excellent holster for competitions, the CR Speed 

belt, which is manufactured in the Republic of 

South Africa, further equipment and full service. 

CZUB simply provides me with all necessary care, 

which is needed for my competing. The company 

Sellier & Bellot, which is based in Vlašim, supplies 

me with bullets. My training base is at the superb 

shooting range Leiko here in Plzeň. 

In this sport a lot depends on the top quality 

firearm, which mustn’t fail. How does your 

firearm CZ 75 SP-01 suit you? 

In my opinion it’s undeniably the best firearm 

in its class. 

Some time ago you have demonstrated, that 

other types of firearms are not alien to you… 

Yes, in 2006 I was shooting at the Česká 

zbrojovka 3 gun OPEN, which is a 3-firearms 

tournament – pistol, shotgun and self-loading rifle. 

I won with pistol and in the other two disciplines 

I was actually shooting for the first time in my life, but 

I was totally satisfied with my results. Overall I was 

fourth and a placement at third place had escaped 

me by less than 5 points, which is incredibly little. 

After your last victory you have been asked to 

teach the police officers shooting. Can you 

disclose any more details? 

Yes, I was invited by the French police to 

participate in their training and to pass on 

experiences. 

There will be the IPSC World Championship 

taking place in Bali in 2008. Do you consider 

a defence of the title of the World Champion? 

I don’t know what the year 2008 will bring. In 2006 

I took my Final Examination and I’m currently 

studying at University. I, of course, carry on with 

competing and training, but not with such an 

intensity like before: on my hand, between the thumb 

and forefinger you will no longer see the callus which 

is so typical for intensive training. But I know that 

I make mistakes and I also know where I make them. 

So I know that I can shoot even better. ■ 

Adam’s pistol the CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical, about which he not only claims, but also with his own hands testifies that in its 

class represents unrivalled top-notch quality 


Standard 

CZ 75 SP-01 

Shadow Pavel Klozík 

The success of the 

robust CZ 75 SP-01 

pistol is absolutely 

beyond doubt. When 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod started to 

manufacture the seventy-five modified for 

exacting service of Special Forces, not 

many people would have expected the pistol 

to upturn the existing charts of the IPSC 

Production division around the globe. The gun 

became a radical champion in competitions 

worldwide in the hands of such excellent 

shooters as Adam Tyc and Angus Hobdell. 

Despite the victorious campaign of the CZ 75 SP-01 

at the IPSC competitions, the management of 

Česká zbrojovka did not close its ears to some 

comments made by their shooting representatives. The 

opinions gathered from them were considered by 

designers in Uherský Brod and they developed the 

SP-01 Shadow model, which is primarily designed for 

armed forces, but this does not exclude its successful 

use for self-defence and sport. 

SMALL BUT SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES 

When you look at the CZ SP-01 and CZ SP-01 

Shadow from a distance, you might not recognize 

those differences. However, certain changes will be 

discovered on closer inspection and upon handling. 

The Shadow will attract your attention with its front 

sight highlighted with a light guiding fibre and the 

Novak rear sights with black vision surface. The 

ambidextrous manual safety features an enlarged 

shape. The grip is recessed behind the trigger guard 

and beneath the beaver tail, so it enables 

a comfortable and certainly positive grip and quick 

aiming. Thanks to bigger recesses the shooter’s hand 

is positioned closer to the barrel axis. The pistol is 

more stable and its control will be easier during 

shooting compared to the original SP-01 model. 

There have been several changes made also inside 

the gun. A new recoil spring is mounted beneath the 

barrel on the stepped plastic guide, this spring 

facilitates loading and also improves the comfort and 

consistency of shooting. Greater attention is paid to 

the adjustment of the trigger and firing mechanism. 

The trigger is outfitted with an adjustable stop. The 

designer met the requirements of sports shooters and 

decided not to provide the Shadow with the automatic 

drop safety, which increases the trigger pull weight at 

the final stage. However, the Shadow still keeps its 

high level of inherent safety. 


MODERN SUCCESSOR TO THE CZ 75 

The design of the Shadow is identical to the 

standard CZ 75 with steel or aluminium frame. The 

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow is an all-steel pistol with the 

locked-breech using the Browning type system of 

locking lugs on the barrel top which fit into matching 

surfaces inside the slide in front of the ejection port. 

The cartridge chamber is located above the kidneyshaped 

slot, which houses the slide stop pivot pin 

that limits the barrel tilting movement during the 

operation cycle and serves as a connecting pin. The 

slide keeps its width all along and it is not narrowed 

in the front part as for the regular CZ 75. The top 

surface of the slide features finely machined 

serrations to prevent reflections. There are also 

cocking serration on the slide fore and aft to provide 

a firmer and safe grip. The same as with other SP- 

01 pistols, the Shadow also has a proven, 114 mm 

long heavy barrel with a six right-handed grooves 

bore. The external barrel diameter is 14mm, which is 

two millimetres more than the barrel diameter of the 

standard CZ 75 B pistols. Barrels on the CZ 75 

SP-01 pistols, including the Shadow, are designed 

to keep the precision of hits and endure a very high 

number of rounds (several tens of thousands). 

The slide’s dustcover has two rails for attaching 

tactical light or a laser modules with dimensions 

conforming to the MIL–STD 1913 standard. The 

rail widens the front part of the pistol body 

significantly; it increases the total weight of the 

gun, shifts its centre of gravity forward and helps 

to reduce the climb upon firing. The grip backstrap 

is finished with an extended tail – the beaver tail. 

Controls consist of the left-side slide catch, an 

ambidextrous safety and magazine catch enabling 

reversible instalment either from the left or right 

hand side. In comparison with standard CZ 75 the 

controls are of a modified, enlarged shape 

The trigger mechanism with a combat style 

hammer operates in a double-action mode (SA/DA). 

Ergonomic grip panels are made of checkered 

tenacious rubber. The front- and backstrap of the 

grip feature serrations. The pistol surface is protected 

with a highly durable black polycoat baked finish. 

The mouth of the magazine well is funneled. This 

pistol is regularly available with two double column 

magazines with a single position feeding; the 

magazine can hold 18 rounds in a calibre 9 mm 

Luger. Part of the bottom of the magazine protrudes 

from the grip and it is protected with a rubber 

buttplate, which completes the grip shape. 

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE 

The new Shadow pistol was exhibited at the IWA 

2006 trade fair in Nuremberg and I had the 

opportunity to try this handgun out at the company 

shooting range in summer. Having inspected the 

gun, I commended the overall design of the pistol, 

only the internal surface of the slide crest showed 

aslightly more evident, uncovered machining marks. 

The trigger mechanism works pleasantly in both 

modes and the proper release method allows prompt 

and smooth release with minimum risk of undesired 

jerking. I had no objections to the grip ergonomics; 

the pistol fits in the hand well and follows the target, 

as one might say. As if one could merely point his gun 

at the target. The red front sight with rectangular 

notch in the black rear sights features lights of 

sufficient width. The sights are easily readable, with 

high contrast and enable quick aiming. 

Shots seem fast and very soft. When shooting 

slowly or fast with a one- or both hands grip I had 

the feeling that I was not shooting with a full-size 

pistol with calibre 9 mm Luger yet a heavy duty 

rimfire rifle with calibre 22 LR or 22 WMR. The 

elaborate weight distribution and the position of the 

centre of gravity more to the front can be felt in all 

shooting modes with an empty or half-empty 

magazine. The accuracy of this pistol is excellent 

and the groupings of hits are definitely most 

affected by the shooter’s proficiency and the quality 

of ammunition. During my shooting test I shot 

approximately one hundred rounds made by Sellier 

& Bellot and experienced no failures whatsoever. 

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow alongside CZ 75 SP-01 Tactical (above) 


Standard 

Sights on the Shadow are contrasted and readable 

Even though my shooting skills do not resemble 

the virtuosity of the IPSC World Champion Adam 

Tyc and his colleague Angus Hobdell from CZ-USA, 

I am not surprised that both of them have 

tremendous success with the CZ 75 SP-01 and 

make their competitors and representatives of rival 

companies envious. There is a Czech saying that 

losers are allowed to be angry. I would add the 

following: losers can look for another pistol or buy 

their own Shadow, which will never let its owner 

down in any kind of competition – of course, if he 

spends time training necessary shooting, physical 

and psychological skills and abilities. The properties 

of the Shadow will definitely overshadow its rivals 

among pistols. I think that Shadow pistols in the 

hands of excellent shooters will prove that any hot 

blood in competitor’s veins will not be cooling down 

very soon. ■ 

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow 

calibre 9 mm Luger 


height with magazine 147 mm 

width 37 mm 


weight w/o cartridges 1,180 g 



The Professional 

Shooter 

Martin studied at Grammar school but not long 

before his Final Examination the shooting 

competitions were given the priority. He does not 

miss any top competitions. He’s been shooting since 

he was 13 years old and only a year later he became 

the youngest participant in the World Championship, 

at that time of course in the Junior category. When 

we were talking to him two years ago he admitted, 

that he would somehow like shooting to earn his 

living if it was at all possible. Since then he’s taken his 

Final Examination and he received his Leaving 

Certificate together with his Gunsmith-Technician 

Vocational Certificate which he gained at the COPt in 

Uherský Brod. His great wish has also come true and 

nowadays he’s the demonstration shooter for Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod. He’s been in this role for 

a short time yet, but he’s already visited almost every 

continent and apart from the Antarctic it’s only 

Australia which is missing from his list. 

How do you like this job? 

I have what I always wanted. I’m greatly 

enjoying it and it gives me the greatest satisfaction. 

Many people know that it was your father, 

MUDr. Miroslav Kameníček, who introduced 

you to sports shooting. After all, he’d defended 

his title at the World Championship in Ecuador 

in the Open category – Senior. Is he still your 

coach? 

Oh no. My father taught me all the fundamentals. 

Nowadays we sometimes practise together at the 

sports shooting range in Uherský Brod, but I, same 

as the majority of IPSC shooters, train entirely 

according to my needs and feelings, which means 

without a coach and without any leadership. During 

a four-hour training session, which excludes dry 

firing, I manage to shoot on average from 400 up to 

600 shots. During preparations for a major 

competition I practise every day at the shooting 

range, otherwise only a few times a week. During 

each session I focus on individual skills but I would 

Přemysl Liška 

Martin Kameníček (born on the 5th April 1982) counts among the 

absolute world’s best when it comes to practical shooting from 

a pistol according to the IPSC rules. He has won the title of the 

Czech Republic’s Champion seven times in a row, he was also 

the European Junior Champion. Nowadays he holds second place 

among the European adult competitors and he has won many 

major competitions. He’s currently single and prefers to drive 

a car rather than to ride a motorcycle because he considers a car 

to be safer. 

not like to disclose any details regarding my training 

plan. In addition, I also go to the gym a few times 

a week, I exercise, sprint and I also ride a bike and 

an exercise bike. In winter I like snowboarding but 

that’s more of a hobby. I do not smoke and I’m very 

careful with alcohol, because it doesn’t get on very 

well with shooting. 

Have you ever shot in a different discipline 

other than practical shooting? 

No, not really. I started with IPSC shooting and 

I have fully concentrated on that. I think that this 

is the reason why I got to where I am now so fast. 

I am sure that some talent is also needed. 

Yes, perhaps it is. But I’d say that it’s mostly 

about concentration, diligence and also everyday 

Big Name 


Big Name 

hard work. If you can dedicate all this to it, the 

result simply must come. 

Surely, this is not a cheap matter. Who 

finances your sport? 

At the beginning it was my father and then 

gradually the number of sponsors started to 

increase. Actually since I was fourteen my main 

sponsor has been Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 

My participation in major competitions used to be 

paid by CZUB, they supplied me with firearms and 

if needed even with Limit components for handloading 

of ammunition and now I was even given 

an interesting job there. 

How much ammunition do you use in a year? 

It varies from 60 000 up to 90 000 rounds. It 

depends on how many competitions and at what 

level I have to prepare for in that particular year. 

I mainly prepare my ammunition by myself, 

because I require higher energy cartridges, so 

that I can get to the performance factor of the 

Major category with 9 mm Luger. At the same 

time I try to tune the cartridges so that they are 

as precise as possible and so that they also 

correspond with the conditions anticipated at the 

place of the competition, e.g. the temperature. 

What pistol do you compete with? 

For the past three years it’s been the CZ 75 

Tactical Sport, which is more or less a serially 

produced firearm, tuned by Mr. Jarda Rezek who 

works in CZUB and with our own components. 

It’s equipped with a truly top quality hybrid 

compensator which is also one of the company’s own 

developments and which will possibly be also serially 

produced. I have one firearm for competitions and 

another one for training which I also carry with me to 

the competitions as a reserve, but I haven’t had to use 

it as yet. I change pistols after around 150 000 shots... 

I shoot exclusively in the Open Division. I started with 

the classic CZ 75 and apart from a short period of 

time, when me and my father were hand-loading with 

pistols SPS, we are both loyal only to the CZ 

trademark. CZ firearms suit me perfectly and I really 

get on with them very well. They have the best trigger 

I’ve ever come across and also the accuracy is 

satisfactory, it shoots well during competitions also at 

distances which exceed 50 meters. The reliability is 

superb also in difficult conditions such as high 

humidity or dustiness. Everything in the world can be 

improved and so we work hard to make our firearms 

even better. I certainly cannot claim that there’s no 

competition in the world for our firearms. Our 

competitors are mainly the producers of the firearms 

with the American trademark STI, SVI or Para- 

Ordnance and if I was living in America I’d perhaps try 

one of their sport specials. But even if I was to put my 

job aside, I’d have to think about the quality of service 

and I think that as a European I’d stay with 

a European firearm, which means with CZ. 

Do you clean your firearms? 

Yes, I clean the firearm which is intended 

for competitions after every contest and if the 

competition lasts for few days, I clean it at the end 

of each day. I know that it’s not absolutely 

necessary to do that and that the firearm would 

easily manage even five big competitions in a row, 

but I do it mainly for my own peace of mind, that I’ve 

checked everything and that I haven’t overlooked or 

left anything to chance. The pistol, which I use for 

training, I clean after around 3000 shots have been 

fired. 

Do you think that your sports achievements 

could be improved? 

I believe that they could. I feel, that there’s plenty 

I can still work on and I know about my mistakes. 

I’d say that they lie more in my mind than in my 

shooting technique. At the World Championship 


understandably all the outstanding competition 

gathers together and everyone is a fantastic shot. 

I need a greater psychological resilience for 

a situation like that. The present World Champion 

and European Champion, Mr. Eric Grauffel has been 

virtually unbeatable up until now, but I believe that 

even his time will come and I’d like to be there when 

that happens. I’d love to beat him at the next 

European Championship in France and I’ll do all I can 

to achieve that. As a Vice-Champion I simply cannot 

set myself any other targets, but I can only hope that 

it’ll happen. When it comes to the World 

Championship, in the most prestigious Open Division 

there’s the highest concentration of professional 

shooters and it’s extremely hard to establish oneself 

in it. So far I only managed a tenth place at the World 

Championship in Ecuador in 2005. The truth is that 

I had some health problems there, which certainly 

influenced my performance, but I still have to do 

better. I haven’t got a psychologist to help me and 

I haven’t met an IPSC shooter who has got one. 

I’d say, that a good mental preparation would be to 

compete in smaller competitions and if possible, to 

win. To get used to it. 

So these are my goals in life. On the other 

hand I’m seriously thinking about studying at 

University which would have a close relation to 

firearms – to my hobby and also my profession. 

But my biggest hope is, that I’ll be shooting all 

my life. One can do this at a very good level up to 

sixty years old at least. 

Do you have any friends among shooters? 

Many. Here in the Czech Republic the 

relationships are friendly and I would even say that 

we often help and support each other. One of my 

friends is for example my occasional training partner, 

Mr. Miroslav Havlíček, who is a superb shooter. 

Young Zdeněk Liehne, the World Champion in the 

Standard Division – Junior will be one day as good as 

him. And of course I simply cannot forget the current 

World Champion in the Standard Division, Mr. Adam 

Tyc. He’s a shooter with huge talent, shooting art and 

loads of needed luck, which I sincerely wish to him. 

An excellent shooter and my very good friend, Mr. 

Angus Hobdell is the well of shooting experiences 

and he truly understands shooting. All of them are, 

same as me, members of the Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod Shooting Team. Apart from this team 

I also count among my friends other outstanding 

shooters, for example Mr. Petr Znamenáček or Mr. 

Roman Podlešák. I also have a very friendly 

relationship with foreign shooters, for example with 

Mr. Jorge Balesteros from Spain, with the World 

Champion, Mr. Eric Grauffel from France, with the 

Israeli Mr. Saul Kirsch and many others. The fact, that 

we are all great rivals doesn’t change anything. My 

English is sufficient for understanding everyone but it 

is one of the things I am trying to improve. ■ 


Subcompact 

CZ 2075 

RAMI and RAMI P 

– a Vivid Freshman 


During the second half of the 1980s there was a dramatic 

increase in the popularity of pocket and back-up handguns. Users 

started to call for a pistol in full power caliber 9 mm Luger, 

seeing the less powerful ones as insufficient. Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod responded by an offer of compact versions of their 

service “wonder nine” pistols. 

The compact version of CZ 75 appeared in 

1990s but the first version of the legendary CZ 

75 offered by Česká zbrojovka in a subcompact 

size took much longer. Reasons for this delay rested 

in a long and uneasy transformation of the Czech 

economy from the state directed economy to the 

free market. This process and uncertainties involved 

in the transformation imposed such a burden, that it 

took nearly 15 years for Česká zbrojovka to think 

about future directions of its gun development. 

In 2000 I talked to Milan Trkulja, the coach of the 

shooting team of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

while at the Nuremberg IWA Fair Topic of the 

discussion was firearms and trends in the gun 

industry. Milan started to discuss possible ways of 

future development of the CZ 75 family and for the 

first time mentioned the possibility of developing 

a subcompact version. At IWA 2001, under the 

promise of strict confidentiality, Milan showed me the 

first prototype of the subcompact CZ 75. Other than 

an alloy frame, the differences from the later series 

production were only marginal. The development 

was completed in year 2003 when new pistol named 

CZ 2075 RAMI was unveiled to the market. 

COMPACTED CZ 75 

The RAMI like the CZ 75 utilizes the Browning 

link-less tilting barrel locked action, has a SA/DA 

trigger mechanism and external hammer. For the 

first time in the entire CZ 75 family the action of 

this subcompact version is locked to the ejection 

port; all other versions use locking lugs. The 

trigger mechanism has been inherited almost 

without any change except those being necessary 

because of smaller dimensions. 

The size reduction was achieved first of all by 

shortening the barrel and the slide. The barrel was 


shortened to 76 mm which resulted in an overall 

length of 167 mm. Worth of a mention is the fact 

that no shortening of the slide rails took place, slide 

rails of the RAMI retained full length of the original 

service CZ 75 model. , The grip had to be cut short 

too which resulted in a reduction of the double 

column staggered magazine capacity to 10 rounds 

in 9 mm Luger, respectively to 8 rounds in 40 S&W. 

The overall height of RAMI is only 120 mm. 

SLIDE STOP RETURNS 

The first series of RAMI did not have a slide 

stop. After firing the last round from magazine the 

slide returned forward to the battery on an empty 

chamber. The designers did not consider the 

absence of slide stop as critical in the self-defense 

or a back – up pistol. The risk of the snagging the 

holster or dress during the draw was considered as 

a more serious one. Since the opinion of the buying 

public differed, a slide stop was later added I would 

like to point out that parts from old models without 

the slide stop are not interchangeable with the 

newer version. 

75 GOES PLASTIC 

The CZ 2075 RAMI was from the very beginning 

a commercial success, in 2004 it was nominated 

by a prestigious magazine for the Gun of the Year 

Award. This initiated further development of the 

gun in Česká zbrojovka and in 2005 a new CZ 2075 

RAMI P was unveiled. As indicated by the last letter 

of the marking the gun has a polymer frame and 

becomes the first member of CZ 75 family built on 

this progressive technology. 

The plastic RAMI has brought into the family 

another new detail – the so called “broad slide” 

that has been developed during the polymer 

frame reconstruction. The rear part of the slide is 

slightly broadened and creates a small step that 

significantly improves the grip when cocking the 

gun. This new shape of the slide became so 

popular that in the future it should be a standard 

for all CZ 75s with the polymer frame. 

PRACTICAL TEST 

I had an opportunity to test four versions of CZ 

2075 RAMI: two all metal RAMIs in calibers 9 mm 

Luger or 40 S&W and two plastic RAMIs in the 

same calibers. 

During the initial familiarization I detected no 

problems on the gun’s side. The pistols were well 

and neatly made; the mechanisms worked a bit stiff 

as it should be expected with a new pistol. When 

shooting from the rested position, holding the gun 

with both hands and in SA mode, all the guns 

showed roughly the same qualities. At 25 meters 

the groups printed by bullets were about 12 cm in 

diameter. I went on to the double taps at a combat 

distance of 7 meters but to my pleasant surprise the 

groups expanded only by a small margin It should 

be mentioned that during the rapid shots I clearly 

felt that the subcompact pistol has a larger muzzle 

jump than the full size service model. 

With respect to the assumed purpose of RAMI 

this is fully acceptable. Clear and well readable 

sights and a crisp trigger pull also had their affect 

on the good results. Various models of the CZ 2075 RAMI and CZ 2075 RAMI P 


Subcompact 

I did not find any remarkable difference 

between the handling of plastic and metal RAMI. 

The difference in weight is really small and if 

I assume that the slightly higher weight of the 

metal version helped to tame the recoil, the 

polymer frame dampens the recoil better than the 

metal. Both aspects balance one versus other 

and there is no clear winner in my eyes. 

When testing the pistols I tried also to use large 

magazines coming from “bigger brothers”of the 

CZ 75 family. As I expected they worked in 

CZ 2075 RAMI without problems although they 

protruded from the bottom of the grip. Good news 

for those who would like to use larger magazines 

as rule in their RAMI – CZ offers a special sleeve 

that can be placed over the magazine body. The 

sleeve improves grip of the protruding part and 

elongates the pistol grip a little. 

During the test I spent in excess of 300 

rounds, covering the whole spectrum of loads 

and bullet combinations. The gun worked 

flawlessly with all of them. 

THAT PISTOL DECEIVES 

All the operating controls of the gun are well 

within the shooter’s fingers, even in the case of 

a small hand. Their action is positive and reliable. 

The handling characteristics were not hindered by 

the fact that the levers and working surfaces 

were, in comparison with the service model, 

significantly flattened. On the contrary, users will 

appreciate the flat parts when carrying the gun for 

an extended period of time, especially in the case 

of an inside the trousers soft holster for concealed 

carry. The pistol does not pinch your rib cage. 

From the user’s point of view it is pleasant that 

the CZ 2075 RAMI pistol “deceives”. At first sight, 

the pistol seems to be quite chunky but the moment 

you holster it seems to “shrink” somehow and even 

in case of a concealed carry it is not obtrusive to the 

user. The RAMI is a very good self-defense or backup 

gun that can be carried in a concealed way with 

comfort. Also the grip is good. It is true that if you 

do not use the magazine sleeve and larger 

magazine as mentioned above there is no place for 

the small finger of your hand on the grip. But even 

with the small finger crouched under the heel of 

a grip the pistol is easily controllable. When thinking 

about buying the RAMI it makes sense to try both 

metal and plastic versions. Someone can prefer the 

metal version since the grip panels are a little bit 

larger and personally I am of the opinion that they 

better fill my palm. The plastic version has no 

separate grip panels, these being an integral part of 


the grip. This makes the grip a bit flatter and when 

concealed carry is the dictum, flat sides of the grip 

fit more snugly to your body. It is up to each specific 

user to decide what they prefer. 

TOTAL RELIABILITY 

CZ 2075 RAMI and CZ 2075 RAMI P are 

practically totally equal, very user friendly and first 

of all they are reliable guns. I would accept a little 

less precision although this not the case of RAMI. 

What I would never accept is any step back in 

terms of reliability. The role of a subcompact pistol 

in my eyes is that of a “last stand gun” and as such 

the reliability has to be total. Here the RAMI has 

nothing to be ashamed and (as well as the whole 

family of the CZ 75 pistols) is unchallenged. To 

sum up: if you are looking for a concealed carry 

gun, powerful, reliable, reasonably precise, good 

handling, this all packed into a very small size, 

then the CZ 2075 RAMI or CZ 2075 RAMI P is 

exactly what you are looking for. 

Last but not least let me mention that Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod has developed also the 

CZ 2075 RAMI P in a non lethal calibre 9 mm P.A. 

Rubber and in new calibre .45 GAP. Due to the 

low demand, the last mentioned version remains 

developed but not serially produced. ■ 

CZ 2075 RAMI 

caliber 9 mm Luger, .40 S&W 


height 120 mm 

width 32 mm 



magazine capacity 10 rounds (9 mm Luger), 

8 rounds (.40 S&W) 

CZ 2075 RAMI P in a non lethal caliber 9 mm P.A. Rubber 

CZ 2075 RAMI P 

caliber 9 mm Luger, .40 S&W 


height 120 mm 

width 33 mm 



magazine capacity 10 rounds (9 mm Luger), 

8 rounds (.40 S&W) 


Big Name 

Milan Trkulja 

– Creator of the 

Sporting Success of CZUB 

World-wandering Milan Trkulja has been teamed Martin Helebrant 

up with Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod for the past 

12 years. It has been a profitable deal for both parties with Milan 

having proposed and developed a project for a subsidiary company of 

Česká zbrojovka in the United States, CZ-USA. He was also creator 

of the successful CZ 2075 RAMI pistol and introduced the CZUB 

winning team to the world of competitive shooting. 

Currently your position is as manager of the 

successful CZUB shooting team. How did this 

all come together? 

I was living in Canada at the time. It was 1993 and 

my friends from back home had sent me an invitation 

to the then federal International Championship of 

Czechoslovakia in IPSC shooting. The competition 

was being held in Dubnice and I was very curious to 

see how well my countrymen were faring in such 

a modern shooting discipline. To my surprise they 

were pretty good but I was shocked to see that they 

were using guns made by foreign manufacturers. On 

my way back to Canada I stopped over in Uherský 

Brod where I happened to meet Engineer Myšinský, 

the then technical director of CZUB. He confessed to 

me that he had no idea what IPSC shooting was 

about and when we were parting ways he asked me 

to recommend which shooters would be most 

capable to represent the company. A year later I was 

in Dubnice again, this time seeing a group of shooters 

in the CZUB colours. If my memory serves me 

correctly, there was Jasanský and Gartner as well as 

Dr. Kameníček and Standa Střižík from the 

factory’s development workshop. In January of 1995 

I accepted CZUB’s offer to become, this is beside 

other duties, also manager of their shooting sports 

program and I came back to the motherland for good. 

Today, the CZUB shooting team is one of the 

top-notch competitors of the IPSC. Who are 

the members of the team? 

The core of the team are shooters from 

Uherský Brod and the Uherské Hradiště region. 

As mentioned above, these are Dr. Kameníček, 

his son Martin Kameníček, Miroslav Havlíček and 

Petr Pijáček. We also have Adam Tyc from Plzeň 

and Josef Rakušan, a junior from Olomouc. Our 

newest shooters consist of the likes of Zdeněk 

Liehne, and some others. 

Within the names you mentioned there are 

alot of young shooters who have just barely 

graduated from the junior level. By which 

criteria do you select new members for the 

company shooting team? 

I’ve participated in many competitions and with 

all due respect, I think I can recognize a talented 

shooter. In addition to that, if I see someone who 

has potential and I know that the person is willing 

to work hard on him/herself, I keep my eye on 

them. This doesn’t mean that he or she is 

automatically invited to join the team. I watch very 

carefully for two or three years first, and once I see 

that my initial feeling was correct I make an offer. 

Results in competition shooting, especially from 

international competitions, surely help to boost 

up the image of the CZUB brand. Do you see an 

increased interest in firearms used by your team? 

Absolutely. But the results aren’t the only reason. 

The fact that I can’t remember us having any 

technical problems with our guns for the past 4 or 5 

years has also had an impact. It’s no wonder that 

shooters from other teams come to check out what 

new firearms we’ve come up with. The last time it 

was the CZ 75 SP-01 pistol, which we conquered 

the world with. It’s worth it to add that this pistol was 

nothing more than a practical pistol for practical use. 

Originally it was being ordered by the Czech regional 

special forces and today people around the world 

are fighting to get their hands on one. ■ 


High Above 

David Pazdera 

the Usual Standard 

Tests of the CZ 75 D Compact Pistol 

Conducted in Slaviãín, Czech Republic 

All firearms made by Česká 

zbrojovka, Uherský Brod 

before going to the customer 

are subjected to many highly 

demanding tests. These tests 

carried out both during the 

firearm development and in 

the course of actual 

production are to verify the 

quality of fit and finish, 

flawless functions and 

safety. The CZ 75 D Compact 

pistol is in this respect 

a certain exception, of 

course in the positive sense 

of this word. As a handgun designed with regard to exacting 

requirements of police and law enforcement units this pistol went 

through rough tests which could be classified as being high above 

usual standard, these types of tests are conducted at the Military 

Technical Institute of Armament and Ammunition (Czech 

abbreviation VTÚVM) in the town of Slavičín, Czech Republic, 

which is the top Czech testing facility of international renown. 

The exceptional qualities of the CZ 75 D Compact pistol are 

evidenced by the fact that in their final version this pistol went 

though these rough tests conducted in accordance with domestic 

and foreign methodology with excellent results. It does not matter 

if you receive this nice handgun as an assigned service weapon in 

terms of police duty, or you buy it as an honest citizen – you still 

do have the same thoroughly examined pistol having outstanding 

custom parameters, which in its class can hardly be found in any 

rivals the world over. Let’s have a look at the most interesting and 

the most demanding moments of the extensive testing procedures, 

which include in a total 18 items through which the 

CZ 75 D Compact pistol passed with a great success. 

Tests 


Tests 

Rain on demand? For VTÚVM Slavičín this poses no 

problem. The photo shows the CZ 75 D Compact 

pistol just at the time when this handgun is exposed 

to one in a series of heavy rains in the “rain chamber” 

in the test in so called combined weather 

conditions. During this test the handgun is also 

repeatedly exposed in 10 minutes intervals to dust 

blowing. Overall in this demanding test set only 1 % 

of failures from 336 shots is allowed. The pistols met 

the requirements of this test. 

The CZ 75 D Compact pistol passed also very 

demanding tests of function under extremely low 

temperatures. The pistol is shot with 28 rounds 

from the freezing chamber, before this test the 

pistol is left for one and half hours for tempering in 

the temperature of –30 °C (-22,00 °F) . However, 

this is not the end of the test. After an additional 

30 min. keeping of the pistol in the freezing 

chamber is the pistol transferred to a chamber 

with air temperature from +20 to +25 °C having 

relative humidity 70 %. In this chamber the pistol 

is stored for as long as the hoarfrost disappears 

from its surface and only drops of water remain. 

The dewy handgun is again placed in the freezing 

chamber for a period of 30 min., this changes the 

handgun literally into an ice cube. Then directly 

from the freezing chamber the pistol shoots 28 

rounds. The Compact made in Uherský Brod 

fared in this test in an excellent manner. 

The CZ brand pistols are exported all over the 

world, so it cannot be exempted that some of 

them will have to wrestle with climatic conditions in 

their extreme – for example high temperatures. In 

this case the resistance of firearms to such 

conditions is examined in the laboratories of Slavičín 

in the temperature chamber with the air temperature 

maintained at +50 °C (122,00 °F) additionally with 

cartridges tempered up to +70°C (158,00 °F). Under 

these conditions each of the two CZ 75 D Compact 

tested pistols was shot with 56 cartridges, (i.e. 4 

magazines), without any failure or spontaneous 

cartridge cook-off in the chamber. 

Though everybody knows that it is necessary to 

properly care about weapons, not always is this rule 

for various reasons observed. Modern pistols must 

withstand such a situation. For this reason VTÚVM 

Slavičín tested shooting from two CZ 75 D Compact 

pistols, which were not cleaned and lubricated for 

the period of six days. Always after 24 hours the 

pistols were shot with 56 cartridges. Compacts 

made in Uherský Brod scored again as for the whole 

time they manifested reliable function. 

Traditional tests of handguns aspiring to be 

adopted by the law enforcement units and armed 

forces also include drawing of handgun 

through sand. Presently this test is carried out 

with a pistol wiped dry, string fixed to the trigger 

guard and hauled through the sand at the speed 

of 1 m.s -1 along the trail 4 m long, alternately 

5x on the left side and 5x on the right side. After 

each hauling one full magazine is shot, in total 

140 cartridges. For this number of shots 1 % of 

failures is allowed. Compacts made in Uherský 

Brod passed these tests: One pistol did not 

manifest any failures, the other manifested one 

failure, this is an excellent result! 

In another stage of tests 100% interchangeability 

of parts is put under scrutiny. In VTÚVM Slavičín this 

was tested with 5 pistols of the CZ 75 D Compact 

model, which were disassembled and their 

parts interchanged and the pistols were again 

reassembled. 

Each pistol reassembled in such a way was in 

the end shot with 50 cartridges. Surely it is no 

surprise that in the course of assembly as in the 

shooting there were not registered any failures and 

the pistols fully met specified requirements – which 

in other words applies also about production 

quality as made by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 


After sand comes to order a mud bath. Here is 

the recipe for those who want prepare such 

a bath at their home: One kilo of clay stir in 10 

litres of water. The pistol is immersed into such 

a “bath” for the period of 60 seconds, while the 

pistol is moved back and forth then is left to lay 

on the left side. After that period the handgun is 

removed from this bath, after every 60 sec. the 

handgun is shaken out and surfaces blown by 

the shooter’s mouth. After a further 30 sec. since 

the handgun’s removal from the bath the pistol is 

shot, the ideal result is when the pistol functions 

with the magazine which shared its destiny. Both 

CZ 75 D Compact pistols always achieved this 

without any problems. 

User very valuable test is represented by the so 

called establishment of exploitative service life 

of firearm parts and components. This test was 

in Slavičín carried out with two CZ 75 D Compact 

pistols perfoming the following steps: each 

weapon has been 10x completely disassembled, 

350x partially disassembled, 2000x hammer 

cocked and released and 4000x dry fired. After this 

test completion no deterioration of technical and 

end-use properties was detected. 

The CZ 75 D Compact pistol was inevitably also 

subjected to a very hard service life test consisting 

of shooting of 15 000 rounds in total with allowed 

percentage of failures set at 0,2 % max. Three pistols 

had been tested and functional reliability with two 

handguns achieved an illustrious 0,08 % and for 

one 0,06 %. Besides this, it was also found that the 

barrel bore wear, after this number of shots, was 

imperceptible which was evidenced only by symbolic 

decrease in the muzzle velocity values. Checking of 

accuracy for all three tested pistols likewise 

evidenced that after shooting a respectable 15 000 

rounds the CZ 75 D Compact did not manifest any 

deterioration of the pistol’s accuracy parameters. 

Sometimes it happens – the shot report or blast 

is unusual, apparently something is not right, but by 

the time the shooter realizes that the bullet has not 

Closely watched “discipline” is determination of 

handgun safety when dropped from 1,5 m and 

3 m (9,84 ft.) height to hard mat. At the first case 

the pistol is let to drop with hammer in all positions 

(at the rear cocked position, on the hammer safety 

notch and at its front/rest position) on the left side, 

on the right side, barrel muzzle, rear portion of the 

slide or the hammer, magazine floor plate and 

sights. Every pistol is thus subjected to 54 drops, 

likewise also the loaded magazines themselves 

are going through these tests. At these tests the 

great attention is paid to safety (there shall not be 

any dents or primer initiation or firing pin marks 

detected on the cartridge) and functionality – that 

is checked by shooting 10 cartridges after every 

three drops. This posed no problems for the 

CZ 75 D Compact pistols. In the drops from the 

height of 3 m it is not specified with which part or 

portion the pistol strikes the mat, the handgun is 

dropped five times. Under scrutiny in this test are 

not only the safety of the weapon but also the 

extent of damage incurred to individual parts. Not 

only that even in this section of test the CZ 75 

D Compact pistols were not detected to have any 

dents or primer initiation or firing pin marks of any 

kind, nor any excessive damage to individual 

parts; with Compact made in Uherský Brod was 

in addition above the scope of this test performed 

a verification of the handgun proper function by 

shooting, the actual shooting passed without 

failure of any kind. 

left the bore he/she pulls the trigger again. Modern 

pistols must be designed and manufactured so that 

consequences of such a situation must not in any 

way endanger the shooter. For this reason there is 

a test of handgun safety when the rules of 

proper handling are infringed, during this test the 

bullet is forcibly pressed into the barrel bore at the 

42 mm distance from the rear face of the barrel and 

then the pistol is discharged. In the case of the 

Compact model made in Uherský Brod the result 

was: In the course of this test no destruction which 

would endanger operator occurred. The pistol 

passed and met specified requirements. ■ 


Compact 

Police Pistol 

CZ 75 D 

Compact Přemysl 

Liška 

The first half of 

the 1990’s was 

associated with 

widely reported 

cases of shooting injuries, 

where an allegedly negative role was 

played by firearms then provided to the 

Czech Police. Generally speaking, this 

was nonsense, major police hardware 

comprised of CZ 82 pistols, which are 

still in production under the name CZ 83 

in cal. .380 Auto (9mm Browning Short), 

.32 Auto (7,65 mm Browning) and 9 mm 

Makarov and there are no complaints 

about their safe operation. On the other hand it is true that these 

firearms were already physically and morally obsolete. 

T he CZ 82 pistol model was designed in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Czechoslovakian Army and Law Enforcement Units 

at the beginning of the 1980s – unified within the 

scope of then Warsaw Pact – for the Soviet 9 mm 

Makarov cartridge, which, however, was redesigned 

into the 9mm cartridge vz. (model) 82 in our country 

due to insufficient accuracy. Its practical utilisation 

showed that the main weakness of this firearm is its 

insufficient performance and the limited stopping 

power in police use both with the original 9mm 

Makarov cartridge and its local version. 

These facts led the Czech Ministry of Interior to 

considerations regarding rearmament of the 

Czech Police with new service pistols. After 

unsuccessful tenders in the search for a new 

firearm within the periods of 1996-1997 and 1999- 

2000 the Czech government adopted a decision in 


March 2000 in accordance with the law that they 

would address a single manufacturer, which would 

be Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 

STRICT REQUIREMENTS 

The Czech Ministry of Interior announced their 

requirement for new firearms featuring strict 

parameters. Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod then 

selected one model out of its product range, which 

best complied with the requirements: the CZ 75 

D Compact. That was the first seventy-five from 

Uherský Brod with its frame made from refined 

aluminium alloy (developed for the aircraft industry), 

which was actually made owing to previous tenders. 

The selected firearm had to be modified in some 

ways to meet the customer’s requirements. The 

main modification is the extended front part of the 

frame, which runs up to the slide front and features 

rails for mounting of accessories – a tactical light or 

alaser marker. The handgun in cal. 9 mm Luger, 

featuring an external hammer and of course, the 

automatic firing pin block assuring drop safety, has 

no manual safety. It is instead provided with 

a decocking lever for safe hammer release. (By the 

way, a similar mechanism was already requested 

by the Czechoslovakian Ministry of Interior during 

development of the pistol model 82.) 

The final decision on purchase of pistols was 

made at the end of the year 2001 and the supply 

to Czech Police began immediately. The quantity 

ordered was 46,000 pieces, which should have 

been – and really were – supplied on continuous 

basis till the year 2005. 

CLASSICAL “SEVENTY-FIVE” IN 

A MODERN OUTFIT 

The pistol model CZ 75 D Compact, calibre 9 

mm Luger, for the Czech Police, which is currently 

included in the product range of Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod under the name CZ 75 D Compact 

(P-01), from a design point of view, represents 

a classical, even though compact, “seventy-five”. 

The slide is locked, which is enabled by the 

modified Browning system with a short recoil and 

forced barrel tilt. The hammer and trigger 

mechanism is double action (SA/DA), provided 

with the already mentioned decocking lever; the 

hammer also features the usual safety notch. 

Controls are left-sided; the magazine catch 

may be mounted to enable operation from either 

left or right side. However, the Czech Police were 

also supplied with the required quantity of sets for 

individual modification of some CZ 75 D Compact 

pistols for left-handed shooters at agreed dates. 

The frame is firstly anodized then black painted. 

The barrel on the police version of the CZ 75 

D Compact is forged including the bore. The initial 

surface carbo-nitriding was abandoned and the 

barrel had been hardened isothermally. The recoil 

spring is made of wire with a rectangular profile. 

NUMEROUS IMPROVEMENTS 

The receiver is made of steel, the top surface is 

serrated to prevent any undesired light reflections 

and it is provided with grooves at the grip parts even 

in the front. The extractor has been modified 

pursuant to results of testing under adverse 

conditions (dust). The front part of the receiver 

features a barrel bushing with the front sight above 

secured with a roll pin. The fixed open rear sight with 

limited adjustments for windage has been fixed in 

the dovetail with a screw peg. The possible elevation 

correction of sights can be performed by means of 

sights exchange for lower or higher according to the 

operation manual. Sights are highlighted with three 

luminescent dots, which enable shooters to aim 

under dim light visibility conditions. 

The standard double column magazine with 

a single cartridge outlet holding 14 cartridges of 

9mm Luger calibre was provided with plastic 

follower of improved shape. The magazine body 

features three witness holes for checking the 

loaded ammo number at 5, 10 and 14 cartridges. 

The magazine well is separated from the hammer 

mechanism with a metal sheet, which can be 

bent, if necessary, to serve as a magazine brake 

preventing it from falling freely when exchanged. 

The main spring plug is provided with a ring for 

lanyard, strap or chain. Two-piece grip panels are 

made of rubber with steel insertions; the 

magazine has a rubber buttplate. 

EXCELLENT TRIGGER MECHANISM 

Despite the fact that the operation of the 

mechanism in standard pistols in the CZ 75/85 series 

is hardly one to be complained about, these police 

pistols work – if it is possible – even better, literally 

“like clockwork”. Everything moves smoothly, freely, 

without any “wobbling” and any undesired 

resistance. All the parts of this pistol conform to the 

A blue variant of the CZ 75 D Comapct model designed for 

marking cartridges and used for training purposes 


Compact 

TRIGGER BAR 


BARREL 

FRONT SIGHT 

LEVER CONTROLLER 

RECOIL 

SPRING 

ACCESSORY 

FOLLOWER 

RAILS 

MAGAZINE SPRING 

RECOIL SPRING 

GUIDE 

FIRING PIN 

GRIP PANEL 

SLIDE STOP 

MAGAZINE BASE 

BARREL 

SLIDE 

TRIGGER 

requirements of the Czech Police concerning their 

exchangeability with no need for further adjusting. 

The trigger pull weight in the single-action 

mode is within the interval of 16-24.5 N on all 

guns, the double-action mode is then associated 

with the value of 55 N. No trigger pull weight 

adjustment in order to achieve any pull weight 

improvements or any other tuning of this gun is 

assumed and the manufacturer expressly bans 

any additional interference with the pistol 

mechanism. Any possible repairs of this gun shall 

be performed by means of exchange of defective 

parts for new ones, however, any major repairs on 

this gun would only come into consideration once 

its has been run over by a tank. 

EXCELLENT ACCURACY AND 

EXTRAORDINARY RELIABILITY 

The shot grouping is tested with ten rounds at 

the range of 25 meters and all hits will fall within 

a circle with a 12 cm diameter. The centre hit then 

has to be within a rectangle of 80 mm in height and 

50 mm in width. 

When using regular ammunition made by S&B, 

the recoil and climb of these pistols is subjectively 

lower than with the standard “aluminium” 

compact CZ 75 pistol – the frame extended 

forwards evidently works as a weight and it might 

also be assisted with the recoil spring and the 

frame shape modification at the point of 

beavertail. Beyond all expectations, this gun can 

manage double taps with excellent accuracy and 

at a quick rate. 

UHERSKÝ BROD CZECH REPUBLIC 

LOCKING LUGS 

HAMMER DECOCKING 

LEVER CONTROLLER 

FOLLOWER 

EXTRACTOR 

REAR SIGHT 

FIRING PIN 

BLOCK STOP 

The pistol model CZ 75 D Compact has been 

designed for any type of cartridges in calibre 9 mm 

Luger in accordance with both civil CIP standards 

and military regulations NATO/STANAG. This gun 

can be fired with any type of bullets. 

The specific service life of this handgun 

proven by testing is 15,000 rounds (the real 

service life is significantly longer!); whereas the 

isothermally hardened barrel shows better 

grouping results after shooting this quantity 

compared to the initial phase of utilisation. 

Accessories to this pistol included in the plastic 

case comprise a cleaning rod and a brush, multipurpose 

screw driver, e.g. for grips, one Allen key 

for the sights screw peg and five dummy 

cartridges for practice. 

Besides that Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

has designed and also manufactures a version of 

this compact pistol for training and marking 

ammunition calibre 9 mm FX, CQT and Securi 

Blank, which is successfully used for training 

purposes. ■ 

CZ 75 D Compact 

calibre 9 mm Luger 


height 137 mm 

width 37 mm 

weight w/o cartridges max. 800 g 

barrel length 98.5 mm 



44 Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 

EJECTOR 

DISCONNECTOR 

FIRING PIN 

MAGAZINE SPRING 

C 

68 

http 

pho 

GRIP PANEL 

MAGAZINE BASE 

SEAR 

HAMMER 

FRAME 

MAIN SPRING 

STRUT 

MAIN SPRING 

MAGAZINE 

GUIDE 

MAIN SPRING 

PLUG

CZ 97 B 

Calibre .45 ACP 

– “Forty-Five Not Only 

For America” 

The CZ 97 is an all-steel self-loading pistol 

having modern linkless-locking with the barrel 

rear portion locked into the slide’s ejection port. 

The slide front features a screw-in barrel bushing. 

The barrel bore comprising six right-handed 

grooves. The barrel bushing is secured against 

rotation with the recoil spring housing, which fits 

into radiused cuts in the flared bushing edge. 

Even though the handgun designation would 

not indicate this fact, the pistol model CZ 97 

B uses the SA/DA trigger and firing mechanism 

known from the proven concept of the CZ 75. The 

pistol features full length inside the frame slide 

rails. There is an extended beaver tail on top of 

the grip with serrated front- and backstrap. The 

butt section of the grip is provided with a shelf for 

resting the little finger of shooting hand. 

Standards grips made of walnut are checkered 

with a pleasantly sharp dovetail pattern. 

Safety features comprise the automatic firing 

pin lock, the manual safety, the safety notch on 

the hammer and the loaded chamber indicator 

indicating presence of round in the chamber. 

The top flat surface of the slide is serrated to 

prevent an undesired reflection of light during 

aiming. Sights include a wide front sight, drifted 

into a groove and locked with a pin, and the rear 

sight with a broad notch, fitted into a transverse 

groove. Both front sight and rear sight are 

highlighted with three dots with fluorescent paint 

enabling shooting in dim light conditions. 

The magazine of CZ 97 holds 10 rounds and is 

manufactured in Italy by the Mec-Gar company. 

Its body is made of steel sheet, the follower and 

bottom are made of durable black plastic. The 

Pavel Klozík 

Among handguns made by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, 

introduced into production in the late 1990s, the CZ 97 B pistol, 

cal. .45 ACP occupies an important position, it was designed to 

complete the assortment intended for the U.S. market. In 1999 the 

Soldier of Fortune Magazine rated this pistol as the most accurate 

series-produced combat pistol with calibre.45 ACP. 

pistol surface is protected with a matt black or 

silver-grey polycoat, the magazine is blued. 

FIELD TEST 

The seemingly thick handle of the pistol shows 

good ergonomics, it has comfortable grip and its size 

will be convenient for shooters with medium and 

large hand. The trigger has a smooth and pleasant 

pull during single or double action mode of fire. 

Standard 


Standard 

The instruction manual supplied with the gun lists 

good results at instinctive shooting. I have no reason 

to disagree and I can add: the manufacturer’s sightingin 

of the handgun I had the opportunity to test and the 

adjustment of its sights were excellent. The grouping 

at the range of 25 meters did not exceed 5 cm. Having 

reduced the range to 10 meters, the grouping was 

reduced to three centimetres. 

We assigned very high marks to the behaviour 

of this pistol when shooting rapid taps and 

double taps. At this stage I had an objection to 

the higher trigger pull weight for the first shot in 

the double action mode. However, if the hammer 

has been adjusted to the safety notch, the trigger 

pull has been considerably reduced. Let us just 

add we shot this pistol from standing position 

with one hand and both hands hold without the 

use of any rest. 

OMNIVORE 

The popular and for self-defence very efficient 

round cal. .45 ACP used for the test was made by 

Sellier & Bellot with ogival full jacket bullet 

weighing 230 gr/14,9 g. We also had Italian 

rounds made by Fiocchi with ogival full jacket 

(FMJ) bullet of the same weight and a small 

quantity of Libra ammunition with the same type 

of bullet – in this case there was a mixture of 

ammunition from various manufacturers from the 

time of WWII. The total number of rounds shot 

during this test was approximately 300, while we 

noted only one failure to feed the Fiocchi round 

and two old and defective Libra rounds had to be 

shot with repeated strike on the primer. The 

instruction manual supplied with the CZ 97 

B warns about the use of semi wad cutter bullets 

– type LSWC, where the use of such ammunition 

may cause a failure when feeding cartridge from 

the magazine into the chamber. 


TRIGGER BAR 


RECOIL 

SPRING 

HOUSING 

LOADED 

CHAMBER 

INDICATOR 

FRONT SIGHT 

RECOIL 

SPRING 

FOLLOWER 

FIRING PIN 

OVERALL EVALUATION 

The CZ 97 B is a very good and accurate 

pistol made in .45 ACP cal. Its excellent shooting 

stability overwhelms the legendary M1911 A1. 

I would personally appreciate ambidextrous 

controls, and with regard to the size of this 

handgun, also the extension of the magazine 

capacity to 12-13 rounds. There might be also 

use for the currently standard rail for mounting of 

tactical accessories on the frame in front of the 

trigger guard. Yet these are only individual 

requirements which do not lessen the pistol 

quality in its existing design. 

I also had the opportunity to test the leather 

belt holster. Despite its robust shape the CZ 97 

B would adhere to the body, it would not hinder 

in any movement and would remain well at reach. 

Therefore I can confirm that, even though this 

pistol does not belong to small arms, it can be 

carried in the quality holster comfortably. ■ 

CZ 97 B 

calibre .45 ACP 


height 150 mm 

width 35 mm 


line of sight length 161 mm 

weight without ammunition 1.150 g 


SLIDE STOP 

GRIP PANEL 

SLIDE 

TRIGGER 

SAFETY 

FOLLOWER 

FIRING PIN 

EXTRACTOR 

REAR SIGHT 


BARREL 

DISCONNECTOR 

LOADED 

CHAMBER GRIP PANEL 

INDICATOR 

CZ 97 B 

FIRING PIN 

BLOCK STOP 

EJECTOR 

HAMMER 

FRAME 

MAIN SPRING 

MAGAZINE 

BRAKE 

MAIN SPRING 

PLUG

Big Name 

Angus 

Hobdell 

– the Ace up 

CZ-USA’s Sleeve 

Angus Hobdell, a forty-one year old Englishman, is, among his 

others titles, a US Multi Grand Master and four times winner of 

the STI/American Handgunner Shoot Off competition. Angus is 

multiple Great Britain Master and European Champion in IPSC 

shooting, and has been ranked among the top shooters in the 

world for almost 2 decades! Years ago he started shooting with 

the Czech pistol CZ 75, and today he has come full circle and is 

the Captain and a pillar of CZ-USA’s shooting team. 

Born in the UK, was literally forced out of England 

by a change in the law, which strictly prohibited 

the possession of handguns and other specific 

firearms. The new law was introduced by the Tories 

and is enforced and strengthened by the Prime 

Minister Tony Blair. He now lived in Arizona, one of 

the most “shooter friendly” states in the world. 

Angus began his shooting career at the 

Croydon Rifle and Pistol Club where he lernt to 

shoot a variety of firearms, initially starting with 

a single shot .22 and progressing to semi 

automatic centerfire pistol and centerfire rifle. 

Effectively his career began in October 1986 when 

he was granted a UK Firearms License. 

In 1989 Angus attended an IPSC/Action 

Shooting class and fell in love with the sport. This 

was to become a life long passion for combining 

speed and accuracy with a firearm. Angus rapidly 

progressed to become one of Europe’s top 

shooters. And in 1995, at the European 

Championships in Sweden, he was crowned 

European Open Champion, capping his multitude 

of other titles achieved during those years. For 

a long while he was virtually unbeatable in Europe. 

And then, at the height of his career, handguns 

were banned in England. Angus faced many 

uncertainties – but he knew one think for sure: He 

would find a way to continue shooting! He 

unwillingly acknowledged the fact that the sun had 

finally set for shooters in the UK and subsequently 

he moved to Spain. A year later he realized 

Pavel Klozík 

another move was necessary and relocated to 

Phoenix, Arizona, the Home of Action Shooting. 

Currently Angus competes with firearms 

manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 

He contributes many great ideas to the CZ 

product line and has a fantastic relationship with 

the people from CZ-USA. Angus’s knowledge of 

the CZ line of pistols is second to none and he 

continues to help research and develop the CZ 

Family of firearms. Several of Angus’s suggestions 

have contributed to the design and current 

features of the CZ 75 pistols. He has taken an 

active part in training the shooters who represent 

Česká zbrojovka and he has added a lion’s share 

of the team’s achievements. 

It is a fact that many of the improvements to our 

firearms were added for serial production after 

they were tested and found to be essential during 

IPSC / Action style shooting. Action shooting is 

the final frontier of weapons testing. The action 

shooter demands accuracy, reliability and quality 

and he shoots more rounds in a month that most 

users will shoot in years. He shoots faster and 

harder than anyone else, taking the demand for an 

excellent firearm to the next level. 

Angus Hobdell is an interesting, straightforward, 

witty and easy-going person. Simply put, he is the 

true “Mr. Shooter” who apart from the cooperation 

with CZ-USA, is a top shooting coach and firearms 

instructor. He also owns a shooting related shop in 

the Phoenix, Arizona. 


The shooting aces of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, from left Adam Tyc, Angus Hobdell and Martin Kameníček 

Which firearms have you been using? 

I’ve been shooting with various versions of the 

Colt 1911 A1, I won the European Championship 

with a Tanfoglio, calibre 9 mm Luger, a copy of the 

CZ 75. I used STI, SVI and SPS 1911 based hi-cap 

pistols for some time and before that I shot with the 

Para Ordnance, all in .38 Super Auto calibre. 

When did you come across the CZ 75 pistols? 

I first owned and extensively used a CZ 75 while 

I was still in England; it was very popular in the UK. 

During the start of my career, I’ll call it “my career” 

because that what I made it. I was predominantly 

shooting in Open Division. Three years ago I moved 

into the Production Division. The CZ 75 is the 

perfect pistol for production division. 

Some of your students have in time achieved even 

greater successes than yourself, their teacher. 

How do you regard their accomplishments? 

I teach students so that they can improve. Like 

any good instructor – I see their success as my own. 

I have no problem at all being beaten fairly by 

someone who comes to a match and outshoots me. 

Over the years I have won many many shooting titles. 

Too many to list. I feel one of my greater 

achievements is being 4 times World Champion Steel 

Shooting Champion. I’m glad that I can still keep up 

with the younger top shooters from around the world 

and still impart my knowledge. I like the fact that they 

still have to work to beat me, no free rides from this 

guy! I play to win, and I always commit 100 %. 

How do you keep yourself in good condition? 

In bed. The greatest secret of my success is in 

the drinking of Czech beer (smiling from ear to ear). 

You’ve been a competitive shooter for years 

and I know you also work as a shooting 

instructor for the police and military units. What 

do you teach the servicemen and women? 

My mission has always been to teach speed 

and accuracy with a firearm. Anyone can shoot 

fast, and most can eventually shoot accurately. 

But combining speed and accuracy together is 

an art – and that is what I teach. I do not 

specialize in combat tactics, there are other 

experts to do that. 

What’s your opinion on ownership and carry 

of firearms for self-defence? 

Everyone has the right to defend themselves if 

they are attacked or if their life is in danger, same 

as they have the right to defend their family and 

property. I support the idea of carrying a firearm for 

one’s own defence. Depending on where and 

when I will be travelling, I carry the CZ 97 calibre 

.45 ACP with me. Arizona is a wonderful state - we 

have very liberal gun laws. It is lawful to carry 

a loaded firearm in a holster on the street, in plain 

view. But please don’t go thinking I live in 

a dangerous place, just because I decide to carry 

a firearm daily. According to my daily needs, I carry 

many different guns produced by Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod, including the small pocket-sized 

pistol CZ 92 calibre 6,35 mm Browning. 

What’s your opinion of the present quality of 

firearms produced in Uherský Brod? 

The firearms manufactured at Česká zbrojovka 

are excellent! They are constantly being improved 

and can be purchased at a reasonable price. They 

have a good design; ergonomics and they are 

incredibly reliable. CZ’s rimfire rifles are extremely 

popular as well, with many wins in events like the 

Metallic Silhouette Shooting. I also see that 

there’s a growing interest in the specialized large 

calibre safari rifles designed for hunting. 

I very much like the CZ 75 and CZ 75 

D Compact produced for the police. But the 

pistol that suits me the most is the SP-01. My 

favourite amongst the rifles are the CZ 527 

(I have several) and the sniper rifle CZ 750 

Sniper. ■ 


Dan Wesson 

Dan Wesson 

Pistols and 

Revolvers 

from CZ-USA 

The Dan Wesson Company bears the name of 

the great-grandson of the co-founder of 

Smith & Wesson. Dan – who was in fact named 

after his famous great-grandfather Daniel Baird 

– Wesson originally worked in the family 

company until 1965, but decided to leave it after 

its take-over by the Bangor Punta multinational. 

Pavel Klozík 

In 2004 CZ-USA, a subsidiary of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

(CZUB), Czech Republic, bought a small US company – Dan Wesson. 

The reason for the purchase was an attempt to extend the portfolio of 

CZ handguns by adding the ever-popular (especially in the USA) 

pistols from the M1911 family. In addition to the “nineteen elevens”, 

the offer of CZ-USA now also features Dan Wesson revolvers. 

In 1968 he started manufacturing revolvers under 

his own name in Monsoon, Massachusetts, 

drawing on the original design by Karl R. Lewis. 

Dan Wesson revolvers soon earned and have 

maintained a reputation for being powerful, extremely 

accurate, well-built and aesthetically appealing guns 

offering the unique feature of interchangeable barrels. 

However, after the death of Dan Wesson in 1978 and 

later of K. Lewis, the company faced economic 

trouble which was unsuccessfully dealt with by the 

founder’s son Seth in the 1990s. A turn for the better 

came in 1996 when the company was taken over by 

Robert W. Serva, who built a state-of-the-art factory 

for Dan Wesson firearms near Norwich, NY, and 

added to the product range high-end clones of the 

M1911 as well as long guns. 

The revived new-era legend of Dan Wesson 

now again enjoys a great reputation. Its purchase 

by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod can therefore 

be considered highly beneficial in terms of 

completing the offer of CZ-USA as well as 

boosting the image of CZUB. 

CUSTOM MODERN 1911S 

The current CZ-USA catalogue lists five 

M1911 pistols, two of which are made in the 

classic .45 ACP and three are chambered in the 

powerful 10 mm Auto. All the Dan Wesson 

M1911s are made of stainless steel and only 

differ from one another in small detail. 

The Dan Wesson pistols are modern stainless 

steel clones of the legendary Colt M1911 pistol, 

specifically of the Series 70 M1911A1. As such, they 

are a conventional Browning-type locked breech 

design with two locking lugs on the upper part of the 


arrel just ahead of the chamber, with the short 

recoil of the barrel being controlled by the tilting link 

held by the slide stop pin under the chamber. 

Standard .45 ACP DW pistols sport 5” barrels 

with six left-hand twist grooves. The recoil spring 

rides on a steel guide rod and its front end is 

seated in a cylindrical plug. The recoil spring plug 

front holds in place the removable barrel bushing, 

which is inserted in the slide front using a bayonet 

attachment. The DW pistols have a SA trigger and 

firing mechanism with an external hammer. 

The controls include a lightweight duralumin 

trigger, a magazine release in the base of the trigger 

guard, a slide stop, a frame-mounted thumb safety, 

and a grip safety with an extended beaver tail. The 

sights consist of a front sight post and a rear sight 

with a rectangular notch. The grip is fitted with 

checkered walnut grip panels. The single stack 

steel magazine has a capacity of 7 rounds of .45 

ACP and 8 rounds of 10 mm Auto, respectively. 

The fit and finish of the Dan Wesson pistols is 

excellent and the guns have minimum play. The 

trigger is tuned and offers a smooth and very 

light pull. The extractor has also received special 

tuning. The DW 1911 pistols have 416 

R match barrels, which are cold-forged from 

a single piece of stainless steel. The thumb 

safety and the magazine release button are both 

extended. DW guns are fitted with high-quality 

Ed Brown and STI custom parts. 

DW POINTMAN SEVEN 

The name of “DW PM-7” refers to two 

standard-sized pistols chambered in 10 mm Auto 

and .45 ACP and intended mainly for competition 

shooting. Both slides are provided with front 

cocking serrations. The recoil spring moves on 

a full length guide rod, whose front goes through 

the recoil spring plug (the system eliminates slide 

play and improves the gun’s accuracy and 

grouping abilities). The sights consist of a plain 

black front sight dovetailed into the slide and 

DW Commander Classic Bobtail 

DW Pointman Seven 


Dan Wesson 

arear sight adjustable for elevation and windage. 

The trigger blade is provided with a screw for 

travel adjustment. The grip has a smooth front 

and a checkered back strap (mainspring 

housing). The Pointman Sevens are among the 

finest competition pistols in their class. 

DW COMMANDER CLASSIC 

BOBTAIL 

This defence or service pistol is mainly designed 

for concealed carrying. Its dimensions reflect the 

shorter barrel (4.25”) and the gun offers modern 

black sights which provide an excellent sight 

picture enhanced by three tritium dots. The grip has 

a checkered front strap and an unconventionally 

rounded lower part of the back strap with a shorter 

mainspring housing. Like the Pointman Seven, the 

DW Commander is also made in .45 ACP and 10 

mm Auto and has a magazine capacity of 7 (.45 

ACP) or 8 (10 mm Auto) rounds. The Commanders 

are different from the Pointman Sevens in the 

extractor design: instead of the original single-piece 

leaf spring steel design, the extractor of the DW 

Commander consists of a double-arm lever 

operated by a coil spring and rocking on a steel pin. 

DW RZ-10 

This is a service type pistol chambered in the 

powerful 10 mm Auto and sporting a 5” barrel, an 

8-round magazine and Novak sights. The 

duralumin trigger of the RZ-10 is not skeletonized 

like the triggers on the Pointman Seven and the 

Commander. The front strap is smooth and the 

back strap checkered. 

SHOOTING TEST 

In co-operation with CZUB, I had the 

opportunity to try out the Dan Wesson Pointman 

Seven and the Commander Classic, both in .45 

ACP. Upon examining the guns I appreciated the 

very good fit and finish of both the external and 

internal surfaces and the trigger action settings. 

The DW pistols offer excellent ergonomics and 

grip angle. The interesting grip on the Commander 

model has a rounded lower portion of the back 

strap, which not only fits well in the hand but also 

helps to reduce the gun’s print on clothing. 

Aimed shooting I tried to conduct in standing 

position with both hands holding without a bench 

rest and a target at distances of 10 and 15 metres. 

The point of aim was set to the point of impact on 

both guns, and they both shot literally in one hole. 

The great tuning and fit of the pistols were also 

confirmed by a rapid fire test taken at distances 

between 2 and 7 metres while holding the gun with 

one hand as well as with both hands. The grip 

ergonomics and angle allow the shooter to get 

a positive index and engage the target with a high 

hit probability in an emergency situation. Both 

pistols have low, well manageable recoil and offer 

a fine shooting experience. To my surprise, I found 

that the behaviour and feel of the full-size Pointman 

Seven and of the more compact Commander were 

completely identical. The gunsmiths at Dan 

Wesson seem to have succeeded in removing the 

higher perceived recoil and bigger muzzle climb, 

which are usually typical of shorter handguns as 

opposed to their full-size counterparts. 

The Dan Wesson pistols can be without 

exaggeration ranked as some of the best 

classic derivatives of the M1911 available on 

today’s market. If CZ-USA wanted to offer to 

both American and Czech shooters its own highquality 

clones of the Colt 1911, the investment in 

buying Dan Wesson was a great choice. 

DAN WESSON ALASKAN GUIDE 

SPECIAL AND VH 8 REVOLVERS 

The CZ-USA 2006 catalogue also includes two 

heavy high-performance Dan Wesson revolvers in 

the .445 Supermagnum calibre. They are of 

identical, all-steel design and have a double 


action trigger mechanism with an external 

hammer, which uses a transfer bar in the frame to 

convey its energy on a spring-loaded firing pin. 

The cylinder with six chambers swings out to the 

left. The barrel of the Dan Wesson revolver is 

placed in a steel shroud with a ventilated rib on 

top and a full length underlug to perform as 

a barrel weight, dissipates the heat generated by 

a shot, and protects the extended axis of the starshaped 

ejector. The cylinder is locked in the frame 

using a spring-loaded latch, which is atypically 

placed on the crane, and by a spring-loaded ball 

detent engaging with the centre of the ejector 

star. This detent is located in the rear part of the 

frame. The Dan Wesson revolvers are supplied 

with walnut or neoprene grips. 

DAN WESSON ALASKAN GUIDE 

SPECIAL 

The DW Alaskan is primarily intended for 

hunting. It can also serve as a backup for a hunter 

using a long firearm. The Alaskan has a 4” barrel. 

The muzzle end of the barrel is provided with an 

integrated three-port compensator. The fixed 

front sight located behind the compensator and 

secured with a pin is fitted with a yellow plastic 

blade for better visibility and the rear sight has 

a white outline and is adjustable for windage and 

elevation using micrometric screws. The Alaskan 

is finished in matt black, which goes well with the 

neoprene grip, which is supplied as a standard. 

VH 8 

This revolver is mainly designed for competition 

silhouette shooting. Compared to the Alaskan, it has 

a more traditional appearance, an 8” uncompensated 

barrel and a finish in the colour of stainless steel, 

which it is made of. The Dan Wesson VH 8 is supplied 

with a walnut grip as a standard. ■ 

Alaskan Guide Special 

Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 

DW Pointman Seven 

calibre .45 ACP/10 mm Auto 

overall length (mm) 218 mm 

height 135 mm 

width (mm) 36 mm 

barrel length (mm) 127 mm 

unloaded weight (g) 1077 g 

magazine capacity 7/8 rounds 

Commander Classic 

calibre .45 ACP/10 mm Auto 


height 120 mm 

width 36 mm 


unloaded weight 992 g 


Alaskan Guide Special 

calibre .445 Supermagnum 

overall length 298.45 mm 

height 165.1 mm 

width 44.9 mm 


unloaded weight 1540.2 g 

cylinder capacity 6 rounds 

VH 8 

calibre .445 Supermagnum 


height 165.1 mm 

width 44.9 mm 


unloaded weight 1857.3 g 

cylinder capacity 6 rounds 

Dan Wesson VH 8 

53

Interview 

Alice 

Poluchová 

– President of CZ-USA 

In 2007, ten years will pass since the CZ-USA company was 

established. It is a subsidiary of the Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, 

providing in the United States sales and promotion of weapons 

produced in Uherský Brod. A young and very pleasant woman – Ing. 

Alice Poluchová – was selected to become the president of CZ-USA. 

Could you please tell us, where do you come 

from and how did you get to work at Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod? 

I was born in Nový Jičín and I studied commerce 

and business at Slezská University in Karviná. I had 

prepared my thesis, which was focused on export, in 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. This is where I also 

undertook the practical part of my studies. Once I had 

finished my studies at University, I started to look for 

work within a company, which had a business 

department and in the end I got a job in Česká 

zbrojovka. From 1995 I worked in the business 

department which provided sales for Spanish speaking 

countries in South America and later also in Canada 

How long have you been working for CZ-USA? 

When the management of Česká zbrojovka 

decided to establish a representation in the USA 

during the second half of the 1990’s, I was asked 

if I’d like to help with the founding of CZ-USA. 

I liked the idea and by the end of 1997 I left for 

the United states. I became a permanent resident 

in America in January 1998. 

What was your initial task? 

Pavel Klozík 

I became the vice-president of CZ-USA and I was 

in charge of the disposal of company finances. I took 

care of the accounting, I also studied the US laws 

and I tried to draw attention to our firearms through 

advertising in the media. If you do not advertise in the 

United states, it’s as if you don’t exist. 

Have you noticed at that time whether 

American shooters had any experience with 

firearms produced in Česká zbrojovka? 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod was mainly 

known to collectors. 

What was the first customers’ reaction to 

firearms produced in Uherský Brod? 

The first customers mostly bought long guns in 

a basic version. Gradually we started to recognise 

their requirements. The first thing which was 

critised by Americans was the shape of the hunting 

firearms’ stocks. The traditional European firearms 

did not suit their style. Our reaction was to invite 

specialists who helped us to propose adjustments 

which would make our firearms more attractive for 

Americans. We therefore required from our parent 

factory CZUB firearms designed and produced 

specifically for the USA. 

Can you describe the requirements American 

shooters have for firearms? What relationship 

do the Americans have towards firearms? 

The Americans require firearms which are 

precise, reliable and durable. Components made 

from plastic materials became very popular. Some 

components have to be, according to their opinion, 

made from steel. For an American, a firearm is 

a commodity and at the same time it represents 

a value. Long guns can be bought anywhere but 

a handgun can only be purchased in the state, 

where the customer permanently resides. 

That actually suggests another question. 

Where heads at the moment development of 

firearms related laws? 

The same as everywhere else in the world, also 

in the USA an endeavour heading towards the 


limitation of legal ownership, acquisition and sale 

of handguns and long guns can be noted. Crime 

increased in places where the recent limitations 

regarding the ownership of firearms occured. For 

example in New York and San Francisco people 

are not allowed to own any firearms. They mind 

the fact, that they cannot protect themselves and 

they move to different towns and cities. 

What do firearms owners do when living in 

cities where the prohibiton of firearms 

ownership takes place? 

They either dispose of their firearms or they have to 

move away. The USA is a huge country. If the residents 

do not like something about the cities/towns where 

they live, they can simply move elsewhere 

Let’s get back to CZ-USA and firearms produced 

by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. Has the 

opinion of American shooters regarding our 

firearms changed during the time in your position? 

We have of course noted changes in the 

Americans’ opinions and I must say, that those are 

changes for the better, which is great since the United 

States of America is overwhelmed with the production 

of firearms. Firearms produced in Uherský Brod are 

finding more and more supporters. Today American 

shooters know very well that our firearms are good, 

precise and that they function at all times, which 

means in all conditions. They have found out, that we 

produce firearms with a good ergonomics and from 

top quality materials. They are satisfied with the price 

and we are constantly improving our services. Our 

firearms are increasingly discussed about and 

fanclubs of firearms produced by Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod are appearing. We are looking forward 

to their information and suggestions. At the same time 

we are trying to create an online shop. 

Will you reveal how many firearms you sold in 

2005? 

Altogether we’ve sold approximately 52 000 

firearms out of which about 13 000 or 14 000 

were pistols. We’ve noted an increase in demand 

mainly for long guns. 

Which firearms produced in Uherský Brod are 

currently the most sought after? 

There had been very good sales of CZ 75 

D Compact, known in the USA under the name 

P 01. Also there’s a very good sales rate of the CZ 

75 SP-01 and the set containing a bayonet which 

belongs to it. The Americans regard this set as an 

interesting souvenir. The sniper-rifle CZ 750 has also 

had a very good response. There’s also an 

increasing interest in firearms which are designed for 

safari hunting, meaning firearms intended for a hunt 

of dangerous animals. The general acceptance and 

references from shooters have gradually allowed us 

to also offer firearms in a higher price range. 

Can you accommodate some of the individual 

wishes of those customers who require 

adaptation of firearms? 

Of course. We cooperate with a gunsmith who 

carries out modifications of long guns for us, and 

with another gunsmith that tunes our pistols. 

Are there any new developments being made 

by CZ-USA for its American customers? 

Very soon we’ll be able to offer to our 

customers the rimfire rifle CZ 453 with a trigger 

which features a set-trigger, rimrifles and shotguns 

in a left-handed design, lightweight centrefire rifle 

CZ 527 with a plastic gunstock with calibre .223 

Remington and a centrefire rifle CZ 550 Safari 

Magnum with modern calibre .458 Lott. 

In 2004 CZ-USA bought a small American 

firearms factory Dan Wesson. Why did you 

went for it and did it fulfill its purpose? 

The CZ group wants to be viewed as a versatile 

producer of firearms so when the opportunity to 

purchase the manufacturer of revolvers and the 

pistol model 1911 – the most sought after pistols in 

the USA - had arisen, we took advantage of this 

opportunity, because these firearms were missing 

at that time in Česká zbrojovka’s portforlio. With this 

we obviously send a message to not only American 

competitors that we are financialy stable and that 

our activities on the American market have 

aprogressive tendency. 

Alice Poluchová is not only a great manageress and 

a director of a company, she’s also a successful hunter 

You cooperate with one of the world’s best 

IPSC shooters, Mr. Angus Hobdell. Are you 

satisfied with his work? 

Mr. Angus Hobdell’s work is a great contribution 

for us. Angus seems to like our firearms, he uses 

them, sells them and promotes them and also 

brings proposals for their improvement. American 

shooters respect his opinions. 

And finally I’d like to ask you about your 

personal relationship with firearms. 

I work for a company that manufactures 

firearms and I like firearms. I like to shoot a pistol, 

centrefire rifle and even a scattergun. I began 

with IPSC shooting years ago and at present 

Iprefer to hunt more and if an opportunity arises, 

I hunt not only in the USA, but also in Africa. 

It is perhaps needless to ask you, what do you 

think of firearms produced by Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 

I think that our firearms are the best in the 

world. I have never doubted the quality of our 

firearms. I am proud to be working for Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod in CZ-USA. 

Thank you for the interview and good luck to 

you. ■ 


Curiosity 

Unexpected 

Alliance 

or Colt Z 40 

and Its Modifications 

The end of the 

1990s was 

associated with the 

weapons oriented 

media publishing unexpected 

news: the renowned American firearms 

manufacturer named after Samuel Colt 

concluded an agreement on cooperation 

with Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod – the 

company whose firearms have also gained 

a very good reputation around the globe; 

however, there were not many foreigners 

able to find its place of business on a map. 

The reasons for this unexpected alliance between 

the American and Czech firearms manufacturers 

lay in the problems of staying in existence 

encountered by the Colt company during the 

1990s (and which finally led to various firearms facing 

production cuts or being more or less withdrawn 

from the market). At that time, the Colt company 

manufactured several revolver models, as far as the 

self-loading pistols are concerned, its leading 

product for several decades had been the Browning 

model M1911 A1, calibre .45 ACP, and its various 

Pavel Klozík 

Colt Z 40 

modifications. The attempt to rework the famous 

“nineteen hundred and eleven” model to the SA/DA 

Eagle model, calibre .45 ACP, did not work out, 

another bitter pill had to be swallowed after the failure 

of the progressive pistol Model 2000 All American, 

calibre 9 mm Luger, with an interesting design, 

plastic frame and DAO trigger and firing mechanism. 

These two failures were too much for Colt, which was 

already floating on turbulent waters and fighting for 

survival. The company lost its faith in its own powers 

and sought an imaginary “external” life belt. 


RESCUE COMING FROM THE 

CZECHLAND 

The life belt should have been a modern pistol 

in a from year to year still more and more popular 

calibre .40 Smith & Wesson which was supposed 

to continue on the path of the M1911 A1 

model but its trigger and hammer mechanism was 

to work in double-action mode only (DAO). The 

overall concept then was to adhere to the modern 

trend in development of self-loading defence and 

service pistols and its frame should have been 

made of a light aluminium alloy. Furthermore, the 

production of this gun was to be launched as soon 

as possible at minimum cost. 

Following in this spirit, the Colt company offered 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod cooperation at the 

beginning of 1997 – and unbelievably it took only 

two months and the efforts of the designer, En. 

Radek Hauerland, and the industrial designer, 

Vojtěch Anderle, to “deliver” the Colt Z 40 pistol. 

MODERN DESIGN 

The Colt Z 40 has a frame of light alloy and 

a steel slide locked with a modernised version of 

the Browning system, which was a quadratic rear 

part of the barrel into the ejection port. Its forged 

barrel features a bore with six right-handed 

grooves and the cartridge chamber hosts an 

under-barrel block with kidney-shaped cut. Below 

the barrel, there is a recoil spring made of three 

intertwined wires mounted on a long stepped steel 

guide. The DAO pistol with its trigger and firing 

mechanism has no manual safety, yet its designers 

have planned it for the future. That is the reason, 

why the Colt Z 40 has a blinded hole on the left 

side of the frame above the grip. The safety feature 

comprises of – besides the long run of a doubleaction 

trigger – a proven automatic firing pin safety. 

The shape of the sights was influenced by the 

American customer: an exchangeable and 

horizontally adjustable square-shaped front sight is 

mounted in a transverse slot above the slide front 

section, the rear part of the slide features the 

Novak type rear sight with an orthogonal cut and 

the surface provided with horizontal serrations. To 

enable easier aiming under poor light conditions 

the sights are highlighted with three white dots. 

The magazine butt continues the elongated rear 

part of the grip and completes the line of its bottom. 

There was a strange law in the U.S. at the time of its 

development; this law prohibited the sale of new 

pistols with a magazine capacity exceeding 10 

rounds on the civilian market. Therefore the bottom 

part of the magazine of the Colt Z 40 features 

deformations and cuts impeding any possible 

increase of the capacity. Pistols exported to other 

A modification of Colt Z 40 with double-action trigger 

and hammer mechanism 


Curiosity 

CZ 40 B 

countries, which do not restrict the magazine 

capacity, could use the standard 12-round magazine. 

The surface of the Colt Z 40 is protected with 

a durable and high quality baked paint, the 

magazine body is nickel-plated. 

SOMETHING BETWEEN M1911 AND 

CZ 75 

The relation between the Colt Z 40 and the 

M1911 A1 can be seen in the shape of grips and grip 

panels, the trigger guard and semi-circular recesses 

in the rear part of the trigger guard. The top part of 

the frame and the slide then definitely show features 

of the CZ 75 pistol. Despite the combination of two 

CZ LE 9, calibre 9 mm Luger, with the slide taken from CZ 75 


pistols, the design of the Colt Z 40 is balanced, 

harmonious and pleasing. Its designer, Mr. Vojtěch 

Anderle, did not strive towards keeping to the shape 

developed at the beginning of the 20 th century at all 

costs. He was very sensitive in imitating the 

characteristic shapes of the “nineteen hundred and 

eleven” and let it merge with outlines of the CZ 75. 

The overall design of the Colt Z 40 is very good 

with a very comfortable grip, which is different 

compared to the feeling one has when holding the 

famous CZ75 made in Uherský Brod. The straight 

back strap of the grip does not feature the typical 

recess found on the seventy-five. 

EXCELLENT TRIGGER 

ADJUSTMENT 

With all the Colt Z 40 pistols I had the opportunity 

to test I praised the pleasant trigger adjustment, 

which allows both aimed and rapid shooting. 

A similar and favourable trigger operation could 

hardly be found on another pistol in production with 

an exclusively double-action trigger and the hammer 

mechanism. When firing, I was also very satisfied 

with the ergonomics, shape and slope of the grip 

resembling the famous Colt 1911. 

The advantage of the Colt Z 40 is accuracy. Even 

the first pieces, which were supplied to Czech 

retailers in 1999, enabled us to fire standing positions 

with a both hands grip without any support to 

achieve an excellent grouping diameter of 40mm at 

a distance of 25 meters. The clear sights were always 

set to the centre of the bull’s eye and the pistol 

handling properties were good in all firing modes. 

COLT RETREATING 

The Colt Z 40, calibre .40 S&W, has been a smart 

service and defence pistol belonging to the 

category “load and forget”. There is no wonder that 

representatives of the Colt company liked this 

handgun and there were apparently no obstructions 

to its successful journey to American shooters. 

However, the later experience showed the 

survival problems of the Colt company were so great 

that no miraculous pistol might have reversed such 

a situation. The American company even withdrew 

from the market and basically buried the promising 

project. The result was that these Colt Z 40 pistols 

with an interesting and attractive design were only 

manufactured in limited quantities and the current 

product range of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has 

not contained them for a long time already. 

OTHER MODIFICATIONS 

Colt withdrew from the project, yet Česká 

zbrojovka did not. The designer and the Marketing 

Department of this company knew very well that 

the new pistol with calibre .40 S&W and the 

exclusively double-action mechanism is tailormade 

for customers in the USA, but some of its 

features might not be convenient for shooters in 

other countries, including the Czech Republic. 

Therefore a new pistol was launched soon after 

the completion of this project – the CZ 40 B model 

with traditional double-action trigger mechanism 

SA/DA, with a hammer featuring rounded thumb 

piece and a manual safety. That solved complaints 

from shooters, who did not find the handgun with 

an exclusively double-action trigger convenient. 

The refurbishment was not complicated, as the 

designer, Mr. Radek Hauerland, apparently planned 

various trigger mechanisms. 

The next stage was associated with designing 

the Colt Z 40 for the 9 mm Luger cartridge, which 

still achieves the greatest popularity in many 

countries including the Czech Republic. The 

resultant modification received the working name 

CZ LE 9, with classical slide from CZ 75 locked with 

two locking lugs on the top of barrel ahead of the 

cartridge chamber, SA/DA trigger and firing 

mechanism, a decocking lever to release a cocked 

hammer instead of a manual safety catch and 

a loaded chamber indicator atop the slide indicating 

the cartridge presence inside the chamber. CZ LE 9 

has been manufactured in a small series only. 

Another pistol made for the American market 

only, in fairly large quantities was the CZ 40 

P model, representing a combination of the 

frame from CZ 75 D Compact supplied to the 

Czech Police with the slide from CZ 40 B. 

Apart from the Colt Z 40, calibre .40 S&W, 

I also fired some other model variants, including 

the CZ LE 9 and the impression was always 

thrilling. These are very interesting, accurate and 

stable guns and it is a pity that none of them were 

launched into series production. ■ 

Colt Z 40 

calibre .40 Smith & Wesson 


width 33.5 mm 


sighting length 158 mm 

weight without ammunition 905 g 



Subcompact 

CZ 92 

It is hard to believe, 

but after Colt M1911 

is the CZ 92 – together 

with Browning 1935 

HP and Walther PP – the 

oldest still manufactured 

pistol in the world! The year in its 

designation somewhat deceives: the basic 

construction of this handgun was 

originated already in the 1930s and its 

success is obliged in the first place to the 

fact that with its “load and forget” concept 

(having only DAO trigger mechanism and 

practically without safeties) this handgun was ahead 

of development in the world by some decades. 

LONG ROOTS 

In 1927 the designer of Česká zbrojovka in the 

town of Strakonice named František Myška created 

a concept which was called “revolver trigger”. This 

designer came with the type of trigger mechanism 

intended for the pistol, which is now universally 

known as Double Action Only – DAO. However, not 

sooner than in 1934 the first samples of pocket 

pistols with this type of trigger mechanism were 

made in cal. 6,35 mm Browning (.25 Auto). 

Originally this new pocket pistol was designated as 

model 35, and later according to the year this 

handgun was introduced to the marker as ČZ vz. 

36. In its basic version this pistol has been outfitted 

only with the magazine safety, the range was soon 

complemented by a substantially less wide-spread 

version designated as the 36 P, sporting manual 

Přemysl Liška, David Pazdera 

– Time-proven Veteran 

in a New Coat 

Modernized CZ 92 

safety blocking the trigger when engaged. This 

safety also served for intercepting the slide at the 

start of disassembly procedure. 

In 1945 came the designer of Česká zbrojovka, 

Strakonice named Jan Kratochvíl with a design 

simplified for manufacturing purposes and brought 

also a more comfortable and lighter trigger pull. The 

production of a new pistol designated as the ČZ 

vz. 45 started in December 1946 and in Česká 

zbrojovka, Strakonice ran to 1952. In the 

mid-1950s this production programme was 

transferred to the former company of F. Dušek in the 

town of Opočno, which at that time fell under the 

national enterprise corporation named Závody Jana 

Švermy (this was the name of then Zbrojovka Brno). 

In Opočno were the ČZ vz. 45 pistols made in the 

years of 1956-1959. Only after the next production 


transfer was the production of these handguns 

entrusted to the present-day Česká zbrojovka a. s., 

located in the town of Uherský Brod. 

The ČZ vz. 45 pistols were in the arms factory 

located in Uherský Brod manufactured in the years 

1961-1962 and 1965-1970 with the total number 

produced nearing 65 000 units. After further slight 

reconstruction the production of this handgun 

continues since 1992 under new denomination as 

the CZ 92. 

THE CZ 92 DESIGN 

The CZ 92 is a semi-automatic pistol featuring 

a blowback breech and the double action only (DAO) 

trigger and firing mechanism. During discharge the 

barrel is fixed, but otherwise the 64 mm long barrel, 

with the right hand twist 254 +10 mm of six grooves 

can be removed. The controls are represented only 

by the magazine catch and trigger. 

Inserting a loaded magazine and retracting the 

slide to its rear position and letting it snap forward 

loads the cartridge into the barrel chamber. After slide 

release the hammer returns to its rest position and 

firing mechanism remains uncocked. The cocking is 

done by squeezing the trigger just before discharge. 

This handgun has no manual safety. It is not 

outfitted with firing pin block, or any other drop 

safety; the pistol design inherent properties make it 

sufficiently resistant. It was for many times attested, 

that this handgun when dropped from a 1,5 metre 

height will not discharge under any circumstances. 

This pistol has only magazine safety, which blocks 

the trigger mechanism, if there is no magazine 

inserted into the handgun’s magazine well. 

The CZ 92 is not equipped with sights in the 

right sense of this word: aiming is conducted only 

with the longitudinal groove sited at the top 

surface of the slide. 

LATEST MODERNIZATION 

The recent years have seen the CZ 92 going 

through further modifications of its design: we 

may say fine tuning of sorts, but this of course 

was not related to the inner mechanism. In the 

year of 2005 the new, modernized version was 

introduced into serial production. The use of an 

aluminium alloy frame reduced the pistol’s weight 

by more than a quarter of its initial weight. Single 

unit synthetic grip panels not only give this pistol 

a modern look, but enable also a more positive 

grip. The outward appearance of this handgun 

was complemented by the newly shaped plastic 

butt of the magazine floor plate, which abuts 

against the grip panels. New design of gripping 

grooves on the slide is more ergonomic thus 

facilitating loading of the handgun. Inserting the 

pistol into holster is made more easy by the 

sloping of the slide front section. The magazine 

catch was transferred from the grip butt to the left 

side of the frame, where it is more manageable. 

Modifications of grip panels and grip butt 

meant slight changes in the pistol’s dimensional 

characteristics, which seems now as to be 

“bigger”. It is in no way detrimental as the grip is 

better, even despite this, the shooter having larger 

hands must mind his fingers not to be positioned 

in front of the barrel’s muzzle. 

Original CZ 92 with magazine catch on the grip butt 

LIGHT HANDGUN FOR DEFENCE 

AND DAY-TO-DAY CARRY 

Apart from options for fine tuning of the firing and 

trigger mechanism, the relatively high trigger pull 

weight (the instruction manual states 70 N as max.) 

can be quite well managed, the same way as the 

absence of conventional sights. We have verified 

this through our shooting session: at the distance of 

seven metres, even in quick taps mode, we came 

off with keeping the grouping within 85 mm, which 

conforms to the personal defence requirements. Of 

course you have to control the pistol in order that 

through high trigger pull weight you don’t jerk the 

trigger. The firm holding also totally eliminates the 

recoil, of course if one can use this term for the 

handgun of this power at all. The CZ 92 is with its 

dimensions a so called “ladies” pistol, nevertheless 

it is certainly not the most suitable handgun for the 

feebler individuals. But those who get acquainted 

with this handgun characteristics and performance 

acknowledge that it can do a good job as a backup 

handgun, or as a light and easy to conceal 

defence pistol for a day-to-day carry. 

In co-operation with VTÚVM (Czech abbreviation 

standing for Military Technical Institute of Armament 

and Ammunition) in Slavičín the CZ 92 was subjected 

to many tests, one of them, besides others, was the 

verification of the CZ 92 muzzle velocity: using 

Sellier & Bellot cartridges with a full jacketed 

3,3g bullet, the average velocity measured was 

v 2,5 = 204 m.s -1 , which corresponds to E 2,5 = 68,7 J. 

The CZ 92 pistol is at present available in two 

standard surface treatments: frame and slide 

painted identically, and that either in black or in 

silver paint. According to the demand these pistols 

can be made also in the so called two-tone style, 

i.e. black slide and silver frame – or vice versa – or 

as the case may be also in the whole scale of 

surface treatments Česká zbrojovka offers. ■ 

CZ 92 (Al frame) 

calibre 6,35 mm Browning (.25 Auto) 

dimensions 126x94,5x24 mm 

empty weight 310 g 

weight with cartridges 350 g 



Compact 

Tenth Birthday 

of the CZ 100 

For the whole decade, the production programme Jan Skramoušský 

of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has included the 

handgun, which became the first Czech self-loading pistol 

incorporating a polymer frame. The CZ 100, which was launched into 

production in the autumn of 1996 and which was also the first Czech 

pistol with the Double Action Only trigger system combined with the 

firing mechanism featuring a straight firing pin. 

The designer of the CZ 100 pistol was Ing. 

Václav Polanský, who passed his baton to Ing. 

Radek Hauerland and also to Ing. Ivan Filko. Its 

original shape is the masterpiece of the industrial 

designer Vojtěch Anderle, who, by the way is one 

of the students of Ing. Arch. František Crhák, the 

author of the design of the legendary CZ 75. 

That resulted in development of the modern 

defence pistol intended mainly for day-to-day 

concealed carry. The CZ 100 has many prerequisites 

for such a purpose: it is light (its weight without 

ammunition is just 665 grams), its external contours 

are smooth without any sharply protruding operating 

controls and the DAO trigger mechanism does not 

require any separate manually operated safety 

mechanism. 

The plastic frame of the “hundred” is unique 

as its designers did not use steel rails to guide 

the slide movement, which are typical for foreign 

pistols in this category. Practical use fully proved 

the creators of the CZ 100 pistol right: the stress 

on polymer rails does not have any significant 

impact on the overall service life of the handgun. 

A MODERN AND SAFE HANDGUN 

With regard to the cartridge performance, the 

CZ 100 pistol utilises a modification of the widely 

used Browning system with slide lock and short 

barrel recoil. Locking features do not comprise lugs 

at the top of the barrel, but the barrel is locked into 

the ejection port. A characteristic feature of the CZ 

100 pistol is the barrel stop inserted transversely in 

the slide behind the ejection port. This stop is used 

to set the barrel height and to assure centricity of 

the barrel axis towards the striker axis. 

The long trigger travel (around 18 mm) and the 

trigger pull weight of approximately 40 N will 

prevent any unintentional discharge and, together 

with the automatic firing pin block safety ensures 

the drop safety of this handgun. The CZ 100 

features two operating controls: the slide stop 

(slide lock-open position) and the magazine catch. 

The double column magazine with a single 

cartridge outlet holds 13 rounds of the 9 mm Luger 

calibre or 10 rounds of the .40 S&W calibre. 

Many shooters consider the DAO mode of fire as 

unusual, yet the reality is that the mastering of this 

mode is just a question of practice. When gained 

sufficient experience, anyone can shoot the CZ 100 

pistol very quickly and accurately. A certain 

advantage of the DAO system in the CZ 100 pistol 

might be the fact that upon any incomplete pull of 

the trigger the tension in the firing mechanism can 

be cancelled by means of easing the trigger, 

whereas the handgun will return to the safe state 

with its firing pin again locked in the front position 

through the block safety. This feature is considered 

very convenient for police actions and it used to 

support the opinion that the CZ 100 being as simple 

and safe for users as possible is the ideal standard 

pistol for planned rearmament of the Czech Police 

– which, however, finally selected the more classical 

model - the CZ 75 D Compact. 


CZ 100 

VARIANTS OF THE CZ 100 

Already in 1998 the range of products 

offered by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

included the CZ 100 pistol with calibre.40 

S&W, which is a very popular round, especially 

in the United States. Česká zbrojovka adapted its 

product to the requirements of the North-American 

market also by adding the loaded cartridge indicator 

indicating the presence of a round in the chamber. 

American authorities responsible for control and 

licensing the import of firearms into the U.S. territory 

(BATF) follow strict regulations concerning the 

evaluation of imported firearms, especially with 

respect to various safety features thereon. The pistol 

with the calibre .40 S&W also differs from the 9 mm 

Luger calibre model owing to two circular ports 

drilled near the muzzle, these reduce the muzzle 

climb during fire. The scope of calibres of the CZ 100 

on offer was later extended with the 9x21 round, 

which is very specific for countries imposing 

limitations on the use of the 9 mm Luger and which 

is also very popular among IPSC shooters. 

CZ 110 

Once there was a plan that the range 

of products from Česká zbrojovka would 

also be augmented with the model type 

denominated as CZ 101, which would 

differ from the CZ 100 due to its single 

column magazine. However, this model was 

not introduced in production as the market demand 

was clearly in favour of high-capacity magazines. 

CZ 110 

The proposal submitted during 1997 by Mr. 

Peter Hanousek from Carlsbad concerned 

a change of the trigger mechanism of the CZ 100 

pistol to the SA/DA mode. That started another 

journey to a new variety of the “polymer hundred” 

the final designer of which was Ing. Ivan Filko from 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. 

The new model was designated as the CZ 110 

and, upon its introduction in the market, Česká 

zbrojovka provided easy choice for those customers, 


Compact 

RECOIL 

SPRING 

TRIGGER BAR 

INSERT 

EXTRACTOR 

FRAME 

MAGAZINE BODY 

FIRING PIN 

FRONT 

SIGHT 

RECOIL SPRING 

GUIDE ROD 

FOLLOWER 

RECOIL 

SPRING 

BARREL 

CONNECTING PIN 

TRIGGER 

who liked the CZ 100 pistol, yet would not favour the 

DAO trigger mechanism for various reasons. Besides 

the SA/DA trigger mechanism, a characteristic 

feature of the new model would be the option of 

releasing the cocked firing pin into a safe position 

without the risk of inadvertent discharge – the firing 

pin can be released by pushing the button on the rear 

portion of the slide. The trigger pull of the CZ 110 is 

the same as for the CZ 100 within the DA mode, the 

trigger pull ranges from 20 to 24 N within the SA 

mode, whereas its trigger travel is 10 mm long. The 

CZ 110 features an indicator pin signalling the status 

of firing mechanism (cocked/uncocked); this pin is 

integrated above the release button. 

A PROMISING SUBSTITUTE 

Especially due to its DAO trigger mechanism the 

CZ 100 would always address only a certain group 

CAM 

CZ 100 

calibre 9 mm Luger, .40 S&W, 9x21 IMI 


height 130 mm 

width 31 mm 



trigger mechanism DAO 



(9 mm Luger), 

10 rounds 

(.40 S&W, 9x21 IMI) 

SLIDE STOP 

SLIDE 

TRIGGER BAR 

DISCONNECTOR 

INSERT 

TRIGGER EXTRACTOR 

MECHANISM 

HOUSING 


Èeská zb 

688 27 U 

Cz 

phone: +420 

fax: +420 

e-mail: i 

BARREL 

LOCKING 

BLOCK 

MAGAZINE BODY 

FIRING PIN 

FOLLOWER 

BARREL STOP 

MAIN SPRING 

TRIGGER BAR 

DISCONNECTOR 

CZ 100 

EJECTOR 

REAR SIGHT 

64 Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 

FIRING PIN 

BLOCK 

within the shooting community and that was also the 

situation with the SA/DA modification of the CZ 110. 

If we look at the product range of Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod, these “polymer hundreds” 

would stand rather in the shadow of the 

company’s “flagship” – the CZ 75 and its variants, the 

position of which is not deserved. Models CZ 100 

and CZ 110 represent efficient pistols, very 

convenient for everyday concealed carry, with 

original design and excellent ergonomics. 

Therefore one might find many of those, who 

regret the slow but sure ceasing of production of 

the CZ 100 and CZ 110 pistols. However, fans of 

DAO pistols from Uherský Brod do not have to 

mourn about that – Česká zbrojovka has not 

spoken its last word on this subject and we can 

expect this manufacturer to present very 

interesting surprises in the future … ■ 

CZ 110 

calibre 9 mm Luger, .40 S&W, 9x21 IMI 


height 130 mm 

width 31 mm 



trigger mechanism SA/DA 



(9 mm Luger), 

10 rounds 

(.40 S&W, 9x21 IMI)

Over and Unders 

Brno 800 Přemysl Liška 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has quite a great experience with 

shotguns production, nevertheless, in the last years this company own 

products were not among those being offered. This situation changed 

in 2006 through the BRNO RIFLES company, which immediately 

started with production of O/U rifle-shotguns of the Brno 800 line. 

W e are presenting here brand new models 

developed in Zbrojovka Brno. This concern with 

its seat located in the town of Brno ranked, at the time 

between the world wars, to arms factories of the 

world reputation as the eminent supplier of the 

Czechoslovak Armed Forces, and which also 

exported its renowned military rifles and machine guns 

to many foreign countries. At the end of 1950s the 

production of military weapons was stopped and 

the company was assigned with other type of 

manufacturing programme and as the production 

of the civilian firearms is concerned – developing since 

1945 – was not being allocated with any prominent 

place. Despite all that Zbrojovka Brno still found 

capacities to conceive and produce many really 

interesting and commercially successful models, 

besides other things also firearms for hunters in the 

sphere of rifles, shotguns and combined weapons. 

The over and under Brno 800 line belongs to its 

latest, very perspective but unfortunately also to the 

last products of Zbrojovka Brno. The concern was in 

the bankruptcy proceedings since 2003, in 2006 the 

firearms production was stopped and a few dozens of 

the last employees were dismissed. However, before 

the end of 2006 the BRNO RIFLES company, which is 

in business terms interconnected with Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod, bought in the auction a portion of 

equipment and machinery and industrial rights to 

Brno 800 line of over and unders and Brno Effect 

break-barrel rifle. Thanks to the fact that 30 members 

of former Zbrojovka Brno staff were again employed 

can this company in the demised premises of the 

former Zbrojovka property in no time at all start with the 

production of the Brno 800 over and unders. 

These firearms are manufactured in several 

versions including option to choose from various 

calibres. These weapons show traditional, but at 

the same time also modern appearance and they 

are made with the use of only high-quality 

materials. In the course of production process 

aproper attention is paid to each and every detail. 

“This firearm handling is firmly defined, there is no 

place for any hitch or squeak, all is working the way 

you expect and is solid and steady. Simply the 

firearm of higher class for affordable price. Our long 

gun when properly maintained can be with the 

shooter for all his life and not only for two hunting 

seasons,” says its designer Ing. Michal Koutný. 

BO 801 

The BO 801 o/u shotgun is intended either for 

hunting or sport shooting. The barrels of 12 gauge, 

with a length of 700 mm are outfitted with the 

70 mm or 76 mm chamber. Hunting barrels have 

fixed chokes while sport barrels have the set of four 

interchangeable chokes with a mounting wrench. 

The over and under shotgun features an automatic 

safety, ejector, and single trigger with selector. The 

stock and forend are made of walnut. The shotgun 

can be modified for skeet and trap. A left-handed 

version is also available. 

BO 802 

The BO 802 rifle-shotgun is intended for hunting 

purposes. The rifle barrel is 600 mm long and is 

combined with a shot barrel of 12 gauge, with the 

chamber of 70 mm or 76 mm. The weapon can be 

supplemented with interchangeable 700 mm long 

shot barrels. This firearm features an automatic 

safety, extractor and two trigger blades – the front 

one is equipped with a set trigger. A left–handed 

version is also available. ■ 

Over and Unders 


Rimfire Rifles 

The CZ 452 

– Rimfire Rifle 

for Professionals 

as well as Beginners 

RIMFIRE RIFLE FOR NATIONAL 

DEFENCE EDUCATION 

After WWII in then Czechoslovakia was deeply 

felt the need to pursue national defence abilities of 

youth and adults, as the experience made during 

the war years demonstrated that defence of the 

nation is not merely an empty idea. The shooting 

sport became very soon hugely popular, which 

brought about a demand for suitable firearms. 

Jan Skramoušský, Ivan Chludil, David Pazdera 

Rimfire rifles made by CZ intrigue every weapons connoisseur 

with their thoroughness and attention to details. In contrast to 

rimfire rifles made by other manufacturers it is obvious that these 

rifles are in Uherský Brod cultivated in the same way as 

centrefire rifles. The first holding of this firearm already gives to 

shooter the feeling that this is the rifle one can rely on. 

For that reason, already in the second half of 

1945 Josef Koucký designed the ZKM 451 rimfire 

rifle. The designation of this, up to these days 

popular firearm, stemmed from the practice of the 

original manufacturer, i.e. Zbrojovka Brno, n. p., so 

that letters ZKM were actually an acronym of the 

following words: Zbrojovka, Koucký, Malorážka 

(Malorážka means rimfire rifle). Numerical 

denomination stemmed from the year of design 


origins, thus from the year 1945, number 1 

represented model version of the weapon. 

Standard version of the ZKM 451 rimfire rifle had 

a three blades rear sight calibrated for 50, 75 and 100 

metres. For a more precise sighting-in correction this 

rimfire rifle had an option to be outfitted with 

aremovable both-ends micro-metrically adjustable 

rear sight drifted in the dovetail milled atop the barrel 

between the receiver and standard version rear sight. 

Besides this there was also realized an idea for 

a both-ends micro-metrically adjustable peep sight 

drifted in the dovetail located at the rear portion of the 

receiver and fixated by a clamp screw. This type of 

rear sight was used mostly for the ZKM 456 version 

featuring heavy barrel. 

The lineal descent of the popular ZKM 451 rimfire 

rifle is up today manufactured and from the business 

point of view the immensely successful ZKM 452 

model, whose main difference from the first version 

is in particular the tangent rear sight provided with 

lines from 25 to 200 meters (27.3 – 218.7 yd.) aimed 

shooting with possibility for corrections to elevation 

and windage, hooded front sight and adjustable 

trigger pull weight. 

CONTINUATION IN UHERSKÝ BROD 

The ZKM 452 rimfire rifle came into the 

manufacturing programme of the arms factory in 

Uherský Brod in 1964 and its production for the most 

part intended for export continues here up to the 

present. This gives evidence not only about successful 

design, but also about the quality of manufacturing 

procedures, which guarantees a reliable function of the 

firearm even after many years of extensive use. 

Now in the course of more than four decades of its 

production in Uherský Brod the ZKM 452 rimfire rifle 

CZ 452-2E ZKM Scout 

CZ 452-2E Lux 

went through certain changes and modifications, 

which were otherwise not any dramatic, but thanks to 

them this firearm still continues to rank among the top 

for what the present-day offers world-wide over. As 

the first there was modernization of sights and stock, 

after this and since 1982 this rimfire rifle was 

denominated as the ZKM 452 model 2-E. At the later 

times we have seen many innovations of trigger 

mechanism and in the recent years there is an 

upheaval in numbers of variants stemming from the 

basic model now designated as the CZ 452-2E ZKM. 

(At the moment this family naturally also includes the 

rifles with the standard model denomination of 

CZ 453 and CZ 513). 

AUTHENTIC SIMPLICITY 

A substantial portion on the trustful perception of 

the CZ 452 rimfire rifles, which we had mentioned in 

the introduction to this article, is a unique cylindrical 

bolt. The first impression from it is that it is a Mauser 

bolt derivative and literature in many countries writes 

about this bolt-action in this way, which is not 

exactly true. The main difference lies in the fact that 

the bolt body is non-rotating, which during loading 

makes only advance/feed motion. This secures very 

reliable feeding of cartridges from the magazine and 

also ejection of spent cartridge cases. The reliability 

can be greatly attributed to design solution of the 

extractor and the cartridge guide/holder, clamped 

by the flat “C”, shaped spring embracing the front 

portion of the bolt. The extractor and even cartridge 

guide are housed in the slots sited in the bolt body 

without any use of pins. This arrangement is very 

sturdy and at the same time it provides an easy 

exchange of damaged parts even in field conditions. 

STEADY LOCKUP 

Another significant advantage of the CZ 452 rifles 

bolt action is the lockup configuration. Two massive 

CZ 453 Varmint 

CZ 453 American (with single set trigger) 


Rimfire Rifles 

CZ 452-2E Full Stock 

locking lugs are an integral part of the bolt handle 

collar, slid over the rear portion of the bolt body and 

connected with the bolt handle portion operated by 

the shooter. Matching recesses for locking lugs are 

sited behind the rear part of the receiver. This bolt 

locking arrangement is for the rimfire rifles unusually 

strong and allows to offer to the customer not only 

a version for classic cartridges of the .22 LR series, 

but also for the modern ones as are .22 WMR, 

.17 HMR and .17 HM2. 

HUNDRED PERCENT SAFETY 

High level of safety against unintended 

discharge is provided by a manual safety, which is 

of simple design, but operationally totally reliable 

and located at the rear of the bolt body, which 

when engaged directly blocks the striker. The 

safety stud at the same time performs the function 

of the whole bolt connecting pin. The rear segment 

of the striker, when cocked, protrudes from the rear 

of the bolt body thus serving as a cocking indicator. 

Worth mentioning here is also the trigger 

mechanism of today’s CZ 452 rimfire rifles having 

a high drop safety standard derived from 

mechanism present at the target rimfire rifles. The 

sear and the striker catch create a triangular 

configuration and with an unsqueezed trigger they 

are mutually strutted. Thus during the drop of this 

weapon any parts inertia motion resulting in 

inadvertent discharge cannot happen. The 

mechanism allows trigger pull weight adjustments. 

Besides this for long distance hunting has been 

developed a trigger mechanism featuring a single 

set trigger; with this trigger is in the rimfire rifles 

series of Česká zbrojovka offered a line of rimfire 

rifles having model designation of CZ 453, where 

the manufacturer rightly speaks about higher 

shooting comfort. 

RICH CHOICE 

Combination of the unique action and trigger 

mechanism with the receiver made from a solid steel 

billet, great choice of superior quality cold hammer 

forged barrels and stocks made in various shapes 

and materials enables to cover a wide range of 

discerning customers requirements – lately also lefthanded 

– concerning most of the hunting methods, 

a number of sporting disciplines, shooting training or 

simply just leisure time target shooting. Individual 

versions differ mostly with the stock material (beech, 

walnut, plastic) and its shapes, various barrels, with 

or without iron sights, trigger mechanism with set 

trigger or without, but also many calibres to choose 

from. Standard, sturdily built single column magazine 

of the CZ 452 rimfire rifles holds 5 cartridges, as an 

option there are also magazines with 10 cartridges 

capacity projecting from the stock bottom in front of 

the trigger guard and also single-shot adapters 

inserted in the magazine well, which enables using 

this rimfire rifle as a single-shot firearm. 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod offers its CZ 

452-2E ZKM rimfire rifles also with barrels threaded 

for sound moderators attachment, the thread being 

protected with a cap. These rifles are intended for 

export to countries where the use of sound 

moderators is not legislatively restricted or, as case 

may be even required for game hunting. 

As a matter of interest we can add that the 

current rimfire series was in 2005 complemented 

with five hundred limited series of the ZKM rimfire 

rifles commemorating the official 50 th Anniversary 

of this rifles production commencement (at that 

time in Zbrojovka Brno). 

EXCELLENT EXPERIENCES IN 

PRACTICAL USE 

High accuracy, total reliability, endurance close to 

indestructibility, and that all for a very affordable 

price. Exactly just this combination is the reason 

why the ZKM 452 rimfire rifles and their descendants 

are enjoying at home and in the whole world such an 

exceptional popularity. It is no wonder that when the 

readers of the Czech specialized journal called 

“Střelecká revue” (Shooters Review) expressed their 

views to these weapons in 2006, with the exception 

of one discerning target shooter all others had only 

words of praise. 

Chosen at random: 

“I have owned the ZKM 452 2E rimfire rifle for 

some years now and I am with this rifle perfectly 

satisfied. It combines a number of superb features: 

excellent fit and finish, reliability, accuracy and 

elegant appearance. In my opinion this is an ideal 

choice for those who want an all-purpose rimfire 

rifle. Compared to the older models I treasure the 

tangent rear sight with the range of 25 to 200 m.” 

– “I have owned the ZKM rimfire rifle for many years. 


FRONT SIGHT 

REAR SIGHT LEAF 

REAR SIGHT 

LOCKING PIECE 

REAR SIGHT 

WINDAGE SCREW 

BARREL 

REAR SIGHT SLIDE 

REAR SIGHT BLADE 


RECEIVER 

EXTRACTOR 

STRIKER 

SEAR 

STRIKER SPRING 

SAFETY 

FRONT 

STOCK 

SCREW 

TRIGGER 

GUARD 

TRIGGER 

PULL SPRING 

Originally I had a standard version, but a few years 

ago I have “innovated” to the luxury version. For all 

the years I have been well-contended with this 

firearm. I have used it mostly for target shooting in 

my leisure time, but many times it provided me with 

a good service in my hunting activities. Having 

mounted a simple riflescope or now even red dot 

sight is this a perfect, accurate and reliable firearm.” 

– “I know the ZKM 452-2E rimfire rifle very well and 

now for quite a lot years is in my possession. I can 

say that there is practically nothing, which comes to 

mind that I can say against this rifle. Be it from 

a functional, or design point of view. I am perfectly 

satisfied with this rifle. Reliability and accuracy are 

assets, which played a decisive role in my decision 

to buy this rifle. Last but not least the nice look and 

overall craftsmanship which goes with this firearm. 

BOLT 

GUIDE 

TRIGGER 

ÈESKÁ ZBROJOVKA 

REAR 

STOCK 

SCREW 

EXTRACTOR 

SPRING 

BOLT 

MAGAZINE SHELL 

MAGAZINE BASE 

I am of the opinion that when somebody makes 

adecision to buy a firearm in this category and buys 

the ZKM, then it will certainly be the right decision, 

and in no case any fault.” 

We could continue in this theme still further away. 

The similar reviews of rifles of the CZ 452 family are 

received also from outside of the Czech Republic. 

Finding some fault with this rimfire rifle “for three 

generations”, as expressed by one of the opinion poll 

participants, is simply quite difficult, if not impossible. 

If somebody has any doubts, there is no better 

advice than to give a field test to one of the CZ 452 

rifles. This will quickly convince anybody that this 

timeless firearm actually does not need any praise – 

already for more than 50 years it praises by itself, 

which is evidenced both in the hands of experienced 

and starting shooters today and every day. ■ 

CZ 452-2E ZKM Silhouette in calibre .22 LR 


BOLT 

HANDLE 

STRIKER SPRING 

SUPPORT 

CZ 452 ZKM 

FOLLOWER 

STOCK 

MAGAZINE 

FOLLOWER SPRING 

MAGAZINE PLUNGER 

Èeská zbrojovka a.s. 

688 27 Uherský Brod 

Czech Republic 

phone: +420 572 651 111 

fax: +420 572 633 665 

e-mail: info@czub.cz 

www.czub.cz

Centerfire Rifles 

The CZ 527 

– “Mini Mauser” 

or Light Centerfire Rifle 

The CZ 527 rifle was conceived at the end of the 1980s involving 

extensive reconstruction of a quite successful rifle made in 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod denominated as ZKW (ZKB) 680 

Fox. Designers Ing. Václav Polanský, Bohumír Brožek and Martin 

Kouba then prepared for the production an up-to-date version of 

light hunting rifle. Unlike to 

previous models the designers 

also counted with the use of 

the more powerful cartridges, 

namely the popular .223 

Remington. Designers and 

factory accomplished 

excellent work, the new rifle 

soon ranked among the most 

popular firearms of CZ brand 

and at present it rightly forms 

one of the main pillars of the 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

manufacturing programme. 

From left: CZ 527 Hunter, CZ 527 Lux, and CZ 527 Lux LH, 

all in calibre .223 Remington 

Ivan Chludil, Pavel Klozík, David Pazdera 

Most of the readers certainly remember that 

this type of hunting and/or sporting rifles was 

often denoted as “small bore rifles”. Their typical 

characteristic was calibre 5,6 mm (.22), thus 

identical with rimfire rifles, but using centrefire 

cartridges. For a very long time the greatest 

popularity has been enjoyed by rather out-of-date 

and from today’s point of view an insufficiently 

powerful cartridge .22 Hornet. Today we often use 

more apposite name for these types of rifles as are 

“light rifles” or even “lite rifles” and the spectrum of 

cartridges and powers is much more wider. 

Czech design school affects this group of 

firearms in a manner which cannot be overlooked 

since the 1950s, when in Zbrojovka Brno they 

started with production of the first Czech made 

“Mini Mauser”, small bore rifle ZKW 465 Hornet cal. 

.22 Hornet designed by the legendary Koucký 

brothers. From 1967 until mid-1970s the production 


of “Hornets” was realized in Česká zbrojovka 

located in the town of Uherský Brod, where this 

successful conception of this type of firearms lived 

to see further fruitful development. This evolved into 

the popular rifle named Fox, or ZKB 680 cal. .222 

Remington and later also .22 Hornet, in 1980s 

renamed to ZKW 680. The light rifle CZ 527 is so far 

the latest and without doubt the most successful 

sprout stemming from this evolutionary branch. 

From the very beginning this rifle was offered in 

triumvirate of following calibres, that is .22 Hornet, 

CZ 527 Varmint Kevlar in calibre .223 Remington, CZ 527 American in calibre .223 Remington, 

CZ 527 FS in calibre.222 Remington 

.222 Remington a .223 Remington, and these were 

gradually acceded by the range of other well-proven 

and also totally new cartridges. 

SMALL AND SUPERIOR MAUSER 

CZ 527 is a repeating rifle incorporating bolt 

action, whose basic concept stems from the proven 

Mauser 98, naturally and appropriately shortened. 

Few ingenious modifications made construction and 

also production more simple and removed some 

disadvantages inherited in the German arch-model, 

CZ 527 Varmint Kevlar with open bolt, model CZ 527 American with closed bolt, and full stocked model CZ 527 FS 

with bolt and magazine removed 



Bolt of the light centerfire rifles CZ 527 takes up Mauser 98 

but all the virtues of Mauser design remained 

preserved. No changes were made for the bolt head 

featuring dual opposite locking lugs and massive 

long extractor made from one piece of resilient steel. 

The bolt handle is made as a separate component 

inserted into the cross cut in the rear of the bolt 

body. Projections located on the bolt handle 

function as a support for the firing pin spring. 

Two-position noiseless safety installed on the rear of 

the bolt has been transferred to the right side of the 

action; this results in substantial reduction of the 

whole rear section of the bolt thus making no 

obstruction when low optics are mounted. 

The cold forged barrel warranting high accuracy 

and long service life is screwed into the receiver. 

Adjustable trigger allows adjustments of trigger pull 

weight and trigger travel before and after discharge. 

All models in addition come with single set trigger 

having provisions for the pull weight adjustment. 

The whole line of the light CZ 527 rifles is outfitted 

with a detachable single-column box magazine 

having five-round capacity as standard; the 

magazine bottom sticking out in front of the trigger 

guard. However the latest option designated as the 

CZ 527 M1 features a shorter magazine with three 

rounds which is flush with the bottom of the stock 

and is thus better protected against damage. 

DIVERSIFIED RANGE OF CALIBRES 

The short action of the CZ 527 rifles line maybe 

does look that way, but it has considerable safety 

reserve, which makes possible to produce 

CZ 527 Hunter 

CZ 527 Carbine 

CZ 527 Varmint Laminated 

variants for cartridges from “Seventeen” to 

“Thirty” (in the metric system of calibres this 

range is from 4,5 mm to 7,62 mm). The choice 

depends only on the market demand, which is by 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod closely observed, 

thus monitoring actual worldwide trends. 

Today the customer can choose the CZ 527 rifle 

chambered in the following calibres .22 Hornet, 

.222 Remington, .223 Remington, .221 Remington 

Fireball or .17 Remington. From the business and also 

customer view was without doubt an excellent 

idea to rebuild the CZ 527 rifle for cartridge 

7,62x39 mm (Soviet mod. 43), which, after a long 

military career is winning hearts of more and more 


hunting and sporting shooters all over the world. 

Especially in the USA the CZ 527 chambered in 

7,62x39 mm experienced a warm welcome 

substantiated by great sales volumes and professional 

press responses as is for example the following one: 

“It is a joy to look at, joy to carry on the 

shoulder, joy to hold it in hand. CZUB really 

rendered an excellent work to this small firearm. 

This carbine for the cartridge which is close in its 

performance to .30-30 will be good for all who 

look after light firearm suitable for game hunt up 

to the size of deer in the forest terrain with 

shooting distance up to 200 yards.” 

The hot news is the CZ 527 chambered for, as it 

seems, very perspective hunting cartridge, i.e. .204 

Ruger, which is a combination the first users cannot 

give more praise to. For all the responses we mention 

at least summary published in the Australia’s topselling 

hunting magazine Sporting Shooter: “To sum 

up, I found the CZ 527 Classic in .204 Ruger 

a beautiful rifle for walking about, for looking for 

targets of opportunity, and for picking off varmints 

like rabbits and foxes for medium to long range. In 

my area, which is mostly rough, mountainous terrain, 

the light weight of the CZ 527 Classic made it a joy 

to carry, even towards the end of a long day in the 

hills. It’s a varmint hunter’s dream!” 

OFFER FOR EVERYBODY 

Amere glance into the current catalogue of Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod makes it clear that virtually 

anybody interested in this kind of firearm can make 

this their choice. Wide offer of diverse variants of 

barrels and stocks (including a new line featuring 

ergonomically more convenient shape, and likewise 

a new stocks design made of synthetic materials) 

enables precisely to meet the customer idea, 

whether the customer wants a light rifle for hunting, 

or sport, and in case of need also for self-defence. 

Only as a random choice: Traditionally oriented 

European hunters will be most likely enthralled by 

aclassic design of the CZ 527 Lux; from rifles of 

this category intended for the North American 

market we have to mention at least sort of a basic 

model designated as American, which is adapted 

for highly precise shooting solely with the use of rifle 

scope. Many shooters found as very attractive the 

CZ 527 Carbine, the shortest and lightest rifle of this 

model line, made in field tested calibres .223 

Remington and 7,62x39. The fact that Česká 

zbrojovka is not afraid of some expedient 

extravaganza is evidenced by the CZ 527 Hunter 

featuring a stock shaped in a really unorthodox 

manner created according to suggestions 

proposed by professional hunters. The attention of 

the arms factory in the town of Uhersky Brod also 

did not leave out left-handed shooters, for whom is 

currently produced a left-handed version of Lux and 

American models in .223 Remington. Additionally, 

the customers have the option to order embellished 

luxury variants of these weapons, which thus can 

not only serve them well, but at the same time also 

fulfil to fill the role of a unique and functional gem. 

EXCELLENT PROPERTIES 

Anybody who had the opportunity to field test 

the CZ 527 rifle will certainly confirm that conduct 

of these firearms in the course of shooting is 

comfortable and their handling nor maintenance do 

not pose any difficulties. Very appreciated is an 

adjustable trigger which allows to adapt this 

firearm to the requirements of the specific shooter 

and climatic conditions. Different trigger pull weight 

will be adjusted by the sporting shooter and other 

will be used by the hunter in the temperate climate, 

particular requirements for the trigger pull weight 

will have a hunter living in Northern countries while 

shooting in gloved hands. In this context we have 

to mention that rifles of the CZ 527 line made in the 

town of Uherský Brod rightly won the firm position 

among shooters from all over the world not only 

due to its accuracy, but also to its great endurance 

and reliability in adverse environments. 

The “Mini Mauser” CZ 527 is simply an 

extremely well-done rifle, at which is achieved 

a miraculous harmonization of the best features 

from old traditions and present times of the 

Czech arms industry. ■ 


Interview 

I Don't Count 

My Victories 

An Interview with Jan Buksa, the Multiple 

European Game Shooting Champion 

Jan Buksa 

The success of Česká zbrojovka firearms is usually David Pazdera 

associated with the excellent results of the firm’s 

pistol team. The general public is much less acquainted with the fact 

that the Czech Republic belongs among the elite in the sports 

discipline called game shooting. Since 2000 the Czech team 

equipped with top CZ 527 rifles has repeatedly achieved first place in 

a very challenging competition in the European Championships held 

every two years. Czech shooters were placed first in Sweden in 2000 

and in Estonia in 2004 and in 2006 in Kroměříž they were placed 

third. European Champion Jan Buksa is one of the pillars of the 

team, being an excellent shooter and also a hunter in body and soul. 

To begin with I would like to ask you for a brief 

description of yourself emphasizing your 

relation to firearms and sporting activity. 

I am 51 year old and since my schooldays I have 

been interested in hunting, nature and firearms. 

I obtained a hunting license one month after my 18th 

birthday and since then I have been actively 

practicing this hobby. I am engaged as an authorized 

expert of firearms at the Regional Court in Brno. 

I have been shooting since I was able to hold 

a weapon in my hands; it did not matter, if it was 

a sling, bow, crossbow or an air gun. My first 

noteworthy success in the sports area - not counting 

my neighbor’s chicken - was victory in a district air 

gun shooting contest, competing against adults at 16 

years of age. I remember we shot at international 

targets, where the ten point circle had a diameter of 2 

mm, only two shots were allowed, the double-shots 

were immediately announced and my result was 297 

out of 300 possible points. Other successes followed 

and thank heavens they have kept appearing up to 

this day. I don’t count the competitions I have won, 

but there are plenty, and the most important are the 

two gold and one bronze medal at the European 

Championships in the combination of small shot 

and bullet, one gold medal and two silver medals 

in European Championship shotgun shooting. 

I don’t count the wins in the national shooting 

decathlon, nevertheless I am the record holder of the 

target score with 978 points out of 1000, and my 

record in rifle shooting is 795 points out of 800. 

By the way - today you are automatically 

associated with long guns, is this true without 

exception? What about pistols or revolvers? 

I am good at shooting with pistol or revolver, 

especially at a moving target. At 50 meter distance 

I have better results than at 25 meters, unfortunately 

I haven’t got enough time for this attractive discipline. 

Once I was compelled to shoot in the pistol 

competition at a running target with a time limit and 

the leading shooter achieved 185 points. I got 213. 


ČMMJ Shooting Team – European Champions in the Hunting Shooting Competition, Estonia 2004. From left to right: 

Jaromír Uher, Ing. Jindřich Kořínek, Karel Mrhálek, Karel Kotrc. Bottom: Pavel Zázvorka, Jan Buksa, 

Team Manager Ing. Jan Polišenský, Václav Bastl. (ČMMJ – Czech-Moravian Hunters Association) 

Game shooting is in our country - in my opinion - 

aless known shooting discipline, which is a pity 

taking into consideration the success of our 

representatives. That is why I would like to ask you 

to show us what game shooting is about and also 

to tell us about the result history of Czech shooters. 

The scope of game shooting is very extensive, its 

specification and description would need a lot of time. 

For example the game decathlon: there are five 

shotgun and five rifle disciplines; the shotgun 

disciplines involve the Czech skeet, trap shooting, high 

house, a hare in the forest aisle and double-shots in the 

Czech skeet; rifle disciplines involve small-bore rifle at 

a 50 meter distance at fixed targets of the red fox, 

roebuck and wild boar, and then 50 meter distance of 

the moving wild boar and at 35 meters the target of the 

moving fox in the 4 meter forest aisle, the speed of the 

target is 4 meters per second. Further disciplines 

present for example small-bore rifle shooting at 50 

meters, full-bore rifle shooting at 100 meters, all aiming 

at the targets of the red fox, roebuck, wild boar and 

chamois. In shotgun disciplines there are the Czech 

skeet, battery, high house, hare in the aisle and 

combinations of these disciplines; further the parcours, 

compact sporting, universal trap, trap and American 

trap. The results of our shooters are excellent not only 

at home, but also at an international level. 

Who belongs among the Czech leaders in 

game shooting? 

It is difficult to enumerate all; nevertheless I’ll try 

to mention some. At the same time I apologize to 

those not mentioned. It is necessary to know that 

game shooting categories involve junior, senior, 

veteran, super-veteran and women. The absolute 

top of the European format include Jindra Paroubek, 

Jarda Dobeš, Jarda Moravec, Jindra Kubík, Pavel 

Zázvorka, Jindra Kořínek, Vašek Koubek and Vašek 

Mith - and as I am naming these shooters, more and 

more names are coming to mind. The list of the best 

shooters would be really long, because there are 

many disciplines and categories and in each of them 

there are several top shooters. 

Which guns are used for game shooting? 

In the rifle disciplines is our team equipped 

with rifles from Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, 

and is fully satisfied. 

How long have you been you using the guns 

from Uherský Brod and what is your estimation 

of them? What do you consider as their strong 

points? 

The guns from Uherský Brod have been used not 

only by me, but also by our other shooters since the 

very beginning. The small-bore rifles don’t need to 

be praised; their performance speaks for itself. The 

rifles with Varmint barrels are very accurate. 

Is there any possibility of influencing the 

development of new rifle models in Uherský 

Brod with your comments and ideas? 

We have very good cooperation with Česká 

zbrojovka in Uherský Brod. The company always 

cooperates fully with shooters and our comments 

are always listened to. 

Česka zbrojovka brought to the market a new CZ 

527 Hunting Rifle with an unorthodox shape of 

stock, which seems to be too daring for many 

customers but is very much appreciated by you. In 

your opinion what are the advantages of this stock? 

The basic feature of every stock is its good 

cheek adaptability and this new stock has such 

a feature. It is new, revolutionary, specific in its 

shape, but not uncomfortable. Bizarre shapes of 

stocks are frequent in sports shooting, sometimes 

they are odd, but it is results that count and this 

rifle fulfills this criteria. The barrel shoots, but it is 

the stock that hits the mark, and this is necessary 

to be kept in mind all the time. ■ 



The CZ 550 

Rifle 

– The Best Mauser 

There have been numerous designers, who attempted to improve 

the timeless bolt-action system of the Mauser 98. Whereas many 

of them achieved the improvement of one function at the expense 

of worsening another, the designers from Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod rank among those more successful. They managed to 

combine the best features of a traditional design with modern 

modifications into one perfectly working unit. 

The production of repeating rifles with a bolt based 

on the Mauser 98 action has a very long tradition 

in Uherský Brod. The initial stage was associated 

with the legendary hunting rifles of the ZKK 600-602 

series from the famous Koucký brothers, which were 

introduced into the production programme of Česká 

zbrojovka after 1965 and the great demand of foreign 

customers helped to keep them there for a venerable 

three decades. In the1980s these ZKKs offered by 

CZUB were accompanied with the then modern rifle 

model CZ 537, which represented the response of 

designers of the CZ also to new trends in the field of 

production technologies. And it was the CZ 537 that 

was to serve as the design basis for the 550 series at 

the beginning of 1990s, the production of this series 

Ivan Chludil, Pavel Klozík, David Pazdera 

started in 1995 and these rifles extended the product 

range of Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod, 

provided for the perfect satisfaction of customers 

and progressively replaced both previous models. 

ULTIMATE STEPS FORWARD 

During improvement to the proven Mauser bolt, 

designers in Uherský Brod focused rationally on 

the only weaknesses of the initial design. 

Therefore, when we compare the bolts of the CZ 

550 and the classical Mauser 98, we will find that 

that the bolt head as well as the ejector remained 

almost unchanged. A discrete yet important 

alteration is the important relocation of the slot for 

the ejector. On the classical Mauser, this slot 


Rifle model CZ 550 American calibre .300 

Winchester Short Magnum with riflescope, 

CZ 555 calibre .30-06 Springfield, CZ 550 Lux 

calibre .30-06 Springfield and CZ 550 Lux 

calibre 7x64 (top view) 

passes through the left locking lug and constricts 

it. Therefore the Mauser company developed the 

so called tropical bolt with a third locking lug. 

Designers in Uherský Brod found a more simple 

The bolt of CZ 550 represents a successful combination of 

classics with modern features 

solution: they moved the ejector from the left side 

to the bottom of the receiver. The slot for the 

ejector was then made off the lug and even 

tropical calibres would function with the CZ 550 

bolt provided with two lugs. 

Another substantial modification can be found 

on the rear bolt. The bolt sleeve has been made 

into an elegant conical shape with smooth top 

Bolt sleeve CZ 550 in comparison with bolt sleeve on Mauser 98. Besides the unnecessarily complex shape 

the greatest problem of the Mauser is caused by the high wing safety. 

Bolt head on CZ 550 in comparison with the bolt of the classical Mauser 98, which has its left lug 

attenuated with the slot for ejector 



Stocks of the CZ 550 American, CZ 555, and two models of 

CZ 550 Lux with different cheek piece shapes 

Rifle model CZ 550 Magnum Lux calibre 416 Rigby 

and 375 Holland & Holland (bottom) 

surface. The safety has been moved to the right 

side and would not obstruct the installation of 

riflescopes. Another change was also made to the 

shape of the firing pin cocking piece and the firing 

pin itself and is now designed in such a way, that 

when the firing mechanism is cocked the rear part 

of the firing pin protrudes from the bolt sleeve and 

works as a cocking indicator. 

AN EXCELLENT RIFLE OF MANY 

FACES 

The trigger mechanism of CZ 550 rifles is 

based on sporting rifles and offers the option of 

adjusting the pull weight, trigger travel, before 

and after discharge. The built-in set trigger 

enables accurate shooting at long distances. 

Rifles in the CZ 550 series have cold forged 

barrels produced in specialised manufacturing 

facilities. Customers may choose between a 520 

mm long light barrel for the full-stock and battue 

models, standard 600mm barrels and 650 mm 

long heavy barrels for hunting and target shooting 

models for accurate shooting at long range. 

The CZ 550 is provided with a wide variety of 

calibres, which might be simply expressed using 

the English scale from .22 to .458 (from 5.6 to 11.5 

mm). The selection of barrels and calibres is also 

matched by the selection of types and materials for 

stocks: standard or hand-picked walnut or even 

laminated wood, beginning with the design of the 

austere American stock right up to the luxurious 

Monte Carlo. Moreover, Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod does not forget to design rifles for left-handed 

shooters, who will be offered properly modified 

models – the CZ 550 American and Magnum. 

Depending on the gun type and customers 

requirements, the CZ 550 rifles are supplied 

either with mechanical sights and grooves for 

riflescope mounts on the receiver top or with 

grooves on the receiver only. 

The product range of Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod also includes the rifle designed according to the 

CZ 500, which is the CZ 555 with its typical short 

extractor, side magazine catch and various minor 

improvements. This rifle is offered with proven 

calibres of .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester and 

7x64, new models will also feature the calibre 9.3x62. 

We can add that the precise mechanism of the 

CZ 550 has also rendered success in sporting 

and sniper rifles, the model CZ 750, which has 

been described in more detail in another section 

of this almanac. 

CZ 550 Varmint with the stock 

made from laminated wood 


FRONT SIGHT 

FRONT 

STOCK SCREW 

REAR SIGHT 

BARREL 

FLOOR PLATE 

SLING SWIVEL 

ASSEMBLY 

MAGAZINE 

FLOOR PLATE 

FIRING PIN 

FLOOR PLATE 

LATCH 

FIRING PIN 

SPRING 

MAGAZINE 

LATCH 

FOLLOWER 

THE CZ HA 550 HUNTER 

The extraordinary potential of the precise design 

of the CZ 550 was proven in 2006 by the new model 

CZ HA 550 Hunter calibre .300 Winchester 

Magnum, which was developed in response to the 

demand of the American market for a repeating rifle 

suitable for hunting at long range. Numerous minor 

and greater modification enabled designers in 

Uherský Brod to improve the constant rifle accuracy 

at a range of approximately 700 meters and more. 

They managed to do that especially with the heavy 

cold hammer forged, 24-inch (610-mm) barrel 

featuring a bore with four grooves and the twist rate 

of 12 inches. This barrel made with a new external 

shape emphasising extreme accuracy of production 

operations definitely comes without any mechanical 

sights as those might effect its vibration and 

consequently accuracy. The high accuracy has also 

been supported with the trigger mechanism 

featuring an adjustable single trigger with set trigger. 

The CZ HA 550 Hunter rifle is fed from the 

magazine holding 3 rounds. Its stock (made of 

Turkish walnut) with a cheekpiece has its new butt 

stock shifted 15mm downward, compared to the 

existing shape. The standard end is supplied with 

a 1-inch butt plate. Regarding the CZ HA 550 

Hunter, Česká zbrojovka has implemented the new 

shape of checkerings on the pistol grip, which are 

currently “cut out” with laser. This resulted in a rifle, 

the performance and design of which resembles 

highly tuned weapons from master gunsmiths. The 

standard Night Force NXS riflescope mounted with 

variable magnification of 5.5–22x50 provides each 

rifle with the accuracy of 1 angular minute at the 

distance of 1,000 yards (914 m), which is equal to 

the accuracy of sniper rifles. 

RIFLES TO BE TRUSTED 

Hunting rifles in the series CZ 550 are products, 

which Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod can be really 


SEAR 

EXTRACTOR 

COLLAR 

SET TRIGGER 

ADJUSTING SCREW 

REAR STOCK 

SCREW 

RECEIVER 

BOLT STOP 

TRIGGER 

BOLT 

SAFETY 

BOLT 

HANDLE 

DISASSEMBLY CATCH 

CZ 550 

STOCK 

BUTTPLATE 




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proud of. The properties of these rifles have been 

proven by both hunters and target shooters 

almost in every part of the World, while the most 

demanding tests are passed by the CZ 550 rifle 

without any blemish on its reputation. 

Probably the best proof of the quality of these 

rifles is their extraordinary popularity among 

professional hunters in Africa, who often entrust 

their lives to CZ 550 rifles together with the lives of 

hired hunters that accompany and protect them. It 

does not matter, whether they have to face attacks 

from big cats, rhinos or Cape buffalos – they can 

always trust their CZ 550 with the accordingly 

high-performance calibre. There is no wonder that 

CZ rifles, according to Don Heath, the editor of the 

African Hunter Magazine, are the weapons most 

often used by professional hunters to carry out 

their knowledge and skill exams (Professional 

Hunter Proficiency Exam) in Zimbabwe. 

EXCELLENT VALUE FOR MONEY 

The CZ 550 rifles are rendering success for 

their design, extraordinary durability almost 

amounting to indestructibility, high production 

quality, ultimate reliability in any climatic 

conditions and excellent shooting results, which 

greatly exceed regular requirements placed on 

factory made guns. Czech and foreign users 

also greatly appreciate the opportunity to gain all 

these benefits for a very reasonable price, which 

is significantly lower than for comparable 

products from competitors. 

Thanks to their properties the rifles in the 

CZ 550 series definitely keep their firm position in 

the existing market and together with the light 

CZ 527 rifles of the same quality they please their 

numerous fans and they represent a solid base of 

the range of rifles offered by Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod today and probably will do so for 

a long time. ■ 


Big Name 

Magdaléna 

Milcová 

Talks about CZ 750 

It was Magdaléna Milcová’s father, Mr Jiří Milec, 

who introduced her to shooting. He’s now her 

coach, assistant and mentor. Magdaléna has been 

shooting since 1997 and in the year 2000 she won 

the title of Czech Republic Champion in the 

women’s category and a second title together with 

her father in the mixed couples category in the 

fleeting target shooting in the 300m discipline. 

A year later she managed to achieve second 

position in the men’s category for a change. She had 

given up sporting shooting after the year 2001; but 

she once again laid down on the firing line in 2004 

and that was by request of Česká zbrojovka. 

In the years 2004 and 2005 Magdalena’s father 

was also shooting at the competitions with her CZ 

750. Their firearm was therefore strained far more 

during these competitions than the firearms used 

by the other competitors, nevertheless it once again 

Pavel Klozík 

The sniper rifle shooter, who represents Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod isn’t, as most of the readers expect, a man, but a young 

petite girl, Miss Magdaléna Milcová. She’s been part of the CZUB 

shooting team since 2004 and her phenomenal abilities in 

conjunction with the top parameters of the new sniper rifle CZ 750 

enable her to persistently hold medal positions at the 

sniper’s competitions, which are otherwise the men’s domain. 

held up exceptionally. In 2006 the Milec family team 

acquired another member – Magda’s talented sister 

Bohdana, for whom a second sniper rifle CZ 750 is 

being prepared by the Milec family. But at present 

Magda, Bohdana and their father shoot from the 

same and only firearm! 

Are you satisfied with CZ 750? 

I have shot from a number of rifles so I’m able 

to compare. I am totally satisfied with the CZ 750. 

This sniper rifle is a very good and reliable firearm. 

The ergonomics of its gun stock and the working 

of its mechanism suit me. For aim I use the rifle 

scope Leupold. 

What ammunition do you use? 

In 2004 I used the .308 Winchester which 

I was hand-loading myself with Sierra cartridges 

and bullets made by the company Lapua. During 

the 2005 season I was shooting with Norma 

Diamond Line cartridges and in 2006 I was once 

again using my hand-loaded cartridges with 

Hornady A-Max bullets. 

Can you recall some of the more significant 

achievements which you have achieved with 

the CZ 750? 

In 2004 I won twice at the sniper rifle competitions 

in Poříčany. A year later I achieved second place in 

the league of snipers in Olomouc, and during this 

competition I won two out of five contests. In 2006 

I won one of the competitions in the sniper’s league, 

I was second in another one and overall I gained 

third place. Furthermore I won once in Poříčany. 

(Author’s note: The second competition in Poříčany in 

2006 was won by Magda’s sister Bohdana.) 

How many rounds have been shot out of your 

CZ 750 so far? 

From the CZ 750 which I use was so far fired 

more than eight thousand rounds and the firearm 

still keeps its superb characteristics. ■ 


CZ 750 

CZ 750 

Sniper Rifles 

Special problems require special solutions; special solutions then 

require special weapons. Sniper rifles rank among the most 

famous. Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has been concerned with 

their production for quite a long period of time, its range 

presented at the IDET 2005 trade fair included three new sniper 

rifles type CZ 750 calibre 7.62x51 NATO (.308 Winchester). 

The development of CZ 750 sniper rifles started 

in Uherský Brod in mid 2003 and was divided 

into several stages dealing with fine tuning of 

ergonomics of stock and grip on prototypes, the 

position and functioning of control features, 

shooting accuracy, provisions for easy maintenance 

and functional reliability. Selected shooters verified 

the properties of prototypes at international sniper 

competitions. Progressive evaluation of findings 

obtained there led to changes in design. The result 

of this project came out in May 2005 by means of 

production commencement for these three sniper 

rifles with properties intended to satisfy the widest 

sphere of customers possible. 

FROM CZ 550 TO A SNIPER SPECIAL 

All three new rifles from Uherský Brod feature 

a steel bolt and receiver adapted from the 

renowned hunting rifle model CZ 550 – which, in 

other words, means that this version is a modern 

variant of the Mauser system. The trigger 

mechanism of the CZ 750 series features single set 

trigger. The trigger pull weight with unset trigger 

can be adjusted within the range of 14-18 N, the 

range for activated set trigger is 4-8 N. The free 

floating hammer forged barrel is precisely threaded 

Pavel Klozík 

into the receiver ring. Besides the standard option 

of cartridge ejection to the right upon bolt opening, 

special requests may be placed for an ejector, 

which engages the round from the extractor, yet 

the empty round will remain close to firing chamber 

ready to be removed manually by the shooter. 

The stock is manufactured from a special plastic 

reinforced with glass fibres or from laminated 

wood. The space before the trigger guard features 

the magazine well for a double column magazine 

with a single outlet to hold 10 or 4 rounds. The 

magazine body is protected by a rubber cover, 

which reduces the risk of damage to the magazine 

surface during rough handling; it prevents ingress 

of dirt into the magazine well and the risk of 

undesired clangs, when the magazine body comes 

into contact with the magazine well. 

When engaged, the two-position manual safety 

located on the rear right part of the receiver blocks 

the cocked firing pin and prevents operation of the 

bolt. Customised versions may feature three-position 

safety, whereas one position allows shooters to open 

the bolt and load or unload the rifle, while the trigger 

mechanism is blocked. The rear left part of the 

receiver features a lever, which enables release of the 

bolt out of the receiver, when pressed. 


CZ 750 

CZ 750 S1 M1 

The bolt handle is bent slightly backwards and 

the knob made of hard rubber allows for more 

secure grip. Sniper rifles in the series CZ 750 have 

no mechanical sights, the receiver hosts the rail in 

accordance with the MIL-STD-1913 and this part 

is used for installation of rifle scopes, night vision 

Lateral finger portion of manual safety (rear) and the lever 

enabling removal of bolt out of receiver 

The removed bolt and the 10-round magazine with rubber cover 

The screw for continuous set trigger adjustment located in 

front of the trigger blade 

or thermo vision devices. The more comfortable 

handling of this rifle and especially aiming is well 

assisted with a folding bipod, which is fitted onto 

the duralumin rail in the front part of the forend. 

CZ 750 S1 M1 

The CZ 750 S1 M1 is a heavy basic model 

designed for shooting within a range up to 800 

meters. It has a 660 mm long barrel with four righthand 

bore grooves and 10“ rate of twist. The barrel 

features a single port muzzle compensator reducing 

the recoil energy. The thread with compensator 

removed can be fitted with a muzzle protector. 

The stock is made from high-impact polymer, the 

grip is provided with a generous thumbhole, 

vertically adjustable cheekpiece, which can be 

removed, reversed and reinstalled for a left-handed 

shooter, and also the vertically adjustable rubber 

butt plate, where the length can be set using three 

exchangeable spacers. The lower part of the stock 

ahead of the butt plate features a sharp projection 

enabling more convenient setting of the stock onto 

the shoulder. The black surface of the butt stock is 

stippled to ensure a convenient grip with a dry, wet 

or soiled palm. The butt stock ergonomics has been 

designed in accordance with the most recent 

findings of snipers, which enables comfortable 

aiming and permanent monitoring of situation and 

shooting area of the sniper. The magazine well in the 

forend provides perfect cover for the magazine. 

The receiver is fitted to the stock with two 

screws. Prior to the final assembly, the stock and 

receiver will be joined using a special compound in 

order to ensure perfect fitting of both parts. The rail 

for bipod attachment is 220 mm long. The 

minimum service life of this rifle is 5,000 rounds 

with high shooting accuracy guaranteed. 

The CZ 750 S1 M1 Sniper Rifle is 1220 mm 

long and its total weight including the bipod, 

without ammunition, is 6.2 kg. For target shooting 

at long distances is this model designated as the 

CZ 750 S1 M1 Sport. 

CZ 750 S1 M2 

The CZ 750 S1 M2 is a shortened version of the 

S1 M1 model and is designed for accurate shooting 

within the range of up to 500 meters. It is also ready 

for fitting of a sound suppressor, where the use of 

special Subsonic ammunition with it enables 

accurate shooting within the range of up to 300 

meters. The major difference against the basic S1 M1 

model is particularly its 450 mm long barrel with four 

right-hand grooves in the bore and the 10“ rate of 

twist. The muzzle features a thread for fitting an eight 

port sound suppressor, which is supplied together 


with the rifle. The suppressor would reduce the noise 

level to 124 dB, it provides significant reduction of the 

visible flash upon firing and conforms to the NATO 

MIL-STD-1474. The noise level without the sound 

suppressor (when using the standard ammunition 

cal. 7,62x51 NATO Norma Diamond Line equipped 

with 168 gr bullet) would be 150 dB. 

With respect to the barrel length, the forend of 

the polymer stock has been shortened by 110 mm; 

the rail for bipod attachment is 155 mm long. The 

reduction of dimensions has a positive effect on 

the total weight: the CZ 750 S1 M2 without sound 

suppressor is 976 mm long (and 1076 mm with 

suppressor) and its weight excluding ammunition 

and the bipod is 5.8 kg. 

Besides the above described changes the 

shortened CZ 750 S1 M2 sniper rifle has all the 

same features as the basic model S1 M1. It retains 

its high accuracy and the minimum service life of 

5,000 rounds with or without the sound 

suppressor. The service life of this suppressor is 

the same – 5,000 rounds. 

CZ 750 S2 M1 

The CZ 750 S2 M1 appears more like a civil 

version of the S1 M1 model, which is provided by 

the 660 mm long barrel, which, however, cannot be 

fitted with the muzzle compensator due to the 

absence of thread. The receiver, bolt and all the 

operational controls have remained the same. This 

rifle also has a “civilian” sporting type stock made 

from laminated wood having pistol grip and 

elevated cheek piece. The modern appearance of 

this rifle is also supported with three longitudinal 

ventilations holes in the forend, which have 

a positive impact on barrel cooling, reduce its 

weight and affect the overall balance of the rifle. 

The butt stock is provided with a fixed (non 

adjustable) Pachmayr rubber butt plate. The CZ 750 

S2 M1 rifle is supplied with a shortened magazine 

for four rounds with calibre 7.62x51; yet the 

standard magazine for 10 rounds can be used in this 

rifle without any modifications being required (the 

manufacturer supplies such magazines on request). 

Comfortable carry is made convenient by a pair 

of studs for Trigatti swivels. The stud in the forend 

also serves for the tactical bipod attachment. This 

1.184 mm long rifle with mounted bipod weighs 

5.2 kg without ammunition, its minimum service 

life is 5,000 rounds while still retaining its high 

shooting precision. 

The CZ 750 S2 M1 has been designed for 

military and police snipers. Yet Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod also makes efforts to address with 

this rifle designated as the CZ 750 S2 M1 Sport 

target shooters and possibly even hunters. 

TOP CLASS ACCESSORIES 

The development of the CZ 750 series was 

accompanied by a selection of optimal 

accessories. After long testing of scopes brands, 

which were subject to tests under various weather 

CZ 750 S1 M2 

CZ 750 S2 M1 


CZ 750 

COMPENSATOR ÈESKÁ 

BARREL 




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STOCK 

conditions and also in relation to various sniper 

tasks, designers at the CZUB and their colleagues 

selected the optimal scope - Carl Zeiss Diavari 6- 

24x56 T, which provides the maximum opportunity 

to utilise all characteristics of rifles within the 

CZ 750 series and achieve hits within the range of 

up to 800 meters. The reticle features an 

illuminated pattern, which allows estimating the 

target distance using data about human height and 

has a very pleasant setting of parallax within the 

interval of 50-1,000 meters. This scope is supplied 

together with a Carl Zeiss two-piece low mount. 

Shooting from the rest was conducted with 

the famous bipod manufactured by the American 

supplier – Harris – which can be mounted easily 

using a single screw and its height can be 

adjusted promptly at six positions. The effect of 

air scintillation above the heated barrel is 

reduced with a mirage deflector, which can be 

fitted into holders above barrels on any of the 

three sniper rifles. Other accessories comprise of 

the multi-purpose wrench, muzzle protector, four 

ZBROJOVKA 

MAGAZINE 

RECEIVER 

MAGAZINE LATCH 

TRIGGER 

BOLT 

SAFETY 

CZ 750 

BOLT HANDLE 

CHEEKPIECE ASSY 

BUTTPLATE ASSY 

butt plate spacers and special tactical transport 

case TPO 05 designed in conformance to 

requirements of the special forces of the Czech 

Army, which, besides safe transport of the rifle 

and its accessories, also allows for lowering from 

helicopters and contains components of a simple 

shelter. The rifle is further supplied with an 

aluminium case with upholstered interior, 

resistant to bad weather conditions and rough 

handling. 

FINAL EVALUATION 

New sniper rifles in the CZ 750 series, calibre 

7.62x51 NATO, make a very good impression. 

They feature excellent trigger operation, good 

ergonomics of stocks and very low recoil. The fact 

that Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod hit the 

bull’s eye and satisfied the current needs of 

sporting and professional snipers is best proven 

by the previous success of the CZ 750 series in 

the civilian market as well as multiple purchase 

transactions by several foreign armed forces. ■ 

model CZ 750 S1 M1 CZ 750 S1 M2 CZ 750 S2 M1 

calibre 7.62x51 NATO 7.62x51 NATO 7.62x51 NATO 

overall length (mm) 1.220 1.076/976* 1.184 

barrel length (mm) 660 450 660 

height (mm) 175 175 188 

width (mm) 77 92 90 

weight without ammunition and bipod (kg) 5.8 5.2 4.8 

weight without ammunition with bipod mounted (kg) 6.2 5.8 5.2 

magazine capacity (rounds) 10 10 4/10 

trigger pull weight (N) 14-18/4-8** 14-18/4-8** 14-18/4-8** 

Remarks: 

* length with/without sound suppressor 

** continuously adjustable trigger pull weight without activated set trigger /with set trigger 


The CZ 858 Tactical 

A Czech Kalashnikov. That would be the first reaction Ivan Chludil 

of foreign competition shooters once they have seen 

the CZ 858. As they take a closer look, they will be astonished to 

find that the only feature this gun has in common with the 

Kalashnikov is the ammunition. And then they would often be struck 

with silent jealousy during practical shooting competitions. The 

eight-five-eight can handle poppers even at greater distances and 

the thirty rounds in the magazine are also of a certain advantage. 

The demand for sporting guns derived 

from military assault rifles are related to the 

progress of practical shooting. This discipline, 

originally with pistols and revolvers only, has been 

extended also to rifles over the recent period. 

Manufacturers of the originally military hardware 

accommodated the demand, so the current range of 

products offered by retailers includes civil versions 

of the American assault rifle type M 16, the Russian 

AK’s, the German G 3 and G 36 as well as the 

Austrian AUG. The CZ 858 Tactical would definitely 

not fade among these great companions. 

DURABLE, LIGHT, ECONOMICAL… 

The apparent disadvantage, which would be the 

fairly old age of the essential design of the “assault 

rifle” model 58, becomes an indisputable advantage 

when using it for sports shooting. All the main 

components of the CZ 858 are made of steel, 

including the milled receiver. Even though it might not 

seem it at first glance, sports and especially practical 

shooting impose much higher requirement on the 

gun’s durability and reliability compared to 

requirements of armed forces or police. If we look at 

the more sophisticated types of guns made of 

pressed sheets, light alloys and plastic materials, 

these requirements will be better met with a steel 

design. At the same time, the total weight of this rifle 

is comparable to its “plastic” competitors. 

Its conversion into a civil gun, self-loading only, is 

also simpler and cheaper. Furthermore, the conversion 

has been performed in such a manner that the only 

component changed is the trigger mechanism. Other 

parts are identical to the fully automatic variant, but 

there are of course technical precautions that the CZ 

858 cannot be easily converted to weapon capable to 

shoot in such a mode of fire. That means a permanent 

and sufficient supply of cheap spare parts. With regard 

to the fairly high quantities of surplus assault rifles in 

warehouses of the Czech Army, we may assume that 

the source of guns suitable for conversion will 

last for a certain period of time and the very 

low price will be kept, too. 

AVAILABLE AND 

EFFICIENT AMMUNITION 

Another advantage is the 7.62x39 

round. It is relatively light, easy to 

recharge and it is available practically 

world-wide. The bullet weight is higher and 

it can fold steel targets at a greater distance 

without any problem. The only disadvantage of the 

basic variant is the obsolete butt stock with a fairly 

big bend resulting in greater muzzle climb upon 

firing. Manufacturers of accessories are also aware 

of this fact and the CZ 858 can be converted 

into a completely new gun with the butt stock 

almost parallel to the barrel axis, muzzle climb 

compensator and rails for optical sights installation. 

OTHER VARIANTS 

The success of the initial model of the sports 

self-loading rifle type CZ 858 Tactical, which is 

offered either with fixed butt stock or folding 

shoulder stock, was continued at Česká Zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod with the development of several civil 

variants of the famous eight-five-eight. The 

production process has been occupied with the CZ 

858 Tactical II featuring an extended barrel, which 

was created with respect to legal regulations in the 

Canadian market. At this stage, the interesting 

model number III is almost finished, featuring a fixed 

ammunition box magazine with 5 rounds capacity, 

designed for certain American customer. ■ 

CZ 858 Tactical 

calibre 7.62x39 mm 


height 255 mm 

width 57 mm 


weight without ammunition 2.910 g 


CZ 858 Tactical 


Air Rifles 

Slavia Air Rifles 

Přemysl Liška, Ivan Chludil, David Pazdera 

The family of timeless weapons manufactured by Česká Zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod undoubtedly includes the very famous break-barrel 

air rifles – the models Slavia 630 and 631. It is hard to believe 

that the first model of these was manufactured as early as 1972 

and the second model is just one year younger. Furthermore their 

designer, Ing. Alexandr Koten, did such a good job, that these air 

rifles have required only minor modernisation during the three 

decades of their existence. Despite that, or perhaps for this very 

reason, both models can compete with current rival products 

worldwide and they are among the top products in some aspects. 

The same can be also said about their newest sister, the heavyduty 

break-barrel air rifle model Slavia 634. 

The remarkable success of air rifles from 

Česká Zbrojovka might be easier to 

understand, when we recall that design and 

production of these weapons in Uherský Brod 

has a very long tradition. The first break-barrel air 

rifles were designed in this factory before World 

War II and it was the model ČZ 236, which 

started the company’s post-war production 

programme. After 1945, this rifle was replaced 

with a simpler model series the ČZ 800 to 803 in 

the production programme (this production was 

accompanied with manufacturing of the model 

47 specific training air rifles). The beginning of 

the 1950s then brought a short break in this 

aspect, for then the factory was concerned with 

the supply of military firearms only. However, the 

decision made in 1955 helped to celebrate the 

comeback of air rifles to the factory’s portfolio, 

while that was the time when the manufacturer 

had the brand Slavia registered. 

The above listed brand originally used to 

represent a large family of air rifles made in Uherský 

Brod, some of them were forgotten long ago. Yet 

that was not to happen to the precious experience 

gained in the company during the production of 

these weapons – the majority of which were 

intended for export. That helped Česká Zbrojovka 

conduct progressive improvements of air guns and 

to reduce the unnecessarily wide range of models 

in several stages. The most successful of the Slavia 

air rifles were the models 618 and 620 (the first 

model came out in more than 1.5 mil. pieces!) and 

these were replaced with the more sophisticated 

models 630 and 631 in the 1970’s. 

STANDARD AND LUX 

The basic model Slavia 630 Standard can be 

recognised at first sight with its slimmer stock and 

protruding stamped trigger guard. The barrel is 

held in a closed position using a spring-loaded 

angular wedge; placing the hand close to the front 

sight and applying downward pressure breaks the 

barrel. The simpler sight can be adjusted for 

windage by shifting along a rack and for elevation 

using a screw. The trigger pull adjustments can be 

carried out only after removing the whole 

mechanism out of the stock. 

The Slavia 631 Lux represents an upgraded 

model of the 630; this one has been adapted for 

sporting purposes. It features a high forend and 

elevated comb of the stock. The barrel is locked 

using a catch controlled with a pull bar underneath 

the barrel. The rear sight can be adjusted for 

elevation and windage using screws. The trigger 

pull can be adjusted without the need to remove 

the mechanism – just with the screw located in the 

trigger guard. Both rifles have grooves on the 

receiver for possible riflescope mounting. 


WELL DESIGNED TRIGGER 

MECHANISM 

The greatest advantage of both Slavia models is 

the trigger mechanism. The space between the 

piston rod and trigger features the piston rod latch 

supported, when the rifle is cocked, by the top end 

of the sear. The latch lug is inclined in such 

direction that the trigger receives only a small 

portion of the pressure exerted by the piston 

spring. The trigger travel is very short and its 

resistance depends on the pressure exerted by the 

trigger spring. Upon cocking of this mechanism the 

trigger will be locked automatically against 

accidental discharge and the shooter has to 

release the safety lock before every shot. This 

principle is common for both the models 630 and 

631. Most rival air guns in this price range have 

a trigger with direct engagement into the piston rod 

lug and significantly worse trigger travel with 

a limited adjustment option. 

RIFLES OF SEVERAL GENERATIONS 

The Slavia 630 Standard and 631 Lux air rifles 

work with performance limited in accordance with 

old regulations. The muzzle velocity is 175 m.s -1 , 

muzzle energy is then around 7,5 J. Convenient 

leverage allows stressing the spring applying 

a lower force, therefore these rifles may be shot 

basically by children older than approximately ten 

years of age. Young shooters would only have 

problems with “mature” stock dimensions. 

The well-mastered design and production 

quality concerning Slavia air rifles has proven to be 

successful by several generations of shooting fans 

and also by the fact that these rifles have always 

been demanded greatly both in domestic and 

global markets. So there is no wonder, that the 

one and half millionth anniversary air rifle model of 

the Slavia 630 had already left the production halls 

here in Uherský Brod in May 2003! 

SLAVIA 634 

This model is the new release within the Slavia 

series. Its number shows that it is the direct 

successor to the model 631 with respect to both 

design and appearance. This gun is the 

manufacturer’s response to the increase of 

permitted maximum energy in air rifles distributed 

to the public. The performance of the model 634 

approaches the threshold value of 16 J, the 

muzzle velocity of a standard pellet reaches the 

value of 220 m.s -1 . The difference between the 

model 631 and Slavia 634 comprises a different 

shape of forend ending and sunken finger points 

on the forend. Česká Zbrojovka even plans to 

manufacture stocks for this model featuring 

cheekpiece, this version will be called Hunter and 

designed primarily for hunting purposes. 

EXCEPTIONAL DURABILITY 

All air rifles in the Slavia series rank among the 

most reliable of weapons with great durability. 

With regular maintenance, depending on 

frequency they are used, these rifles require 

replacement of the piston and barrel sealing once 

every two to five years and the piston spring 

must be replaced sometimes as well. Gunsmiths 

can often show us air rifles made at the years 

when their production just started and minor 

maintenance can make them work like new. ■ 

Slavia 630 Standard 

calibre 4.5 mm 


height 195 mm 

width 40 mm 


weight 3.000 g 

Slavia 631 Lux 



height 204 mm 

width 40 mm 



Slavia 634 

calibre 4.5 mm, 5.5 mm 


height 204 mm 

width 40 mm 



Slavia 630 

Slavia 631 

Slavia 634 


Air Guns 

The CZ 200 

PCP Series 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod has not limited its Ivan Chludil 

field of interest but has also focused on the newest 

trend in the sector of sporting arms, leisure time and small game 

hunting which is currently the fastest developing segment of the 

arms market. Therefore, the range of products offered by the 

manufacturer from Uherský Brod also includes several models of 

PCP (pre-charged pneumatic) air guns, meaning air guns with 

a reservoir holding compressed air. 

Air rifles in the CZ 200 series have been 

developed in cooperation with the renowned 

British manufacturer of air guns, the Air Arms 

company. Thus, the company could design guns to 

meet requirements of the British and American 

CZ 200 S 

CZ 200 T 

markets and provided necessary contacts with 

distributors and customers. Česká zbrojovka has 

been successful even in this field and the 

information from the British professional press says 

that PCP air guns from Uherský Brod rank among 

CZ 260 PCPA 

the bestsellers in their category in Great Britain. 

Furthermore, PCP air guns from Uherský Brod are 

not only sold in the proven and well explored 

Western markets, but recently there has also been 

agrowing demand for these products, namely in the 

Ukraine and South Africa. 


MUZZLE 

EXTENSION 

FORE-END STOCK 

STRIKER 

LOADING BOLT 

CYLINDER TUBE 

BARREL 

TRIGGER GUARD 

TRIGGER 

LEVER COCKING ARM 

TRIGGER 




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SINGLE-SHOT AIR RIFLES AND 

REPEATERS 

PCP air guns in the CZ 200 series feature 

a cylindrical reservoir under the barrel to hold air 

compressed to 200 bars. The basic model is singleshot. 

Pellets are loaded into the barrel chamber upon 

opening of a cylindrical bolt – so handling is similar to 

rimfire or centrefire rifles. Opening of the bolt will cock 

the firing pin on the valve mechanism. The bolt can 

be easily modified for left-handed shooters. 

The large loading port in the receiver enables 

insertion of a feeding mechanism with the 

transversely movable magazine. That allows 

prompt modification of the single-shot PCP air 

gun into a repeater. 

PCP Air guns are presently manufactured in two 

variants. The CZ 200 S, offered in calibre 4.5 

or 5.5 mm, can be set up for the maximum initial 

muzzle energy of 16 J. It has a simpler stock and it 

is designed for sports shooting with greater 

requirements for performance (e.g. field air gun) and 

possibly hunting in countries where it is permitted. 

The CZ 200 T features a stock with an adjustable 

cheekpiece and buttplate and is designed for sports 

shooting with greater requirements on accuracy. 

This gun complies with ISSF rules. The power is 

usually set to 7.5 J, therefore, this air gun conforms 

to regulations allowing the free sale of weapons 

throughout Europe and almost world-wide. 

THE CZ 260 PCPA 

The success rendered by CZ 200 PCP air rifles led 

designers in Uherský Brod to supplement the product 

range of Česká zbrojovka with the PCP air pistol 

model CZ 260 PCPA. Its design is based on rifles, but 

its mechanism and the size of the air reservoir have 

been modified to fit a handgun. The cylindrical bolt is 

controlled with a upwards lifted lever shaped so as to 

enable loading both for right- and left-handed 


RECEIVER BODY 

BOLT HANDLE 

CZ 200 

BUTT-STOCK 


BUTT-PAD 

shooters. Unlike the CZ 200 rifle, the standard model 

of the CZ 260 PCPA pistol is provided with a fully 

adjustable rear sight and a revolving three-plane front 

sight with an interesting design. 

The result is a quality sports gun with design 

conforming to ISSF rules. The launch of production 

of the eagerly awaited CZ 260 PCPA pistol was 

slightly delayed due to the fully utilised capacity of 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, so this gun will 

most probably be launched in production towards 

the end of 2007. Shooters will certainly be thrilled 

with it. This new gun has all the prerequisites to 

render as much success as the CZ 200 rifles which 

formed the basis of its design. ■ 

CZ 200 S 

calibre 4.5 mm, 5.5 mm 


height 165 mm 

width 53 mm 


weight 2,800 g 

CZ 200 T 


overall length 872-928 mm 

height 180 mm 

width 53 mm 


weight 2,800-3,000 g 

CZ 260 PCPA 



height 155 mm 

width 48 mm 


weight 1,200 g

Business Successes 

The Only Place 

We Don’t Sell to 

is Perhaps the Antarctic 

Ing. Ladislav Britaňák, the Chairman of the Board 

of Directors of Česká zbrojovka a.s., Talks about the 

Business Successes of Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod 

Could you briefly sum up the ways of how CZ 

firearms get abroad? What I mean is, how much 

of your product’s export is done through your 

subsidiary companies and how much do you 

take advantage of other companies’ services? 

Approximately 70% of our foreign sales take 

place through our business partners who 

represent the company abroad. The remainder is 

done through our subsidiary companies. 

How would you evaluate the significance of 

your subsidiary company CZ-USA for Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod? 

I’d say that CZ-USA has got an exceptional role 

among all of our subsidiaries. Not only did this 

company fulfil, but even exceeded the objectives 

for which it was created – i.e. firm establishment of 

our trademark on the American market and in 

addition it is a dynamically developing part of our 

business. 

Is it possible, from a business point of view, to 

evaluate the contribution made by the 

acquisition of the company Dan Wesson, or is 

it a bit too early to say? 

The evaluation can, indeed, be done at anytime. 

The acquisition of the company Dan Wesson brought 

for our company, apart from interesting products and 

diversification of the firearm’s portfolio, also another 

thing, which is no less important. It was a marketing 

contribution in terms of strengthening the trademark. In 

addition, this matter is also perceived as a confirmation 

of the company’s strength and efficiency. If we’ll add 

to the list stable economics presented by the company 

Dan Wesson, there’s simply no reason to complain 

about this project at all. 

David Pazdera 

Could you please tell us more about the 

allegedly successful project Safari Classics? 

We have firmly established our position 

among the manufacturers of Safari firearms, 

I’d even go as far as to say, that we have taken 

on some sort of a leading role. This is mainly due 

to the top quality of our firearms and the wide 

variety of our product’s range. 

How is Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod doing 

from the business point of view today? Is the 

tendency concerning the repeat increase of 

sales, which started in 2005, still continuing 

and is the “market crisis in the firearms 

department”, as it was called by the CZUB 

management at the time, warded off? 

It can be said, that the concerns regarding the 

decrease in sales which were anticipated once the 

deliveries for the Czech republic Police Force were 

finished, were unnecessary. On the contrary, thanks 

to our business activities we are noticing a growing 

demand for our firearms. Another strong issue is the 

efficiency of all our processes, without which it is 

impossible to ensure our long term prosperity. 

How many firearms are annually produced by 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod? What is the 

percentage share of each individual type and 

how large a share of the overall production is 

intended for export? 

We produce around 130,000 firearms a year 

out of which 35 % is made up by pistols and the 

rest are long guns - centrefire rifles (20 %), rimfire 

rifles (35 %) and air guns (10 %). Almost 95 % of 

production is intended for export. 

Is the structure of the CZUB firearms portfolio 

set on a long term basis or are there any 

distinct changes taking place? 

It can be said that the structure of the 

firearm’s portfolio is pretty much set. 

How do the new products manage to establish 

themselves on a market which is already 

incredibly over-glutted? And vice-versa: how 

does today’s over-glutted market influence the 

development of new types and models of CZ 

firearms? For example, could the continuing good 

sales of shotguns in the USA be expected to 

influence the return of this type of firearms among 

the range of products manufactured by CZUB? 


I think that any new products produced by 

ourselves are always welcomed by our customers. 

But a lingering problem remains – our reaction to 

the market’s demand is not always fast enough, but 

on the other hand a product, which is introduced by 

us to the market, is always of top quality and we 

never regret its introduction afterwards. When it 

comes to the development of firearms it must be 

said, that the observations of today’s – as you call it 

over-glutted market, inspire us to submit new 

projects and new firearms. Shotguns have their firm 

place among the range of our products. Already in 

2007 products with the renowned trademark Brno 

will appear. The proof, that the shotguns have not 

disappeared from our range of products, are also 

the firearms offered mainly to CZ-USA. 

How many countries do you currently export 

to? Which countries or regions are the most 

important for you on a long term basis? Are 

there any areas where CZUB has not managed 

to enter the market with its firearms yet and 

where it would like to change the situation? 

You can find our firearms on all continents, in 

about a hundred countries around the world, with 

the only exception being the Antarctic. But there 

is always space for expansion, especially when it 

comes to the improvement of liaison with our 

customers in each individual country. So I’d say it 

is not the amount of countries we’ll approach, but 

the quality of marketing which is currently the 

most important issue. 

What amount of influence does the domestic, 

meaning the Czech and even the Slovak 

market, have on the orientation of CZUB? And 

how much attention will you pay this market in 

the near future? 

This is a very traditional market with strict, 

critical customers. The findings obtained from this 

market are very inspiring, they stem from a good 

knowledge of our products and the understanding 

of the development which we went through. This 

is one of the reasons why we perceive this market 

individually within the territorial division of our 

business activities. There’s a lot of attention paid 

to this market and I believe, that the findings 

accumulated from it generally summarize the 

views and requirements regarding firearms within 

the Central European area. 

In your opinion, is it possible to expect a further 

increase in sales of CZUB firearms in the USA? 

Certainly, if the amount of work carried out by our 

subsidiary company and the corporations creating 

our distribution network is considered. The only 

question which remains is the progression of the 

political and therefore legislative situation in the USA. 

The great success of CZ firearms in South 

America and Asia is very interesting. What is it 

that makes your company beat the 

competition and gain new customers? 

Now look, I don’t believe in magical formulas. 

Every success is always underlaid with the honest 

everyday work of our people and our salesmen, 

it’s also backed up with good ideas and the 

willingness to listen to our customer’s requirements. 

The accomplishments of Česká zbrojovka 

Uherský Brod in Africa are often mentioned 

– where exactly and what sells? 

Particularly our hunting firearms have a very good 

reputation in Africa. This matter has been built up 

over a number of years. It involves a confidence in 

quality and reliability. But of course not every country 

is suitable for the export of firearms. This is where we 

closely cooperate with the Czech Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs so that we always comply with the strict EU 

regulations. Africa is however a very lucrative region 

where you simply have to be involved. 

What position do the countries of the former 

Eastern bloc hold within the business strategy 

of CZUB? 

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are, 

of course, a very prospective market for us. Not only 

the lingual and cultural closeness, but also the 

knowledge of this area pre-destinates this territory to 

a certain success. It’s no secret that the products 

from the Czech engineering industry have the best 

reputation in this area in particular. This is once again 

based on longstanding and positive experiences. 

It is very often said that the successes of its 

shooting team are a great benefit for Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod. How exactly did the 

recent triumph of CZUB shooters at the IPSC 

World Championship, which took place in 

Ecuador, manifest itself? 

I consider the biggest contribution to be in three 

main areas. The first: the matter of enormous, 

exceptional sporting success. The second: CZ 75 

SP-01 is the best firearm in the world in this 

category. And the third: the findings of our shooters 

and their absolutely exact description of the 

firearm’s behaviour and also the recommendations 

regarding the improvement of the firearms move 

our products forward in leaps and bounds. 

Do the legislative and administrative changes 

which were put into action in the Czech republic 

as well as everywhere else in the world, as 

areaction to the increased terrorist threat, have 

any impact on CZUB business transactions? 

The firearms market is being constrained for 

obvious reasons. But this isn’t always necessarily 

a bad thing. There’s a tendency to cooperate with 

credible and well-established companies and 

CZUB counts as one of them. But it’s a fact that 

occasionally we seem to have a bit of trouble with 

some administrative delays or with ambiguities 

when it comes to the obtaining of licenses. 

Could you please reveal in which tenders 

regarding the supplies for armed forces was 

CZUB successful in recent years? In which 

tenders would you like to participate in the 

near future? Did you not consider entering 

into the prestigious tender which was 

announced by the American Army? 

Among our biggest successes we count the 

rearmament of the Czech Republic Police Forces, 

the deliveries for the Thailand Armed Forces, for 

Egypt and even Mexico. But there’s really no point 

in extracting only certain cases. We certainly 

participate in all major tenders and we are in the 

game where the user expects top quality and 

reliability. The supplies for the United States 

Armed Forces do obviously tempt us and our 

firearms are very well known even within these 

circles. I would not like to be more specific at this 

moment, so let’s just wait and see. ■ 


Big Name 

René Ondra 

– Master Engraver 

for âeská zbrojovka Uhersk˘ Brod 

He grew up with and studied alongside the best Pavel Klozík 

engravers and graphic designers who lived in the 

former Czechoslovakia. Nowadays he’s an accomplished craftsman 

and he’s not just an engraver. Upon the suggestion of the General 

Director of Česká zbrojovka he established in 2004 a studio, in 

which he designs and prepares exclusive ornamented firearms and 

also limited series. On one side he’s a joker but on the other side 

he’s a manager and grafter, with scaupers and graving chisels, 

hammer and a head full of more or less crazy ideas. 

When did you decide to become an engraver? 

I used to go to the People’s School of Arts 

where I used to paint. I was fourteen years old 

when I held an engraving tool in my hands for the 

first time and soon after I fell under the spell of 

engraving. I studied engraving at the National 

Enterprise Tiba in Dvůr Králové nad Labem. 

Why did you specialise in engraving firearms? 

I come from Dolní Němčí, a village not far from 

Uherský Brod, which is the town of firearms, and so 

what else was there left for me to do? I was always 

drawn to stamp engraving and also to copperplate. 

For some time I was engraving medals, football 

clubs’ badges and similar memorabilia for the 

factory, which were part of the era. Well, 

that’s a water under the bridge now, fortunately. 

Initially I didn’t know in what direction I wanted to 

go. I also used to make stamps. Thanks to these 

I’ve learnt accuracy and discipline during engraving, 

because you simply can’t cut corners. You have to 

work with a two tenths of a millimetre accuracy. One 

tenth is still within allowance, but two tenths can be 

seen on a letter with the naked eye. I used to make 

stamping tools for firearms’ technical descriptions, 

especially for the pistols CZ 75. When my 

colleagues, artists and graphic designers saw me 

sweating over these engravings, they wondered 

why I didn’t focus on firearms decoration. 

So in the end you’ve taken their advice? 

If I hadn’t listened to them I wouldn’t be sitting 

here today, hammering into iron as if my life 

depended on it. I started working for the export 

department of CZUB. In the end I’ve established the 

Engraving Art Studio which is an exclusive studio 

focused on the manufacturing of luxury firearms by 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. I unite the best 

engravers, gunsmiths and cutlers from the whole of 

the Czech Republic, with whom, on the basis of my 

own design, I create luxury and absolutely unique 

firearms, to which I put the finishing touches to 

myself with my own engraving. 

As a matter of fact – what do you actually do? 

Everything. When I receive an order I choose 

a specific firearm and think up a motif to decorate it 

with. In a second case I think of a motif first and if 

I decide that the idea could possibly interest 

customers, I carry it into effect on a suitable firearm 

– rifle or pistol. I select the firearm, wood with an 

interesting pattern for the gunstock and other 

materials with which I’ll be decorating it with – antlers, 

horns, mammoth ivory, silver, gold. I’ve been trying 

lately to inlay firearms with meteoric iron. If I’m working 

on a handgun, I choose a material for the grip panels. 

If a knife is a part of the firearm, I try to choose an 

interesting shape and material for the blade, including 

the material for the case in which the firearm can be 

supplied. When I’m not working in the studio on the 


engravings or if I’m not handing over a firearm to 

a customer, I’m looking for, selecting and buying the 

best materials, mainly wood, anywhere I can lay my 

hands on it. Then I submit work to people and check 

if they are working according to the specification. 

I endeavour for firearms which I produce to not have 

any faults at all, artistic nor functional flaws. 

Has a customer ever complained about the 

quality of your work? 

Once, but it didn’t concern the quality of my work. 

On an operating element of one of the ornamented 

firearms series I overlooked slight marks which were 

caused by cutting tools and a customer from Near 

East had returned all of them. He decided to pay 

double if I could manage to eliminate the almost nonvisible 

blemishes. I took it as a warning, a slap on the 

face from life, I repaired the firearms and 

didn’t accept a single dollar extra. Since then I keep 

an eye out for even the slightest detail. 

Where are your customers from? 

From everywhere really, literally the whole world. 

Do customers from various parts of the world 

have different requirements? 

Every customer has his/her own ideas and every 

country has its traditions to which I have to adapt. 

Hunters from Central Europe very often ask for 

motifs inspired by nature, roes, stags, wild-boars 

and similar, which are created by using fine or 

deeper contoured engraving and others decorated 

in more sober attire or in some cases with gold and 

silver. The Americans want volutes and variously 

spun coloured floral ornaments with lines from gold, 

because they have their tradition which goes as far 

as the 18th century. They require bass-reliefs – deep 

contoured engravings. They look down their noses 

at the classic Italian soft engraving, fine filigrees and 

even the transalpine style of contoured engraving. 

A separate chapter are the customers from the Near 

and the Middle East who commission firearms 

which are sometimes almost overstuffed with gold 

and also gunstocks from Turkish walnut with grain 

which is similar to the pipe briar. They do not forgive 

any imperfections, they simply want perfection and 

luxury but they are also willing to pay for it. 

Do customers approach you with unconventional 

requirements and how do they react to your 

ideas? 

There are some customers whose ideas literally 

make you stop and stare. I’ve decorated a firearm 

for one of them with motifs from the Kama Sutra and 

I even learnt something new... Prehistoric animals 

have been lately a very popular motif in the Near 

East. I’ve made a set with my own design which was 

based on the world’s famous pistol CZ 75, 

decorated 

with a story from 

Cleopatra’s life. On 

the grip panels from a luxurious 

wood were hieroglyphs and the Gods 

Osiris and Ra. I coated the pistol with 

twenty-four carat gold and the set 

included a dagger with the blade made 

from Damascus steel with handle 

panels made from mammoth ivory and 

ebony, inlaid with gold and gemstones. I’ve inserted 

the whole set into a case, which was upholstered 

with velvet and which was made from three types of 

exotic wood. On the lid of the case I had an oil 

painting made which portrayed the death of 

Cleopatra, who is being handed a basket with two 

snakes by two maidservants. 

How do you work? Are your engravings 

different from those which are made by your 

foreign colleagues? 

Many engravers worldwide use more and more 

often the electropneumatic engraving tools. I do 

everything by hand using gravers or with chisel in 

one hand and hammer in the other. I stick to the 

traditional Czech school which is still highly 

credited around the world. 

Aren’t we in this way technically backward? 

Absolutely not, practically everyone has the 

opportunity to buy himself machines and change 

the way things are done. We can be rightfully 

proud of our traditional style of craftwork and it 

would be foolish to condemn it. 

Are you satisfied with the quality of materials 

which are used by Česká zbrojovka during the 

manufacture of its firearms? 

Please, do not remind me of materials used by 

CZUB. I am, of course, very satisfied with them, 

same as the customers are satisfied with our 

firearms. I basically have no choice. Unlike the 

foreign engravers, who work with relatively soft 

materials, I have to work with steel, which I have to 

strike like a bell. Česká zbrojovka uses a top 

quality steel. To decorate for example the slide of 

the CZ 75 pistol with the pure gold is truly an 

experience. 

Tell me something about your relationship to 

firearms and how do you view them from an 

engraver’s and creator’s point of view? 

Although I get often asked to go hunting I’ve 

never been and I’m not even tempted to go. I’ve 

learnt to respect firearms and I view them as an 

aesthete and designer. I see design behind 

everything. For me firearms are objects to which 

I apply my creative ideas with which I try to 

captivate customer’s interest. 

Thirty-eight year old Mr. René Ondra occasionally 

receives commissions from renowned gunsmiths 

from Ferlach, Austria and recently he was, the first 

Czech ever, accepted into FEGA – Firearms 

Engravers Guild of America, the esteemed 

associaton of engravers in the USA. ■ 


www 

www.czub.cz 

David Pazdera 

Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod ranks among world 

companies which in agreement with actual trends 

give great attention to the creation and updating of their internet 

sites. In the case of Česká zbrojovka the visitor will find much more 

than only a roundup of products. 

The home page of Česká zbrojovka Uherský 

Brod web presentation, made in the typical 

company colours at www.czub.cz address, is 

welcoming us in English, however the Czech visitor 

has option to switch by a single click into the 

version made in his/her native tongue. 

The first items are of course current news, in the 

case of Česká zbrojovka pleasantly actual: the 

visitor gets information about new products or 

several successes of CZUB shooting representation 

and other important events. 

At the page head the visitor may choose from 

the whole range of richly provided sections. If we go 

from left to the right the first heading is devoted to 

Products. The section which covers subsections 

Pistols, Rimfire Rifles, Centrefire Rifles, Air Guns, 

Engravings, Accessories. For quick orientation 

there is a short annotation. The said annotation 

enables the visitor prompt click-over to detailed or 

specialized information, which contains besides 

other things the option to download associated files 

in pdf format (instruction manuals, exploded views, 

catalogues…). 

The News section may seem now rather 

ambiguous, but one click makes everything clear: 

current events, articles from foreign and domestic 

press (particularly concerning CZ firearms, CZ 

shooting representation and the CZ company itself), 

further there is an option to be a subscriber of 

current events reports reception via e-mail and the 

visitor may also look into these reports archives. 

The section Support shows in the first place 

avery popular subsection FAQ. There is not many 

of them, but they are certainly worth reading. 

Additionally just at this place you can put your own 

inquiry, and Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod strives 

to answer each question received. Subsection, 

Safety Instructions gives many good guidelines as 

the safe handling of firearms is concerned; 

Subsection, Warranty provides information about 

warranty terms and conditions covering CZ 

firearms; subject matter of Paid repairs and custom 

work is clearly identified by its name, so these 

works can be of course ordered; and last but not 

least there is a Download centre. Customary visitor 

can access only the so called Public area, but the 

things visitors will find here will make them certainly 

satisfied as here he/she can download: catalogues, 

manuals, cut-away views, exploded views, posters, 

screen savers… 

Section Shooting team informs not only about 

Česká zbrojovka representation itself, but there is 

also basic data concerning the main shooting 

associations of the Czech Republic. 

Those who want to learn more about Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod should click on the section 

About us. There the visitor can find a wide offer of 

subchapters carrying attractive and transparent 

information about Česká zbrojovka and not only 

about its present (including an option to download 

annual reports or statement of finances), but also 

about its past where the visitor can get familiarized 

with our products of yesteryears. 

Section Contact contains beside contacts to 

Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod headquarters 

similar information related to subsidiaries, i.e. 

CZ-USA, Inc. and Union CS, s. r. o. 

The section name Fun speaks for itself: and as 

usual for such pages you can download various 

wallpapers and screensavers. 

The last section on the bar is called Production 

facilities, where the visitor can read more about the 

technologies applied and machinery and equipment 

used in Česká zbrojovka’s production facilities 

which are not utilized only for production of firearms, 

but also for products associated with the aircraft and 

automotive industry, and many others. 

In general the website pages of Česká 

zbrojovka Uherský Brod are well-arranged and 

graphically well-done and pose no problems for 

easy and quick orientation when looking for 

information. The proof that efforts and resources 

dedicated to this successful web presentation 

were not wasted is best answered by the fact that 

visit rate coming from all over the world exceeds 

a daily number of 3 thousand. ■ 

www.czub.cz 


Česká zbrojovka a.s., Uherský Brod – Yearbook 2007 

Published for Česká zbrojovka a. s., Uherský Brod 

by Pražská vydavatelská společnost s. r. o. 

Na Poříčí 1048/28-30, Praha 1, Czech Republic 

Graphics and lay-out: FUTURA 

Editor-in-chief: Mgr. David Pazdera 

Authors: Ing. Martin Helebrant 

Ing. Ivan Chludil 

Pavel Klozík 

Ing. Přemysl Liška, CSc. 

Mgr. David Pazdera 


Jan Skramoušský 

Photographs: Q Studio s. r. o. 

Ing. Martin Helebrant 

Ing. Ivan Chludil 

Pavel Klozík 

Ing. Přemysl Liška, CSc. 

Mgr. David Pazdera 


Václav Šebek 

Josef Šinkner 

Archiv 

In charge of translations: Milan Kubele & Jonathan Watkins 

ISBN 978-80-7250-359-9 

First Edition 

© 2007 by Česká zbrojovka a. s. 

688 27 Uherský Brod, The Czech Republic 

www.czub.cz 

All rights reserved. 

No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form 

or by any means, electronic or mechanical reproduction, including 

photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval 

system, without permission from the publisher.

9 788072 503599

Yearbook 2007

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