Guns: A CZ-75 History & Tribute

(Note: much of this info comes from the historical brochure "CZ 75: The Birth of a Legend" which you can order from CZ-USA)

The CZ-75 pistol is a fascinating product of geopolitics and human ingenuity. Around fifty years ago, the Communist Party leadership of Czechoslovakia realized that in times of slow military production, export sales to Western Europe would be crucial in maintaining the quality of their arms factories. The call went out from foreign customers for a new defensive sidearm in 9mm Luger. With only this vague specification, the chief designer of the CZ-75, František Koucký, partially aided by his brother Josef and the other personnel at the Uherský Brod arms factory, got to work.

Initially, František Koucký conceived that the 75 would be a single-stack, lightweight 9mm pocket pistol carrying eight rounds (foreshadowing later developments like the Kahr line of pistols). The Ministry of Foreign Trade, however, mandated that the 75 have a "high-capacity" magazine. The first prototypes of the gun were single-action only, but they still carried the distinctive slide/frame cuts and internal rail system that the current CZ-75 bears.

Throughout its development, the basic shape of the gun would change little. The operating system, however, was another story. The basic single-action system was augmented with a double-action trigger that could be accessed by manually decocking the pistol. Thus, the user of a CZ-75 has the choice of an cocked hammer locked by an external safety lever, and an uncocked hammer controlled by a heavy trigger (but thus no need to operate the safety).

In American Handgunner's review of the CZ P-01, the latest CZ-75 variant, they compare its curves and angles with those of a Frank Lloyd Wright chair - "it just looks right." Surprisingly, this isn't far off base - Koucký got some assistance from an architect named František Crhák, who helped fine-tune the distinctive curves of the gun. It's clear, however, that in the end František Koucký was the guiding force in CZ-75 development.

Mass production of the CZ-75 would begin in 1977. Literally half a dozen imitators and copycat designs were produced in other countries (some of these would develop followings of their own, particularly the Jericho 941 and the Bren Ten). In the past thirty years, even CZ itself made many small changes to the design, including the addition of a firing pin block and various tweaks to some of the components. The core of the pistol, though - its SA/DA trigger, its internal rail design, and the contours of the frame and slide - remained the same.

The CZ-75 was the first serious handgun I ever bought. It was something of an unknown quantity at the time for me. I had heard good reviews from the gun forums, but I essentially bought the gun trusting to its reputation. I didn't know it at the time, but the 75's unique trigger system is just about ideal for a pistol newbie - you get to try out cocked-and-locked carry and double-action carry all with the same gun.

10,000 rounds later, and I find my faith has been well-placed. That first CZ-75B is still with me, though its duties as primary CCW and nightstand gun have been taken over by the P-01. A new CZ-75B, bought today from a gun store for about $500, is about as well-thought out as a 9mm pistol can be. The controls are in logical places, the pistol is comfortable to carry and shoot, and it's as accurate a mass-produced autoloader as you'll find.

That's not to say it's a perfect gun. Candor is required for any true tribute, and I have to say, on all the CZs I've ever encountered, the extractor springs have needed replacement. CZ's various springs and parts fail as do all mechanical devices. Perhaps the biggest praise I can give my CZ, though, is that it's held up through all my years of ham-handed amateur gunsmithing.

A lot of things have changed since the CZ-75 was created. Czechoslovakia is now the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and many other 9mms (most of them polymer-framed) crowd the marketplace. But one thing hasn't changed - if you need to defend yourself or your loved ones from violent attack, there aren't too many pistols that'll do a "better" job than the CZ-75. Here's some footage of the latest 75 variant, the SP-01, in action: