CZ 97 trip to the range

[dlk]

I took my -97 to the range yesterday.  I put about 125 rounds of various varieties of 230 gr ball ammo.  I had 5 FTF.  It appears the bullet is just getting hung up on the steep angle of the feed ramp coming off the magazine. The feed ramp had been cleaned, but could have been pristine.  I don't think it was the mags as some of the FTFs were on half full magazines. The gun has less than 2000 rounds through it. Does the feed ramp need that much TLC in order for rounds to feed reliably?

[derweibhai]

Couple questions. Does it have the factory CZ magazines, or are they Mec-Gar manufactured? Are you still running the stock recoil spring weight? Is your extractor claw completely clean underneath?

I run only Mec-Gar Witness magazines in my 97's along with an 18lb recoil spring and an extra power extractor spring and both of mine will feed any ammo you put in them 100%.

CZ will polish your feed ramp and replace the mags with Mec-Gar ones free of charge if you send them the pistol with a note saying that it wont feed. 

[dlk]

I have 1 factory mag (w/ a beretta 92 spring) and a mecgar mag.  I don't think they are the problem.  I am using the stock recoil  and extractor spring ( I have changed nothing on the gun). Perhaps the extra power recoil spring will give me more forward energy to continue the slide forward.  When the rounds get stuck, it doesn't take much to cycle them forward.  Do you know the strength of the stock recoil spring?  I'll get the 18# spring and try that.  thanks

[freddiewilliams]

According to Wolff Springs website the factory recoil spring is 13 lbs

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=1&mID=16

[derweibhai]

If its not really really difficult to push the rear of the extractor claw with your finger, you should also get an extra power extractor spring from wolf when you get the 18 lb spring, or you will have issues with that down the road.

[dlk]

I went back to the range with my -97 today. I replaced the recoil spring with a wolf #18 spring. I thoroughly cleaned the gun and gently polished the feed ramp. I took the pistol out for a 200 round test. I had about 6 failure to feed and after about 170 rounds through the gun, I started getting failure to eject; about 4 times in the last 30 rounds. The FTF occurred within the first few rounds of the magazine, the last few rounds were always good. As usual, the pistol was very accurate. Needless to say I'm disappointed and beginning to question whether or not I have a  lemon, although at this point I think it is a maintenance or engineering issue of some type. Previous magazine issues aside, I believe the gun used to shoot more consistently than it does now.

Question 1: Can gunk in the extractor and firing pin mechanism affect proper cycling of the pistol. Other guns that I shoot require regular cleaning of the extractor and firing pin. The extractor in particular I would like to remove and clean thoroughly as that is a common place to gunk to accumulate. Does anybody know how to do this? I have a stronger ejector spring to install as well.

Question 2: The gun is marked with a date stamp of 2004 and is an RSR special made in Satin Nickel. Does anyone else have a gun from the same or similar batch who has had problems?

Thanks!

[dleong]

The extractor in particular I would like to remove and clean thoroughly as that is a common place to gunk to accumulate. Does anybody know how to do this? I have a stronger ejector spring to install as well.

Hi, dlk!

Perhaps this will help: Removing an Extractor Spring

[dlk]

I finally found the time to work on replacing the extractor spring. The new one from Wolff was noticably longer than the existing one.  The pin was a B%T%H to remove utilizing a blunted nail. I cleaned the extractor, put in the new spring and went to put the pin back in.  It was a B%T%H to put back in as well.  The pin mushroomed ever so slightly and could not go back in flush with the slide as it was before so the pistol is still out of action.  Slight dremeling will make the pin right. Lesson learned for me is to spring for a proper steel and brass punches for gunsmithing. I think using the right tool with a little less force would have worked better.  The pin was very tight needless to say.