The Original CZ Forum
CZ PISTOL CLUBS => CZ CLONE CLUB => Topic started by: Bret on August 12, 2012, 06:01:28 PM
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I just picked up my new full sized 9mm Armalite AR24, which is a CZ75 clone that's made in Turkey for those who don't know. It was $465 out the door. My initial impression is that it feels very similar to a CZ75. Yes, it's heavy. The white dot sights are way better than the ones that come on CZ's. The slide serations around the rear sight allow you to get a good grip on the slide while pulling it back. The finish is every bit as good as a CZ finish if not better.
(http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/8867/armalitear24case.jpg)
(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2526/armalitear24caseopen.jpg)
(http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/7207/armalitear24leftview.jpg)
(http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/1860/armalitear24rightview.jpg)
(http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5421/armalitear24sights.jpg)
Of course the ultimate test is how it works. I'll let you know.
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Very nice
Makes me think of the Bren Ten
If it was in 40 cal, it'd be a Bren Ten Lite 8)
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congrats.
i have one too, but my CZs still get more time on the range.
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I have been thinking about one for a long time now. How do the grips feel Bret?
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Very nice! 8)
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How do the grips feel Bret?
They feel great. There's no need to put the Hogue wrap arounds on this pistol.
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Very very Nice! 8)(http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-excited002.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
Congratulations and let us know how it shoots! :)
Excellent Photography, BTW! 8)
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Good looking pistol. For additional magazines what ones would work in it. CZ or Witness?
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I'm guessing that Witness magazines will work, but I'll let you know for sure once I shoot it.
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I'm guessing that Witness magazines will work, but I'll let you know for sure once I shoot it.
Others have reported that Magazines for the original small frame Witness/Baby Eagle will work.
I've had mixed results with magazines. It has used the Baby Desert Eagle mags without an issue. I can use the CZ mags but I have to hold some of them in as they drop out. The ones that do lock into place don't lock the slide to the rear after the last round.
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I have an AR24K and can use standard CZ mags in mine. They stick out a bit, but fit and fire with no problems. My AR has been a really good gun. The workmanship seems to be a notch above my CZ Compact and I really like being able to eject a round with the safety on. The grip on the AR seems a bit thicker and more sculpted than on any of my other CZs and really fits the hand well. Plus, the larger trigger guard makes the gun a good choice for winter carry when gloves could be a factor.
One odd thing about the AR24K is the mag choice. They went with a shorter grip, but extended the magazine base plate to give the same grip length as my CZ Compact. I wish the would have done what CZ does with the Rami and offered a flat bottom 13 round magazine as well as an extended 16 round magazine. Instead, they ended up with the length of the 16 round magazine but the capacity of the flat bottom mag.
It's been a great gun though. I would not hesitate to buy the 10mm, 17+1 version they have if they were to ever import it.
Tim
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That is one of my gripes as well Tim. Why make a short grip then put a finger extension on the magazine! Is there a flat plate hidden at the bottom of the plastic extension?
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If they ever import AR in 10MM (plus do it in brushed SS) you will have the fabled BREN TEN!!
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I took my new AR24 to the range today along with 50rds Geco 124gr FMJ, 50rds Federal American Eagle 124gr FMJ, 25rds Fiocchi 115gr FMJ, and 25rds Winchester 124gr FMJ +P.
The Good: The dot sights are nice and big enough to see, definitely a cut above CZ's. The slide is the easiest to grasp of any pistol that I own. Accuracy was very good. The trigger was decent and actually seemed to improve as I shot the pistol. As you'd expect, the pistol feels good in the hand.
The Bad: The pistol has a problem ejecting spent cases. It experienced several stove pipes of spent cases. Sometimes spent cases would fly out so fast that I literally couldn't see them. Other times they seems to just make it out of the pistol. The stove pipes looked like the extractor was having a hard time letting go of the cases. Or, it might just be that the recoil spring is too stiff. I'll look this over later and compare it to a couple of similar Witness pistols that I have.
So right now I'm undetermined how I feel about this pistol. If I can figure out what's wrong with it and fix it, then I'll be happy. Otherwise, Armalite will get it back so they can figure it out.
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Well that is a bummer for a new pistol, hope you can work it out. Let us know how it comes out.
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since you were shooting 4 different brands of ammo, did you by chance find the FTE with one brand or was it spread across all brands?
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Bret - did you note if any specific ammo was stovepiping more often? My AR-24 simply will not run 115 grain ammo (and the owner's manual even states to use 124 ammo). And even with 124, I had an occasional stovepipe through the first 1200 or so rounds. Now that it's fully broken, it's 100% reliable with 124 grain Delta Precision reloads over 3.9 - 4.0 grains of Titegroup with OCL of 1.085".
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I didn't have any stovepipes with the Fiocchi 115gr FMJ (which I'm convinced is actually at +P levels based on the recoil in several pistols) and the Winchester 124gr FMJ +P. However, the ejection was still irratic with both of these loads. I'm sure the higher slide velocity helped, but ultimately I thinking right now that the problem is that the extractor is too tight.
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I removed the extractor and spring from both my Armalite AR24 and Witness Classic (full sized 9mm small frame). The Armalite spring is shorter and open on one end while the Witness is closed on both ends, but they feel about the same as far as poundage goes. There are some cosmetic differences in the extractors, but functionally they look the same. So, I installed the extractor and spring from my Witness in the Armalite. It fits. I function tested some cartridges and they ejected just fine. Of course hand cycling is one thing, but actual shooting is another. I'll shoot it and let you know how/if it works.
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Veeeery Intereeesting!
(http://www.hunt101.com/data/567/Laugh-In---Very-interesting.jpg)
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I went to the range again today, this time with the Witness extractor in the AR24. I brought 50rds of Geco 124gr FMJ, 50rds of Federal American Eagle 124gr FMJ, and 50rds of Remington UMC 115gr FMJ (nickel cased). The pistol ran 100% except that twice the last case was left sitting above the magazine after firing a mag of the Geco ammo. There were no stove pipes. In a real world situation that wouldn't have hurt anything as the case would have fallen out when the magazine was dropped, but it's still not right. Overall, the ejections definitely appeared much better. It was not possible to see most cases fly from the pistol, although I could still see a few. The Geco ammo went straight out to the right. Oddly enough, the Remington ammo went to the right/back with the most velocity. The strange thing is that it's not at all a hot load.
What I know for sure now is that the Witness extractor certainly didn't make the problem worse. It likely improved things. I'm going to reinstall the original extractor and try things again. If the problem comes back, then I'll give Armalite a call.
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I reinstalled the original AR24 extractor with the Witness extractor spring. Since the Witness extractor spring appears longer and is closed at both ends, perhaps it alone is making the difference. I'll let you know.
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When I first shot my AR-24 I had many FTEs. I read somewhere to not make a judgement on the gun until after the first 500 to 1000 rounds.
I started with Winchester 115gr and Federal 115gr. Cheap ammo from wallyworld. The Federal had more problems than the Winchester.
I also ran 100 rounds of Winchester 124gr NATO(P+) thru it. The gun started to cycle better from then on.
Now 1000 rounds plus later, I don't have any problems. I'm shooting primarily Winchester 115gr.
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I took the AR24 with the Witness extractor spring and the AR24 extractor installed to the range today. I brought 25rds Fiocchi 115gr FMJ, 50rds Geco 124gr FMJ, and 50rds Remington 115gr FMJ (nickel cased). The pistol experienced two spent case stove pipes with the Fiocchi ammo, left two empty cases above the magazine when the last cartridge in a magazine of the Geco was shot, and left two empty cases above the magazine when the last cartridge in a magazine of the Remington was shot. I really don't know what to make of the pistol leaving these spent cases above an empty magazine. I do now believe that the extract is the issue and not the extractor spring. I'm going to call Armalite.
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That is becoming frustrating, let us know how you make out with Armalite.
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When they first came out there were a lot of complaints on it leaving the spent last case on top of the magazine. At that time, Armalite claimed that was normal behavior. I wonder what is wrong with the extractor though.
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That is one of my gripes as well Tim. Why make a short grip then put a finger extension on the magazine! Is there a flat plate hidden at the bottom of the plastic extension?
No, I just used a flat plate from a Mecgar mag that I had put a P01 base plate on for my CZ Compact.
Tim
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I received my AR24 back from Armalite. According to the documentation, they repaired the extractor and hammer. What exactly they did I do not know. The paint in the front sight is gone. Kind of odd, but I'll put some model paint in there.
I took it to the range today along with 50rds of Geco 124gr FMJ, 50 rds of Remington 115gr FMJ (nickel cased), and 25rds of CCI Blaser Brass 124gr FMJ. There were no failures except for one spent case from the very last cartridge that I fired being left sitting loose on top of the magazine. It wasn't really a problem as it fell out when the magazine was dropped, but it's still odd. The ejection seems better. There were still some spent cases that seemed to just clear the port, but their overall velocity was better. I'll have to shoot it some more, but it does appear to be improved.
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When I first shot my AR-24 I had many FTEs. I read somewhere to not make a judgement on the gun until after the first 500 to 1000 rounds.
I started with Winchester 115gr and Federal 115gr. Cheap ammo from wallyworld. The Federal had more problems than the Winchester.
I also ran 100 rounds of Winchester 124gr NATO(P+) thru it. The gun started to cycle better from then on.
Now 1000 rounds plus later, I don't have any problems. I'm shooting primarily Winchester 115gr.
The manual for the AR24 says it works best with 124 grain ammo (and IMO likes hotter loads).
Only good quality factory-loaded copper or gilding metal clad ammunition should be used in this pistol. 124 grain bullets are best suited to this pistol. Use of +P or +P+ high pressure ammunition will shorten the life expectancy of all handguns, including the AR-24TM, and should be limited to duty carry.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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These pistols do like the hotter ammo I have a new armalite tactical 24 with the adjustable rear sight just got to shoot it this morning. It shot flawless with 124 grain and 147 grain lawmen and american eagle , but it was a bit picky with fiocci 115 grain had 3 failures to eject with the 155 gr ammo. Shot right to point of aim . I shot it in the rain here in Pa this morning at 10 and 50 yards. Very pleased with this purchase. By the way I had time to shoot the replacement canik stingray c9 this morning this one was even more accurate than the first one . And to add to the fun I shot my grand power MK100 again. I will don a separtate thread and review them along with a Canik Shark compact that I will be ordering,may just order a compact grand power as well and do a review of all 5 for Jan. I have had a lot of fun this year with Turk clones and different types other than Czs . They are reliable combat pistols that function well with good accuracy. Brian /EFR