Range report on my compact!

[feed-the-monkey]

Just got back from the range with my new 2-tone compact. The gun is just awesome, not a single problem. I even stared out with the crappiest UMC ammo I had. It was a half box from when my brother was here, and his Beretta was choking on the ammo. Not a single problem. I even limp wristed a few to try to get it to jam... no dice. I only put about 150 rounds through it since I was also attempting to break in a new Charles Daly. (that didn't go so well BTW)

However I noticed one VERY strange thing. The 2 mags I got appear different. One is a very shiney smooth blued finish the other is a matt black/blue rougher finish. The shiny one has only 2 sight holes while the matt one has 3. The shiny one has a small line scribed around it the matt one does not. The shiny one has a mag catch notch on BOTH sides. The matt one has only one hole on the right side. Also while typing this, I disassebled them, and they have different followers. I have a VERY rough time fitting the 10th round in the matt colored one. I noticed that the follower for that matt one has a very slight bit longer base which seems could be keeping it from going down that little bit more. Here are the pictures.

[feed-the-monkey]

The obligitory picture.....

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[feed-the-monkey]

let's try this again.

[feed-the-monkey]

The obligitory picture.....

[Unregistered(d)]

I noticed the very same thing with my CZ.  I recently bought a CZ-75B Military compact 2 tone and the magazines are also different.  I figured the dealer just put the wrong magazine in the case.  Maybe this is standard.

[Carlos-czechpistols82792]

Yeap!!!. Same story here. It seems that when it comes to magazines, CZ is not consistent at all. My guess is that they contract from different vendors/manufactures, and supply their guns with whatever the day brings. When I got my CZ 75 in .40, It came with two Meggar magazines (very nice and shinny), and I ordered two extra factory magazines (dull and with that *cut* in the middle. They all work, but I got mixed experiences with them.

When new it is almost impossible to load ten rounds in them, you are forced to use that plastic tool (supplied with gun, did you get it?), I kind had to force them in from the seventh and on with that tool, and left them loaded to max capacity for one day, after that I was able to load them to ten by hand, but it was still hard, so I left them loaded for a week (it kind of weakens the spring) and now they are ok.
Nice gun, what kind of groups are you getting with it?
Where did you get it from?

Welcome to the Club.

Carlos

[feed-the-monkey]

I was kept playing with the mag, and took it apart a few times. I also loaded and unloaded a few times. The last time I loaded it, it seemed better. My figers are starting to get sore from all the shooting loading from today  so I'll try again tomorrow.

I really went to the rant just to make sure everything was functioning fine and break it in a little. didn't spend any time on a rest or trying for groups. Although off-hand at 25 feet I was making a 1.5" ragged hole with 10 rounds. I want to get a variety of ammo when I go to check for accuracy, hopefully that will let me know what does best in it. I ran some UMC/CCI-Blazer/Black Hills/Winchester today.

Ordered it from my local gun dealer. Nice guy gave me a decent price. Probably about $40 over the best net price. So to not have to pay shipping and FFL transfer fees it was worth it.

[JH]

glad to hear you are pleased with your new compact.  I believe the "rougher" looking mag with the follower that fits inside of the mag spring is a shortened 15 round  mag.  I could be wrong but that is my opinion as the follower and mag look just like a 15 rounder, to include the less smooth texture.  The "smooth shiny" mag has the bump in the middle and the cut around it to dissuade people(Americans) from trying to modify it to hold more than 10 rounds.   Sorry to hear about the Charles Daley. I am in a quandary at the moment as to whether I want to "trick out" my Colt Govt 45 or save up for a Springfield or Kimber.

[feed-the-monkey]

I was thinking maybe this was a high cap that had been modified for 10rnds. I even tried swapping followers on the mags and still 10 rnds. However I can't even see HOW they would fit 13 rnds in this thing unless the base is different on the high caps.

[shulaco]

I did the same experiment a while back <about two months or so...>.  If you put the flower from the glossy blue magazine in the mat magazine then you get an illegal magazine, it would be capable of holding 11 rounds.  I would not recommend doing this for a number of reasons  the springs were not engineered for the stress of holding 11 rounds and the gun was unreliable with feeding, its only one more round and yes it would be illegal.  The 10 round mag law is a stupid law I know, but what can you do

A little note about the history of those blue and mat finished magazines.  The polished blue ones where recently contracted to replace the 15 round cut to 10 round ones.  Thats why the military versions have the mat magazines while the commercial versions come with a polished blue magazine.  Other than that  your guess is as good as mine

- Shulaco

[CZ75ID]

Can we put this in the Review Section?

can i have that cool tu-tone pic for a Banner?/

let me know.

[feed-the-monkey]

yes and yes. I can take a better picture than that one if you want.

[feed-the-monkey]

"If you put the flower from the glossy blue magazine in the mat magazine then you get an illegal magazine, it would be capable of holding 11 rounds."

I was messing around last night with the different mag parts, and YES I did get 11 rounds by swapping followers and springs. The question is how is that bad/worse for the spring when there are hi-cap mags that will hold 13 rounds in the same space?

I am going to do some function testing with the mag that way to see how reliable it is.

[BigMike]

I think the point he was trying to make is that by modifying the mag in such a way that it holds 11 rounds would be considered by the ATF to be an illegal modification of a post-ban, 10-round magazine.  

As far as the question you're asking, the mags that are made for 13 rounds don't use the same follower/spring combination that you have there.  By loading to 11, you're placing a good deal more stress on the spring, which will eventually lead to spring compression, and a mag that won't feed the last round.

[feed-the-monkey]

I understand that the 11rnd would be illegal. I just wanted to see how reliable it was with the different combo of follower and spring.

As for the different design for the 13rnd. I think that it would have to be SIGNIFICANTLY different for 13 rnds to fit with the current mag base. It seems to me that the length of the mag (the metal part on the plastic base) would have to be longer, and the plastic base would have to be swapped for a slim metal one. Maybe someone that has a 13rnd compact mag can comment?

I do not plan on keeping the 11rnd mag. I'll be swapping the followers back....