One year, five months, and 21 days later...

[Southern_Partisan]

... I finally received my brand new CZ 97BD!!!  Yup - I ordered it (paid-in-full) on November 10, 2012 and received it on May 1, 2014.  I guess good things come to those who wait (and wait...and wait...).   

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, and I'm going to give it an honest assessment before I decide whether I like them or not.  I'm referring to the new-style thin aluminum grips.  I had hoped the pistol would show up with the same rubber grips with palm swell like that found on the 97BD's I handled at the time I ordered a year-and-a-half ago.  I already have and am accustomed to this style of grip because that is what came on my SP-01 and P-01 pistols.  I have large hands, and they fit my hand like a glove.

Range report to follow.

BTW - Any of y'all have a pair of the old-style rubber grips with palm swell that you would be willing to sell to me??

[AZ_CZ]

Patience of a saint, that's what you have!

Nice 97, can't help you on the grips but the alum look sexy!

[muggia59]

Very nice gun Sir. Someday I will have one. Since I don't have your patience, I bought a SAR K2 45. I am temporarily appeased, but I still want a 97. Have you checked on CZUSA, CZCustom or GunBroker? They may have your grips.

[twowheels]

Those grips are like a unicorn.  I want a set too but while I've heard of them I've never seen a pair or even heard of a person who has them.  I've got a BE and have the thin rubber grips (pretty nice), the thin aluminum (too thin, they cant the gun to the right (I am left handed)), stock woods, and my present favorite, nils targets that have the bottom trimmed off.  The nils have a nice palm swell and a good round shape.     

[Southern_Partisan]

The 97BD's I checked out in various LGS's around Austin at the time all had the rubber grips with palm swell.  I called CZ-USA today and spoke with a very knowledgeable guy named Ryan who confirmed to me what I have been reading for some time, and that is that there were apparently a lot of complaints from smaller-handed individuals who had trouble getting their hands around the grips, so that is why CZ went with the thin aluminum grips in order to appeal to a broader market.  You can purchase rubber grips from CZ-USA now, but they are merely thin, flat panels with no palm swell.  Here's a thread from a little over four years ago that sums it all up perfectly with pictures in the first post:

http://www.czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=29912.0

I want the ones in the first pic.  The ones currently available look like those in the second pic.  CZ-USA can no longer offer the grips with palm swells because they don't have any old stock grips remaining in inventory, and because the factory over in the Czech Republic is no longer making them.

[Radom]

I am thrilled for you Southern_Partisan, but a little disappointed to hear about the palm-swell grips.  I kept "meaning" to buy them, because  l like them so much on 75/85 pistols. 

If anyone has these and would like to trade them for gently used CZ OEM wood grips from a '98 production year 97B, please PM me.  I bought a second set of these some time ago from CZ-USA and modified them.  I use those currently, but I still have the set that came with the pistol originally.  Other than some powder residue that I will cheerfully remove, these are like new. 

FWIW, I did this as an experiment.  I am 5'11," and all of my parts are proportional, for good or ill. 

[Radom]

Just for fun, here's my 1998 97B for comparison purposes. 



My photo is not as high in quality/contrast as Southern_Partisan's, but I thought people might enjoy spotting the minor differences. 

[Ed_Shot]

I've had my 2014 97BE now for 2 weeks and 600 rounds.  It's a fabulous shooter.  I love the Hogue wrap around grip on my 75B but do not care for it on the 97....it just extends the reach.  I agree the grip would feel more natural with a palm swell.

What is your opinion of the checkerd walnut grips offered for sale on the CZ USA site?

[Southern_Partisan]

They look nice, and they appear to have a degree of palm swell which appeals to me as I'm not a big fan of flat grips with no contours.  And like I mentioned earlier, I absolutely love the grips on my P-01 and SP-01 pistols because they fill my hand and provide a very secure grip for me.  That's why I would like to acquire a set of the Gen 1 rubber grips for my 97BD.

[Radom]

I've had my 2014 97BE now for 2 weeks and 600 rounds.  It's a fabulous shooter.  I love the Hogue wrap around grip on my 75B but do not care for it on the 97....it just extends the reach.  I agree the grip would feel more natural with a palm swell.

What is your opinion of the checkerd walnut grips offered for sale on the CZ USA site?

Assuming that they are the same as the ones I have (pictured above), I have always found them acceptable.  Of course, they were the only ones available for the model for quite a few years.  They don't have a palm swell; they are relatively "flat." 

[kittum]

Congratulations to the original poster!  What and long wait!

As for the rubber palm swell grips - I want some too.  The thin aluminum grips are nice but I think the rubber ones would be even better.

[snapshot762]

As they say, "Good things come to those who wait". Very true in this case!

[Southern_Partisan]

Last summer I was starting to get really concerned that my 97BD might never show up, so I ended up buying a Sig Tacops Traditional (the Tacops was #2 on my list at the time I ordered the CZ).  I then considered cancelling my 97BD order for a full refund.  I sure am glad I decided to stick it out!!

[Southern_Partisan]

I still want to find an original set of Gen 1 rubber grips with palm swell, but for now I obtained a CZ-75 Hogue Monogrip w/ finger grooves and followed all the recommended procedures for getting it to fit - soaked it in hot water to make it more pliable, dried it off with a blow dryer while wearing a leather glove so as not to get scorched, then nearly broke both my thumbs stretching it approximately 1/4" to line up the holes for the grip screws.  It turned out really well and feels better (to me) than the thin aluminum grips that came on the gun.

The only issue, and it should be an easy fix, is that the plastic backing on the underside of the grips is slightly raised to the point where the magazine no longer shoots out the bottom when I press the mag release, but instead drags a little and hangs up after only dropping about 1/4".  I can sand the backing a bit using fine sandpaper to reduce the thickness and I suspect the problem will be solved.  I only just finished installing the new grips this evening, so I will update later.

Czech it out: