I've seen a number of discussions about the feasibility of removing the Loaded Chamber Indicator since it is prone to falling out if the allen screw holding it in backs out. I bought a used 97B in November and it has been flawless until a few weeks ago when the LCI fell out during cleaning. The allen screw was no where to be found so I went to the range as planned anyway but without the LCI installed. Unfortunately it failed to fire on almost every try. At first I thought it was the Wal-Mart Bulk Pack ammo but then I realized it was every round after the first in a mag. When I would manually recock the hammer it would go bang on the second try. I shot 3 mags this way and ran out of time. I also noted that one bullet which failed to fire and I had manually ejected had a light primer strike dimple but a little off center. After looking over the gun later in the evening I think I found the answer. While looking at the slide and chamber end of the barrel while cycling the action with and without the LCI I noticed that the LCI actually acts as a stop to limit the upward movement of the breech end of the barrel. Without this stop, on lockup and ready to fire, the chamber end of the barrel can end up a little high relative to the firing pin. I called Mike at CZ USA to order the missing LCI parts and asked him if the gun should fire OK without the LCI. At first he said it should but when I pointed out how the barrel can move further upward without the LCI as a stop, he agreed that it was probably necessary for the proper functioning of the gun.
With the newly installed LCI it has been again functioning flawlessly. After shooting the other day I did notice that the allen screw is already loose so I need to get some Loctite.
